Whether you’re talking about APIs, responsive sites, or content repositories, you’re going to need structured content. But if you want structure to really work, you have to change more than your CMS. You have to change your organization.

1. STRUCTURING CONTENT,
RESTRUCTURING
ORGANIZATIONS content strategy forum 2012
Sara Wachter-Boettcher
www.flickr.com/photos/philmanker/3180258187
@sara_ann_marie

2. ‘‘
Every client, in my experience, has a
content problem.
Mark Boulton, Web Directions South

3. responsive design mobile-first
cross-channel experiences
read-it-later apps api-driven
design lazy-loading adaptive
experiences linked-data
mashups web-enabled tvs
future-friendly thinking
multi-screen strategies
flexible grids mobile-only
users web-connected cars

4. responsive design mobile-first
THERE’S
cross-channel experiences
read-it-later apps api-driven
NO MORE
design lazy-loading adaptive
experiences linked-data
HIDING
mashups web-enabled tvs
future-friendly thinking
FROM IT.
multi-screen strategies
flexible grids mobile-only
users web-connected cars

5. ‘‘
In traditional media, canvas dimensions are a
known constraint... With digital, however, the
canvas is an unknown.
Instead, we need to build on what we do
know: content.
Chris Armstrong, “The Infinite Grid”

6. Everyone agrees: We’ve got to know
our content. For reals.

7. and yet:
WE’VE STILL
GOT SO FAR
TO GO.

8. Inaccessible.

9. Broken.

10. Missing.

11. Even launching a new
homepage is hard.

12. ‘‘
The Microsoft.com team built tools,
guidelines, and processes to help localize
everything from responsive images to
responsive content into approximately
100 different markets... They adapted
their CMS to allow Content Strategists to
program content on the site.
Nishant Kothary,
“The Story of the New Microsoft.com”

13. This is why mobile is so hard.

14. the web’s moving forward,
BUT OUR
CONTENT’S
STILL STUCK.

15. “just stick it up
on the website”
www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/6125516150/

16. We create content like this.

17. We create content like this.
CONTENT
GOES HERE.

18. So we can do this.
www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829344565

19. So we can do this.
CONTENT
GOES
HERE.
www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829344565

20. But we end up with this.

21. But we end up with this.
CONTENT
GOES
HERE.

22. it’ll only get
worse
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

23. We don’t need more content. We need
content that does more.

24. COPE: Create Once,
Publish Everywhere
Websites
NPR’s Mobile Sites
Central Storage API Apps
CMS
Third Parties

26. content like
water
www.flickr.com/photos/briangaid/2909765394/

27. Of course, content doesn’t just
magically flow.

28. It takes infrastructure.

29. which takes
care and craft
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

30. And a CMS to match

31. interconnected,
not just hierarchical

32. Of course,
structured data
isn’t new.
From Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL
by Hugh E. Williams and David Lane (O’Reilly, 2003)

33. The results just weren’t always great.
What?
Huh?
No
idea!

34. this didn’t
By Eva-Lotta Lamm
fix it

35. structure isn’t
arbitrary
www.melissaanddoug.com

36. It’s about taking our content knowledge...

37. and finding
patterns
www.flickr.com/photos/darkfoxprime/4348506299/

38. not just “pages”
www.flickr.com/photos/peroshenka/408997641

39. Patterns help establish content types.

40. Event Listings
Shows
Blog Posts
Articles
Profiles
Bios
Help Modules
Press Releases
Directories
Recipes
Shows
Product Listings
News Briefs
Research Papers
...etc. etc. etc.

41. Content types create a content system.

42. systems give
us options
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

43. We can’t manually manage
how each bit of content looks.

44. But every bit of structure gives us
the option to make a rule.

45. it tells our content
what to do

46. If [content type] is in [situation], then
[do this with] the [content elements].

47. If [a recipe] is in [the app], then [include]
the [ratings before the ingredients].

48. structure helps
content move

49. Now, for the hard part.

50. our content’s stuck
BECAUSE
WE ARE
STUCK.

51. it’s people,
not just tech

52. 3 CHALLENGES
FOR OUR
ORGANIZATIONS

53. 1. mass-production
mentality
LIFE magazine archives

54. THE PROBLEM
People keep creating content
the same way they always
have: big WYSIWYG blobs.

55. WYSIWYG or
WYSIWTF?

56. THE REAL PROBLEM
Content-producing roles aren’t
tied to business strategy, goals,
or vision—so those working in
them see no reason to change.

57. that’s not my job! i just
keep the production
line moving.
www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/2710933334

58. A BETTER WAY
Content strategy bridges the
gap between executive vision
and daily execution, defining
how content will serve strategy
over time.

59. 2. compartmentalized
teams

60. THE PROBLEM
Content-producing departments
don’t communicate, or are even
hostile to one another.

61. protect the
fiefdom!
www.flickr.com/photos/domhill/7190797128/

62. Government is notorious for this.

69. This is duplicative and inefficient. Not
to mention confusing as hell.

70. THE REAL PROBLEM
Departments that are always
focused on themselves are not
thinking about their customers.

71. the underpants
problem
www.flickr.com/photos/red_devil/4728500604

72. ‘‘
Customers don't know—and don't care to
know—how government is organized. So why
make them go from agency [website] to
agency [website] to get the full picture of
what gov't has to offer on any subject?
Participant, National Dialogue on
Improving Government Websites

73. A BETTER WAY
Transcend silos with cross-
department teams focused on
tackling a single issue. Empower
them to spread new ideas.

74. 3. obsession with
control
www.flickr.com/photos/expertinfantry/5416964813

76. THE PROBLEM
Stakeholders don’t get digital—
they want everything fixed in
place, like print, before approval.

77. user control
terrifies them

78. THE REAL PROBLEM
The organization isn’t built for
change—and suddenly, things
are changing fast. Rather than
adapt, it’s trying to stop the shift.

79. things will
keep moving

80. A BETTER WAY
It’s not just dealing with mobile.
It’s becoming an organization
that’s adept at change.

81. good news!
CONTENT
STRATEGISTS
CAN HELP

82. we’re an
excited bunch
LIFE magazine archives

83. It’s time we share that passion with the
whole organization.

84. 3 WAYS TO
MAKE CHANGE
HAPPEN

85. 1 Make mobile an entry
point, not the end point.

86. ‘‘
Use mobile as a wedge to create a better
experience for ALL users.
Karen McGrane

87. Also true for changing organizations.

88. use mobile to
break down doors
www.flickr.com/photos/justin-march/3720489344/

89. 2 Don’t sell solutions.
Invest more deeply.

90. we don’t
save the day

91. You can’t just fix it.

92. You’ve got to be in it together.

93. it’s hard,
messy work
www.flickr.com/photos/trondheim_byarkiv/4773880876

94. 3 Do less.
Facilitate more.

95. After the CMS is updated...

96. Or the API is launched...

97. The content will still need help.

98. teach ‘em
to fish...

99. Find the people your work affects,
and incorporate them from the start.

100. And finally, there’s you.

101. we can’t see
the future

102. but we can
play a role in it
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

103. THANK YOU,
CAPE TOWN!
sarawb.com // @sara_ann_marie
Content Everywhere is coming in November!
http://rfld.me/content-everywhere
Flickr images used via CC-Attribution license unless otherwise noted.
Illustrations used with the permission of Eva-Lotta Lamm.