Related blog post: http://weblog.muledesign.com/2011/05/confab_2011_what_are_words_for.php

1. What Are Words For?
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CONTENT & LANGUAGE ONLINE

2. Erika Hall
@mulegirl

3. #wordsfor

4. Introduction

5. What I’m Why It
Who I am Talking Matters
About

6. Intentional Critical Effective

7. The Old Days

12. 1998

17. “Delightfully Hostile”
—The New Yorker

20. Work
Let Go Take Charge
Together

21. Letting Go

22. Baggage

23. Baggage
Content is
text.

24. Baggage
Content isn’t
text.

25. Baggage
Content isn’t
text. Anyone
can write.

26. Baggage
The Web is a
Content isn’t
publication.
text. Anyone
can write.

27. Baggage
The * is a
Content isn’t
publication.
text. Anyone
can write.

28. “Content Creation”

30. Writing
Composing
Illustrating
Filming
Commenting
Curating

31. “Content Consumption”

33. Reading
Viewing
Watching
Listening
Exploring

34. “Be specific.”
—William Strunk

37. Upgrade Account

38. Mark as Read

39. Delete

40. Add to Cart

41. Register

42. I’m Feeling Lucky

43. Submit

44. Anyone can write

45. The Writer’s Tool The Designer’s Tool
$399 $1,29995

46. “People rarely read Web
pages word by word;
instead, they scan the
page.”
—Jakob Nielson, 1997

47. “People don’t read
on the web.”

48. Idiocracy (2006)

49. I hate orange.

51. Publishing?

52. Interconnected and complex.

54. “Murder your darlings.”
—Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
Cambridge Lecturer (among other things)

59. The Result

60. Content Strategists Alone in the Wasteland

61. “No other part of a UX project
necessarily involves the
implementation of long-term
organizational practices.”
- Erin Kissane

62. Tending the Content

63. Thinking of Content Over Context

64. Business problem?
Pour some content on it.

66. Taking Charge

69. Content
Strategy
Brand
Strategy
Business
Goals
Product
Quality

70. “The great enemy of clear language is
insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s
real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it
were, instinctively to long words and exhausted
idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.”
— George Orwell

71. Working Together

72. — Jason Fried
Getting Real, 37 Signals

74. Mind Your Ps & Qs

75. Purpose
Process
Problems
Practice
Questions
Quality

76. Purpose What is the goal
Process How is that done
Practice What do you bring to it
Problems What is getting in your way
Questions What to ask
Quality What to fight for

77. Purpose
Informing An informational website
Enabling A tool/application
Pursuading A marketing website
Vending An online store

78. Research
Strategy
Design
Implementation

79. Requirements Gathering
Strategy Definition
Voice,Tone, & Structure
Copywriting
Governance

80. Business Process Workflow
Research Recommendations
Competitive Analysis Personas
Brand Attributes Content Map
Style Guidelines Nomenclature
Sample Content Stakeholder Research
Usability Testing & Wireframes
Results

81. User Experience Design Roles
Design Visual Information Interaction
Strategist Designer Architect Designer Writer
Will neglecting design confuse your users?

82. Discovery Concept Design Maintenance
Business Process Research
Design
Strategist Competitive Analysis
Personas
Information
Architect
Workflow Recommendations Wireframes
Visual
Brand Attributes Nomenclature Style Guidelines
Designer
Writer Voice & Tone Content Map Style Guidelines
Stakeholder Usability Testing
Research & Results

83. Meet the Meerkat

84. Meet the Meerkat
Suricata suricatta

85. Be the Meerkat

86. Be the Meerkat
A group of meerkats is called a“mob”,
“gang” or “clan”.

88. SCOPE
CREEP!

90. WAFFLING!

92. STRATEGY
SHIFT!

94. Common Pitfalls
1. Poorly Defined Goals
2. Lack of Process
3. Subjectivity

96. In Conclusion

97. Strategy is Leadership

98. It doesn’t matter how good the wine is.

99. What “content” means, how to handle
it, and who should be doing what
follows from the WHY.
It is very different in all of these
contexts.

100. Start from the big why
Be specific about the what
Clarify goals and roles
Stick to your story
Be open to change

102. Thank You!
Erika Hall
@mulegirl | erika@muledesign.com