"Content created with and through generative AI is only as good as the person using it."

Quality content is more important than ever. Therefore conveyed SCRIBERS[HUB] First -class copywriters, authors and journalists for every industry, every topic, every channel. In the "Content Buzzer" interview series, Sabine Fäth-founder of Scriber's [Hub]-communication professionals ask these questions every 14 days ...

Lena Wittneben Systemic coach & memory trainer, author, moderator & speaker

1. What does content mean to you?

Phew, that's a big question! Let me try to be more specific. I love content in all sorts of different forms – for example, in the past it was simply beautiful photo spreads in print magazines; as a teenager I always looked at the Max I bought it. Back in the early nineties, MAX magazine was the ultimate for me – a perfect blend of style, substance, and zeitgeist. It set standards, was visually and editorially state-of-the-art, and completely captivated me with its high-quality photo spreads and well-curated stories. I felt totally "grown-up" 😉 as a reader of the magazine, gaining so much insight into worlds that were completely foreign to me.

Today, I've been a total podcast fanatic for years, I love background music, even at a faster speed, I devour more than a handful of newsletters every morning, and I scroll through LinkedIn with varying degrees of enthusiasm. I still buy far too many books at once, which pile up and continue to feed my "tsundoku" 😄 (a Japanese term describing the habit of buying books but leaving them unread, instead accumulating them in piles). When it comes to books, I am and always will be a "tactile person" and love holding something in my hands, paper, turning the pages. An e-reader—despite its many advantages—is simply out of the question for me.

For me, content is more than just information – it's a bridge between people, a tool for inspiration, and especially on LinkedIn, a way to make real connections, for example when I announce my "helena's Dinner" evenings, which always have a thematic – "content" hook.

Good content touches the heart, provokes thought, and stays in the memory. And that, for me, is precisely the difference between just any content and truly good content: It's not generic, not interchangeable, not just another empty phrase in the already overcrowded jungle of information and posturing.

I love it when content surprises me, when it offers me new perspectives – especially on topics I work with intensively and earn my living with: work organization, self-management, and personal development. Keywords like Focus, concentration, productivity, mental recovery, visibility, innovation, generative AI, networking, new ways of working They accompany me daily. But if someone manages to show me a REALLY new facet of it, to open up an unexpected perspective, then I am immediately enthusiastic.

Also great: when content makes me think about things I've never considered before, like the vast spectrum of diversity. A powerful quote, a clever observation, a shift in perspective – that's the kind of content that sticks with me, anything that evokes emotion. And if it then leads me to a completely new topic, a new idea, or a person I hadn't previously considered (perhaps even someone I hadn't really gotten to know well) – then, for me, the content is truly successful.

2. What was the worst content you've ever encountered?

I find it difficult to speak of "worst content"—nobody delivers only gold all the time, myself included. Of course, not every piece of content can or should be the so-called "worst content." Buddhist sieve fulfill (Is it true? Is it correct? Is it important?). But there is content that annoys me because it is simply arbitrary, interchangeable, or soulless.

What I find particularly bad is:

• Flat clickbait articles, which do not deliver on their promises.
• AI-generated texts lacking depth, which read like a jumbled mix of buzzwords.

• The inflationary use of authenticity as a stylistic device It sounds just as generic as the word "inspiration," which floods content-free motivational posts. True authenticity is revealed in tone, style and sound – perceptible between the lines.
• The typical social media coaching aftertaste: I could certainly have many more followers and interactions on LinkedIn and Instagram if I posted according to the typical rules of this coaching style – with artificially "authentic" storytelling and standardized engagement hacks. But that's exactly what I find.. Absolutely terrible. I deliberately stick to my own tone and clearly differentiate myself from this interchangeable coaching jargon.

• This obsequious closing formula "Yours" or "Yours" at the end of a post – I prefer to be addressed in the plural and I also don't want any flattery or ingratiation.
• The unreflective reproduction of personal branding tips, which feel like a modular system for interchangeability: generic calls to action à la "So, what do you think? Write it in the comments!" – if a post truly resonates, the reactions will come naturally.
• Excessive self-promotion, especially when people on LinkedIn Post references and testimonials.
• Missing source citations! It's a cringeworthy moment when someone posts a big quote without mentioning its source. I often think to myself: "Oh, is that from YOU? I always thought it was from Gandhi, but okay, I could be wrong." Wolf Lotter once put it perfectly: "To inspire means to infect, not to plug in!"
• The constant use of Anglicisms or the use of words from subcultures to which one does not belong. If someone on LinkedIn suddenly changes their profile “Vibes” and “Energy” When someone speaks in a way that is completely unironic, or uses slang from hip-hop or gaming communities to appear "cooler", it becomes unpleasant.
• Self-awarded labels. When someone emphasizes in a post how cool, funny or charismatic He or she is – these are attributions that should always come from others. Those who ascribe such qualities to themselves rarely come across as convincing, but rather as trying too hard. And now comes the Coach This goes through my mind: Even content that upsets us or that we perceive as negative can be a mirror. Why does this post bother me? Does the person, the topic, or the attitude perhaps embody something I dislike or don't want to acknowledge in myself? Or does it represent something I might like to show or be myself—but don't (yet) dare to? Such thoughts are also valuable and often reveal more about ourselves than about the content itself.

And now to the main point: What do I prefer to do?
With good content. What constitutes good content for me?
For me, good content is all about personality. I love it when a stance shines through between the lines, when humor and self-irony are palpable, and when someone has the courage to take a genuine stand.

My personal highlights for great content:

• The LinkedIn postings by Hans Rusinek – reason enough to be on the platform.
• The linguistic finesse and eloquence in "Apocalypse & Filter Coffee" from Micky Beisenherz (also his star-Column).
• The razor-sharp powers of observation of a Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre.
• The (at least before its scandal) wonderful irony of a El Hotzo on Instagram.
• The perspectives and wonderful composure of “A good plan”, “New Narratives” (each magazine, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts) or the “Lean principle.
• neologisms, describing conditions or things that we all know, but for which there was previously no word.

I love it when content comes across with wit, pace and cognitive depth, without any linguistic pretension.

Other podcasts & formats I love:

• "Richbard, where can I reach you?" – Andreas O. Loff & Ingmar Stadelmann vape Lanz & Precht down.
• “Real-time” (Deutschlandfunk Kultur) – A magazine podcast that captures the zeitgeist with entertaining, cleverly curated contributions and illuminates social trends from four surprising perspectives.

• “The so-called present” (ZEIT Podcast) – A clever, feuilletonistic look at our present, combining pop culture, society and zeitgeist with analytical precision.
• "Flexikon" – A highly entertaining podcast from two incredibly humorous and eloquent NDR presenters, which questions and humorously deconstructs terms and concepts of our everyday life while cleverly conveying knowledge.

• “Feels the news”: A thoughtful and insightful podcast by Sascha and Jule Lobo that emotionally contextualizes and cleverly analyzes current social and political issues.

And despite the shrinking attention span: I want content that goes into depth and breadth!

3. How can good content be created in times of ChatGPT and similar platforms?

That's the million-dollar question. I love language, I've been writing since childhood (back then it was fables ;), today I work as a freelance writer, among other things for SPIEGEL online Job & Career, I've written for GQ Business, and I had my own series on capital.de.

And seven years ago, I co-authored a self-help book with Campus Verlag – unfortunately, it languished on bookstore shelves (though the title was licensed for the Chinese market years later!). Speaking of "good content, bad content," something else just occurred to me: Of course, good content includes authentically reporting on mistakes, missteps, or failures. What I can't stand, however, is the rampant staging of alleged fails and fuck-ups on social media, where supposed authenticity is misused as a mere stylistic device to ultimately portray oneself as a success story.

In short: I love writing and I don't want large language models to do that work for me. But I do use them as sparring partners: for research, to tighten up texts, or when I want to break down a long article into different content formats.

Content created with generative AI is only as good as the person using it. Those who can't prompt, who can't critically question, compare, and verify, won't get truly good output. It's simply a tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

4. Complete the sentence: Content is always…

…an invitation. An invitation to think, to discuss, to feel, to think further. Whether it's a newsletter, a social media post, a print article, a book, or a podcast – content can inform, entertain, inspire, or motivate action. Ideally, it does all of these things at once.

Good content has a soul, a point of view. It's more than just words or beautifully designed slides – it sticks. Because it opens up a new perspective, because it strikes a chord, because it sparks thoughts that don't immediately vanish.

And quite honestly? I love it when content surprises me. When it gives me a word or a concept I didn't know before, but which perfectly describes what I've felt a thousand times before. When it makes me feel understood – or makes me see something in a completely new light.

Content is what lingers long after the feed has scrolled on. Thank you so much for your great questions, dear Sabine, I'm so glad to be a part of this! And since I like to end my LinkedIn posts with a quote, here are some famous last words from Mark Twain:

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a big matter – 'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

PS... I hope this was/is somewhat successful or at least entertaining content for you 😉