What is "Real" Content, Anyway?

Blogging is an interesting and often highly varied experience.

I like to tell myself — as a consumer of online content — that I go in search of "real" content.

Sounds good, right?

Deciding what is "real" can be a thorny proposition!

But what is "real" and what is not?

I cast my mind back to the early days of blogging, and to the early days of web searches. What do we look for?

Some people are merely looking for infiormation. You know, like "how to switch out the carburetor in a 1968 Ford pickup truck," or "how to sharpen the blades of a lawnmower," or "how to install more memory in your mobile phone."

While that's all valid and even useful, it's hardly something I would describe as entertaining.

But let's keep in mind that not everyone who's a "content consumer" is looking to be entertained!

While I might claim that I am looking to be entertained, I'm actually not looking for "entertainment;" I'm looking for things that are interesting and hold my attetion for a while, while I might also learn something new in the process. But what ultimately "holds" me is the human aspect of what I am reading.

In other words, I am more interested in the Internet of People than anything.

And I'm not particularly talking about some flock of so-called "influencers" who engage in song-and-dance routines created specifically to garner the maximum number of views.

Honestly, I am more interested in authenticity, something I am often talking about in my posts here.

Which brings us to personal blogging, whether it's about your journeys around the world, or raising kittens, or recovering from some kind of personal trauma. These are all things that feel real to me, because they are not just "about" something, but they are flavored with the sentiments of those who experienced that something.

My personal background is in psychology and personal development, so I do tend to gravitate towards such content. But not only that.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone shares my preferences. In fact, quite often, I find that my preferences actually represent a minority opinion. I wish it weren't so... but most often it is.

But returning to Steemit, I keep looking for that real content... not generated by AI, and not merely a regurgitation of some market chart that people have already seen 300 times before.

Sometimes, I have to look for a long time...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remanider of your week!

How about YOU? What sort of content do you look for, and prefer to read? Do you wish there were more of it here on Steemit? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2025.12.01 23:45 PST
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