By Marta Rose-Thorpe
Collaboration is King… that is my thought today. In the nineties, when the Information Superhighway and World Wide Web came along, I was learning what the jargon meant, getting my first email address (my first was Earthlink! Do you remember your first?) and learning how to navigate this new life-changing technology. Sometimes I would hear the phrase, “Content is King.” I Didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded cool.
Then, in 1999 in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to work with a brilliant woman and co-produce an Internet conference called “VentureNet 99.” This took place at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, California in the early part of 1999. The purpose of the event was to introduce and connect start-up dot-com’s with venture capitalists that could fund them. My role was to assist the show producer in all aspects of putting on this large event with over 100 dot-com’s hoping to be funded. As I became exposed to this new world more and more, becoming familiar with the web jargon and how everything worked, I kept hearing that phrase more and more, “Content is King.”
Okay, I get it, content is important… maybe even the most important aspect of these new emerging websites. But what, really, did that mean? It meant that those young websites could only stay relevant – and thus get viewed and clicked on – if new content (stories, blogs, visuals) consistently poured in. Many dot-coms looked great at that show; many were brilliantly engineered and had great missions and purposes. But even the sites with the best architecture, technology, graphics, videos and transitions became irrelevant if the content was old. The new dot-coms were only as good as their continual new writings, bloggings and photos, i.e. their “Content.”
Fast forward twenty years, and content is still king… and collaboration is the way to get that content. Now I run a media company focused on publishing, social media and a web-based show, and I realize I’ve chosen a profession that heavily relies on working with other people in a team environment. I have people who write and photograph for the magazine, do interviews for the show, help put on the events, and then COME to the events!
Think about your chosen career or your job. Do you work solo or as a team? I love Tony Robbin’s statement, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a team.” I think the way many people do business changed earlier this year when we went into a mandatory quarantine and stayed at home. We started working more solo – or did we? It’s interesting to see all the new virtual meetings, networking groups, seminars and conferences – even parties, reunions and happy hours – happening virtually these days. Though we literally are alone in front of our computer, we are not alone, and all of this still takes people, teamwork and collaboration. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to work with others.
Is collaboration king for you?
