SXSW 2010 and Content Strategy

Once again, I'm off this week to Austin, TX for the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. It's my favorite conference of the year and there is always a surprise or three.

For the first time, content strategy is being featured in a large number of presentations, so that's got to be good news. I'm going to attend as many as I can and hopefully I'll have a recap here afterwards. So if you are going to be at SXSW this year, keep an eye out for me and say hello if we pass in the halls :)

I'll also be at the first Austin Content Strategy Meetup on Sunday March 14th @ Lustre Pearl at 7 p.m. http://tr.im/QM9g.
Stop by, have a beer, meet some cool people, and talk content strategy - hey, all the cool kids are doing it.

Content Strategy IS the Next Big Thing

Great blog post from Kristina Halvorson that tracks Google searches for "social media" against searches for "content strategy." Exciting and well-documented conclusions that content strategy is indeed the next big thing.

"That said, web projects are a terrific place to see content strategy in action. At the project level, we see almost immediately how content strategy’s tools and methods can literally transform how we consider and care for our content, how they can streamline processes and conserve resources. We can quickly measure our customers’ reactions to finally getting useful, usable, engaging, actionable content." - Halvorson

Adding content strategy to your process as a Web publisher is hard, messy, and time intensive. BUT it may also be the last big win in terms of increasing your site's effectiveness. Lord knows that we have tweaked the heck out of everything else. Dealing with your content issues is just about the only thing left to tackle.

Check out the post! (Be sure to read the comments, good stuff there too)

Take the Survey!

Just finished taking the A List Apart survey for people who make websites. Help A List Apart form a picture of the ways web design is practiced around the globe. They hope that making this data available will have a positive effect on best practices and employment, and will enhance public understanding of, and respect for, our profession.

Take the Survey Here!

Re-edited Version of the E-book Now Available

It took a little longer than I thought (thanks to MS Word issues) but the re-edited version of the e-book is now up on the download page.

There is no new content in this version, just a few changes thanks to a great (and third) copy edit. Fixed some typos and a few formatting errors.

The new PDF is on the original download page, if you can't find the email with the URL, use the email link in my profile here to send me a note with your name and I'll get back to you.

Thanks to everyone who helped!

Atlanta Content Strategy Meetup this Thursday, Jan 21

Don't miss this Thursday's meetup—"Content Strategy: What's In It for You?" at 6:30 PM at Ignition Alley.

Meetup RSVP Here

Drawing cues from this year's heightened focus on content strategy, Margot Bloomstein will address how content strategy differs from just copywriting and how you can incorporate insights from this aspect of interaction design into your next project. Discover how the questions a content strategist brings to the table can enrich your deliverables, learn how your collaboration can benefit your end users, and discuss ways to reframe the RFP to upsell content strategy in your next pitch and bring a new partner into the project.

If you're a designer, IA, search engine marketer, or any type of social media or web strategy consultant, learn how insight to content strategy can rock your work from a new angle.

Book Available Again on Amazon

The Web Content Strategist's Bible was unavailable for a few days while I was having it re-edited to get rid of a few typos and formatting issues. But everything has been taken care of and it is back up and available for purchase.


Gotta love the speed of electronic publishing.

The Web Content Strategist's Bible - Update

Well it's a new year and a good time for housekeeping. The biggest problem in writing a book for writers and editors is that no typo or error goes unnoticed. Thanks to all of you who took the time to write me about errors and formatting issues! I'm not being sarcastic, really thank you, I would hate for anything to detract from the message of the book.

But the best way to thank you guys is to take the time to actually fix the problems. So I sent the book out to a super copy editor (if you need a copy editor, let me know and I'll put you in touch) and cleaned up everything we could find.

I'm in the process of reviewing blue lines and proofs so the book will not be available on Amazon for a few days while I work through this process. Ah the joys of being a publisher :)

The corrected online PDF version will go live in a day or two. I'll post here when the files are changed.

Thanks for your patience, the printed book will be available again in just a few days.

STC Summit 2010 to Feature a Content Strategy Progression

The 2010 STC Summit will have a number of content strategy components. Rahel Bailie has posted a nice summary of the Content Strategy progression that lists the sessions and presenters .

As a metadata geek, I'm particularly interested in Rachel Lovinger's session on The Role of Metadata in Content Strategy.

Atlanta Content Strategy Meetups

We’ve been getting a great turnout for our Atlanta Content Strategy Meetup Group and rave reviews from attendees. So we must be doing something right. If you are in the area, we'd love to see you at the next event in January. We always have a very diverse group and discussion topics range far and wide.

Registration is now open for our January 21 event, Content Strategy: What’s In It for You?

Margot Bloomstein will travel to us from Boston and speak about Content Strategy: What's In It for You? Drawing cues from this year's heightened focus on content strategy, Margot will address how content strategy differs from just copywriting and how you can incorporate insights from this aspect of interaction design into your next project. Discover how the questions a content strategist brings to the table can enrich your deliverables, learn how your collaboration can benefit your end users, and discuss ways to reframe the RFP to upsell content strategy in your next pitch and bring a new partner into the project. If you're a designer, IA, search engine marketer, or any type of social media or web strategy consultant, learn how insight to content strategy can rock your work from a new angle.

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Content Strategy Positions

I recently had lunch with some great people from Engauge Digital, a Web services agency here in Atlanta. We had a long talk about hiring and interviewing potential content strategists, and how content strategy fits into their overall consulting and development methodology.

It is clear from our conversations that they really understand the vale of content strategy and do a good job of selling it to their clients.

Right now they are filling a couple of content-strategy-related positions that you should take a look at if you are looking for a new gig.

Community Content Manager
The Community Manager serves as a Community advocate primarily focused on communicating effectively to members through multiple existing channels and continued growth of the online community. In this position, the Community Manager must be a leader and consultant to internal teams releasing products and other customer-facing changes. Interested candidates should be enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and experienced in the various aspects of social media and online community building. The candidate hired for this position will serve as the editorial and journalistic voice of the site, determining the best content mix for the site, sourcing content for the site, and working with our client and the client’s partners to optimize the site’s existing content.
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Content Strategist
The Content Strategist is a member of a team in our Atlanta office, whose primary goal is to develop meaningful and actionable digital experiences. At Engauge Digital, we are trying to "move someone." The main goal of the Content Strategist therefore, is develop and communicate a content strategy that supports the actionable goals of the project and helps to create meaningful interactive experiences.
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