SEC T I ON ON E
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSH LANTZ
PR ES IDENT ’S MESSA GE | J O S H L AN T Z
“Experience the outdoors in all of it’s seasons and
wonders, and communicate what we have learned
to others for their edification and enjoyment with
inspiration, passion, accuracy and honesty.”
D
espite its widespread use and acceptance, I still
hate the term content creator. To me, it seems
cheap and abridged, hastening the journey down a path
to a time when computers and other forms of artif icial
intelligence will compose and control all messaging
based on keywords, likes and other forms cyber
intelligence.
This is already happening. Most of us are aware that
bots exist on social media. They use various algorithms
to craft messages designed to inf luence public thoughts
and habits, usually for political or marketing purposes.
But, do you know what an avastar is? Check out @
lilmiquela on Instagram. She’s not real, doesn’t pretend
to be, and she has 1.5 million followers.
identify ourselves however we choose. I still choose
to identify as a “writer”, even though my “content”
appears across multiple print, digital and social media
platforms. Does that also make me a content creator?
Sure, if you say so.
But, I also know and understand that I’m something
else, something more fundamental.
Whether we write a weekly newspaper column,
contribute work to print, digital or broadcast media
outlets, blog, podcast or market outdoor brands,
products or destinations, each of us are industry
inf luencers. Our ideas and words carry weight; they
shape the ideas and decision-making of those who read
or hear them.
Thankfully, we live in an age where we’re allowed to
Volume 03 No. 01 | 2019