Is Self-Authoring Enough?
Self-Authoring learning content may be easy, quick, uncomplicated, but is it enough?
This post is not a case against self-authoring, it is a demonstration that it’s simply not enough, especially within the context of learning content. Lets consider the extreme case where self-authoring is king, Social Media, a space where anyone with anything to show or tell can self-author their content and put it out there for mass consumption. In these social spaces flooded with self-authored content, it would be easy to, very wrongly, assume that self-authoring is sufficient for creators to achieve their objectives. I’d like to break down some of the social media content into the following broad categories to gauge qualitatively the typical authoring processes used against self-authoring in terms of meeting the creators’ objectives.
| Category | Typical Authoring | Is Self-Authoring Sufficient? |
| Personal/family content | Content captured with mobile phone cameras and may be edited using basic tools | YES! It’s a great way to share your life with family and friends. (better keep your space private though) |
| Personal Performance DIY/ Crafts Commentary/Review/Reaction | Wide range starting from self-authoring to full blown teams capable of content strategizing and professional production. | Self-authoring may be the only way to start on this journey, but it is never enough to get a serious following and serious monetization! Think Mr. Beast growing from simple self-authored commentary and reaction content (starting at 13 years old) to the grand productions he now rolls out with his team of over 250 employees! |
| Professional Performance (Music/Dance/ etc) Product Marketing Sports | Professional authoring using multi-disciplinary in-house teams and/or specialized agencies | With an assumed objective of growing a solid following and promoting live performances, publications, and/or products, this category of creators would not achieve their objectives with self-authored content. This is a very competitive space where creators need to elbow their way to exposure. |
| News[1] | News Agencies: Professional authoring using multi-disciplinary in-house teams. | News agencies live off audience volume and are increasingly monetizing on their digital presence. There is no space for self-authoring here! |
| Witness documentation is very adhoc typically image/video capture using mobile phones | Capture and Share is the name of the game here so no real authoring is done or should be done. Hats off to all who have helped document and share the realities on the ground in war and peace. |
There are of course a broad range of different categories of content on social media, but the trend is the same across the board; Serious content creators take their content authoring seriously thus recognizing the need for multidisciplinary teams.
Looping back to learning content where the assumed objective is to deliver impact and effectively disseminate knowledge to learners, while self-authoring has its place and is definitely an encouraged practice for experts who would like to share their knowledge with limited resources, delivering serious learning impact will always require serious authoring and delivery.
