"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012

Blend Interactive
Blend InteractiveEditor at Blend Interactive
the


   MYTH
    of	
  the


  perfect
METHODOLOGY
hashtag:
#methmyth
hi
I’m corey
  @mrvilhauer
Blend Interactive
          Sioux Falls, SD
METHODOLOGY?
“Formal	
  documentation
 of	
  a	
  set	
  of	
  processes.”
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
          ASK A QUESTION
    Research a problem
      Form a Hypothesis
    Test the Hypothesis
   Communicate/Change
METHODOLOGIES
  ALLOW FOR
 REPLICATION
hooray web!
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012
The LIst
METHODOLOGY ≠
A List of tasks
In the beginning...
define the
damn thing
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012
THESE ARE GUIDES
NOT METHODOLOGIES
“Content	
  strategy	
  is	
  suf8iciently	
  diverse	
  
that	
  nearly	
  all	
  content	
  workers	
  must	
  
specialize	
  to	
  some	
  extent,	
  and	
  our	
  
methodologies	
  tend	
  to	
  re8lect	
  on	
  that	
  
specialization.”
                                            -­‐Erin	
  Kissane	
  
                                                              	
  
It’s more
complicated
 than that
We Think
we’re this
But really,
we’re this
Each
     project
is different
Each
deliverable
is different
Each
       client
is different
Each
   one of us
is different
WE’RE ALL
SNOWFLAKES
So.
Why bother?
CommunicatioN
MAKE IT OFFICIAL
guidance
Consistency
integrity
The Methodology
 for creating a
  methodology
find a trail guide
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012
Content Strategy Deliverables*
  What Are You Trying to Achieve?
   Summary of company goals

  What Do You Own?
   Content inventory or audit
   Content assessment (quality and quantity)

  Whatʼs Missing?
   Content gap analysis
   Comparative content analysis
   Competitive analysis

  How Do You Present the Words?
   User personas
   User scenarios (think believable stories)
   Editorial strategy
   Core messaging strategy
   Content templates
   Sample content
   Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy
   Metadata strategy
   Brand strategy
   Style guide




CREATE A MASTER LIST
   Glossary

  Where Does It Go?
   Copy deck
   Content conversion/migration strategy
   Content flow schematic
   Channel strategy
break
     and
recreate
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012
You are never
finished
“With	
  iteration,	
  instead	
  of	
  driving	
  an	
  
idea	
  blindly	
  into	
  the	
  world,	
  hoping	
  to	
  
get	
  lucky,	
  you	
  tip-­‐toe,	
  feeling	
  as	
  you	
  
go.	
  And	
  you	
  are	
  guided	
  by	
  the	
  
feedback	
  you	
  get.	
  ...	
  There	
  are	
  no	
  
beginnings	
  or	
  endings	
  -­‐	
  just	
  small	
  
steps	
  forward.”

                                                -­‐Robin	
  Sloan
steal like an artist
“...A	
  result	
  of	
  4-­‐5	
  years	
  of	
  
  pilfering	
  the	
  Internet.”
                     -­‐Jeffrey	
  MacIntyre,	
  Arc90	
  
“This	
  one’s	
  mine.
Let’s	
  take	
  another.”
               -­‐Fugazi	
  (kind	
  of)
give a little dap, yo
With special
thanks to...
MAKE IT personal
“Experience	
  is	
  a	
  brutal	
  
teacher,	
  but	
  you	
  learn.	
  My	
  
    God,	
  do	
  you	
  learn.”
                                -­‐C.S.	
  Lewis
An Example:
Audiences and Outcomes
tl;dr
YOU CAN’T BREAK the
 RULES IF YOU DON’T
  MAKE the RULES.
THE SOAPBOX
OUR WORK IS
 PERSONAL
OUR WORK IS
   fluid
“Strategy	
  is	
  a	
  frontier	
  
       sport.”
          -­‐Melissa	
  Rach,	
  CS	
  Forum	
  2011
OUR WORK is
worth sharing
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012
"We	
  have	
  to	
  be	
  okay	
  with	
  sharing	
  
what	
  we	
  know.	
  Everyone	
  gets	
  
credit	
  for	
  showing	
  their	
  work.	
  
There’s	
  no	
  reason	
  to	
  protect	
  how	
  
we	
  do	
  things.	
  Every	
  client	
  is	
  
different;	
  every	
  project	
  presents	
  
new	
  information	
  to	
  learn	
  from."

                                        -­‐Nicole	
  Jones
So.

       Go forth and
      METHODOLOGIZE
( thank you )
     For	
  notes	
  and	
  resources,	
  visit:
eatingelephant.com/2012/05/confab2012
COREY VILHAUER
    @mrvilhauer

www.eatingelephant.com
www.blendinteractive.com
  www.blackmarks.net
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"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012