Responsive. Adaptive. Mobile first. Cross-channel. We all want a web that's more flexible, future-friendly, and ready for unknowns. There’s only one little flaw: Our content is stuck in the past. Locked into inflexible pages and documents, our content is far from ready for today's world of apps, APIs, read-later services, and responsive sites—much less for the coming one, where the web is embedded in everything from autos to appliances. We can't keep creating more content for each of these new devices and channels. We'd go nuts trying to manage and maintain all of it. Instead, we need content that does more for us: Content that's structured and defined so it can travel and shift while keeping its meaning and message intact. Content that's trim, focused, and clear—for mobile users and for everyone else, too. Content that matters, wherever it's being consumed. But it's not just that our content is stuck. Truth is, our organizations and clients are stuck, too—and unless we, web professionals of all stripes, take the lead to do things differently, they won't be able to keep up. In this session, well start with revisiting our legacy content and adding the structure and metadata we'll need to make it more flexible. Then, we'll also tackle the heart of the problem: organizational cultures that are terrified of change.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/nishanthjois/5116863376/
CHANGING CONTENT,
CHANGING
CULTURE
sara
wachter-
boettcher
web visions
nyc 2013

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

3. ‘‘
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”

4. But do we actually know our content?

5. Good news! That’s what content
strategy is all about.

6. ✦ Defines how content will meet business
(or project) goals and users’ needs
✦ Guides decisions about content from
discovery to deletion
✦ Sets benchmarks against which to
measure the success of your content
Kristina Halvorson & Melissa Rach

7. It’s figuring out what we want to say...
Message architecture example
from Margot Bloomstein

8. And making more
realistic plans for
getting it done...
Page table example from
Relly Annett-Baker

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

10. Inaccessible.

11. Missing.

12. Useless.

13. Even launching a new
homepage is hard.

14. ‘‘
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”

15. This is why mobile is so hard.

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

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

18. We create content like this.

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

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

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

22. But we end up with this.

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

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

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

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

27. COPE: Create Once,
Publish Everywhere

28. But content doesn’t just
magically flow.

29. It takes infrastructure.

30. Which starts with content.

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

32. And a CMS to match

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

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

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. systems, not
just hierarchies

40. systems give
us options
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

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

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

43. rules tell content
what to do

44. structure helps
content move

45. Now, for the hard part.

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

47. it’s people,
not just tech

48. 3 CHALLENGES
FOR OUR
ORGANIZATIONS

49. 1. mass-production
mentality
LIFE magazine archives

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

51. WYSIWYG or
WYSIWTF?

52. 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.

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

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

55. 2. compartmentalized
teams

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

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

58. Government is notorious for this.

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

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

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

68. ‘‘
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

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

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

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

73. user control
terrifies them

74. 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.

75. things will
keep moving

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

77. good news!
WE CAN DO
SOMETHING
ABOUT THIS

78. “But I’m just the interaction designer!”

79. “But that’s just how executives think.”

80. “But that’s just the way clients are!”

81. STOP THAT
RIGHT NOW.

82. Caring about content is a pain, yes.

83. but it’s the only way
we’ll be satisfied
www.flickr.com/photos/yakobusan/3162940696

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. THANK YOU,
WEBVISIONS NYC
sarawb.com // @sara_ann_marie
Content Everywhere is available now!
http://rfld.me/content-everywhere
Flickr images used via CC-Attribution license unless otherwise noted.
Illustrations used with the permission of Eva-Lotta Lamm.