6. What’s a CMS?
“A
system
that
lets
you
apply
management
principles
to
web
content.”
(real
story
group)
A
content
management
system
(CMS)
is
a
system
providing
a
collecFon
of
procedures
used
to
manage
work
flow
in
a
collaboraFve
environment.
These
procedures
can
be
manual
or
computer-‐based.
The
procedures
are
designed
to
do
the
following:
• Allow
for
a
large
number
of
people
to
contribute
to
and
share
stored
data
• Control
access
to
data,
based
on
user
roles
(defining
which
informaFon
users
or
user
groups
can
view,
edit,
publish,
etc.)
• Aid
in
easy
storage
and
retrieval
of
data
• Reduce
repeFFve
duplicate
input
• Improve
the
ease
of
report
wriFng
• Improve
communicaFon
between
users
(wikipedia
on
CMS)
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/5403098626/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
7. What would lead one to say
WordPress is NOT a CMS?
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/narisa/97218748/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
8. WordPress is
like the leading
candidate in a
primary race:
everyone’s a
critic
h"p://knowyourmeme.com/memes/haters-‐gonna-‐hate/photos
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
9. Why would people say WordPress is just a
blog platform?
Because we keep telling them it is.
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4595386436/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
15. What if WordPress.com and
WordPress.org had different
names?
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/1935788259/in/photostr
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
18. Sometimes people use tools in
unexpected ways: edge cases
Edge cases can reveal limits in a
platform. Is CMS an edge case for
WordPress?
h"p://bikeportland.org/2012/06/28/with-‐six-‐kids-‐and-‐no-‐car-‐
this-‐mom-‐does-‐it-‐all-‐by-‐bike-‐73731
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
19. What doesn’t WordPress do well?
• MulFlingual
• Publish
to
Remote
Servers
• Extended,
Fine-‐Grained
User
Permissions
• Content
TargeFng
/
Dynamic
PersonalizaFon
• In-‐Context
EdiFng
• Custom
ApplicaFons
with
High
User
InteracFon
• Complex
Workflow
• Versioning
across
complex
asset
types
• EdiFons
/
Content
Bundles
• Digital
Asset
Management
at
Scale
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
20. Do open source projects reflect the
attitudes of their founders and
leaders?
h"p://schipulcon.com/photos/514/in/9/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
21. Dries vs. Matt
• PhD
in
Computer
Science
and
Engineering
• Founded
Drupal
project
2000
• Founded
Acquia
2008,
as
CTO
• Coding,
Technology,
Photography
• Studied
PoliFcal
Science
at
University
of
Houston
(leg
to
join
CNET)
• Started
WordPress
in
2003,
founded
Automaic
and
WordPress.com
2005
• Jazz,
Photography,
Simplicity
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
22. Acquia vs Automattic
• VC
Funded
(aggressive
growth
plan)
• Corporate
Headquarters
in
Burlington
MA
with
some
distributed
employees
• Focus:
“Your
enterprise
guide
to
Drupal”
• VC
funded,
though
slower
growth
plan
(?)
• All
virtual
/
Distributed
• Small
office
in
SF
(now
closed?)
• Focus:
“we
are
passionate
about
making
the
web
a
be"er
place”
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/pgoye"e/1276986086/in/photostream/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
23. What does this suggest about Drupal
and WordPress as platforms?
• Engineering
culture
• Steep
learning
curve,
but
very
powerful
once
learned
• Design
/
Content
culture
• Simple
learning
curve
but
arguably
less
powerful
/
flexible
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewl04/3163980834/
h"p://www.commonplaces.com/inspiring-‐conversaFon/team-‐posts/drupal-‐7-‐vs-‐
wordpress-‐3-‐ba"le-‐new-‐features-‐0
24. What, if anything, should we do
about the state of WordPress as
a CMS?
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbosc
25. Do we want more power,
and therefore accept more
complexity?
h"p://www.cmsmyth.com/2012/02/build-‐one-‐to-‐throw-‐away/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
26. “What the detractors and critics
of electric vehicles have been
saying for years, is true. The
electric vehicle is not for
everybody; given the limited
range it can only meet the
needs of 90% of the
population.“
h"p://www.filmaluaFon.com/who-‐killed-‐the-‐electric-‐car.html
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbos
27. Should there be a fork of
WordPress focused
on CMS use cases?
A Distribution? Package?
Application? Downstream?
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancohen/5396179251/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbosc
28. How can we preserve WordPress’
existing advantages?
• Focus
on
usability
and
user
experience
design
for
the
content
author
/
site
admin
• Ease
of
installaFon
and
Fme
to
“live
site”
experience
• Broad
availability
of
themes
and
plugins
• Community
(including
WordCamps!)
• WordPress.com
as
a
massive
scale
ongoing
tesFng
plaoorm
for
new
concepts
h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/r_a_z_e/498818720/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbosc
29. This is a great time for exactly what
WordPress is best at
• Shig
in
buying
power
from
IT
to
business
owner
• Renewed
interest
in
and
focus
on
content
strategy
• Focused
small
iniFaFves
rather
than
large
enterprise
roll
outs
• Focus
on
design,
usability,
and
content
impact
30. Closing Thoughts
• WordPress
certainly
can
be
used
as
a
CMS:
the
quesFon
is
ulFmately
whether
this
is
an
edge
case
or
the
core
direcFon
of
the
project.
• In
trying
to
grow
WordPress
as
a
CMS:
– We
won’t
win
by
trash
talking
other
plaoorms
– Power
is
shiging
from
IT
buyer
to
markeFng/
business
buyer
– Don’t
fall
for
the
technology
selecFon
myth
– Don’t
compete
on
feature
checklists
– The
“S”
in
CMS
should
be
strategy
h"p://blog.schipul.com/drupal-‐and-‐wordpress-‐at-‐schipulcon-‐one-‐stage-‐one-‐open-‐source-‐love/
@jeckman
#WordPressCMS
#wcbosc
Editor's Notes
Managing Director, Boston for ISITE Design – digital agency for brands who differentiate on customer experience. Significant design and implementation work on many platforms, including Sitecore, Ektron, Drupal, Adobe CQ, etc. Blogger / Mythbuster for the CMS Myth – focus on the core myths that derail CMS projects. Open Parenthesis, TwitterWordPress plugins: WPBook, WPBook-Lite, WPGPlus, Hello Dalai WordCamp Boston 2010, 2011, 2012 organizer and volunteerAlso work significantly with Drupal – including speaking at DrupalCamps
Dirk Shaw – SVP Social @ Ogilvy west, Irina Guseva – Real Story GroupScott Liewehr – Digital Clarity Group
Phil Sturgeon – PyroCMSTony White – ArsLogica, ex Gilbane and Yankee Group - http://www.cmsexpo.net/speakers/1-100-Tony_WhiteDavid Skarjune – Content Strategist http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidskarjune Luis Hernandez - http://www.523design.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/narisa/97218748/Haters Gonna Hate (prominence)WordPress is “just a blog” (brand, origin)WordPress is a “simple” CMS (there are limits)
When people say WordPress is not a CMS, they really mean it’s too simple, or not Enterprise enough, or too close to being “just” a blog platform. The logic seems to be that because WP began as a blog platform, and is used by many as a blog platform, that it cannot have become more than just a blog platform. This is known as the “nothing ever changes” thesis. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/4595386436/
Why would people say WP is just a blog?Because we keep telling them that. “A better way to blog”WordPress.com home page
“the open source blogging software available at WordPress.org”WordPress.com about page
“WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog.” WordPress.org
To be fair, WordPress.com VIP does
Finally, at the bottom of the Why WordPress VIP page, we get a reference to WordPress as a Content Management SystemIt’s almost as though there’s a desire NOT to have WordPress and Content Management ever associated with each other.
What would it be like if when WordPress.com launched, it took a different name than the underlying platform?http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/1935788259/in/photostream/
“Drupal is an open source content management platform powering millions of websites and applications.”“Use Drupal to build everything from personal blogs to enterprise applications.”
Drupal Gardens – powered by the Drupal Platform
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/7422629250/in/photostream/Fulll story here: http://bikeportland.org/2012/06/28/with-six-kids-and-no-car-this-mom-does-it-all-by-bike-73731Emily Finch, six kids, no car – does it all by bike
Note that it isn’t that your couldn’t do any of these things with WP, but would you want to? Would you be the edge case?See Spark Distribution in Drupal for In-Context Editing and next-gen author experience: http://drupal.org/project/spark
http://schipulcon.com/photos/514/in/9/
Dries’ thesis?: “Profiling Techniques for Performance Analysis and Optimization of Java Applications”Drupal starts as a hacker project by an undergrad comp sci major to be able to exchange messages with his roomates. WP starts as a fork of B2 focused on simplicity and better user experience for the content creator. Matt’s profile on d.o lists “simplicity” as an interest
Acquia (self-declared) wants to be to Drupal what RedHat was to Linux – enterprise validation. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pgoyette/1276986086/in/photostream/
Of course these are broad brush generalizations – there is a design 4 drupal camp in Boston focused on UX, and there is a very strong developer community in the WordPress world – see Buddy Press, MU and networks, enterprise sites, ecommerce – all the things some of the folks in this camp are involved in. Tweets from:http://www.commonplaces.com/inspiring-conversation/team-posts/drupal-7-vs-wordpress-3-battle-new-features-0Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewl04/3163980834/
Photo: see http://www.cmsmyth.com/2012/02/build-one-to-throw-away/ for story of its origin
Ed BegelyJr in Who Killed the Electric Car"What the detractors and critics of electric vehicles have been saying for years, is true. The electric vehicle is not for everybody; given the limited range it can only meet the needs of 90% of the population.“Photo: http://www.filmaluation.com/who-killed-the-electric-car.html
Forks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancohen/5396179251/Drupal Distributions: http://drupal.org/project/distributionsInstall WordPress, and you get a blog – complete with first post and comment. You have to change home page and make pages to do more CMS oriented stuff. Install Drupal, you get very little – not even blog is turned on by default. Distributions help with this . http://interconnectit.com/724/wordpress-distributions-are-the-future/
