Content is one of these words in the English language that can mean two very different things, yet are spelled the same. It would be very good if we used accent marks in cases like the word, “content.”
If you are “contént,” with the accent on the second syllable, you are satisfied, pleased, peaceful. You are happy and pleased with where you are, what you have, or what you are doing.
If you have “cóntent,” with the accent on the first syllable, you have an amount of something. This word is related to “contain.” Content marketing is the art of creating materials that do not explicitly promote a product, brand, or service. Instead, the content is meant to be useful information that indirectly promotes a brand.
Marketing exists to generate discontentment, does it not? Its aim is to help a person realize they want something and encourage them to fulfill that want. Can one be content while consuming content marketing? Can one be content knowing their discipline generates discontentment?
It is something I am wrestling with. As someone who values love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), how does this mesh with marketing? There are no easy answers. But it’s worth pondering on this fine morning.
