Content Nausea: Even rock bands are getting sick of it all
February 20 2015 11:30 AM
“Ignore this part, it’s an advertisement
These people are famous, I’d trust them”
Content marketing isn’t rock ‘n’ roll, despite some of the personalities that populate the industry. But an American indie band called Parquet Courts has recently released a song called Content Nausea on a similarly titled album, which should be on the playlist of every content marketer.
Back when I was a student, I managed to find time in amongst all the essays and assignments to not only work in various bars, but also write occasional album and gig reviews – and interview some of my favourite bands (this example even makes reference to storytelling, which would appear very prescient considering the space I now work in) – for a couple of websites.
Despite maintaining an interest in music, I’ve found it increasingly hard to “keep up” with new bands and genres. However, a little while ago I found Parquet Courts who are, by all accounts, pretty good. And, just as I was browsing on Spotify to create a safe-for-work playlist, I noticed the aforementioned track. I couldn’t help but look up the lyrics.
As luck would have it, the song “explores the detrimental impact of devices and technology, [and] content, on our relationships and lives”.
Obviously, devices and technology have impacted our lives for the better for the best part, but most would agree that there are some drawbacks:
“The consequential chore that unfolds in the naked sprint from screen to screen”
Whilst I’m in the business of helping clients and colleagues create and distribute engaging, relevant and timely content – that, hopefully, their target audiences never tire of – I often get frustrated by the bombardment of marketing messages to my personal Hotmail account (particularly on a Thursday), on Facebook, on Twitter, and pretty much anywhere else I care to visit online:
“And am I under some spell?
And do my thoughts belong to me?
Or just some slogan I ingested to save time?"
Sometimes it’s all a bit too much – especially when some Flash or video ads combine to slow my laptop down to snail’s pace – and it’s easy to get carried away in a session of being enticed by click-bait which is generally forgettable and provides me with no value at all. As Parquet Courts highlight:
“People clicked and people read
‘Modern Life’ is what it said”
And they’re right, that is modern life. There is so much content to read, to listen to, to watch, to digest, and it’s being thrown at us from every angle. It’s easy to get sick of it – content nausea. I’m not a fan of it, so it’s hugely important make sure that you don’t make those that have expressed an interest of engaging with you and your brand sick of what you do by providing a load of content that does nothing for your audience:
“Wasting dollars, wasting hours
Wasting talent with wasted power...
…Overpopulated by nothing, crowded by a sparseness
Guided by darkness, too much, not enough”
So, how do you do this? Well, Parquet Courts believe you should make it snappy – an excellent commandment to live by when producing content:
“Been around long to know
Life’s lived best when scrolling least”
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