In January 1996, Bill Gates wrote an essay published on the Microsoft Website. It was entitled “Content is King.” Gates was suggesting that most of the money generated on the Internet would stem from content, much like it does for broadcasting.
Flash forward a few decades and his words still ring true.
And while content is certainly important for generating money, it’s also vital for creating experiences that have true impact. Many of the public domains that we are attracted to—such as conferences or websites—entice us because they have great content: interesting speakers, insightful essays, entertaining visuals, and more. What we sometimes forget is that each piece of content, from a headline to an infographic to a video, was created by a person. These behind-the-scenes creators are vital in not only entertaining us, but also in keeping us educated and informed.
The province of Québec has an association for these creators. It’s called Xn Québec.
Content in its mission
Xn Québec brings together the key players of the Québec digital creation industry, namely more than 130 studios specializing in the production of content (original or commissioned) for various technological platforms. The association acts as a catalyst to develop, consolidate, and raise the profile of the companies making up the ecosystem of creative, media and cultural industries that are active in all forms of digital expression.
Their mission includes:
• Enhancing collaboration between cultural and technological companies as well as within the Québec business community, in order to create favourable conditions for the growth and development of digital companies.
• Strengthening the foundations of the industry to support digital creativity and its reach, both nationally and internationally, via representation, co-creation, broadcasting, and entrepreneurship support activities.
• Contributing to the development of strong Québec intellectual properties with a potential for international visibility.
Funding to facilitate (and more)
Earlier this year, Xn Québec obtained $600,000 of funding from the Ville de Montréal for the pursuit of its activities to assist and promote the producers of digital experiences. They will be using that funding to help achieve their core objectives through a variety of concrete steps. One such step is through entrepreneurship support, where they encourage the growth of companies that create digital content. Xn Québec also facilitates meetings between the various forms of media expression revolving around the digital world and accompany cultural and creative companies as they evolve in that digital world. Finally, they encourage visibility of local digital expertise, both here and internationally.
Interested in partnering with Xn Québec to organize an event? Get in touch!
Cheat sheet
Association: Xn Québec
Website: www.xnquebec.co/en
Contact: info@xnquebec.co
Twitter: @xnquebec
Read this next: Montréal named the best student city in the Americas for the fifth year in a row!
