Comments for The Content Strategy Noob

Comment on Be Known For Your Content, Not Your Name! by 30 delicious content strategy and content marketing links « new media mentality

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:38:15 +0000

[...] http://contentstrategy.rsgracey.com/2009/06/04/be-known-for-your-content-not-your-name%E2%80%A6/ [...]

Comment on Content strategy is an act of love by 30 delicious content strategy and content marketing links « new media mentality

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:37:49 +0000

[...] http://contentstrategy.rsgracey.com/2009/04/30/content-strategy-is-an-act-of-love/ [...]

Comment on You’ll Wish You’d Had a Content Strategy Before Implementing Content Management by Rahel Bailie

Rahel Bailie — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:16:53 +0000

I do sympathize, and really think you got taken for a ride by your consultants. Asking “what do you want the system to do” is NOT the same as gathering requirements, and if they couldn’t find a way to explain the pros and cons, within the context of your organization’s framework, they didn’t do their jobs. Period. I get so agitated when I see these things. There’s a saying that the quality of your integrator can make or break a project. I would extend that to say that the quality of your consultants can determine whether your project will be successful. Requirements analysis, content analysis, and THEN technology analysis – the technology gets chosen to apply to what you need it to accomplish. OK, I’m going back to my work here before I melt my keyboard!

Comment on You’ll Wish You’d Had a Content Strategy Before Implementing Content Management by Cleve

Cleve — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:54:41 +0000

I really feel for you here Stephen. When starting a new project, with a new CMS, there is a lot of customer Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Then for consultants to bombard customers with question after question, is like you walking into a restaurant and the chef trotting out asking you what kinds of food you like and how do you prefer it cooked.
Show us the menu already! We’ve paid for your experience. Build us prototypes! Guide us to where we need to go. Early access to tangible solutions, means more informed questions, that leads to real answers. As a rule, for the larger projects, prototypes are part of the requirements gathering phase. Oh, I’m with Jeff on planning. I subscribe to the 6 Ps (Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance).

Comment on You’ll Wish You’d Had a Content Strategy Before Implementing Content Management by Jeffrey MacIntyre

Jeffrey MacIntyre — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:36:16 +0000

Grim is right, Stephen. And this lesson applies with equal force to any system tool implementation: you need to evaluate it and model it in advance according to set requirements. Next to CMS “upgrades”, I think content migrations are the next most common pain point where strategic planning should be absolutely prerequisite (but often isn’t). Plan your work and work your plan, as the old saw goes.

Comment on You’ll Wish You’d Had a Content Strategy Before Implementing Content Management by Ian Waugh

Ian Waugh — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:14:05 +0000

Very true! It’s so important to spend enough time deciding what the CMS needs to do. Also, people do forget that it is the web front end that also needs to be thought of… all a CMS does is store and deliver the content. I for one will never implement another CMS that does not include some ability to modify the user-facing parts of the website as well… or at least is partnered with a web platform that can be easily customised.

All of this comes from experience though, and vendors are notoriously unreliable when it comes to discovering the client’s real needs… they are understandably led by the potential features of their product.

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by Content Modelling : Content for the Masses

Content Modelling : Content for the Masses — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:14:03 +0000

[...] and mind meld them with what others working upstream of the build phase are thinking. For example, Stephen Gracey’s approaches content modelling from the strategists perspective. Again, an interesting [...]

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by Cleve

Cleve — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:50:43 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with your article. It’s great.

As you allude to, the content model evolves, starting high level with content type data that content owners care about, down to ones that techies are interested in. Ongoing, you do have to maintain these models for these different audiences and the tricky part is keeping them in sync.

You have touched upon something here that I’m very passionate about and given me the necessary ‘kick up the ass’ to write about.

Comment on Content strategy is an act of love by Martine Lafleur

Martine Lafleur — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:45:25 +0000

You have put the right words on a passion I have and had yet fond the right perspective to present it! Thank you! My background is history, I am a manager of an electronic communications department for a business school in Montréal and soon to be student in information science!

Comment on Content strategy is an act of love by Annette Hexelschneider

Annette Hexelschneider — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:17:52 +0000

It is the perfect love! You love yourself – your own curiosity, you love others – via your passion to serve the information needs of the ones who want to disseminate and the ones who want to know & learn, you love the stuff – words/information/knowledge/the world. And even better: this never ever ends!!

And after years of doing so (printing firm, publishing house, knowledge & information management, blogging,…) I now found through you a title for this – which I really love
Thank you.

Annette

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by The Content Strategy Noob » Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types « Predicate LLC

Sat, 02 May 2009 22:38:10 +0000

[...] via The Content Strategy Noob » Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types. [...]

Comment on The Definitive Guide to Content Strategy for the Complete Noob by rsgracey

rsgracey — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:55:27 +0000

Fixed. Sorry!

Comment on The Definitive Guide to Content Strategy for the Complete Noob by Kristina Halvorson

Kristina Halvorson — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:23:21 +0000

Hey, that’s @halvorson to you, buddy. No “e”!

Everyone does that. I should change my last name to Smith. Or Jones. Or Noob.

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by Kristina Halvorson

Kristina Halvorson — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:21:48 +0000

Hey, let me know when your revision hits. I have a section in my book where I’d like to quote this post! (with your permission, of course)

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by rsgracey

rsgracey — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:08:57 +0000

Quite right. Given the interest in this article, I imagine there will be a significant revision coming up to incorporate all these great contributions! Thanks so much!

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by Dave

Dave — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:49:24 +0000

Favorite cooking site – each recipe isn’t a content type – each recipe is an instance of a recipe content type, or a recipe content item – if you’ve done a good job of modeling a recipe – right?

Comment on Content strategy is an act of love by rsgracey

rsgracey — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:20:05 +0000

Finding the right profession is a matter of discovering one's vocation. I really, really liked The Soul's Code, by James Hillman. Thanks for reading, Seamus!

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by David Hobbs

David Hobbs — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:37:27 +0000

Thanks for the useful post. I would add:

5. Content types facilitate content re-use and content aggregation

This point is related to your last section on content modeling, and I think content re-use is a key reason for clear content modeling.

Comment on Content strategy is an act of love by seamus walsh

seamus walsh — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:31:28 +0000

My father taught me early on to be happy you have to have passion for what you do. You are blessed that that you have found what you are passionate about. We are the lucky ones, there are many who wake up each day dreading what they do. I know, for a long time I was one of them. I am truly a noob in strategy, but have been using the content side to pursue my passions.

Comment on Content Typology: Getting a Handle on Your Content Types by seamus walsh

seamus walsh — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:59:05 +0000

Good post, may I suggest that you call the elements of number one, 1. “Content types specify the basic elements” a content format instead it might be easier to manage.