Once again, a new start: repurposing old content

           A long time ago, I thought repurposing old content was trite. I erroneously thought doing so eroded its authenticity, but now I see it as misguided. Honestly, that image up there (and others in this entry) wasn’t really what inspired me to write this. It was a random post on Linkedin from the many writing companies I “follow” but don’t actively engage with (sigh). Whatever the case, it does encapsulate how I felt when I decided to repurpose my old college writing. I needed to put something out there to substantiate my claim as a refining and evolving creator. Little did I know how insubstantial it was. No amount of Grammarly.com or creative rearranging prevented me from turning my frown upside-down.

            While the content was, to put it mildly, shit, it had relevancy, at least compared to what interests me today. I still want to discuss ethical theories, sociological paradigms, and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. I still have a soft spot for generational, organizational, and media studies. My purpose for writing such works has changed, spurring my desire to rewrite them.

            I realize now that, when I wrote these “articles,” my primary focus wasn’t so much excavation of truth but instead ticking a box. These were homework assignments, after all. I just wanted to churn out something to be graded. And, as I reread them, that fact did sure show. It also didn’t help that I rushed much of my work (Yep, I’m one of those dreaded, 11th-hour, last-minute writers). Looking back, I’m sure my instructors assessed my work as run-of-the-mill undergrad fare (or were too overworked to care and just gave me the pass). Perhaps they should stay that way rather than something I should rewrite.

           So, given this revelation, I cannot, in good conscience, repurpose old content when it has already served its purpose. Or maybe I don’t yet have the skill to polish these turds, meaning they need to stay where they are, in Academia Limbo. However, I can work with the concepts I had in mind when I wrote these pieces. Therefore, that will be my current plan. I will take something that I wrote three to five years ago and rip it the hell apart. But then I will take that nugget of insight in that pile of crap that I think is worthwhile and make a less stinky pile of crap around that.

Cool? Cool.