April 13, 2023
July 8, 2020
With these last two chapters, we’re really not focusing on the site itself, but the processes around it — the people that will maintain things after launch, and the system around which constant improvements are made as the site grows more mature and enters into new areas of life.
April 13, 2020
Even though there are usually dozens of things more important than your web content during a crisis, your ability to communicate in a helpful, empathetic, and useful way is key. Content strategy during a crisis isn’t about maximizing potential, but for providing guidance and clarity.
August 6, 2019
Where last month we talked about knowing our people and their motivations, this month our planned chapter releases are focused on knowing your content and its connections to your users. That’s right, it’s time to talk content inventories and analytics.
June 4, 2019
Two more chapters are going up, and this time we focus on better understanding who your web team is – who is going to help make these decisions for the larger project – and what that plan will look like as your ideas take shape.
September 12, 2015
It was dark when I stood up. There was a flash and a lot of movement, and then it was dark. Except for one streetlight, and then another. The road was a black canyon, kept awake by the steady blinking of my back taillight. Instinctively, I moved every limb and concentrated on the pain. Where […]
September 9, 2015
The discussion around content strategy is framed by large examples, but it’s also the work of regional organizations, small universities, and mom and pop stores. How do we adapt the big concepts of content strategy to work within the constraints of a small organization? This transcript of my talk from Now What? Conference 2015 in Sioux Falls (April 30, 2015) explains more.
January 19, 2012
When we sign a contract for content work – whether it’s working with a client as a consultant or accepting a position within a large company – we do so with the expectation of deliverables. They are the things we make. They are often a symbol of milestone completion, or quarterly goal. They are CONCRETE. […]
October 18, 2010
Spoiler alert, you guys. So New York Magazine’s Vulture blog posted a little ditty about whether or not Don Draper chose the right woman on Mad Men’s season finale, complete with an episode spoiler right in the headline: “Is Megan Really Right for Don?” Spoilers in the headline? One comment summed it all up: “It’d […]
July 29, 2010
When we become familiar with our surroundings, two seemingly contrary things begin to happen: we start ignoring certain annoyances – and we uncover new ones. It happens in our everyday lives – we ignore the creaky floorboards of our house, but suddenly find fault in the loose cupboard doors; we become accustomed to one co-worker’s […]
June 30, 2010
Over two decades, my grandfather built two houses. They weren’t just houses. They were homes, for he and my grandmother, built out of an unwillingness to trust contractors and the lure of a low-cost solution. And because these homes were built from scratch, an intense pride of ownership developed. My grandparents took meticulous care of […]
