Content is the information contained within communication media, including the internet, cinema, television, radio, audio CDs, books, magazines, physical art, and live events. It is directed at an end-user or audience in the sectors of publishing, art, and communication.
The advent of the Information Age has advanced content as a mass-produced commodity for distribution through social media, which has led to the professionalization of content creation.
Any content developed or disseminated by an individual or on one's behalf, including but not limited to content distributed via books, magazines, brochures, newsletters, newspapers, social media, billboards, websites, mobile applications, movies, television, and radio, is referenced to as media content.
Content value
Communication theory philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase "The medium is the message."
Content notably distinguishes itself by its memetic property, wherein users replicate and adapt content for retransmission. The author, producer or publisher of a source of information and experiences may directly be responsible for the entire value they establish as content. Users develop their own, "new" content in media featuring user innovation. Much of social media content is derived this way, by effectively re-cycling content in a slightly different format. The increased rate at which information is exchanged over the Internet compared to traditional analog media, as well as the ability to broadcast one's own media, leads to the development of meme content online. Social media platforms give users the space for storage and provide tools to create content. It includes platforms that give users a space for storage and provide plenty of tools to promote, organize and advertise their thoughts.
Technological advancements
Traditionally, content is edited and tailored to the public through news editors, authors, and content creators. However, not all information content requires creative authoring or editing. Content is not a product of reputable sources only; the advent of self-broadcasting thanks to information technology has led to a proliferation of primary sources and the dissemination of misinformation in the form of shareable content designed to maximise engagement and exposure.
Media production and delivery technology may potentially enhance the value by formatting, filtering, and combining different types of content for new audiences. Less emphasis on value from content stored for possible use in its original form and more emphasis on rapid re-purposing, reuse, and redeployment has led many publishers and media producers to view their primary function less as originators and more as transformers of content. Thus, one finds out that institutions that used to focus on publishing printed materials are now publishing both databases and software to combine content from various sources for a wider variety of audiences.
The process through which content is processed by Internet infrastructure before being "delivered" to users is the content delivery network, and notably involves selection and curation using specific algorithms designed to create an addictive and engaging stream of content. This has led to the development of problematic social media use and of various closed circuits in the production and consumption of user-generated content, leading to self-reinforcement of political and other biases and the evolution of echo chambers.
Content regulation
The transmission of content and intellectual property have attracted attention and regulation from authorities worldwide, due to the memetic nature and possible social impact of content sharing. The regulation of content may take the form of selective censorship of works and content most often featuring obscenity, violence, or dissent, with wide variation through time and geographical situation concerning the bounds of legal content transmission. Content regulation also concerns the rules regarding transmission of the content itself. Regulations on content vary, and may come into conflict with each other more often in the context of global information exchange via the Internet.