Content Generated by Jeff for Your Consumption
- Twelve Corners Communications
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
I’m in danger of finding a new rabbit hole to go down.
You may know that I’m a big fan of words. I like how words are used to communicate. I like that we can say words and other people can understand those words. I like that words come from certain places and times, and we can learn about that time just by hearing the words.
I like the variability of language, the subtle nuances found in synonyms and why a particular word might better express emotion or information. But my interest in the evolution of language is generally constrained to historical linguistic evolution. I’m not a linguist by any stretch, but as a linguistic hobbyist I have been limiting myself. Language hasn’t come to us fully formed or complete. If we feel like the language we use is the only acceptable way of speaking leads us to discounting the brilliance and insight of other people because it “sounds weird.”
Which leads me to Adam Akesic, the “Etymology Nerd.” He is a social media influencer that studies trends in communication and vocabulary and how they change us or are changed by us. I spent some time reading his writing here because I initially thought it would be interesting to figure out why kids these days are saying “skibidi toilet.” Yes, that’s real slang. No, don’t ever bother worrying about it.
But what I found was a fascinating exploration of how people utilize their social media or internet browsing as a form of ritual and worship - https://etymology.substack.com/p/social-media-and-the-collapse-of https://etymology.substack.com/p/youre-literally-worshipping-your On its face, I was expecting a banal, if not entertaining and slightly informative, bit of content. Something to read for five minutes and then share at a party or something. Instead I encountered this paragraph and was smitten:
Maybe social media makes us feel worse about ourselves because it removes all these little meaningful actions from our lives—rolling them all into a single, mass-produced experience. Ironically, with more things happening at once, there are fewer things to interpret; ritual demands time and space, but we consume an endless stream of space without time. We end up as detached spectators, looking at paintings in museums rather than churches.
I want to have a conversation with pretty much everything he’s written.
He led me to reflect on the whole enterprise of this blog that I write every week.
I just finished attending a three-day “content creator summit,” and I came out of it completely disillusioned with the idea of “content.”
Every lecture and panel I attended was obsessed with the buzzword. Managers urged me to “make content everyday.” Marketers told me how to “better sell my content.” Industry insiders gave me advice for “making better content.”
In short, everybody was using the word “content” as the goal of social media, as the final product we should all be striving for.
I write this blog every week, whether I have an idea or not. Am I selling out my authentic voice in order to churn out some sort of “content?” There have been weeks where I said to myself, “This is incomprehensible, but at least it exists.” Am I doing this because I want to create content regardless of quality? The whole idea is rather convicting.
Ultimately, I’m going to keep doing this every week.
If I don’t write this blog, no one will raise an uproar. It is not a necessity. If I cease this entirely its not like my job security hinges on it. I write this blog to be published, yes, and I do it because I like the idea of regularly providing content for people to engage with, to consider faith (or whatever I’m writing about) on days that aren’t the “normal” ones. I do this because I want to show people who I am before they ever visit on a Sunday morning. But a large part of this is that it feeds me. It imposes discipline that pushes me to explore my own ideas and challenge them to see if I value them enough to devote time to them. It provides me an outlet to explore my writing style and voice. I preach better because I’ve written so many of these that writing is now less daunting.
I hope you have enjoyed this piece of content.
Peace,
Jeff
We’d love to invite you to experience more than just “content” with us. At Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, we’re all about real connection, thoughtful exploration, and a community that welcomes every question, every curiosity, and every person. Come be part of our community this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for a meaningful time of worship and togetherness. We’re located at 1200 S. Winton Road in Brighton, NY. For more information, visit our website or give us a call at (585) 244-8585. There’s a seat saved just for you.
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