Content Blogging as Improv

We played our first game of content improv last night. When an audience shouts out a string of random words, sketch comedians don’t stare back blankly: they leap into action. They find connections; they make them entertaining. Last night, we spent time forming random connections between bits of pop culture and the topic at hand. What the punk movement portends for the future of digital security? Sure, why not. What online criminals can learn from Moonrise Kingdom? Yup. Beards and block ciphers? Check.

Out of this absurdity came a few surprising ideas and, ultimately, a fun new post. It’s not the next great American blog post, mind you, but it strikes balance between sweet and meat. Best of all: it was written in record time!

Content blogging is a grind. I post something new to the Cloak security blog every week, rain or shine. But I often find myself stuck along the way. Any process that clears out the creative cobwebs is worth mentioning; doubly so if it’s repeatable. There’s no magic to the improv; it’s simply a fun way to force us out of our mental cul-de-sacs and onto broader boulevards.