Two quick interviews for people not going to SXSW

I’m not going to SXSW.

To remedy that, I’m living vicariously through pre-SXSW launch by boning up on the panels and interviews supporting it. Like a new series of short interviews with scheduled SXSW speakers at Scatter/Gather.

Not quite the same thing, but it’s making me feel not so bad. For now.

So far, they’ve posted interviews with Rich Ziade on article mills…

“I love the Web and I love how dramatically it’s lowered the barrier to publish (even the word ‘publish’ feels outdated). Everybody can talk into the channel today. It’s an awesome democratizer. At the same time, it’s getting increasingly difficult to really find things that I value.

…

I need to be able to lean on people I trust and respect to better present information for me. I don’t want a ‘stream’ or a ‘river’ of anything. I want to stop drowning and I want quality to win over quantity.”

…and Margot Bloomstein on content strategy (answering the question, “What’s the difference between content strategy and copywriting?”).

What’s the difference between a nutritious dietary plan and a bunch of carrots? Carrots are great–but they may not even be part of the bigger picture if, say, your family doesn’t like them or you need to figure out how to get more protein into your diet. Content strategy and copywriting face a similar sort of carrot confusion. Content strategy addresses the what, why, by whom, at what frequency, how–all issues that may affect copywriting, but aren’t synonymous with it. Copywriting is just one aspect of the tactical execution of a content strategy. And for most of us, carrots are just one small part of a healthy diet, into which we also bring recipes, other ingredients, and preferences.

Okay. That’s all. Sorry about the marketing/Web industry-tinged blather. Go back to listening to music from my last post, if you’d like.