Content Insights

The New Google Knowledge Graph

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:13:11 GMT

If you’ve done a Google search since May 16 (who hasn't?), then you might have seen some new content with your search results. What is that about? Well, Google has launched a feature called Knowledge Graph to provide quick, bite-size pieces of content about selected topics. Google has culled tidbits from public sources, like Wikipedia, and compiled these facts to provide summaries, right on a results page. So, you might not have to click beyond search results to find fast answers to your basic questions...or will you?

Let’s Give It a Whirl

If you do a quick search for a popular person, place or thing, just see what comes up. (Keep in mind that not every search will reveal Knowledge Graph results....only search results for popular or well-known items.) I searched for one of the most loved actors of all time—Humphrey Bogart. Here are the results:

Take a look at right side of the results page. Depending on your query, you might see an image, a very brief summary, basic stats, and related topics. In addition to the basics about the actor, I also learned that Bogey was born on the last Christmas of the 19th Century. Who knew? Plus, I could dig further by clicking on links to some of his most popular titles or costars.

So, What's the Point?

Most of us want quick, easy delivery of content with less clicking, and that’s where Knowledge Graph comes in. Searching can require much cognitive work. This is especially true if you are searching for content on an unfamiliar topic or are sorting through results from unfamiliar sources. Let’s see how Google intends for Knowledge Graph to improve search. Amit Singhal, SVP of Engineering at Google, lists these three enhancements:

Find the right thing - Knowledge Graph is a huge help when you put in a query with multiple meanings. For example, if you enter “JFK," you could be looking for the airport, the President or the movie. Rather than sift through the results on the left or enter a new query, now you get a quick snapshot and links for more content about each.
Get the best summary – Knowledge Graph serves up quick, pertinent content. The results displayed from your query are based on the most common searches for that topic, so you know it’s not random. It very well could be exactly what you are looking for.
Go deeper and broader – Knowledge Graph serves up popular connections much like Amazon would offer “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought”-type recommendations. This related content may not be exactly what you searched for, but there’s a high likelihood that it’s of interest to you. This can open up new possibilities that you didn’t even know were out there.

It’s All About Relationships

Google’s Knowledge Graph reminds me of the computer Watson, built by IBM to answer questions asked in regular language. (If you are a Jeopardy fan, maybe you saw the computer compete on the show.) Put simply, Watson analyzes data and makes decisions like a person. When Watson is asked a question, it breaks the question down into keywords and phrases and then searches within its own stored knowledge for the answer. Millions of bits of data culled from encyclopedias, databases, articles and so on live in Watson’s “brain." The computer is able to analyze all the corresponding data and make decisions about their relevance to the question, just like we would. In the end, Watson usually comes up with the correct answer.

Like Watson, Knowledge Graph looks for answers and builds meaning much like human thought processes. Google’s Singhal explains that Knowledge Graph “understands real-world entities and their relationships to one another: things, not strings.” It creates relationships between words and facts in the same way people understand and build knowledge. These connections make search simpler and allow us to fill in between the lines and add shades of meaning to results.

Now, the BAD and the GOOD

Knowledge Graph will completely change how people search and interact with results, in both good and potentially bad ways. How this will affect our content and search strategies remains to be seen, but here are some of the pros and cons.

The Potentially Bad News

Knowledge Graph will completely change how people search and interact with results. It’s already hard enough for users to find and click on our links. With Knowledge Graph, clicking on links will become less necessary. The simple summaries of content may keep users from going to our sites for those same facts.

Also, Google has more control over the content we see. While it does bubble up the most popular info and may induce some clicks to related content, this new search feature makes Google prominent as a source of content, overshadowing other sources. Google has already been in a Senate antitrust hearing for using their search prominence to promote their own businesses and interests over competitors.

Now the Good News...

Knowledge Graph makes it easier for the web to spin off countless paths of discovery between nodes of content. Like the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, you can link quickly from one related topic to the next and grow your knowledge organically and, most importantly, quickly. Look up an author and discover new titles. Look up a band and see tour dates. Look up a city and see points of interest.

Also, consider how this has an impact on mobile search. On the go, you want just the highlights and most pertinent content, with the fewest clicks. Google has launched Knowledge Graph views on smartphones and tablets so you can do just that. The resulting content may appear in a truncated form based on your screen size, but it does appear. You then can navigate to a detail page with the full Knowledge Graph content.

The Knowledge Graph feature also shows alternate links for vague search terms on tablets and smartphones. In the following example, I searched for St. Andrews, which could be many things. In the search results, I can choose from a New York restaurant, the university or the city.

Content Strategy for a Redesign

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

We're living in a crazy but exciting time for digital. Sooner or later, you will face a redesign. When your platforms become outdated, your user or customer neeeds change drastically, or your organization has new goals, a redesign will make sense. (But, please, don't redesign for the sake of redesigning, as Lou Rosenfeld points out.)

Content strategy is an essential part of a redesign. That's why I was delighted when Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief at Smashing Media, invited me to contribute a chapter to their new book about redesign. Here's a small excerpt from the chapter:

1B. Context Really Is Everything

Context basically means your situation. To examine your context is to consider all of the important influences, from your goals to your users’ wants and needs. A great content strategy balances these influences well. Let’s take a closer look at the elements of context.

What Are Your Redesign Goals?

Hopefully, your redesign goal goes beyond developing a more attractive website. What are you trying to accomplish most? Here are a few typical examples of goals for a redesign:

Improve the user experience and, in turn, improve a metric, such as conversions.
Change or update the brand to attract and engage the right users.
Integrate more social and content marketing elements, such as a blog, reviews and links to social channels.
Implement a new platform or content management system to make managing and updating the content easier.
Make the website responsive to mobile devices.

Your goals might be completely different, and that’s OK. The point is that you need to have a firm grasp of what you’re trying to achieve so that you can make smart decisions about the content. For example, if your main goal is to change or update the brand, then a priority for your content would be to create a tone and style for the content that matches the tone and style of the design.

Who Are Your Users, and What Content Do They Use, Need or Want?

The design research about your users will be handy for your content. Hopefully you will already have a grasp of your users’ interests, roles, and goals. If you have personas that describe major user groups, then you can add content considerations to those personas. I typically add answers to these questions:

What tasks are users trying to do, and what content will support those tasks?
What decisions are users researching, and what content will help them decide?

For example, my company once worked with a university’s college of business to make the content about its three MBA programs less confusing and more compelling. We helped the college discuss and write down the following:

Who are the users (in this case, they were different types of prospective students)?
What content do those users need to decide between the three programs?

Seasoned managers, for example, need different content in order to choose an executive MBA program than twenty-somethings need to choose a full-time MBA program. While this university had a vague sense of the difference, the exercise of thinking through the users’ needs helped it decide what content to cut, keep, and add. To verify, correct and expand what you know about your users, look at the data.

Look at Your User Data
Take a gander at any performance data you have, such as:

Analytics (for example, what content people view);
Emails and calls from users;
Comments on your blog and/or social channels;
Survey results.

You are looking for any signs of the following:

Content and tones that users like, find useful or respond to well;
Content that users don’t understand or think is missing.

Don’t Have Much User Data? Gather Some With Quick Testing
If you don’t have much data about your users, then at least do some quick testing on your current website. Ask at least five people to visit the website and answer questions like the following. Pick the ones that make the most sense for your situation.

What does this organization do?
What is this product or service?
What is your impression of this company or product? How would you describe it?

Observe what they do, and listen to what they say. You’ll quickly get a feel for whether the content helps users answer those basic questions.

WANT MORE THAN A SAMPLE?

So, the above sample gives you a taste of how complex the content issues for a redesign can be. To help guide you through the complexity, the full chapter about content strategy goes through six major steps for a redesign, from planning to implementation. The entire Smashing Book 3 1/3 includes chapters from top designers and developers, offering a complete perspective on redesign. For more about getting your hands on this handy resource, check out the Smashing Media website.

Let’s Get Meta

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

During recent interviews for Phase 2 of our Content & Credibility Study, we have been asking people what web content they find credible and why. As part of that process, I have observed many people’s opinions of search results listings and what makes a result click-worthy. It’s made me think about the importance of a certain content element – the meta description. During our testing, I’ve seen just how important this information is in the decision-making process as users scan search results.

What Is a Meta Description?

The all-important search results listing, or “snippet” in Google speak, is made up of roughly 155 characters of descriptive text that tells users what content is on a page and how it meets their search query. The information displayed in the results listing is created to best match the user’s search terms and can be pulled from a variety of sources, including the meta description. (Other sources could be the Open Directory Project or content from the page itself.) Here's an example of a search result for Content Science. The meta description is displayed under the URL and file format information.

The word “meta” means self-referential, and that’s exactly what a meta description is. This descriptive text is meant to explain exactly what a user will find on a page. It’s the content strategist’s chance to summarize and advertise their content to draw users in. There are no specific rules for when a search engine will use your page’s meta description and when it won’t, but you can craft a useful and usable snippet that brings more visibility to your content. Also, meta descriptions do not influence your search results ranking, but they do make help make your page more relevant.

#1 - Make sure every page of your site has a meta description.

Ok, so that sounds like a no-brainer, but it definitely needs to be part of your strategy when planning content production. Otherwise, you could easily overlook this content element.

#2 - Give each page a unique description.

Using similar descriptions for every page of a site isn’t helpful. Create relevance for each page by explaining what is unique about its content.

#3 - Maintain a consistent style for all the pages of a site.

When writing the content for a site, you would obviously use a style that is consistent throughout. Treat meta descriptions with the same care, and maintain a strategy across all pages.

#4 - Write high-quality descriptions with keywords in mind.

Again, you can put that in the no-brainer category. But, I'm seeing a lot of sites get this wrong. Keep in mind that your descriptions need to be accurate and carefully crafted. Use targeted keywords, be relevant and persuade the user to click.

#5 - Use variations of targeted keywords but avoid keyword stuffing.

You can use analytics to find terms to focus on, but don't overuse them in your description. That can just muddy the waters and not provide enough useful information to the user.

#6 - Choose a format based on the page’s content.

Keep in mind that sentences aren’t only the format for meta descriptions. You can label and separate distinct bits of information that the user would find useful. For example, on a product page, you could include “ Price: $1.99, Category: Widgets, Manufacturer: Acme."

DON’T FORGET THE TITLE

Another important piece of meta data is the page title. Many of the how-tos for meta descriptions also apply here.

Make sure every page has a unique, descriptive title.
Don’t be vague, using terms like “Home” as a page title. Make each title descriptive but concise so they can do their job.
Use a consistent style in your naming conventions. Note that this is not the same as being repetitive. Using the same phrase over and over can look odd if many pages from your site turn up in the same set of search results.
Stay away from keyword stuffing.

Conclusion

With our recent observations of how people use and evaluate web content, it's clear to me that many sites are getting even basic metadata wrong. The art of the meta description and the page title is critical to implementing your content strategy well. It's a simple way to make your content findable. If you don't plan for even basic metadata, you may be creating the greatest content in the world that no one will discover.

If Your Content Isn't Memorable, Does It Exist?

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Years ago, I attended a lecture at UNC-Chapel Hill where the featured speaker was Noble Prize winner, James D. Watson. He told the story of how a textbook and a chance encounter led him to a historic scientific discovery.

I remember the date of his discovery well. It was February 27, 1953 and he was very close to solving a long-standing scientific riddle. An error in his nucleic acid textbook had him running in circles to place hydrogen atoms in the right order. Then, by sheer luck, a visiting professor from Caltech pointed out to Watson the textbook he was reading was wrong, and a day later Watson discovered the structure of DNA is a double helix.

The major and minor details of this lecture are still with me today, locked in my memory alongside my old phone numbers, and a definition of osmosis (diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane) that I learned in the 9th grade.

After 9 years the information is still as fresh as the day I heard it for the first time. Why is that? Why did this lecture stand out among all of the other lectures I can hardly remember?

The reasons are clear and so important for those of us who plan for and create content: the information was delivered in a story, I had a deep and emotional connection to the story, and I’ve replayed this good memory again and again over the last 9 years so it has become repetitive, almost a habit.

That experience got me thinking about the neurologic techniques of creating memorable content. Here's a taste of what I've been applying to our work lately.

why our brains don't remember everything

Substantial research tells us how memories are formed in the brain and how this applies to content. One of my favorite insights right now lies in an oldie but goodie blog post from Kathy Sierra.

In it, she explains the research by another Nobel Prize winner, Eric Kandel. He explains that a “switch must be thrown” to convert a memory from short-term to long-term storage. And we all want our brilliant content to reach the long-term memory for our readers, right? Well, our brains don't necessarily make that easy. Our brains contain a protein called CREB-1, the essential component for throwing the switch. However, CREB-2 guards the switch to prevent long-term memory overload. Without the CREB-2 protein, we'd remember everything we read the first time we read it. That’s good for exams but overwhelming for day-to-day life.

So if we can’t suppress our reader's brain chemistry to make content memorable, what other brainy techniques are available?

techniques to make content memorable

Content Chunking

If you haven’t read, Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish, or haven’t read it in a while, I highly recommend the section on chunking. What is chunking? By grouping information into small, manageable units, a reader can retain the information longer. And it makes content easier to scan as well. While there are many examples of content chunking on the web, this article is also one of them. Were you able to scan the content and gain a high-level understanding of its direction? I also used one of the more common characteristics of chunking to enhance your working memory more effectively by limiting the number of techniques in this article to no more than 5. Studies show that users remember content more if they're not inundated with too much information. This is where the 7 +/- 2 and the 4 +/- 2 rules apply to not only designing for memory, but content as well. I see these rules as a guide and a gut-check before publishing.

We still have to be careful with this technique—it can be a little tricky if applied to the wrong content (i.e. online dictionaries where user needs are a little different).

Reminder + Orienting Content

This technique is used on many different websites, but I’ve found this to be especially true on e-commerce sites. Reminding users of their mission and keeping them engaged on their path to purchase is a tactic that goes all the way back to Jakob Neilsen’s Top Ten Heuristics. He called it, “Recognition over recall” and even though Nielsen was applying this technique to design interface elements it also has an application in content, especially micropcopy. Ginny Redish covers this in her book as well. Layering means putting the most important content on top levels of a digital experience and making supporting content accessible in deeper levels. Recognition rather than recall is about keeping stuff visible and therefore a little more memorable.

Emotional Content

For some companies, the idea of writing with emotion may cause, well, negative emotions. Telling someone they need to write with more emotion can immediately mean to them writing in ALL CAPS, or using more of those dreaded exclamation marks!, and, Heaven-forbid, a little cursing. Writing with emotion does have its place. Our brains are tuned to enjoy surprise, shock, counterintuitive mistakes, and yes, humor.

Humor in Content

If you can make readers laugh, you stand a good chance of making your content memorable. This was the idea behind my Friday the 13th blog post comparing traits of a content strategist to movie monster, Jason Voorhees. Have you noticed both are not easily distracted from their goal? Or, that they are not afraid to get their hands dirty? That’s comedy gold, folks!

An Emerging Technique: Creating Habits in Content

This is a relatively new field for me that I’ll cover more in detail with another blog post. But, after reading Charles Dunhigg’s The Power of Habit, I’m convinced there is a deeper application for creating memorable content using his insights into habits. In the book, Dunhigg explains the habit cycle, which is made up of three components: cue, routine, reward.

Consider the act of brushing your teeth, he writes. We no longer think about putting toothpaste on the brush, scraping the brush across our teeth, and spitting out the paste. The cue is that we want our teeth to feel clean, the routine is what we do to clean them, and the reward is a fresh mouth. As we go through this routine, our brains power down so we don’t have to think about the process as if we’re learning it for the first time—we just do it, out of habit. And that’s where I think the application of content begins with his research. If you can find a way to execute the habit cycle in your writing the payoff is content that is stored in the long-term memory of your readers.

For content to be influential, it most surely has to be memorable. Whether you're ushering users through a shopping cart process, introducing a new product, or explaining a service there are more than a few brain-engaging techniques at your disposal. (You should know, I used a few of these techniques in this blog post!)

Why Should I Care About Content Strategy?

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

If you work in interactive, you might think content strategy isn't your job. Have you ever thought about any questions like these?

How often should you Tweet?
What is our message?
Would a video tell our story more effectively?
For our redesign, what content should we keep and what content should we delete?
What voice is best and what tone is appropriate when?
Which CMS is best for our needs?
Who is going to update our content and when?

If so, then I have to break this to you. Content strategy is part of your job. What to do? Read Content Strategy at Work: Real-world Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project. Margot Bloomstein guides us through the lifecycle and mindset for content strategy. The process begins with defining what you really need to say. It ends with a solid plan, and long-term commitment, for maintaining that content. To illustrate this lifecycle, Bloomstein provides not only approaches from her personal experience but also a range of case studies from non-profits, healthcare, auto, apparel, higher education and many more. That’s a wide variety of budgets, team sizes, and goals. Chances are you'll find many instances in this book that make you say, “Their situation is exactly like ours!”

What I Liked Most About The Book

Whether you know it or not, you're in publishing...you can benefit from content strategy perspectives on your team.

Being a designer and visual content strategist, I appreciated the book’s explanation of the impact of content strategy on a whole team for an entire project. This isn’t a book solely for content strategists. This book enlightens and empowers all members of an interactive team to understand, champion, and, in a pinch practice, content work. Along the way, you'll find answers to big questions like “What’s in it for me?” Having worked for an agency in the past, I can tell you those questions come up a lot. And, sadly, not enough people know the answers, and everyone’s work suffers because of it.

Plus, I can’t help but mention that the book features the wisdom of our own Colleen Jones. See chapter 3 for her useful insights into content audits.

What I Wanted

I would love to have a tangible take-away from this book; an actionable checklist to share with team members, especially project managers. It’s all there in the pages of the book, but I just love a punch list. Content strategy is most often an afterthought, and that’s at best. But, a high-level list of must-haves for content work, similar to the way comps are a must-have for design, planning and budgeting would be easier for agencies.

So, what's the bottom line? Most interactive projects need content strategy, but not everyone on an interactive team knows it. Before your next project, make Content Strategy at Work required reading.

Revving Up Company Culture + Brand Voice

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:07:17 GMT

Recently, I reviewed the article “Highway to Health” about Ford's experimentation with addressing the very different needs of their older and younger customers. So, I was eager to read the New York Times article “As Young Lose Interest in Cars, G.M. Turns to MTV for Help” that discusses similar concerns at General Motors (G.M.) for Chevrolet. Here's the essence of the article and what it means for content.

What I Liked

The article startled me with statistics like these:

In 2008, only 46.3 percent of potential drivers 19 years old and younger in the U.S. had drivers’ licenses, compared with 64.4 percent in 1998.
46 percent of drivers in the U.S. aged 18 to 24 said they would choose Internet access over owning a car.
3,000 consumers born from 1981 to 2000 were asked which of 31 brands they preferred. Not one car brand ranked in the top 10.

Cars don't mean as much to youth anymore. No more dreams of the open road or a new car for your Sweet Sixteen. Freedom no longer means physical mobility. Freedom is virtual mobility. Instead of driving to reach people, young people are connecting with people and content online. They're also living in larger cities and using trains, metros, and busses. Confronted with high gas prices and environmental concerns, cars seem like a necessary evil at best.

While this situation seems like a problem for G.M., it's also an opportunity. It's certainly an opportunity to create new kinds of car, such as Chevy's small and fuel-efficient Sonic, Cruze, and Spark. It's also a chance to kick start G.M.'s brand. So, the auto manufacturer decided to approach MTV Scratch, a unit of Viacom, to tap into the same insights Scratch uses to reach and keep the attention of a younger generation. G.M. quickly realized their new brand voice had to start with a new company culture, a new attitude.

This new attitude will transform everything from the interior design at headquarters to the look and technology of its cars to their dealerships. They have also recruited their own “insurgents,” young Chevrolet employees who are focused on change and report on “skeptical executives." G.M. is even rethinking the test drive because "young consumers find riding in a car with a stranger creepy." (I’m no Millennial, but I have to agree.)

What I Wanted

I admire G.M.’s attempts to embrace and understand their changing market. Not that I would expect the company to reveal the entire strategy, but I wanted to know more. G.M. is doing the hard part, actually walking the walk. They know voice is not simply a marketing agency exercise. But, how are they going to talk the talk? Will they develop new voices for individual youth brands? Is there a social strategy they are adopting? I know none of this happens overnight. The car brand Spark, for example, has a 5-year strategy in place, plus it takes 3 years to bring new car designs to the public. But, the article didn't suggest how G.M.'s cultural changes will make the leap to their public brands and persona.

What This Means for Content

G.M.'s approach of changing its culture to change its voice can inspire any organization. When you develop a personality and tone for your brand, you have to be genuine. These things can’t be faked. If you claim values that you really don’t live by, no one will believe you or take your voice seriously. You even risk disappointing people or making them angry because you don't deliver what your brand promises. And, of course, if you use an inconsistent voice across your store, website, call centers, and other touchpoints with customers, you risk confusing people or simply being forgettable.

In making changes from within first, G.M. will understand and embody a new identity. I'm hopeful the auto maker will then more efficiently, consistently, memorably, and creatively communicate this identity to its changing customers. Rather than apply the brand voice, G.M. could let the voice flow from its culture. Isn't that how it should be?

What My MINI Taught Me About Architecture

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:59:35 GMT

I recently had the distinct pleasure of becoming a MINI Cooper owner.

(That's me looking happy.)

The delightful experience of picking out and getting to know my MINI got me thinking about content architecture in a new way. Architecture connects content strategy and content management. Because architecture isn't visible and might seem dry, it sometimes gets short shrift. Getting the MINI reminded me why architecture deserves more of our attention.

1. Architecture Balances Consistency + Flexibility

You recognize a MINI when you see it. The MINI Cooper size and shape, for example, is consistent across MINI Coopers. And, yet, hardly any two MINIs are exactly alike. How does MINI achieve this paradox? Through clever structure.

MINI offers a unique but simple system of options within that unmistakable MINI size and shape. Color is only the start. You can make the roof and body different colors. Feeling sporty? Add some stripes to the hood or checkered pattern to the mirror. Patriotic? Try some Union Jack or Star Spangled accents. You get the idea. The system of options allows for more than 10 million combinations. You can put your own stamp on your MINI.

Similarly, when you architect your content, you create models, metadata, and more that allow you to combine and recombine content in different ways for different users and mobile devices. You gain flexibility without losing control of your content.

2. Architecture Helps, Not HInders, Creativity

MINI's brilliant system offers just the right amount of creativity. You can put your stamp on the MINI without making a huge mistake. You rarely see a butt-ugly MINI.

If your content is locked in HTML pages, you close the door to options for using that content. Your content is constrained to that page. With architecture, you blast the door to creative possibilities wide open. And, then you can control those possibilities for stakeholders. That's very handy when your organization is big and decentralized. It's also handy when you open up your architecture, such as tagging, to your users.

3. Architecture Means Fun for Your Users

MINI's carefully planned system of options made buying it enjoyable without overwhelming me. And, each day I drive it, I take some delight in the choices that suit me. I love everything from the bronze color to the moon roof.

In the same way, architecture can make planning content more enjoyable and efficient. Content structure also makes experiencing content fun for your users. Check out how taxonomy alone livens things up in this article over at Johnny Holland.

By fostering consistency, flexibility, creativity, and FUN, architecture is anything but dry. Take content architecture out for a test drive.

Would Jason Voorhees Make A Killer Content Strategist?

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Naturally, when I think about a Friday that falls on the 13th I remember the tall, dark, and hangsome villain—Jason Voorhees—of the movie franchise Friday the 13th. The camp-kid with a heavy hand and a nose for trouble isn't just skilled at his work (killing immoral camp-goers to avenge his mother's death), he has an unquestionable work ethic: always on, always killing. It's impressive.

Some of his many talents include surviving: drownings, stabbings, beatings, and even a nasty fall off a wobbly chair—all within the first movie! Over the decades Jason has been known to travel (outer space) and make new friends (a telekinetic ingénue who raised him from the near-dead), but he always has time for his fellow monsters of the silver screen (he beheaded his BFF Freddy Krueger). Aww.

With so many talents, I wonder, why isn't Jason turning his villianous challenges into golden opportunities in this age of digital? Here we evalute Jason's positive characteristics toward a new career as a content strategist:

Hmm. While Jason does have a great many attributes, we're not sure he'd make a killer content strategist. So, he probably shouldn't quit his night job.

My Goodness, My Governance

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Congratulations, you've launched a new approach to content. You took the time to conduct analysis, form a strategy, and plan the right implementation. Now what? You need to keep your approach to content going. Make it sustainable and repeatable, in other words. How do you do that? By putting a system of governance in place.

Get a Glimpse into Content Governance

Governance of web content is a system of

Oversight from digital or content leadership.
Clear roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in content.
Defined process or set of processes to support content.
Guides or documentation to inform oversight, roles, and process.

I find some of the most frustrating challenges for governance lie in oversight. So, let's take a closer look at oversight.

Overcome Oversight Obstacles with Evaluation

Lewis Carroll once said, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." That's exactly what you don't want oversight to become.

Good oversight sets content goals, or the destination, and the course of action. For instance, oversight for a large retailer could decide that content needs to better sell your products and explore whether adding video is worth the investment. But, oversight shouldn't stop there.

Good oversight demands good evaluation. Otherwise, you have a bunch of digital leaders going with their gut. While the gut might lead to some interesting ideas or points of inspiration, the gut shouldn't lead big content decisions. Here's why.

Going with Your Gut Leads to Goose Chases

My friend, Chris, went to Chicago recently with his boss and one of his employees. As they prepared to leave the building, Chris brought up the map on his smartphone and said, "The hotel is two blocks to the right." He stepped in that direction, and then his boss said, "You know, I've lived in Chicago all my life. I know this city like the back of my hand. We need to go this way." And he pointed to the left.

Surprised, Chris thought to himself, "Well, he IS my boss. And, maybe he knows a shortcut or something I don't know. I'll try this way." So the group stepped out and followed Chris' boss.

After two blocks, no hotel was in sight. Chris watched in frustration as the little dot representing his location on his phone move further and further away from the hotel. After two more blocks, no hotel appeared. Six blocks away from the hotel, Chris finally said, "The GPS on my phone still tells me the hotel is this way. I'm going to give that a try. If you want to keep going in this direction, that's fine. I'll catch up with you later."

And after walking more than 10 blocks, Chris finally made it back to his hotel.

Good Content Oversight Leads to a Destination—and Evaluates Progress in Getting There

Today, just as Chris had a phone with a GPS and useful data about his location, we have ways to get valuable data about content. (I wrote about them in two chapters of Clout.) The exciting thing is that the data, when used wisely, can tell us not only whether we met our goal but also whether we're making progress. Think about that for a moment. How powerful is it to know whether you're on course or not? That means you have the power to change course, if you need to, and still get to your destination. You can make corrections before it's too late. That's powerful.

Content Evaluation + Emotion

Now, you might think, "evaluating content sounds awfully analytical." I disagree. One of the best benefits to evaluating content is emotional. When Chris' boss led him on a wild goose chase around Chicago with no end in sight, Chris was about to crawl out of his skin in frustration. What happens when we can't tell whether we're making progress? We get discouraged and lose motivation. But, when we see we're making progress, we're motivated to change course (and get back on track) or to keep going. With content, reaching our goals usually takes quite a bit of time. Results don't happen overnight. So, evaluating content keeps us motivated until we reach our destination.

So, as you establish a system of content governance, make good evaluation part of your content oversight. This approach will avoid wild goose chases, result in better content decisions, and create positive momentum. Content isn't easy, so we need all the positive momentum we can get.

Research Methods You Can Really Use

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:55:56 GMT

Planning an innovative or effective digital experience today usually demands research and analysis. But, how do you figure out which methods to use? A new book, Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions, has the answer. One of the book's authors, Bella Martin (pictured right), recently took time away from her work at Delta to answer some of my questions about this handy resource.

Tell us, why did you decide to put together a book showcasing design research methods?

My co-author Bruce Hanington (a professor at Carnegie Mellon's School of Design) and I worked together on my thesis project, titled "Visualizing Research Methods" back in 2003-2004. With Bruce's guidance, I investigated whether design teams seeing descriptions of new research methods made those teams more confident in using them.

After that project, Bruce and I would always hint at resurrecting it because we felt we were onto an idea that was really simple but had a lot of impact. So, not only did the idea stay with us, but we found ourselves repeatedly responding to our colleagues who would send us descriptions of a design problem and ask for advice on which research method to use. Over the years we amassed a pretty sizable set of seminal research papers and books that we would point people to again and again, and we thought it was time to share that information on a larger scale. The information was out there, and the book just gave us a chance to take all of it and present it in a new, more visual, way

For those who aren't familiar with the Rockport series, what is the approach and why is it handy?

Rockport's Essentials series are beautiful books that were written and designed primarily to be visual…in the words of the editors there, they want their books to "show as much as they tell." The other books in the series use the same "100 principles" format that we do, such as Universal Principles of Design (one of my favorite books).

In each of these books, each principle takes up only one or two pages, with the visual and the verbal elements working hand-in-hand to illuminate the ideas presented. The books are great because each creates a feeling of "looking over the shoulder" at the processes and techniques being used by design teams around the world.

The audience for Rockport books are usually practitioners and students…the people who are doing the day-by-day effort, don't have time to read arcane and long-winded books, and who need references that provide both fresh ideas and techniques that help them to hone their skills.

I was delighted that you included methods for researching content. Why did you decide to include them?

More and more interactive teams and project stakeholders are waking up to the fact that design work cannot be teased apart from content work. Although it is likely people will react to the visual components of our products and services first, the reason they stay and that they return is going to be based on the content that you have made available, and whether it helps them, informs them, entertains them…and does so repeatedly.

Digital teams and project stakeholders can get in front of this challenge by making the content the focus of reviews and studies with the intended users or audiences. Methods of evaluating content—such as the example that your team at Content Science provided to visualize what the content is doing—can help interactive teams better plan for content.

Which method have you used recently? Could you tell us a little bit about how you used it?

I have a project that is just kicking off, and the team needs to review wish list items and prioritize them in a way that supports the business goals. I'm going to facilitate a few sessions using the Kano Analysis and the Weighted Matrix to help make decisions about the order in which we tackle each design request. I love using these methods as they take the guess work and individual preferences out of the mix…a much smarter way to work.

To learn more about or buy the book, visit Amazon.com.

Keep Rhetoric in the Persuasive Mix

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:29:13 GMT

This very short post appeared on my personal blog. I've had a few requests for it, and Erin Kissane kindly quoted it in The Elements of Content Strategy. (If you haven't read that book, give yourself a treat and do so right away.)

I recently read the book Neuro Web Design. Useful? Yes. Clear explanation of psychology in persuasive websites? Yes. All you need to know about persuasive websites? No. And that's okay—even good.

You see, I'm wary of even the teeniest implication that there is a psychological formula for persuasion. If it were that easy, we could mold influential websites (or any persuasive interactive experience, for that matter) from a persuasion cookie cutter.

I don't deny that cognitive psychology yields helpful insights. But when it comes to persuasion and influence, other fields do, too.

Among the fields I'd like to see explored further is rhetoric. Why? Because a huge part of what influences us on a website is content. And a key ingredient of website content is language. Rhetoric is the study of using language to persuade or influence. It's been around since Aristotle. How can we ignore rhetoric—the persuasive use of words—as we try to make our word-filled websites persuasive? That would be like trying to bake a delicious cake with no understanding of flour, milk, or chocolate.

So, let's keep rhetoric in the mix of knowledge and techniques we use for compelling digital experiences.

Properly Preparing Your Pinterest Presence

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

By now you’ve heard of Pinterest, the virtual pinboard that lets you share and organize images on the web. You may also have read various articles on Pinterest’s policies that have recently come under fire and prompted the company to rewrite their Terms & Privacy statement. (It goes into effect April 6, 2012.)

There’s still a great many unknowns about Pinterest’s value to individuals, companies, and industries. One area that is largely unaddressed is the process of ensuring your website is pinnable, meaning: your is site chocked full of images or video that can be detected and bookmarked on Pinterest.com.

Particular web technologies and programming best practices are now barriers to join the Pinterest party. It's like knowing where the party is located, but having no way to get there. So, how do you know if your website content is ready to party with Pinterest?

Here are some lessons I learned while evaluating Content-Science.com to see if we have a Pinterest-friendly website.

#1 - Getting Ready to Pin

If you’re not familiar with the “Pin It” button, Pinterest provides a free Bookmark to add to your browser’s Bookmark Bar. You can get a tutorial of how to do this here. It makes pinning and testing your website a little faster.

Now, go to your website’s homepage or any webpage you want to test for pinnability (I’ll be making up new pintastic words a lot in this article, so bear with me). Click the Pin It button you just installed. What do you see? Did the process detect images for pinning? Here is what I see on an interior page of our website:

When you see images after this process, you know you’ve got pinnable content. Congrats! But what if you don't? Party foul.

#2 - When Your Content Isn't Ready To Party

A test of our homepage for pinnability was not as successful. When images are not detected you’ll see something like this:

The Pin It button technology didn’t find an image on our homepage, even though I can clearly see we have images on that page. We don’t display video on that page, so we weren’t concerned video content wasn’t detected in the error message.

Why is our homepage visual content not pinnable? This reminds me of a mullet hairstyle: all business in the front, party in the back. Our interior pages with images are pinnable, so that's where the party really is happening.

#3 - CSS Background Images Are Not Pinnable

After further inspection, I see our logo and other homepage images are programmed using CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) background images. We use CSS background images for a consistent UI or user interface. This is a useful best practice for constructing websites, but now it seems to be a challenge as it hides data required for pinning.

At the heart of Pinterest’s pinning technology is a process they use to crawl a webpage for images. How does the process detect images? It looks for the "" tag and a known graphic file extension, such as .png, .jpg, and .gif. Once these two data points come together, the pinning system isolates all available images into an interstitial page for you to select and then pin.

Fortunately, most pages on our website display images that are detectable, but the homepage is not. We’re in the process of adding back in the" " tags for images we want to allow for pinning.

After this exercise, I started to wonder about other websites that might have similar challenges for pinning on Pinterest.

#4 - Flash Content Cannot Be Pinned

While flash websites and flash modules can be useful for online engagement, they are not pinnable. Big consumer brands like The Coca-Cola Company love to implement flash websites for engagement, and at one time, MyCokeRewards.com was all flash. This meant their content wasn’t pinnable at all. Even now, their homepage doesn’t allow users to pin anything more than their logo. It’s a start, but it could be a missed opportunity (and expensive) should they decide to participate on Pinterest later.

Another Coca-Cola website is Sprite.com, which sports a nifty ‘90s-style flash intro. Do you think it will be pinnable?

If you said, “No” then you are correct. Sprite's flash intro isn't going to the Pinterest party any time soon.

Implications For The FuturE

The popularity of Pinterest as a social channel is driving new online opportunities, but it's also driving companies—like ours—to take a second look at our past choices for programming methods. I imagine we're not alone. I also imagine it will get expensive to re-engineer large flash websites, taking us back to the day when less dynamic sites ruled the world wide web.

Don't get caught with an invitation to the hottest party in town but no way to get there. Once you've decided the Pinterest party is worth attending, use the lessons and steps listed above to evalute your website's readiness.

Communicating Without Words

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Content isn't just text. It's visual assets such as photos, graphics, and video, too. When developing your content strategy, consider how to best use your visual assets.

What do I mean? Well, let's look at a few examples from our recent work with Equifax.

IMAGES

Emphasize + Educate

Before we worked with Equifax, their product pages used stock photos of people. Besides looking generic, pictures of people can actually work against you if you're trying to relate to a very large and diverse group of future customers. If I come to a page that shows a middle-aged man, I won't relate to it as well as a page with no photo.

So, we advised using images of the product (below) so that future customers can

Understand what they're buying.
See how easy the product is to use and imagine themselves using it.
Feel confident about the quality and value.

Don't Distract

Sometimes removing images, rather than using them, can be more effective. See the before (left) and after (right) of the Product Comparison page below. We recommended a layout to make the differences between products clear and compelling, even at a glance.

VIDEO

Video grabs attention and can convey For products, video is ideal for showing how the product works. This content format helps potential customers understand what they're getting and imagine themselves using it. If your product is new or intangible, such as Equifax's digital products, video can be a godsend. (Below are a few stills from an Equifax product video.)

TEXT FORMAT

Even with text, you still need a visual strategy. Consider techniques like these to make your text easy for customers to scan and reference.

Use bulleted lists to explain benefits and address concerns in a scannable way.
Consider tables for comparing products and their benefits.
Call out the main benefit/differentiator of each product in a large simple label. ("Don't bury the headline," as they say in journalism.)

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Your visual content can make or break your content strategy. Take time to plan for it wisely.

The Product You Didn't Know Was There

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:13:11 GMT

If I had to describe the past 5 years of my career in one word, I'd say variety. Nothing keeps my geek juices flowing better than consulting with a government agency one month, a large corporation the next, and a startup the next. Why? Because my brain has to adapt quickly. So, I see patterns that aren't obvious to me otherwise. (The patterns help me shift from context to another.) One pattern I've noticed is that just about everyone offers a product. But, not everyone knows it.

Yes, Even You Offer a Product

A product is a good, service, or idea for a market. Let's take a university, for example. Does a university offer a product? You might be thinking no. I'm convinced the answer is yes. Hear me out for just a moment. The product is education, and it commonly takes form as a degree program. The exact products and their features might vary for different universities. For example, University of Georgia offers 3 types of MBA programs, while Georgia State University offers 4 MBA programs.

The same goes for nonprofits, foundations, institutions, and government agencies. Consider, for example, that one important product that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers is information that helps the public protect its health in general and in times of emergency. You're probably most familiar with it in the form of CDC.gov.

How a Product View Can Help Your UX + Content Strategy

If you see that you have a product, you'll plan the strategy for your web and mobile sites differently. You'll make the experience with and content for that product better. You'll stop seeing your web and mobile sites as digital filing cabinets that store information about your organization. Instead, you'll see that your web or mobile site needs to lead people on a journey to understand and act on your product. Your site will need to help people

Become aware of your product and its benefits.
Understand what makes your product different, unique, or better.
Research the details about your product.
Compare your product to others you offer.
Take action about the product (subscribe, learn more, share, buy, donate, apply, visit, or something else).

I could talk all day about this, but let me share a quick example of helping people with 2. CDC recently changed the tagline on CDC.gov. Here is the old tagline:

Your Online Source of Credible Health Information

It's vague, isn't it? It doesn't distinguish CDC.gov from other credible sources of health information. The new tagline takes a different approach.

CDC 24/7: Saving Lives. Protecting People. Saving Money through Prevention

This tagline better conveys what makes CDC.gov different from WebMD and other credible sources of health information.

So, that's just the start. Once you have this view, you can adjust it to suit your product.

Adjust the Product View

What if you're offering a product, such as an MBA program, that requires people to commit much time and money? People will research it for a long time, right? So, you'll want to give people a few different actions along the journey of their research. An MBA program could offer the option to sign up for an in-person seminar before applying, for instance. By giving appropriate ways to act along their research journey, you grow people's commitment to your product before they make their final decision.

So, if you think your organization doesn't offer a product, think again. Your web or mobile site is more than a digital filing cabinet. A product view can help you plan a more complete and compelling strategy for your web or mobile site.

Product Content Works Hard (+ Smart) For The Money

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Product content is some of the hardest working content online. It has to tell a consumer what the product does, what it doesn’t do, how much it costs, who should buy it, and so much more. This is true for any company because most customers do their shopping research online. In fact, at Atlanta Content Strategy last week, content strategist Katie Riddle explained how important product content is to Target.com's online sales.

But, it's especially true for companies whose products are purely digital and available only online. For them, product content on the web is essentially their advertising, packaging, marketing, and sales—combined. Product content often is the difference between making a sale or not.

Take, for example, Equifax, which offers several digital products to help consumers monitor their credit. Equifax had a thorough list of features for each of their products. They came to us wondering, "Is this enough? Can we make this content work smarter?" So, we advised them on ways to make their product content

Convey the value of Equifax and each of its consumer products in terms anyone can easily understand.
Provide the right amount of detail at the right time.
Be consistent, but not redundant or repetitious, as customers decide whether to buy the products.
Help people choose the right product for their needs.
Use video and imagery effectively.
Comply consistently with legal requirements.
Boost sales.

Equifax recognized that product content was too important to maintain as simply a list of features. Done well, product content can lead people effortlessly from researching products to comparing products to purchasing the right product. Failing to do this can be the difference between a sale for Equifax or a sale for a competitor.

To paraphrase disco queen Donna Summer, product content works hard for your money. Are you treating it right? Do you have a strategy for your product content? Is it working? Is there opportunity to improve it?

To get a sense of how we helped Equifax answer those questions, check out this case study and some examples.

Read our full Equifax case study >

Visit the new Equifax Product Comparison Page >

Check out the first Equifax product to use our new thinking:
Equifax Complete^TM Family Plan >

Yes, Virginia, There Really Is Content Strategy

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:02:22 GMT

A Note from Content Science: The views of Colleen Jones don't aren't necessarily the views of everyone here. Enjoy...

Q: Dear Colleen,
I am ~~twenty-something~~ thirty-something years old. Some of my friends and colleagues are saying there is no such thing as content strategy, even though I've been doing it. Be straight with me. Is there really such a thing?

A: Virginia, your friends and colleagues are wrong. They have become skeptics in a skeptical age. Just because we can't always see content strategy, doesn't mean it isn't there.

Before I explain, first, let me say "I'm sorry" for answering you late. You see, I've been busy with conducting a study about this very thing that some people say doesn't exist. With the spirits-induced miracle that is St. Patrick's Day around the corner, I thought my answer now would be better than never.

The Motivation for naysaying

Virginia, let's look at why people would say content strategy doesn't exist. When people (especially people who know the magic of search keywords) say they don't believe in content strategy, it's like Lindsay Lohan saying she does believe in being sober. No one really buys it, but she's more than happy to soak up all the attention while saying it. It's a mostly false controversy to seek a small pot of gold. Take it with a grain of salt (or a splash of Jameson).

While we're talking about this topic, though, let's revisit why content strategy is real.

The Logical Argument for Content Strategy

Content strategy gets results. You might not see the strategy, but you see its consequences. It's like you don't see Santa Claus, only the gifts he leaves behind. Or, better yet, you don't see gravity, you only feel the result—its weight (especially when you try dragging a pot of gold from under a rainbow).

More often than not, content strategy leads to results that seem like miracles or a strong dose of Irish luck. Content becomes easier to find, easier to consume, more relevant, and more influential. Consequently, organizations save time and money and often see an uptake in revenue. (I'm pretty sure content strategy causes rainbows, too.)

Plus, let's be practical here. Isn't "gravity" easier to say than "that force that seems to hold me and everything around me down on earth instead of floating like a speck of space dust?" In the same way, isn't "content strategy" easier to drop in conversation than "making content easier to find, easier to use, more relevant, and more influential so that it saves you time and money, reduces your risk of getting sued, improves your productivity, or boosts your reach, reputation, and revenue?"

(Also, check out the smart argument by Karen McGrane here.) But, there's more than logic at stake here.

The Spirit of Any Strategy

Content strategy does get results. But, Virginia, can you focus only on the results as you plan or advocate for your strategy? No. Look at the commercialization of Christmas, for example. The spirit of Christmas is generosity. The result is we give each other gifts. When we focus on the result, the gifts, and forget the giving spirit, we have an empty shell of a holiday. We lose perspective on its value, and we can't sustain the holiday year in and year out. I know plenty of people who have stopped giving gifts altogether or go on vacations to escape.

It's kind of like this gentlemen who left Goldman Sachs because he thinks they're exploiting the result of their strategy, profit off their clients' investments, at the expense of the spirit of their strategy, investing wisely for their clients' best interests—and keeping those clients for a long time.

In a similar way, when we talk about only the results of a content strategy and not the spirit, our employers, clients, and colleagues lose sight of the strategy's value. And, we make the strategy harder to sustain or repeat.

Is There Only One True Content Strategy?

So, content strategy exists. But, you might wonder, "is there only on way of doing it?" No. There are many ways of doing content strategy. And, you have to adjust your approach for different situations, such as for mobile or a redesign or for marketing or for media.

Content strategy is alive and well. Keep doing content strategy, Virginia. Be enthusiastic but not naive. Talk about it but don't give away your pot of gold, the special way you do content strategy. People with small hearts and even smaller minds will be more than happy to take it.

I hear something ringing, which is my cue to go. No, it's not the jingle of sleigh bells on the roof or the jangle of gold in a leprechaun's pot. It's the clink of ice cubes in my otherwise empty glass! I need to refill my Jameson.

Any attempts to give a nod to this classic are purely intentional.

3 Stories to Tell from Our Content + Credibility Data

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Over the past week, we've shared the main plot line from our study's first report. People are turning constantly to web content for help with everything from understanding a health condition to picking out shoes. (I admit, sometimes, shoes are a life-and-death decision.) But, people feel they can't count on that web content. It's a tale of great—but so far disappointed—expectations. (Need a recap? Get the highlights here.)

As with any worthwhile narrative, subplots weave and weave again. It's no different with this report. These tales just happen to be told in numbers, a language vital to science, technology, and business. While I can't share the numbers with you here (my team and I worked too hard for me to give them away), I can give you a glimpse into the stories they tell:

#1 - THE GREAT SUSPENSE

Will Health + Finance Web Content Save the Day?

Our report finds people in both the U.S. and U.K. want credible web content to help them with high-stakes decisions about their health and their finances. They're looking for web content to be a hero or a sage...or maybe a little of both. And, they're not simply looking to the media for this web content. We discovered people in both markets want companies or brands, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and other non-media sources to be heroes, too. Will these potential sources of content step up? That leads us to the next story...

#2 - COMING-OF-AGE, TOGETHER

Brands + Other Non-Media Sources Are Wet Around the Ears. Will They Learn + Mature?

Here's a twist. We asked people to judge the credibility of web content examples. What web content examples? Examples from mainstream media (such as CNN) and from non-media sources (such as government agencies and companies). Even though people told us they wanted to hear from non-media sources, they judged the credibility of media sources higher. Brands, government agencies, and other non-media sources of content are still not creating and delivering content in a credible way.

#3 - A GLOBAL ADVENTURE

People of Different Markets + Ages Judge Web Content Credibility Differently. Will You Adapt?

Our data revealed some important variations in how people in the U.S.and the U.K. judge web content credibility. For example, content from a personality fared well with the Brits but not with the Americans. Age also affected how people view content credibility. To make these nuances work for you, not against you, test the credibility of your web content with the people you're trying to reach.

While these narratives verge on being tragedies, they don't have to be. These stories can turn into epic triumphs by improving both your strategy for and execution of web content. We've turned content around for clients large and small. We've seen some organizations turn it around for themselves. The content comeback IS possible. To help you make the comeback happen, our report offers clear recommendations.

Find out the rest of these stories and more in our report, Content + Credibility Study: Phase 1 Findings >

Designing the Content + Credibility Report

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:16:05 GMT

Our recent Content + Credibility Study focuses on the perception of web content. Being a designer, I was very curious about the outcome of the study because we all know design is the most important and influential part of any communication, right? (Well, not really, but we designers like to think so!) Also, I knew visual design would play a part in the depiction and acceptance of the study itself. So, as I became involved in the study, I thought, how would I take numbers and make them interesting to look at while still seeming credible...and do justice to all the smart thinking and hard work that went into this study? I was off and running…

The Hurdle

As the report designer, I had to focus on visually giving this study credibility in and of itself. The rigorous testing and analysis were all there, but I then needed to execute the physical representation of our report with the same veracity used in the methodology of the study.

When people are skeptical of information, they're less likely to adopt and assimilate it. That’s a big hurdle. How would I clear it? The content itself is most important, but a document that is visually interesting, easy to read, and consistent boosts the readers' confidence. So, I started thinking about how to design our report and visualize the data.

I was picking up speed….

The Approach

My design strategy was to make our report as approachable as it valuable. I knew that visual interest, balanced with ease of use, could attract and maintain your attention. The study finds that the usefulness of content can affect your perception of its credibility, so I also wanted to ensure that anyone who reads our report could easily find the most useful pieces of information, understand them, and benefit from our expert analysis.

After thinking through the approach, I was ready to take the leap.

The Landing

My first plan? To create an infographic designed to whet your appetite with a few key nuggets of data. Intended to be eye-catching yet simple, these images evoke the mood of scientific analysis and expertise, without being too heavy handed. Anyone can read and understand this data and feel informed.

After working through the infographic, I turned to the developing the report style. I wanted very much to make the data come to life so that it excites, not bores, you. The last thing I wanted was to make you search through page after page of black and white text and tables! There’s no reason for scientific analysis and sharp insight to be boring. But, adding visual interest while maintaining the credible tone takes some doing. Here's how I did it.

I made the layout clean and simple for ease of use and to avoid overhwelming you with information.
I selected fonts for legibility and used them at a larger point size to reduce the amount of information per page so you can easily absorb the information.
I clearly labeled each section with a very defined header treatment, and color-coding, so you can easily navigate the report.
I highlighted important information with bulleted lists, plus bold and italicized fonts, to aid scanning and to emphasize the most important information.
I used a combination of graphical layouts of data - including pie charts, a variety of bar chart styles and tables - plus color variety, to provide visual interest as well as ease of scanning and comprehension. I want you to take away pertinent information at a glance.
I did this all within our brand style to underline that Content Science is the trusted provider of these insights.

A Sample Chart from the Report

The Finish Line

Whew, I made it! It was a long run, but I’m really pleased with and proud of the report. Personally, I found a lot of satisfaction in bringing this data to life and adding a thoughtful design layer to some amazing content.

I think you'll find the report useful, usable, and interesting. Intrigued? You can learn more or order the report here >

Serving Up Content + Credibility

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:24:33 GMT

Last week, we reported the results of our Content + Credibility Study and some key findings on perceptions of credible web content in the U.S. and U.K. We also mentioned the results of this first phase were gathered from 1,600 people surveyed in those countries.

What we haven’t written much about—outside of the report itself—is more on our methodology to create, publish, and manage the survey.

Like a fine recipe, we drew on best practices and added our own “spices” to create a classic formula for the first-ever comprehensive study of web content credibility.

Here’s a closer look at our process.

Choosing the right ingredients

In our case, choosing the right research questions were among the first ingredients.

We wanted to know if people perceive that content credibility has changed and what cues they look for to decide if content is trustworthy. Also, what situations do people value credibility the most?

The next ingredients were the survey questions and examples of web content. For the set of questions asking about specific content examples, we used two kinds of sampling: critical case sampling and common case sampling. These methods helped us select topics that relate to important decisions and represent common types of content for select industries.

We then researched and selected an online survey tool that would accommodate

Different styles of questions, such as multiple choice and Likert scale.
Showing examples of content, then asking questions.
Logic to ensure that participants saw content examples for only pertinent topics.

After weeks of fine-tuning the survey it was time to test. And boy did we test our recipe!

Testing, testing, and more testing

After the questions were written and the survey tool set up, we tested the survey functionality and ran a pilot test to determine if all the ingredients worked together.

User scenarios within our test cases aided functional tests of the survey. These were invaluable to the functionality tests as they highlighted areas of logic that needed to be added or adjusted to enhance the survey flow and data collection. We also kept an eye on the estimated duration of the survey to reduce abandonment.

Our survey asked about credibility, which can be a vague concept. So, before launching the survey, an advisory panel reviewed the survey questions, we conducted a pilot test, and we analyzed the reliability of the results. The internal consistency reliability analysis found that the pilot participants answered different questions about similar topics consistently. That consistency strongly suggests participants understood our questions clearly.

With the tests and reliability analysis completed it was time to have a (survey) party with our domestic and international friends.

1,600+ of our closest friends

Okay, they weren't our friends. They were a random sample. But, you get the idea. In early 2012, we launched the survey in two markets: the U.S. and the U.K. In each market, 800 people participated, for a grand total of 1,600.

The large sample minimizes sampling error and gives a high confidence level in each market. To ensure we could detect statistically significant differences in responses by age for most questions, we set a quota by age group. So, for each market, each of these age groups had 200 participants:

18-24
25-34
35-44
45-65

We monitored the data as it came in, looking for anomalies that might require adjustment to the survey. The U.K. survey was the first to reach its 800-person quota with the U.S. survey at quota a few days later. In just a few days, we collected enough data to begin our analysis.

hot, fresh Results NOW

After a cycle of cleaning the data and organizing it for analysis, we had our first look at the data. In all, we performed three types of analysis on the data to ensure the integrity of the results: reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, and inferential analysis.

The result? In terms of unique and useful insights, we think our recipe is a hit. And, we identified potential areas for more analysis in phases 2 and 3 of our study. By choosing the right ingredients (inputs) and testing our recipe different ways we were able to create a new formula for a one-of-a-kind study that's destined to be a classic.

Interested in the detailed protocol and, most importantly, our findings and recommendations? It's all in the report. You can order the report here >

65% of Americans Don't Think Web Content Is Reliable

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

We just finished the first phase of our Content + Credibility Study. What did we discover? A lot.

We surveyed 800 people in the U.S. and 800 people in the U.K. about their perceptions of web content credibility. This infographic shows a few key findings for the U.S.

My first reaction to this was disappointment. We've made so much progress in the interactive industry with technology, but we seem to be far behind with content. People are using the web more than ever to find content they don't feel they can trust. I didn't spend my career here to have people view content as "hit or miss," at best. (I'm sure you didn't, either.)

But, after having time to soak this in, I'm excited about the opportunity we face. Making even small improvements for credibility is likely to set your content apart. What's more, detailed findings from our study suggest that people are more open than we expected to non-media sources of content—that means companies, brands, government agencies, nonprofits, and other organizations. So, if you're one of those organizations and boost your content's credibility, people are likely to pay attention.

We assembled all of our findings, along with some discussion and recommendations, in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand report. We included some wonderful visualizations of the data, too. My hope is the report helps you both make the case for credible content and think of ways to make it happen. There's some extra detail for the health, travel, and finance industries, too.

Discover More

Here are some freebies, a way to register for an upcoming webinar, and a way to get the full report.

3 of My [Somewhat] Intelligent Insights from ICC

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Last week, I participated in the 4th annual Intelligent Content Conference helmed by Scott Abel and Ann Rockley. The intense Palm Springs sun bathed the event in a lovely glow, but I didn't see much of it. The presentations and community of smart people captured my attention and left my mind steeped in ideas. I'm sharing a few of the takeaways that excite me most.

#3 - We're in This Content Mess Together—and We'll Fix It Together

In her keynote "Collaboration Nation," Kristina Halvorson reminded us that the junkpile of content on the interwebs hurts all of us. Most of it is not worth finding, and the stuff that is worth finding is buried, lost, and unappreciated. While those of us who care about content see the potential for it to be a treasure, not trash, at times the problems stacked against us seem overwhelming. So, we need each other to press through them.

I believe that the more we talk about the value of what we do and inspire each other to solve different hard content problems, the more we'll make content reach its potential for our organizations—and for the interwebs as a whole. Plus, content professionals will get the recognition they deserve.

#2 - Content Everywhere Raises New Questions for Credibility + Ethics

This conference did not shy away from some of the tough implications of having content literally everywhere. As we figure out how to make structured content play well with any device, it becomes easy to lose focus on the content itself. We need to focus on both having the right content and getting that content to the right place. In my opening workshop, I walked through how to set your content apart from the trash heap by giving it clout. Robert Rose explored how using what we know about context helps us decide what content is right for our customers—and differentiate our brands in the process. Several other sessions reminded us of the importance of content quality.

I also enjoyed a point that Scott Abel made in the closing session. He told a story about his parents, and then he said it wasn't true. "How many of you tweeted what I said about my parents?" he asked. Oops! A bunch of inaccurate tweets (content) just flooded the interwebs. Because those inaccuracies are repeated so many times, other people who see them are likely to believe them. (That's the persuasive impact of a technique called amplification.) And, that's a relatively harmless example (unless you're Scott's parents :D). What if that happened about a high-stakes topic like taking care of your health? Or operating dangerous machinery? Or the reputation of a business?

That's one reason why I decided to revisit the issue of credibility, with a focus on content, in our first independent study. Among our questions, we asked people about how they verify or confirm the credibility of content. (The results are coming out this Thursday...don't miss them!)

And, of course, if you're feeling extremely philosophical, you might start to wonder what is truth...is it what we know or what we document?

Okay, enough philosophy. On to the last somewhat intelligent insight...

#1 - Content Is Innovation

Ann Rockley, who is about to release the second edition of Managing Enterprise Content, discussed innovation with Alan Porter, Joe Gollner, and Michael Boses. They explored the idea of whether doing content differently is a type of innovation. Among my favorite quotes were these. (I unfortunately lost track of whether Alan, Joe, or Michael said them.)

When you stop focusing on business problems and focus only on products, you will stop being innovative.

We get too hung up on the role of technology in innovation.

Doing content differently is a way of innovating. And, with the way the digital landscape has changed to demand the right content in the right place, I think the old adage "innovate or die" will come true. Companies who don't change their approach to content really will die.

I also saw several breakthrough products and services that combine a new approach to content and smart technology to solve tough problems. In the closing panel, Scott Abel talked with two of them: Midtouch and ifixit. All this innovation inspired me to dust off a product idea or two.

So, I might not have ventured far into the green palm trees, sunny air, or dusty mountains. But, I had a journey, nonetheless.

Pop Quiz! Design + Credibility

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:12:22 GMT

Let’s see what you think about visual design and its impact on the evaluation of the credibility of a website and its content.

Take the Quiz

1. How important is visual design to a user’s assessment of the credibility of a website?

In a survey of 2,684 people, what percentage do you think discussed “design look” as a big influence on their perception of credibility online?

A. 1%
B. 15%
C. 29%
D. 46%

2. How quickly does a user make a reliable decision about the visual appeal of a website?

In a study from Carleton University, participants were asked to rate the visual appeal of website home pages. How long do you think it took for them to make their assessment?

A. 50 ms
B. 500 ms
C. 1 second
D. 10 seconds

3. What aspects of design do users notice and evaluate?

Which elements do you think have the biggest impact on a user’s response to visual design?

A. Color & Images
B. Typography and ratio of text to graphics
C. Pattern recognition
D. All of the above

4. Is there a “halo effect”, where the user’s first impression carries over to other site attributes?

True or false: Visual appeal affects a user’s opinion of a site’s credibility upon deeper interaction and investigation into the value of the content.

A. True
B. False

5. Now, see for yourself.

Take a look at these two airline site home pages (logos have been hidden to protect the innocent). Which do you respond to and want to explore further? Does one instill more of an emotional response? What about a feeling of confidence? Does one feel easier to use?

Answers:

1. D
2. A
3. D
4. True
5. There's no right or wrong answer, but we bet you had an immediate reaction.

What have we learned?

• A user’s first impression is heavily influenced by visual design.
• The impact of the aesthetics of visual design is immediate. People are going to be biased by what they see before they even read a word of your content.
• A strong design that considers all aspects of online visual stimuli is best.
• The influence of a user’s immediate response to visual design is so strong that their initial, visceral judgments can mold the remainder of the experience, including their perception of the credibility of the content itself.

You only get one first impression online, so you have to make it count, right off the bat. Consider the importance of visual presentation if you want to captivate, retain, and convince an audience of the value and credibility of your content.

WHAT ABOUT CONTENT + CREDIBILITY?

Much of what we know about online credibility focuses on design. What about when some gets past first impressions and into the content? We're taking a look at the role content plays our Content and Credibility Study. Don't miss our first report on March 1.

What Pandora Taught Yahoo About Content

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:47:59 GMT

If there’s one thing Pandora has taught me it's that they truly listen to their users. The 24/7 streaming music service is highly customizable down to the songs I want to hear (or not hear). As a result, I’m more engaged with the service and favor it over traditional and satellite radio. This level of content personalization and engagement not only made Pandora a successful start-up business, it’s also garnered, in recent days, public admiration from one of the most established Internet companies around—Yahoo.

So when I came across Yahoo’s latest release that visualizes the traffic to Yahoo properties, and lets users customize results based on various demographic categories, I was both intrigued and apprehensive about the execution. These days, Yahoo is mostly known for their troubles and not their innovation as big portal sites seem to be fading from the Internet.

What I Liked

In an interview with AdAge, Mike Kerns, Yahoo’s VP-social and personalization, compared Yahoo’s new system to services such as Pandora and Amazon. These are sophisticated services with advanced recommendation engines that adapt to user habits, something Kerns told Adage is a challenge. He said, "Yahoo today does a very poor job listening to its users in a way they can give us credit for.”

I’m encouraged by Yahoo’s transparency. For a company that has seen better days, it’s refreshing to hear Kearns acknowledge the challenge and take steps to correct it.

I also appreciated the site was built in HTML5 and with CSS3. This framework allows for a quality experience and highlights Yahoo’s interest in responsive web design, the practice of building websites that adapt evenly across devices and browsers. While the design adjusted properly from device to device, the functionality was less adaptive—almost non-functioning—which brings me to a few things I didn’t like.

What I Didn’t Like

When using the website as a tool for research and discovery of, say, the types of Yahoo content that’s popular with 18-year-old females in Dallas, the system can be very valuable to many. Yet, as a personal tool for discovering news content, I’m not convinced that I want to read the news based on people who are exactly like me: my age group, my gender, etc. The results seem to narrow my news content rather than expand it.

When I sorted news for males I saw sports headlines. When I sorted news for the females I saw a headline for bargain clothing. This is unsettling as it appeares the system reinforces gender stereotypes at the start. Over time the system is designed to learn the news I like, which is mostly genderless, ageless, and not location-specific. This extra work to discover content is certainly more than I am used to.

The last item I’ll draw attention to is the introduction of a new content category named Shine. Situated between the finance icon and the OMG icon, the Shine interest doesn’t appear to have an impact on the results. The tooltip for Shine also did little to explain what I would see in those results. To me, this seems like is a credibility issue for Yahoo: to introduce a new filter that has no impact on the results and lacks clear explanation.

Kerns also points out in the AdAge interview there is more to come in the form of deeper customization to personalize the content experience on its sites. This first step is definitely something to watch as Yahoo works to incorporate more user insights into their highly-trafficked online news.

What This Means For Content

Any time a company puts effort into understanding how users want to interact with their online content is a good thing. The knowledge they'll gain is invaluable to content planning and execution. In fact, here at Content Science we begin many projects assessing the wants and needs of users to inform what our clients hopes to achieve. We even built it into our process (see right) during the analysis phase.

Introducing new content categories in a staid medium like online news is both admirable and tricky. Are users ready for "Shine" as a news category? They may, if they know what it means. For content to be engaging it has to be clear, especially during periods of innovation where users may be asked to think differently about how they find content.

While I see drawbacks to Yahoo's latest experiment, I celebrate the fact they're experimenting to create the best possible experience with content.

How Content Works At HowStuffWorks.com

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:43:10 GMT

A note from Content Science: Colleen Jones first shared this interview on her personal blog, and we've moved it here. We like how this interview sheds some light on the tradeoffs between professional and user generated content. Among the tradeoffs are credibility and quality. As we get ready to release the first results from our Content + Credibility Study, the discussion seems as timely today as it was in 2008.

HowStuffWorks.com started in 1998 as a collection of articles about everything from refrigerators to electromagnets, with each article crafted by North Carolina State University professor Marshall Brain. Today, HowStuffWorks.com is a world-renowned brand and wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications. Editor-in-Chief Conal Byrne (pictured left) kindly answered questions about the importance of well-crafted content and his effort to lead HowStuffWorks.com into new topics and media.

Could you give an overview of content creation at HowStuffWorks.com?

We have an editorial team of 40-50 people as well as 30 freelance writers. We are constantly setting the content direction. We also have constant discussions about the editorial voice. We try to include relevant topics, such as how the iPhone 3G works, and cutting-edge topics, such as developing a solar-powered iPhone. About nine months ago, we were acquired by Discovery Communications, and that has really put HowStuffWorks.com into overdrive. Discovery Communications has been nothing but supportive.

You joined HowStuffWorks.com about a year ago. Since you came on board, what direction have you set for content?

First, let me say that HowStuffWorks.com is a really respected and entrenched brand for its unbiased, unopinionated content delivered in a very engaging way. This brand is solid, having made the Time top 25 list, won Webbys, and multiple other awards. So I didn't want to screw that up. At the same time, I wanted to stretch things. I have really focused on making people feel they are reading the best content possible on a topic. Can you make an article on air conditioners engaging and thrilling to read? We think so. We also have added features such as top 10 lists and polls that offer smaller chunks of content for people who have interest in a topic but don't need as much depth. We're constantly adding unique topics. Can a battery run on blood? We can tell you. Of course, we also keep Discovery programming on our radar and develop content to back up its efforts, such as Shark Week. Perhaps the biggest change is integrating media such as videos and podcasts, and Discovery's huge library of footage has brought that to life very quickly.

That's a huge undertaking. Without revealing all of your secrets, how do you think of topic ideas?

Oh it's no secret. We really try to match user needs and interests with targeted content on our site. Take the election as an example. We anticipate e-voting becoming a hot topic this fall, so we make sure we have great content that explains it. Another example...we realize that people are consuming news at unprecedented levels, but they're so busy that they don't have the time to devote to understanding the basics behind it. Why does a hurricane happen? What are the different types of bankruptcy filings? So we began this ‘news behind the news' initiative that makes people smarter about what's relevant today. Combine that with covering what's cutting edge, and that's how the site succeeds.

Of course, we nail the topics, but the key is getting good writers who are committed to their craft—who are dedicated to the written word—and giving them the space, time, and resources to excel. The result is an article that feels like a human wrote it. Wikipedia [which is written and edited collaboratively by thousands of people] is in a sense the opposite. It's a great model that has its place, but I think the content loses a human connection between the writer and reader. You will never get a stronger product than what you get from a passionate, talented writer covering a topic he or she loves and converting readers to love the topic just as much. I think we're one of the few places on the web that does just that.

The comparison to Wikipedia is intriguing. Could you share more about that?

I think something is going to happen to the Internet in the next few years. We've seen the rise of socialized content, social media tools. I think that has its place, but things have gone too far into that direction, and the balance will settle. We've forgotten the value of vetted, edited, reliable, and engaging content. There is no substitute. It's like reality TV vs The Honeymooners or Lost.

I think there is always value in content published selectively and with pride instead of constant volume plays-the sites that put out thousands of small, shallow content bits instead of going deep into a topic and owning it well. A lot of people get consumed by volume. Wikipedia just reached 10 million articles, which is great. But what do those articles feel like? Does anyone really want to read them?

One of our major goals is to show that life is understandable. Another is to show that life is worth understanding. We show that through passion. We get the content out there in a way that makes it a must-read. We want people to leave our site knowing something new—something they didn't realize they wanted to know but are glad they do. That point is lost on many sites.

You mentioned that integrating media with the articles has been a big push. How do you go about that integration?

Discovery Communications has invested a lot over many years to develop an amazing footage library. Our happiest "problem" is having so many images, videos, and podcasts to offer that the article could be fighting for attention. We are constantly aware of the user experience and want to make sure the integration of video and articles feels seamless and natural. We also review and select media with the same editorial eye that we do articles. We use the article as a starting point, and we strive to integrate media in a way where the sum experience is greater than its parts. Our writers actually review and select the media to be included. If one of our writers has written 30 articles on Google, that writer is an expert on the topic. I want that writer to review and choose our Google images and videos to feature with the articles.

I think this approach is key to our brand. We think a lot about how we compare to Wired, Salon, New York Times, Wikipedia, YouTube, and others. Salon has great editorial, for example. YouTube has some great videos if you can find them. I don't know anyone else who is doing quite what we're doing, and that's exciting.

Could you give some examples?

Take a look at How Barack Obama Works and How Sarah Palin Works. Everyone has written about these two, so we really had to think about how we would be different, how we would add to the conversation. So we took our editorial voice—dissecting, unbiased—and went after them. We tried to write about Barack Obama and Sarah Palin as if they were car engines. Then we integrated videos and images of them. And, finally, we tied in other relevant topics and media that only we offer, such as an image gallery of the presidents and an article about how the electoral college works.

You have a background in news journalism. How does that experience compare with your current role?

In straight-up news, what's happening in the world dictates your editorial calendar. And you publish once, then move on. At HowStuffWorks.com, it's tougher. We have to write about not just the event but everything leading to it and the topics surrounding it. Take the stock market situation. We wrote not just about that but also about liquid assets. We have to create content that can live online for a while, so we strive for "evergreen" content. It's an interesting challenge. It makes both new content and maintenance of current content hugely important. We have to update articles regularly. We are constantly looking forward and backward. We are always cleaning house and making sure we're up to snuff.

If you could give only one tip to someone interested in developing a winning content strategy, what would it be?

Oh, that's easy. Make the content matter. Don't put content up for content's sake. Make sure it matters to you. Then write that content in a way that shows it's important. Or make sure your writers care enough about it to show it's important. Otherwise you're not adding to the online world; you're doing what everyone else is and probably doing it worse. Add to the online conversation, don't just repeat it.

What Is Mobile? Thinking Beyond Channel

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Recently, I shared my perspective on why mobile is not a channel. That begs the question, “What is it?”

I see mobile as a collection of touchpoints.

Mobile Is an Ecosystem of Touchpoints

Mobile surrounds each of your users with many ways of connecting to digital—or touchpoints. Smartphone touchpoints allow each user to monitor, be alerted, and react in the moment. Tablet touchpoints allow users to immerse themselves for a while—alone or with friends and family. If you plan these touchpoints well, as a system, then you can be ready to meet your users’ needs in diverse mobile situations.

The interesting thing is that the uniquely mobile touchpoints aren’t simply websites or applications. They are SMS (short messaging service) messages, ads, and location-based service campaigns, too. And, those touchpoints are much more integrated in a mobile experience than their counterparts in a traditional web experience.

For example, ads are successful on tablets, partly because they can be deeper and richer than ads for traditional interactive. On tablets, ads are becoming more like content themselves and flow more seamlessly into your tablet-optimized site or application than a normal banner ad.

As another example, an SMS trigger, such as an alert from Target that new coupons are available, will lead me immediately to the coupons on the smartphone-optimized website. A traditional email is likely to cover more topics, have more links, and compete with all the other emails in my in box for attention. In other words, to the user, there’s more distinction between the email and the normal website than there is between the SMS trigger and the mobile website.

Why a Touchpoint View Is More Useful Than a Channel View

I find this view handy because it...

Allows for the right variety among mobile touchpoints.
The touchpoints share much in common, but they’re not exactly the same. For example, Zappos decided to create a lifestyle magazine application for tablets but not the smartphone. That was the right decision. Why? Because people are more likely to immerse themselves in a magazine with a tablet than with a smartphone.

Sets the right planning and process expectations with executives and stakeholders.
Mobile is multifaceted. Mobile is complex. Mobile is integrated. And, mobile has high potential to boost your reach, reputation, and results. So, you’ll get more value out of mobile if you take time to assess your strategy. Also, it’s not a single channel, so trying to manage it in the same way as your calls or your website, for example, won’t work.

Accommodates future change.
One thing we can be sure about mobile? Change. As technology advances and new types of devices proliferate, we don’t know exactly what the future holds. Heck, pretty soon your car will be a mobile touchpoint. So, viewing mobile as a system of touchpoints now will make it easier to include new touchpoints later.

What Mobile Touchpoints Mean for Strategic Planning

To make the most of your mobile ecosystem, you’ll likely need a different approach to planning for it. Over the past several months, we’ve thought about the implications and started a repository of things to consider. To give you a sense of the implications, I’m sharing a few here.

Pay Attention to Your Own Industry and Your Own Metrics

The potential of the smartphone experience for retail is much different than it is for higher education, for example. The potential of tablet experience for media is much different than it is for finance. It’s worth taking time to consider the realistic opportunities for your industry so you don’t overinvest or underinvest in mobile.

In the same way, I see organizations struggling to accommodate mobile as well as social and content into their way of doing interactive. How to prioritize? One way is to look at your metrics to determine whether your users really are seeking you on mobile. If they are, then make a basic mobile presence a priority. If not, then get social and content in order first.

Start Identifying Opportune Moments

To plan a great experience for the smartphone side of mobile, you have to identify the right moments you want to support. And, in many cases, you have to figure out how you’re going to detect those moments. You have to figure out the user context. GigaOm analyst Dr. Phil Hendrix calls this "tuning in" to users' "digital signals." What data about the user or the user’s phone will trigger an alert or a message, for example? Walmart has invested $300 million and counting in WalmartLabs to figure out exactly that and more for their retail business. That investment makes sense for retail and other industries with a lot at stake in mobile. For other industries, location-based services such as foursquare and Facebook Places can help you detect a user’s location and social connections.

Don’t Necessarily COPE (Create Once Publish Everywhere)

You might have heard of COPE. NPR (National Public Radio) helped coin this phrase in describing its API and its overall approach to publishing content to their channels and touchpoints. Here’s the thing. NPR is a media property with one core type of content, the story, and one main user scenario, consuming the story. If you are not a media company, you have many more content types and customer scenarios to consider. You don’t necessarily want to publish the same content everywhere. It’s okay to have content in one mobile touchpoint and not another. Instead, you want the capability to create content once and publish to multiple channels and touchpoints—the touchpoints that you decide are appropriate for your users.

Avoid Ownership + Process Headaches

Mobile is so integrated that it wreaks havoc on how large organizations manage channels and even interactive roles. When you pursue mobile, be ready to work through the ownership and process maturation as much as the user experience issues. Who owns mobile search? Who will oversee editorial for your tablet application?

Those considerations are only a few…I could go on and on. My point is that this ecosystem view of mobile will change how you plan for mobile.

Beyond Channel, Beyond Sound Bites

Right now, perhaps the biggest impact of seeing mobile as an ecosystem of touchpoints is this:

Cobbling together industry sound bites about mobile won’t work as your mobile strategy.

So, if you’re given a regurgitation of buzzwords as a strategy, then think twice before accepting it. If you see mobile as an ecosystem of touchpoints, then you or your team can think beyond the cacophony of catchphrases and plan a strategy for your unique mobile situation—a strategy that will really work.

Project Management + Content Strategy

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:34:05 GMT

In 1999, I worked on my first big project plan on a million dollar project for a marquee client. The plan included the smallest details for a new website, infrastructure, support, and monitoring. It was the perfect project plan, as much as any plan can be at the start of project...or so it seemed.

During a routine project meeting, someone asked about the plan for the content. By that point in the project the, IA (information architecture) was complete, design was done, and development was well underway. Called “content development” at the time, not even the contract referenced a content plan, which meant any time put toward content was immediately out of scope.

Figure 1: Example of a really bad project plan without time for content strategy.

After much discussion, the decision was made to export the existing content and import it—untouched—into the new content management system. The results were just as you would expect: over-budget, delays, client dissatisfaction, and that's just the start. The site eventually launched, but the content clean-up went on for months afterward.

Much has changed to improve planning for content. More knowledge, tools, dos and don’ts are available to us than ever before. Yet for some, it’s still 1999 when it comes to effectively planning for content at the project management level.

It starts with how a company values content strategy as a whole, and how a project plan is put together.

What does Your project plan say about Your value of content?

It says a lot.

A good indicator of how a company values content is to look inside the project plans they create and execute.

When Does Content Strategy Begin?

If content strategy begins toward the end of a project, say, after design is complete, the value of content strategy within that organization is low. This is a project destined for disaster because smart companies have figured out that content planning starts on Day 1, if not Day 0.

If content strategy is a single task squeezed between other tasks then the value of content strategy is extremely low. This can indicate that a company doesn’t understand the importance of content or that content strategy is an afterthought. The road ahead is long and complicated for these companies, not to mention expensive.

If content strategy is a series of tasks fully integrated with UX, design, SEO, and technology then the value is extremely high. A project plan is most successful when the project manager views content as a critical strand of DNA and not just an arm or a leg. This indicates a mature organization with a good understanding of the role content plays within a project.

How Often Is a Content Strategist Engaged?

A company’s value of content can also be determined by how often a content strategist (or team of content experts) is engaged during the project lifecycle.

Content strategists are often durational resources, which means their work is rarely isolated to a set of deliverables and then they are gone, on to the next project. Content needs to be monitored during a project as it rolls from one discipline to another. A more effective method is to plan for content strategy oversight throughout the project with routine check-ins built into the schedule. This little trick ensures budget and resources are allocated to address the many unknowns surrounding content that can plague a project.

Project plans and, therefore, project managers that plan for content early and often say a lot about your organization's priorities. Integrating content strategy into the DNA of a project is something I wish I had known back in 1999 with that first, big project plan that seemed "perfect" in every way. Don't suffer the way I suffered. Make content part of your project DNA.

Mobilizing Content Science

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Strategy can take so much work that we lose connection to execution. Execution is important. If you implement a fantastic strategy poorly, you might as well not have a strategy at all. It won't work.

That's why I welcomed the chance to mobilize this website. To keep it interesting, we ate our own dogfood by following our own advice. The effort reminded us of some handy lessons.

mobilize when you + Your Users Are ready

Mobile mania has been in full force for a while now. But, industry reports that just about every human (and some dogs) will have a smartphone this year do not necessarily mean you should drop everything and make your site mobile. We waited until our analytics showed that people were visiting our site on mobile devices. One benefit to waiting is when we launched the mobile site, we had visitors right away. We could justify the value of the mobile site easily.

help users save time OR kill time

We decided that our site displayed well enough for tablets, so we focused on smartphones. We followed our own advice that a smartphone experience is about helping users

save time, such as deposit a check remotely.
kill time, such as playing a game while waiting at the airport.

So, to save users time, we provided ways to contact us or find us. To kill time, we gave access to our blog—a little content food for thought. Check out the home screen here:

We'll see how this approach holds up over time, but we found it very useful for deciding what to include and what to leave out.

The Devil Is in the Redirect Details

We decided to detect when visitors use a smartphone browser and redirect them to the mobile site. Redirects are lovely in theory but a pain in practice, and the case was no different here. Soon after launching, we realized we needed to change how redirects work for links to specific blog posts. We were redirecting people to the mobile home page instead of the mobile version of the blog post. Fortunately, we could fix that quickly. But, imagine a redirect problem for a huge organization or for a high-stakes product page. It's worth taking time to think through redirects in detail.

All in all, our own dog food went down pretty smoothly. The experience reminded us that good strategy means nothing without good execution.

To check out the mobile (smartphone optimized) site, grab your smartphone and visit content-science.com.

Are You Ready for Android?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:56:19 GMT

Here at Content Science, we're helping clients create effective content, design, and UX strategies for iPhone and Android applications. One common thread we’re seeing is that companies are taking a second look at Android after a long period of waiting to see how the open source OS would capture the market. Whether they’re refreshing existing content or expanding onto the platform for the first time, the consensus is that Android is worth the investment.

Android is clearly a dominant force in mobile. By Q3 2011 it had captured 43% of the U.S. market according to Nielsen. This parity with Apple’s iOS, which is currently the most popular OS in the States according to multiple accounts, means it’s time to stop watching and start planning.

There is much to consider when deciding to add an Android app into your list of touchpoints. Here, we start you off on the right foot with three major points to consider.

Major Point #1: CONSIDER New Cultural + Behavioral Data

Just as Apple was the “answer” to Windows, Android is the open source alternative for Apple’s closed source iOS. This open source nature is a key to understanding the difference between Android and iPhone users, especially those consumers who spend time researching both operating systems before purchasing.

Android’s open source OS gives users the opportunity to deeply customize the look of their phones. From animated wallpapers to application launch widgets, Android users like the flexibility to change their screens to match their personality and information needs.

One resource with both entertainment value and kernels of truth comes from an unlikely source. Hunch.com is a personalization engine that helps you share and discover recommendations about all sorts of topics. In a recent survey of 80 million aggregated and anonymous responses, Hunch.com revealed cultural and behavioral differences between iPhone and Android users that some will find useful and others downright offensive.

Hunch.com’s data on mobile device differences drew both ire and praise. Check out their lively discussion in the comments area below their blog post.

Among its users, Hunch.com reports

80% of Android users are more likely to have only a high school degree.
60% of iPhone users are more likely to be American Express cardholders.
Android users eat corn pops for breakfast while iPhone users eat rice crispies.
Android users are slightly more likely to briefly listen to telemarketers.
iPhone users 38% more likely to own an email domain.

Even Hunch understands these correlations do not imply causation, yet they shine a light on Android users. Hunch.com is not alone. Just this week, Mashable reported on a survey by 11mark that reveals Android users are most likely to use phones while in the bathroom.

As new data plops (sorry) into our laps, we're advising clients to incorporate the most relevant data into their existing personas and start building profiles using this early cultural and behavioral data. For example, Android’s affinity with the open source crowd is a key characteristic for personas that value freedom and personal differentiation.

Major Point #2: Do The Homework

Whether the Android Market is crowded with your competitors or none at all, a detailed competitive analysis is essential.

Being the first to develop an Android app in your space is a rare thing now that apps in the Android Market exceed half a billion. A clean slate offers the chance to own the space and define it. On the flip side, a crowded space offers the opportunity to learn from those who have already navigated the waters and identify differentiation points.

Within Android Market I look at:

Number of installs
Cost of the app
Size of the app
Tone of user reviews

Outside of Android market, I find Internet user reviews (blogs, tweets…etc.) helpful in collecting sentiments.

Major Point #3: Maintain Some Consistency Across Devices

Data from point #1 illustrates a strong affinity among users for one operating system over another, so it’s easy to think content should be drastically different for each audience. This can lead to fragmented content that is hard to track, hard to write, and even harder to correct once down that road. Stay true to your brand or your product and what users need to accomplish. You’ll find it’s wise to be consistent than to customize every inch of your content.

Showing preferential treatment is another potential pitfall. For example, if you enable account access on iPhone, then the same access should be afforded to Android users. If not, you’ll most likely hear about how your brand is anti this or anti that. Instead, use the inherent functionality of the device as a differentiator because that’s what users bought into when they purchased the device—the experience.

There is so much more to know about Android other than the major points listed above. And, we’ll learn more as new research comes in. We find that staying on top of the research and thoughtfully applying the insights to our clients’ initiatives, along with testing, to be a steady balance to this ever-changing universe of mobile applications.

The Connected Car

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:49:09 GMT

I'm fascinated by the Quantified Self movement and the many resulting apps and apparatuses available. We can monitor everything from the number steps we take in a day to our sleep patterns. As I've continued checking it out, I see how this movement has cast an even wider net.

Recently, I read “Highway to Health” in Metropolis Magazine. Author Jade Chang explains that Ford has taken personal data to a whole new level by incorporating wireless technology into their vehicles to keep self-trackers connected while on the road. I thought I'd take a moment to share a rapid review of the article including what I liked, what I didn't like, and what this means for content.

What I Liked

Chang outlines Ford’s plan for the new future - where mobility and connectedness meet - to redesign the driving experience. The machine is in control - but not in a scary, futuristic robot sort of way. Chang notes that “a focus on health and wellness within the car is at the center of their (Ford’s) new approach”. The new future is about practicality and connectedness rather than the flying cars of our collective imagination (think the Jetsons). Ford has modeled their new cars to match the needs of their “changing customer base” to make the experience of mobility more enjoyable, safer, and more productive.

I was most interested in Ford’s response to the aging of our population. The article notes

In less than 20 years there will be more people over the age of 50 than under the age of 20, thanks to increased life expectancy and declining fertility rates.

In contrast, those who are younger are not as interested in mobility. Their lives are more about connectedness to content and people through technology, rather than taking to the open road.

“In less than 25 years, the number of 16-year-olds getting driver’s licenses has dropped almost 25 percent; meanwhile, the share of miles driven by those under the age of 30 who do have licenses has fallen in recent years.

So, how did Ford respond to all of this information and the insight it provides? They took these statistics to heart and innovated the car to

make older people more comfortable and safer behind the wheel.
keep younger people constantly connected.

As I said, fascinating.

What I Didn’t Like

One thing about constant connectedness has me worried. On the surface, the car being a “mobile communication environment” sounds useful. It’s very practical to monitor the pollen count outside the car if you're an allergy sufferer. That’s a true benefit of connectedness.

But, in the not-so-distant future, a day could look something like this, predicts Gary Strumolo, manager of vehicle design for Ford’s research and innovation division:

Imagine you had an eight a.m. meeting, so you set your alarm for six a.m. and went to bed. If your meeting’s cancelled, it’ll change your alarm to seven. It can set the temperature in the car. If you’re listening to Pandora in the house, it will migrate to the car—we’ll use personal data to add seamless enhancements.

I wonder whether this new future will alienate people from the outside world? You can take your bubble of information, or content, with you everywhere, but it takes some of the thought and interaction out of the everyday routine. I worry about people being completely absorbed by their inner world...

What Does This Mean for Content?

Technology has made our future less Jetson-like and more focused on content than I ever expected. In a world where drivers will be able “to transmit and receive medical information via their vehicles," our audiences will be expecting that same connection to content at every digital touchpoint in their lives. I think we'll need to go beyond providing statistics; our audiences will want to know what all this content we’re collecting and transmitting actually means.

Also, I'm inspired by the example Ford sets in responding to their audiences, or customers. Ford is balancing the health challenges of an aging population with the connection needs of younger people. In the process, Ford is creating an innovative driving experience that depends on content. Whether we're working on the driving experience, a website, or some other touchpoint, we have to know our diverse audiences, anticipate their unique needs, and meet those needs with smart (even innovative) content decisions.

Read the Article

Don't miss “Highway to Health” by Jade Chang.

10 Reasons to Embrace SEO

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:22:44 GMT

As someone who has worked in marketing and advertising for years, I’ve seen certain words that used to be harmless develop negative connotations. Most of us don’t hear the word “advertisement” without thinking of an annoying interruption. Particularly, the acronym “SEO” (short for search engine optimization) has become associated more and more with spam, manipulation, and trickery.

Shifts in the meaning of words are a natural part of lingual evolution, but these particular buzzwords suffer because of the people who exploit their popularity to make a quick and easy buck.

Colleen Jones, in her book Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Content, speaks to this problem specifically with regards to SEO. She says, ”SEO snake oil [...] leads people to spend money on being found (which often doesn’t work) at the expense of making their website worth finding.” She's right.

So, in this post, I'm not talking about SEO snake oil. I'm talking about quality SEO. We all need it, like it or not. SEO is a critical part of any online effort, whether you’re building a website, launching a blog, or mobilizing your website. Let’s take a minute to remember the top reasons why we need it – and can even grow to like it.

10. SEO Makes Us organize the web

You love the internet because you have instant access to crazy amounts of information, right? Well, if it weren’t for SEO, trying to access this information would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. SEO helps us organize the overwhelming internet into relationships (for example, blogospheres of likeminded people) and indexes (think a Google search that yields relevant results).

9. SEO encourages competition + IMPROVEMENT

SEO keeps the internet competitive, which means you get better and better websites. Thanks to complex algorithms developed by the search engines to measure quality and relevance in order to rank listings, competitors must continuously improve their websites in the fight for that top ranking.

8. SEO unites us around Best Practices

Because SEO is so integrated into every aspect of a website, it unites all of us – designers, writers, architects, developers, and marketers – as we choose how to design, write, and develop for an organized WWW. For example, a decision such as deciding whether to use Flash instead of the SEO-friendly HTML 5 for a video, has impact on developers, content planners, and designers.

7. SEO helps the little guys

Thanks to cheap and SEO-friendly online publishing tools like Wordpress and social networks, many an agile start-up and small business has fought its way to visibility amongst the “big guys” through strong SEO.

6. SEO leads to better site navigation

Problems with navigation and internal linking adversely affect SEO and lead to reduced site traffic. On the flip side, a logical structure – one that includes important links on the top-level navigation bars, niche areas farther down in the menu, and important content no more than three clicks away – gives benefits such as

enhancing usability.
decreasing bounce rate.
healping search spiders index your pages.

5. SEO helps companies speak their users’ language

Getting SEO right requires researching our users’ search behavior, namely the words users type in the search box. The better a website speaks the language of the right users, the better it will perform in search. The benefits don't stop there. The insights you gain into how users talk about you, your products, or your ideas are helpful for customer service, marketing, product management and more.

4. SEO creates matches made in web heaven

The world is full of billions of people with unique needs. Likewise, the internet is full of billions of types of content with the potential to connect those people with the right product, service, or community. SEO matches the right people with the right content and, ultimately, the right product, solution, or person.

3. SEO encourages consistent + integrated MARKETING strategies

For SEO to work, it must be implemented consistently and throughout each layer of a website. Metadata, titles, headers, copy, and even related Tweets and blog posts must contain the right keywords and content. And consistent, integrated keywords and content require a consistent, integrated message.

2. SEO forces us to make content better

Contrary to some people’s perception, good SEO isn’t cramming keywords into content. SEO benefits from intelligently crafted copy, meaningful images, and indexable multimedia content. You can't skimp on content and expect to rank well in search. That brings me to the final, and most important reason to embrace SEO…

1. SEO IMPROVES user experience.

All of these benefits – an organized internet, competition, a unified vision, an equal playing field, a deeper understanding of users, consistent strategies, and better content – improve the web experience for our users. Embracing good SEO is embracing good user experience. What's not to like about that?

Think Mobile Is Only a Channel? Think Again

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The use of mobile in the U.S. and around the world is growing faster than you can say “app or mobi site?” The possibilities for mobile are exciting and, at the same time, mind boggling. Where do you start planning the mobile content and experience for users? And, internally, where do you begin planning ownership and process for mobile?

The planning starts before you realize it. It starts with your view of mobile. How you see mobile will affect everything else you plan—for better or for worse. So, it’s worth taking a moment to check your perspective.

A Love Affair with Mobile

A little background…I’ve loved mobile ever since I led strategic customer experience projects at Cingular Wireless 8 years ago. I imagined all the wonderful things mobile and I could do together. We could change the world—or at least customer experience at Cingular Wireless. But, mobile wasn’t quite ready. Mobile was not fast or smart enough. So, I had to turn my attention elsewhere. But, my heart belonged to mobile. Each year since then, my heart skipped a beat or two when I’d listen to buzz about mobile. “This is the year of mobile,” I’d hear…only to be disappointed. Until last year.

Last year, mobile got its “stuff” together. Smarter mobile devices met faster wireless networks, and mobile adoption started to soar. (Along with my heart…)

As a result, I’ve worked on mobile strategies for clients over the past year. I’ve led intense analyses for clients with markets in the U.S. and around the (increasingly mobile) world. I’ve made mobile recommendations that my clients would have to live with for a year, so I've had to consider a large scale for the long term. At the same time, I’ve watched the traffic on this site, content-science.com, shift more and more to mobile. I’ve had to decide what to do about it. For example, we're optimizing the site for smartphone and tablet browsers.

Along the way of making these recommendations and decisions, I’ve come to some realizations about mobile. One of the biggest? Mobile is not simply a channel. Let me explain…

Where the Channel View of Mobile Comes From

Human nature leads us to view something new in terms of what we already know. And, what we already know is channels. Channels are conduits. Most companies and organizations have dealt with a combination of print, web, email, and phone channels for years. Depending on your role or background, you might see mobile as a specific kind of channel. For example, I managed projects across several customer service channels at Cingular Wireless, so I see mobile as a perfect way to make self-service, such as paying a bill, easier. If your background is more media or product support, however, you might see mobile as more of a distribution channel—another way to get your content out to people. Here's a table of the different perspectives we bring to mobile as a channel.

Perspectives We Bring to Mobile
Role or Background	Will View Mobile As…
Customer Service	Contact Channel
Marketing + Advertising	Campaign Channel
Media / Publishing	Distribution Channel
Product Support	Documentation Distribution Channel

A small part of me wishes mobile were a channel, especially a distribution channel. Wouldn’t that make life easier? We could simply put all of our content in one place, make our web content accessible, and optimize our interfaces…then we’d be done. We could adjust our XML and our style sheets, and that’s pretty much that. But, sadly—or happily—this isn’t the case. Here’s why.

Debunking the Channel-Only View

A channel implies information or content is flowing through it like water through a pipe. And, I tend to think of a pipe with a valve that we, as either the channel users or the channel owners, have to open and close as we send and receive content.

Sometimes, the flow is two ways, back and forth. When a customer calls customer service on the phone and gets a reply, that’s two ways. Sometimes, the flow is one way. When a publisher distributes an article on the web and in print, that’s a one-way flow from the publisher to the reader through channels.

Mobile can act like a channel. When you optimize your website for mobile tablets and phones, for example, you take care of mobile as a channel. People can do most everything they did on your web channel through their mobile devices.

But, mobile can act very differently from a channel. Let me explain more about what makes mobile distinct.

Mobile Smartphones Give Constant Contact

Mobile has this unique potential to be a constant contact. For mobile smartphones, there’s a proactivity, an intimacy, and an immediacy that’s nothing like any channel, even the web.

Last week, Lisa gave us a tour of the possibilities for using smartphone applications and sensors to track our personal health data—and even give alerts or reminders exactly when we need them. Your phone, for example, can awake you at precisely the right time. When is the right time? Not when your alarm says so but when your body says so—when you’re in the best state of sleep for waking.

And, Helen shared an example from finance. The eTrade mobile application gives people continuous access to their accounts so they can monitor their investments and make trades instantly. In a similar way, Mint and many banks offer mobile applications to connect us constantly to our personal financial data—and even alert us when our accounts change or when we’re charged a fee.

(Is this constant connection to content always good? Not necessarily, as Michael pointed out.)

These examples are only a start. I could write entire posts on the possibilities of smartphones for retail and travel. Well, I'll share one travel example. Last fall, I stepped off my flight to DC and checked the email on my phone for my hotel confirmation. I didn't find one. I forgot to book a hotel! After a brief wave of panic, I realized I had my phone. I booked a room online in a few seconds. Why so fast? My phone knew where I was and showed nearby hotels almost instantly. My smartphone rescued me.

My point is this: By fostering initiative, intimacy, and immediacy, mobile smartphones are more of a companion or even a lifeguard than a channel. There’s potential for constant monitoring and feedback, for a constant flow of content and data. As a result, smartphones can provide the right content at the right moment—sometimes without the user having to ask.

So, that’s smartphones. What about mobile tablets? They don’t quite fit a channel view, either—but in a different way from smartphones.

Mobile Tablets Deepen, Socialize, + Expand Content Consumption

Mobile tablets free us to delve into content—media, games, and more—quickly and to stay in it for a long time. Tablets let people get into content when they’re hanging out in the kitchen or lounging on their couches, not crouched over their desks. It’s a relaxed experience, like having the newspaper at the breakfast table. I know I’ll linger a bit longer on an article if I’m not interrupted by an email or a phone call.

Tablets also can make content consumption more social. Over the holidays, for example, my family and I gathered around the iPad at the kitchen table to view photos of my trip to London. And, we can use tablets at the same time as using another channel. I used the iPad, for instance, to see reactions to Ricky Gervais’ wry jokes on Twitter while I watched him host the Golden Globes.

Tablets are so simple, they’re even bringing new types of users into content consumption. Take my mother, the technoskeptic. My mom doesn’t see a point in learning a complex computer when all she wants to do with it is read, shop, and send an occasional message. She had tried a computer once or twice but didn’t stick with it. It seemed too bulky and complicated. I didn’t blame her. The benefit wasn’t worth the cost to her time and effort.

But, when the iPad and other tablets came on the market, my dad and I saw potential. So, we decided to get her a tablet for Christmas. My mom opened it on Christmas morning. By that night, she was checking email, surfing the web, and trying an app. Since then, my mother has used the tablet at least once a day. (If the Q1 sales for online retailers skyrocket, now you know why.)

So, tablets potentially increase the demand for content with which we can engage deeply and socialize often. And, they’re attracting digital newcomers like my mom. Tablets, to me, are less of a valved pipe for sending and receiveing content and more of a way to immerse in content.

So, not only are the tablet experience and the smartphone experience different from what we’re used to with channels, but those experiences are very different from each other. Why lump the tablet experience (immersive) together with the smartphone experience (constant contact) as a single channel? It doesn’t make sense.

Mobile Is Not Just a Channel…But What Is It?

As I’ve delved into the distinct characteristics of using mobile smartphones and mobile tablets, I realized mobile is not simply a channel through which we distribute or receive content. It’s not a valved pipe. It's not even a single pipe. Mobile is more than I could have imagined 8 years ago.

I’m convinced that if you view mobile only as a channel and, as a result, only optimize your websites for mobile devices, you waste a tremendous opportunity. You miss out on what makes mobile, mobile.

That begs the question, then, of how should we view mobile? And what are the planning implications—both opportunities and challenges—for mobile content and UX? I’ll share a few ideas in my next post.

What Should Content and UX Strategists Know About Distractive Driving?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

(A note from Content Science: If you’re reading this article while also driving, please consider your fellow drivers and concentrate on the road! We’ll be here when you get to your destination.)

So much has been written and talked about on creating mobile content, but one topic seems surprisingly absent from the conversation. It’s an emerging area of content that, if not addressed responsibly could have deadly consequences. What is this emerging area?

Distractive content.

Distraction is a problem

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that, each day, more than 15 people are killed and more than 1,200 people are injured in crashes that were reported to involve a distracted driver.

NHTSA also reveals that of those injured in distracted-driving-related crashes, 24,000 incidents involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (5% of injured people in distraction-related crashes).

These crashes and injuries highlight a growing danger on our roads. A recent CDC analysis, for example, found that more than half of U.S. drivers ages 18-29 reported texting or e-mailing while driving at least once in the last 30 days.

At the same time, the number of smartphones in the U.S. is on a steady increase. Most Americans who buy a new cell phone buy a smartphone instead of a feature phone, as Nielsen has found. And, the majority of 18-34-year-olds now own a smartphone.

The result? More Americans using sophisticated cell phones while driving could have a tremendous negative impact on the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities.

So, how can content strategists use this information? First, let’s define what we mean by distractive driving.

What is distractive driving, exactly?

Using a cell phone, in-car navigation, eating and drinking while driving causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and at least one hand off the steering wheel, endangering both themselves and others. NHTSA has discovered three main types of distraction:

Visual—taking your eyes off the road;
Manual—taking your hands off the wheel; and
Cognitive—taking your mind off what you are doing.

As content and user experience strategists, we plan and even create messaging or content that results in some form of action that could be distractive to drivers, such as

Download our app for 24/7 access to your account.
You have 1 daily deal expiring in 1 hour. Log in now.
Watch this video.

But, what is our responsibility for delivering these messages on mobile devices when there is a good chance someone will read them while driving?

Like me, you’re probably thinking we cannot possibly be the police of common sense. Or, if someone receives an email or SMS or app notification on their phone and decides to read it while driving, it’s not the concern of the strategist any more than the carrier or the phone manufacturer.

And you’re probably thinking, too, those eye-catching digital billboards are equally distractive to drivers and this whole thing is just too far gone to do anything about it now, so why bother?

Because I am responsible for creating compelling content that creates action, I’ve started challenging myself with this question:

How can we, as content and UX strategists, better understand our responsibility in the creation and dissemination of content that could be distractive to drivers?

Distraction beyond the phone + beyond marketing

Cellular phones and marketing campaigns aren’t the only sources of distraction. Tablets and other handheld devices should be in the consideration set, along with head up display (HUD) and augmented reality (AR) devices.

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, not one, not two, but four companies unveiled plans for integrating HUD and AR technologies within automobiles.

JVC Kenwood has a prototype that projects caller ID and navigation content on the windshield.
Pioneer showcased their redesigned augmented reality device for autos that displays road information and is nearly ready for the Japanese market. You can read more about the technology and see a video at Mashable .
Mercedes-Benz wants to integrate social into the driving experience with their AR device and gesture controls. I first read about this on the CNN website here.
Audi’s plans to integrate Google Earth and customizable interfaces into the driving experience. Watch the video (not while you’re driving, of course) here.

Tackling distractive content is hard enough to reconcile without HUD and AR devices becoming part of our vehicles. Our demand for technology and information is out-pacing our ability to check whether giving drivers access to it is really safe.

So where do we go from here?

Technology innovations and people’s demand for content won’t slow down, but it’s time for us to stop and think about our responsibility.

Here are three things we can do now to start an informed conversation about distractive content:

Get familiar with the laws regulating using phones and texting while driving and incorporate them into our work.
Stay up-to-date on the latest research and other data at www.distraction.gov.
Revisit completed campaigns and projects to see how the strategy might have been adjusted in light of new regulations in the U.S. and abroad. Would you do anything different?

What's the Difference Between Content Strategy + Content Marketing?

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

This post originally appeared on my personal blog last year. It's still relevant, so I've shared it with a few edits here.

I pondered this question often over the past several months. Why? One reason was a blog post where Joe Pulizzi explained his take: content strategy and content marketing are essentially the same. That makes sense for Joe, who focuses exclusively on content marketing. If you work on content for purposes beyond marketing, however, thinking about the difference is helpful.

The Difference, As I See It

Content strategy is a field of practice useful for content as marketing and content as a product or service. In other words, the practice is distinct from the purpose. Allow me to explain...

Content As Marketing

Content as marketing is paid for by the company or organization doing the marketing. Typically, it's comprised of

Branded content.
Advertising.
Support / customer service content.

An example is The Home Depot's content, which ranges from helping customers plan a room to instructing customers about how to install a sink.

Side Note: I believe support / customer service content should be treated as a type of marketing content but often is not. Fodder for another post...

Side Side Note: Some people think branded content is akin to evil. I believe it's a real need as everything about business, including marketing, goes digital. I also think it's okay, even necessary, to market good ideas. But, you can take branded content too far, as this clip suggests (courtesy of Predicate LLC).

Content As Product / Service

Content as a product / service can follow different business models, most commonly

Advertising - free to user and paid for by third party advertisers.
Subscription - paid for by user subscriptions.

An example of an advertising-driven content product is HowStuffWorks.com. An example of a subscription-based content product is New York Times. (For a smart rundown of content business models, see Erin Kissane's post Paying for It.)

Why Defining the Difference Matters

Now, I don't like to think for thinking's sake. Defining the difference between content strategy and content marketing offers practical benefits such as...

Clarifying the Results You Want

When you think about whether you're developing a content strategy for marketing or as a product / service, you're planning the purpose of your content effort. That's only going to help you define the results you want and, consequently, your strategy.

Guiding Your UX Decisions

With results in mind, then you can prioritize the rest of your user experience (UX) decisions. As a simple example, if content is your advertising-driven product or service, you'll want to guide your users to other relevant content on your site. Your priority is to show more (and more relevant) advertising to your visitors by keeping users around. So, you'll want tactics that get users from one article (or video or podcast) to many other pertinent articles (or videos or podcasts) with relevant advertising.

If content is your means of marketing, then your priorities will be different. One important priority is to guide users through a decision-making process. That process will span more than one visit to your website and, probably, visits to more than your website. You'll need content for each phase of decision-making. And, rather than guide users to lots of other relevant articles, you'll want to stress the most likely next step. You'll want to lead the user from one decision to the next.

Getting a Jump on Content Patterns

Your content and design flow from your UX decisions. So, you can get a jump start on patterns for your content effort. For example, MSNBC.com (an advertising-driven content product) is experimenting with some interesting navigation patterns to surface related content.

Gaining More Insight from Marketing + Product / Service Mashups

We're starting to see content as marketing mesh with content as product / service. Take Mint.com, for example. Mint.com is a free service paid for by relevant advertising. The advertising is so relevant because it's based on the user's own detailed data about her financial needs and goals. The service includes a useful blog (branded content) and support content. Crazy. Content worlds—and business models—are colliding. But, we can't learn as much from this mad mashup if we don't recognize those content worlds.

Laying a Foundation for Ethics

Ethics are our motives based on our ideas of right and wrong. So, if we understand the purpose, or motives, behind content as marketing and content as a product / service, we have a start on ethics. We also can identify potential conflicts easier. For example, a retailer might be tempted to skip checking the facts of its content or to include references. (Need some ethical inspiration? Read We Can Do Better.)

So, there you have the difference and why it matters to me. I hope it's useful to you.

Yes, Users Read on the Web

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I first posted this essay on my personal blog and have moved it here, with a few small tweaks. This essay gives some insight into why Content Science is pursuing the Content + Credibility Study and why we offer content testing services.

I feel the need to say what should be the obvious. Why? Because recently, while catching up on my Twitter feed, the following statement smacked me like a gauntlet:

It's a fact that users don't read, and we have to design for it.

I was too late to join the conversation, but the statement has concerned me ever since. In the user experience and design communities, has an assumption locked our thought about reading so tight that we refer to it as a "fact?"

Why This "Fact" Stifles Us

Based on my experience with designing for and observing users, I am convinced that users read on the web (among other places). Sure, they scan hurriedly through irrelevant or uninteresting content until they arrive at what they want. (For a nice explanation, see pages 2-4 of Letting Go of the Words.) THEN, users read.

Why do we forget the reading part?

Think about some of the confining implications. If users don't ever read, then

It doesn't matter what we say or how we say it because users won't notice.
Text has little impact on how users perceive a brand or make a decision.
We can communicate only with visuals.

And, taking this assumption to its logical conclusion, if users don't ever read, is there much point to having any words on the web?

These implications seem ridiculous when I shine the light of reason on them. But, when they lurk unexposed with the shrouded assumption that users don't read, our design and content choices are at risk of suffocating. I think we need to revisit this "fact," starting with an excavation of Jakob Nielsen's influential study of How Users Read on the Web.

Let's Delve into the Source: The Nielsen Study

For background, read Jakob Nielsen's explanation of the study. Also try to check out a longer version including explanations of related studies. In my searching, I did not find much constructive criticism of this study. I feel it has five limitations:

1. The Topic: Irrelevant

A tourist trip to Nebraska? I know very few people for whom this topic would be relevant. (No offense to Nebraskans out there! I'm sure it's a beautiful state. It's just not on most people's destination list, even if it should be.) In fact, the topic was chosen specifically because people would likely know little about travel in Nebraska. My concern is that if the topic is not pertinent, people won' be motivated to read about it.

2. The Participant Sample: Unknown Interest

I could let 1 go if the study recruited a sample of people who expressed interest in a trip to Nebraska. It also would be interesting to test a sample of people with interest and a sample of people with no interest. However, the explanation does not state that the study used such sample criteria.

3. The Content Options: Too Extreme

The options include variations on a bombastic marketing version and a sparse objective version as well as variations on paragraph form and bulleted list form. Some important nuances are missing from the content options. How about a concise, promotional version that doesn't lie and uses a bulleted list or a simple table? I also wonder whether wording variations and format variations are too many variables in one study. Furthermore, because the success metric focuses largely on remembering the list of tourist attractions, the content option that performs best—a bulleted list of the attractions—is designed to memorize.

4. The Context: Unclear But Probably Persuasive

The study explanation does not mention the purpose of the content and the overall website. Is the purpose to attract new tourists, to win back past tourists, to encourage tourism business, or something else? Did the study scenarios reflect the context realistically? Also, most of these possible contexts (which I inferred based on reading the original version of the content) seem persuasive, not educational or informational.

5. The Success Metric: Not Complete

The study uses a reading usability metric including comprehension, recall, and time. It also includes a subjective measurement, but it is subjective mostly about usability qualities (how easy was it to find information, etc.). The metric does not address content meaning, influence, likelihood to visit Nebraska, or related measurements. From a user perspective, is the goal to remember the exact names of Nebraska's tourist attractions? Or is the goal to make a confident decision about whether Nebraska is worth visiting? From a business perspective, is the goal to teach people about Nebraska's specific tourist attractions? Or is it to convince people that Nebraska deserves to be on their travel itineraries? I believe the study tries to stick strictly to usability. But is it useful to measure success in a persuasive context without touching on meaning, influence, and broader goals?

The description of the metric shows awareness of context, noting that one might add weight to certain elements of the metric for an intranet or a leisure site. However, because the metric elements do not address persuasion, adjusting their weight for a persuasive context would not help.

In short, I believe these limitations stem from the following two mistakes:

Attempting to analyze and measure a persuasive situation as an educational one.
Trying to test reading without considering relevancy and context.

Because of the limitations, I don't feel the study allows us to conclude much more than the following statement: People with unknown interest in visiting Nebraska who are asked to learn about Nebraska's tourist attractions remember those attractions best when they have little description beyond their name and display in a bulleted list.

We certainly can't conclude from this study that people don't read on the web.

Now, Let's Elevate Our Understanding

Should we cut this study some slack because it happened 12 years ago? Yes and no. I truly appreciate how this study brought corporate attention to writing for the web. I respect the effort to test and measure reading usability at a time when the web was very new. I also am grateful that this and related studies inspired Redish's useful description of users' scanning behavior in Letting Go of the Words.

However, the approach exemplified in this study limits our thinking about how users read during an interactive experience. We learn only what users quickly find, read, and memorize on command. We do not learn

What content resonates, relates, or influences
What reading is like for users who find content about a topic that genuinely interests them.
The ways content makes (or fails to make) an emotional connection with users.

And that's just for starters. So, I think this study is overdue to have its slack tightened. And we're well overdue to elevate our understanding of interactive reading, which will breathe new life into our content and design choices.

Influenc-ERS vs Influence (Or, a Clue to Clout)

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I originally shared this post on my personal blog in July, 2010. It's quite popular, so I've moved it here.

Fast Company just launched The Influence Project, which kicked up some controversy. The gist is Fast Company is forming a quantitative influence metric by seeing what individual, or influencer, has the clout to drive the most clicks to...Fast Company!

WHAT'S WRONG: The Popularity Contest

Brian Solis, author of Engage, succinctly states that "influence is not popularity." On a guest post for Solis, Damien Basille explains his take on why measuring individual popularity will be fairly useless:

It’s a shallow and very specific ploy rooted in misdirection and vilified through the opaque pandering of votes. Asking your social networks to click on a link is measuring their ability to click on a link. Nothing more. It doesn’t measure the type of influence brands need to know about for their brand, product or industry vertical.

WHAT'S RIGHT: Learning from Influencers

While there's a lot wrong with a popularity contest, I like the idea of better understanding influencers. I'm convinced that often the best influencers are not celebrities. Why?

One reason is identification, a concept from rhetoric and psychology. Simply put, identification is whether people relate to you and how that affects being persuaded by you. Marketers, in my opinion, tend to apply it on a surface level. White women ages 40-55 will attract white women ages 40-55, for example. What's more important is identifying on a deeper level, such as relating to a person's situation, personality, interests, or point of view. Even more important for an organization is for people to identify with your brand's personality or character. In fact, identification is a main goal of branding, but sometimes that gets lost in marketing speak.

As customer experience expert Valeria Maltoni says

True influence flows from drawing together people with shared interests. It's a process of identifying areas of relevancy among your customers and prospects, community building, and allowing others to amplify your influence as you meet their needs.

We could stand to learn more about how people identify with influencers online and what organizations or brands can should do about it. Will the FastCompany project help us learn more? I'm skeptical so far.

WHAT'S MISSING: Influence + Quality Content

Sure, influential people are important to influence on the web. But, like many content strategists, I think quality content is as important, and connected to, social networking. (I'm a little surprised FastCompany, a media property, has left content out of the influence equation. Perhaps they're so close to content, they take its influence for granted?)

Shannon Paul, a social media manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, hints at the relationship between influence and content in a recent post (emphasis mine):

It doesn’t matter how much influence someone wields if the message is irrelevant to their audience...[individual] influence may be able to create short-term buzz, but a relevant message can spark a movement.

For the Influence Project, if someone's social network isn't interested in Fast Company, asking the network to click on a link to it won't fly. People either won't click or won't stick around after clicking.

To complicate matters, as social networks grow, they involve less and less commitment. But, content can deepen the commitment. Organizations can tell an appropriate message through a personality, but they'll have to show and expand it through quality content over time. In fact, I think this need to grow interesting, fun, LONG relationships with people through web content is partly driving the mashup of media and e-commerce.

And, I think that's closer to what real online clout is about.

Tracking Personal Data for Better Living: An Intro to the “Quantified Self”

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

With new tools, such as band-aid sensors, and the ubiquity of computing devices, you can now constantly track your mind, body, and actions to learn more about yourself—and realize more of your own potential. The global movement to better understand the collection and meaning of this personal data is called “The Quantified Self.” Let's explore it further.

The Quantified Self Movement

I first became aware of the term “The Quantified Self” while listening to an NPR radio spot featuring John Bradley, a Wired contributor. In it, he discusses Wired's list of 2011's top 400 apps. That number alone speaks to the astounding impact of connectedness in our lives today. But, even more compelling evidence of that “internet of things” is his personal app pick: Sleep as An Droid.

Sleep as An Droid App for Android

This Android app is a sleep cycle tracker meant to wake you when your sleep is lightest, rather than disturbing much-needed deep sleep. Why? So that your days are more productive and enjoyable. Who would have thought that my phone could become a tool to help me avoid groggy, grumpy mornings and make me more active and alert, and thus more of myself? I love that the phone by my bedside can now track very personal biometric information about me to make a noticeable difference in my day-to-day life. My phone isn't just for Angry Birds anymore.

It's this sort of self-tracking that first attracted the attention of Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly and contributing editor Gary Wolf in 2008, and now their observation of the "Quantified Self" has become a movement. What started as a website has now grown to include self-tracking meet-ups around the country and conferences in both the United States and Europe.

Why the Quantified Self Is Possible

What makes a life-altering movement like this possible is that computers have become an integral part of life and goal management, aided by

the growth of data collection and storage.
the availability of tools to interpret that data (like apps).
the feedback of social sharing.

These 3 ingredients have led to sensor-based and web/app-based tracking of everything from sleep cycles to blood glucose levels to mood changes.

I was already accustomed to collecting personal metrics (think stepping on the scale in the bathroom or noting feelings in a journal) to potentially reach a state of betterness. Self-trackers use technology to take that monitoring to the next level, with the goal of changing the quality of their lives. With today's tools, a self-tracker can experiment, rate progress, be motivated to achieve more, and share their data to inform the community at large. The gaming aspect of this monitoring is enough to entice me into pursuing better behaviors. Anyone who uses Weight Watchers online knows how fun it is to see that graph of your weight start turning downwards after hard work.

The number of self-tracking tools is growing, as is the variety of people they attract. Consider the versatility of these niche examples:

Nike+'s success with helping runners track and enjoy their running.
Asthmapolis' GPS-enhabled inhaler and mobile phone apps that help asthma sufferer find triggers of episodes.
the more general wellness approach of Fitbit, DirectLife, and UP.

UP wristband and iPhone app

What Does Tracking Personal Data Mean for Content?

The implications will evolve, but the most immediate ones I see are to user expectations, context, and relevancy.

New User Expectations

Your customers or users want to gather more information about themselves, measure it, compare it and share it. It’s becoming part of what they expect. No matter what your product or service, people will want to monitor how it affects them.

Context: Opportunity to Explain + Guide

Besides tracking their data, users want to be advised about what it all means. I can follow changes in my blood glucose level all day, but without context it means nothing. What does that data mean for my mood, my productivity, my eating habits? And, if you collect a large enough sample, what can this data do to educate everyone? That’s where content comes in.

Relevancy: Touchpoints Triggering Useful Content

The "internet of things" will be an even larger part of our lives, even to the point of being attached to our skin while we passively collect data about our heart rate. So, I see a big opportunity to create content with constant touchpoints in mind. When should you update users, send them reminders, or point out the impact of a specific action or metric? And what content should those updates, reminders, or notifications include? These questions are only the beginning.

Technology and our individual selves will continue to converge, I have no doubt. I look forward to what that can mean for our collective and individual understanding. In later posts, I'll explore how self-trackers (I'll be becoming more and more of one) and their closely-monitored personal data will come to affect content for health, potentially empower the consumer in a variety of industries, and architect how products are designed and marketed.

Want to learn more now? Check out the Quantified Self website.

3 S’s of Successful Mobile Apps

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Years ago, I owned a Blackberry. I know. It's hard to imagine now. I remember distinctly making the decision of whether to purchase an iPhone or Blackberry for my first smartphone. A smart friend tried to nudge me in the right direction. She said, “If you get the Blackberry, you won’t have apps.”

At the time, I had no experience with mobile apps, so I didn’t appreciate their potential. Now, most smartphones and tablets have applications (apps) of some sort. And, now I own an iPhone full of applications I love and use on a daily basis… as well as applications I downloaded, tried once, and never used again.

When I think about what makes me go back to certain apps and not others, I think of the content. I find that content for successful mobile apps is simple, scalable, and sticky. Let me explain a bit more.

Simple Content

Let’s start with simple. Plato once said, “Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity.” So do mobile apps. Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, wrote a script to crawl customer reviews for keyword patterns. He found that among the most used adjectives for 5-star reviews was the word “simple.” His finding says a lot about what users expect from content on a mobile platform. “Simple” isn’t always easy to achieve, especially for organizations with lots of content. How simple is too simple? Take newspapers, for example. The New York Times has struggled to perfect their iPad application “Editors’ Choice.” Their first version was too scaled down.

Users bashed the app, saying “No content” “Where’s the content???” and “is an upgrade with full content planned?” Among the haters was Steve Jobs himself.

Times then released an updated version with more content. For Times, simple did not necessarily equal less content; simple equaled content that users wanted and could digest easily. That brings us to the next important characteristic for content in a mobile app, scalable.

Scalable Content

What do I mean by scalable content? In this case, I’m referring to the organization of content. Scalable content is organized in such a way that even if it is extensive, it is still easily digestible. Scalable content can be expanded or upgraded easily, without sacrificing its organization. When you offer users a large amount of valuable content or you know you’ll potentially be adding more content down the road, you must organize it so that the app always appears simple.

E*Trade Mobile Pro for iPhone is one example of an app that has added new content and features without sacrificing organization and design. If you take a look at early reviews, you’ll see a mix of praise for the user interface along with requests for new content and features. Here are a few older reviews:

“good for the basics, but lacks extended hours info”
“I can’t see my accounts”
“should include current market news”
“very well designed and easy to use… hope they improve the charts. I’m waiting for the upgrade”

More recent reviews indicate E*Trade listened and revamped the app to deliver the content users wanted in a scalable way. Let's take a look:

“pretty much any information you want is here”

“I can even access my accounts”

“I get current market news”

The positive reviews about the added content and features go on and on...and yet the design still receives praise, too:

“these people know mobile and hand-held”
“slew of useful information”
“super design”
“intuitive UI”
“by far the best trading app out there”

Users noticed and appreciated the new content and features that were added to the existing “super design.” Scalability pays off.

So, let’s say you have an app with simple, scalable content. As we’ve seen, users will appreciate your efforts. But, what keeps them coming back? Sticky content.

Sticky Content

Sticky content is not content that people use once and then forget. It's content people want over and over again. No matter how simple, well-designed, and fun an app is, if it doesn’t have some value to be reaped over time, people will eventually abandon it. Instagram, for example, has a very basic function: To create, enhance, and share photos. Yet people continue to use it daily.

Besides being used on a frequent basis, content is sticky when it keeps users on an app or site for extended periods of time. A good example of an app with this goal is the new iPad app from Zappos: ZN Magazine.

The app is a lifestyle magazine, with articles about style and fashion geared towards Zappos’s target audience. The articles don’t directly push products. Instead, they take an editorial approach, educating and entertaining users on topics of interest to them.

Users can shop directly from the app as well as share the articles and products with their social networks.

Sticky content doesn't happen magically. It takes extensive planning. Before launching the app, Zappos dedicated the resources required for research, writing, and editorial oversight to produce fresh, quality content on a regular basis. If users enjoy the content, they’ll stay on the Zappos app for longer periods of time just to read it, and they’ll keep coming back to view new articles. All the while, Zappos extends awareness of their brand and guides users to products that interest them.

Is all sticky content either a photo enhancer or a lifestyle magazine? No—the possibilities to explore are almost endless. The key is to make sure your content gives users a reason to stay on your app and a reason to return later.

Will Your App Succeed?

If you're thinking about creating an app, consider that the content will make or break it. If you invest time upfront to plan content for your mobile app, you'll save yourself from desperately reworking your app or watching it slowly die later. Give your app staying power by giving it simple, scalable, and sticky content.

An Almost Perfect Storm: Content Marginalized Again

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I first published this post on my personal blog in 2009. I haven't seen much improvement in consideration of content for this type of research, so I'm including this post here. Note that Interactions originally made the article publicly available, and now it's available only in the ACM Digital Library.

A Revolution Clearing the Way to Better Health

If you care about persuasion, technology, and health, read "Catalyzing a Perfect Storm" in the November 2009 issue of Interactions. To quote, "We are on the cusp of a persuasion revolution..."

The article lays out this revolution's promise by describing technology-based interventions to change health behavior (e.g., preventing HIV) and calling for their support. From ALIVE! to UbiFit, the article highlights several examples of digital health interventions with good results. The combination of change in the health industry, pervasiveness of technology, and advanced understanding of human-computer interaction are swirling together into a storm of positive health persuasion. This storm has immense potential to destroy medical costs and clear the way to better health.

Content Will Make the Storm Perfect

However, the storm will never be "perfect" without considering content. Content is a hidden but necessary force to these interventions. A few reasons why:

Technology creates the context for persuasion, but content persuades.

Technology helps get content to the right people at the right time. The content still has to influence. Delivering the wrong content at the right time is as bad as delivering the right content at the wrong time.

These health interventions are rich with content, which requires planning. For instance, "group-targeted interventions contain content that has been developed with a particular group in mind." Where exactly does this content come from? Who will create and maintain it?

Designing the interaction of these health interventions requires understanding the content.

The nature of the content affects major design decisions, such as choosing the channel / platform (kiosk, mobile application, etc.), and detailed design decisions, such as choosing the basic interaction pattern.

Evaluating these health interventions completely requires evaluating the content.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, has laid a solid foundation with its efforts in communication science and evaluating health communication / marketing campaigns. We need to build on that foundation and evaluate content as part of health interventions that are more than campaigns. What's more, evaluation needs to explore not only variations in design but also variations in content to understand what combination works best. Despite the importance of content, it is missing from the article's proposed research needs (included in the print version). Usability, design, notification systems, evaluation—yes. Content—no?

A Plea: Stop Marginalizing Content from Health Innovation

The Interactions editors introduce the issue as a "a push toward social, authentic, and interdisciplinary design." Well, I'm pushing back. A discipline, content strategy, is missing.

At this defining moment in health, we can't afford to marginalize the content. The discipline of content strategy could be the difference between a health intervention's success or failure—and, quite literally, the difference between life and death.

Content Is More Than Copy

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

This post originally appeared on my personal blog, which I'm retiring. It was one of my post popular posts.

When I talk to people — clients, UX professionals, interactive marketers — about content, I find an assumption often lurks beneath their comments. What's that assumption? It's content = copy. From that assumption follows many other unspoken assumptions that give me the willies:

We can scrounge the content together at the last minute.
Anyone who can write a sentence can develop content.
We shouldn't invest money in content. We should invest it in technical development.
We don't have to do much to keep content fresh or of high quality.
We need to worry about content for just one project, product, or channel at a time.

No, no, a thousand times no! Content is so much more than copy. Content is strategic. This perspective is critical to making the right design and investment decisions for a product or an interactive marketing effort. Here's my stab at explaining why.

The Literal Explanation: Content Is Other Things, Too

Sure, copy / text is a big part of content...so are these things:

Photos and images
Data and numbers and related visualizations of them
Videos

What is more, usually these items have a relationship with the text, such as supporting or further explaining the text. If you think content is only copy, you're probably neglecting these other types of content. And you're likely not coordinating them well with the copy.

The Philosophical Explanation: Content Automates and Differentiates

Businesses are using interactive channels more and more for self-service, where customers can help themselves. Some folks such as Daniel Pink say we're entering an age of more automation than ever. Also, Forrester reports continue to show that the trend toward self-service is only rising. That means interactive channels are not just conveying a message. They are replacing human interactions. They are providing the service. We can shop online, manage accounts online, pay bills over the phone, receive shipping notifications by text message, check in to flights with a kiosk. So our content needs to provide the "human" factor. It needs to speak like an ingenious sales person, a helpful customer service representative, an affable technical support expert, and more. The content needs to do everything possible to help customers succeed in using self-service.

I'd say that's a big job you can't throw together at the last minute. :-)

Furthermore, usability and technical performance will be important to self-service — but not the differentiator. Thanks to the keen awareness of usability in the interactive and user experience world, everyone will be concerned about usability and technical performance. Your company, your competitors, everyone. It's obvious a customer can't get service from a hard-to-use, slow, or buggy application. But usability and technical performance only get you on the playing field. What gives you the winning edge is persuasive, useful content.

Sound far-fetched? Consider this. At the close of 2006, Forrester released a report entitled "Use Persuasive Content to Improve the Customer Experience." This report calls for less emphasis on the technical aspects of content management systems and more emphasis on the content itself. To quote:

Information and knowledge management professionals...can drive signficant improvements in customer experiences. How? By putting more emphasis on using content to help customers — whether it is providing relevant information when customers buy a product or delivering easy-to-use or understandable content for customer self-service Websites — rather than simply focusing on how to create, manage, and search for content.

Let's stop treating content like it's crap work. Let's get serious about content, for it's key to helping customers and differentiating our companies, our products, ourselves. Content is more than copy!

What Is Content Strategy?

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I originally published this post on August 24, 2008 on leenjones.com. I'm told it's still useful, so I moved it here.

Hear the term "content strategy" often but aren't sure what it means? That's not surprising because different people use the term in very different ways. And as a relatively new term to the user experience (UX) glossary, content strategy's definition is still taking shape. A few takes on content strategy include...

Content Strategy As Data Philosophy

A significant article on content strategy in the UX world is Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data. Filled with some good insights, I especially like how this article expands the definition of content beyond copy. Content the text, images, video, and audio that make up an experience. However, I don't think defining content strategy as data philosophy is as helpful to practitioners and clients as potentially other approaches. I also think the article focuses on tactics to implement a content strategy, such as creating an inventory of content. Finally, this article associates content strategy with information architecture but not interaction design. In my experience, content plays an important role in conversion interactions (such as adding a product to a cart, checking out, subscribing to a service, etc.).

Content Strategy As A Role and Collection of Tasks

A presentation by Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy: The Mania, The Myth, The Method, likewise has some nice insights. I value her argument for the importance of content and her practical explanation for why content often is ignored in the design process. (Getting into a client's content really is messy.) But the presentation doesn't seem to define what a content strategy is or offer an example of one. It describes the role of a content strategist and the tasks a content strategist, as well as a writer and editor, perform. Helpful and practical, but I'm still left wondering what the heck a content strategy is. This presentation (along with the follow up interview / essay) also tends to associate content strategy with information architecture, not interaction design.

Content Strategy As Restraint

Killer Web Content by Gerry McGovern and Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish do not talk about content strategy per se. But they are go-to books for content, so I think their approach has some influence on people's perceptions of content strategy. Both of these books emphasize cutting content, "brutal" concision, and the like. While I don't completely disagree, I think this approach is misinterpreted easily as "Don't include a lot of content because it's not that important." Both of these authors are reacting to their experiences with government websites, where unuseful content proliferates very quickly. That's often not the case in the private sector.

Content Strategy: Another Perspective

Here's my take on content strategy.

It's a statement.

A content strategy states the approach to content. This statement usually can be a few sentences or paragraphs. I've also written a content strategy as a slide presentation that included examples, expounded on reasons for the strategic direction, or noted some tactics to achieve the strategy. But the content strategy itself should be fairly succinct. This helps everyone working on the content stay focused on the strategy.

It supports, complements, or otherwise relates to the user experience strategy.

You certainly don't want your experience strategy to conflict with your content strategy. For instance, if your experience strategy is for customers to research, compare, and buy a large range of products effortlessly and safely, then your content strategy should focus on the content that helps customers perform those tasks. If the focus of the product or service is content, then the content strategy may actually be integrated into the experience strategy. For instance, I would consider the experience strategy and content strategy for flickr to be essentially the same.
It covers areas such as:

Content Purposes and Contexts
Critical to the strategy is what the content is supposed to accomplish and in what situations. From these two considerations the other aspects of the strategy should flow. For instance, a content purpose may be to convince people to subscribe to a service, and a content situation may be the user is researching service options.

Content Topics and Types (High Level)
The strategy can state the major topic areas, such as product specifications and product benefits, as well as the main types of content (text, blog posts, audio, video, etc.).

Content Distribution
The strategy notes what content, if any, will be appropriate for distribution and through what distribution mechanisms (feeds, social networking sites, etc.).

Search Engine Optimization (High-Level)
SEO involves its own strategy but overlaps with content concerns. I like for a content strategy to state whether SEO is a priority and note any key consequences, such as whether content for landing pages is needed.

Content Tone
Tone is critical to conveying a brand image and to developing a consistent "voice" for the content. Not everyone would consider it strategy. I like including it because it helps everyone working on the content stay consistent with the tone. I also have encountered clients who have not thoroughly thought through tone before, so discussing it as part of strategy helps get agreement on the tone.

Content Management, Governance, Standards, and Maintenance
This can be fleshed out in other documents, but whether a content management system, governance board, set of standards, or a maintenance plan are needed should be stated in the strategy. These items are especially important for larger organizations or organizations where the creation of content is highly decentralized (i.e., many different groups contribute content).

Where Does Persuasion Fit In?

If you know me, you know I love to point out the role of persuasion and rhetoric in user experience. For content, I see persuasion as part of the content purpose and context, which drives choices in the other areas. Specific persuasive and rhetorical techniques get into content tactics.

New Digs + a New Blog for a New Year

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

2012 has arrived faster you can say "content." With the new year under way, we're making a few changes.

We've Moved to Midtown

We're sharing a large new space with our former client and friend, Benchmark Brands. Look for us across the street from High Museum.

1375 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 175. Atlanta
GA 30309
Map >

Sending us mail? You don't have to change a thing. Our mailing address is still our old address.

We're Evolving this Blog

Adjusting. It's a big part of content work, and I devote an entire chapter of Clout to thinking through when and how to adjust your content. For us, we have more people (who also happen to be smarter than me), an insane amount of work under our belts, and a whole lot to say. So, the link blog just didn't make sense anymore.

You might have noticed that we're tinkering with a new look and new functionality. We're also broadening the content we contribute. Our goal? To share our curiosity about all things content through interesting announcements, useful essays, helpful how-tos...and a few surprises. Expect to hear from us a couple of times each week.

I'm also moving a few popular posts from my personal blog, leenjones.com, here. What is content strategy? Why is content not copy? Posts that answer those basic questions and more will be here soon.

Cheers to new beginnings!

Turn Your Content Around

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Johnny Holland magazine just launched a new column series curated by our own Colleen Jones. In the first article, Getting Started with Content Strategy by Lance Yoder, we see an example of how Cerner Corporation transformed its website from a sales problem into a sales advantage. How? By applying important content principles.

Take ownership of your content.
Cerner's content had been neglected because it didn't have clear ownership. Their web content became dated, disorganized, and even conflicted with what their sales team said. It's hard to make a sale if potential clients don't trust you or your content.

Don’t take shortcuts to turn things around.
When Cerner started to take control of their web content, they did NOT take any shortcuts. They catalogued and audited more than 7,500 pages. Then, Cerner developed a sound strategy to reimagine, reorganize, and maintain their content.

Become a trusted advisor to your customers by experimenting with quality content.
Cerner launched a blog to share expertise and their point of view on the health industry. The blog has quality content. And, that quality content has paid off. A respected publication, Investor’s Business Daily, recently cited the Cerner blog. Talk about a credibility turnaround...

Thinking about a fresh start for your content in 2012? You'll find Lance's observations about this turnaround to be a gift of inspiration. Get the details from the full article >

Happy Holidays From Content Science

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Going Mobile? You Face Some Tough Decisions

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Mobile, mobile, mobile. What does it mean for your web content? Many important decisions. We like how Real Story Group summarizes a few key decisions in a recent post. Consider...

Which devices to target.
Whether to go with mobile apps, web apps, or hybrids.
Whether to use existing tools (content or document management systems) or new ones.
Architectural implications for managing mobile sites.
Whether to change your existing websites and content.

How do you make these decisions confidently, without that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that says "I'm screwed?" By conducting a content analysis. You simply have to take a close look at your content situation to make informed decisions about mobile.

Quality Content + Quality Ads = Better Influence

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Nielsen recently compared how well advertising on ad networks compared to advertising on a website with quality content. The main criteria? Reaching the right people. In this case, the right people were women of a certain age. Nielsen found that advertising on the website with content of interest to women performed far better than ad networks. (See the "on-target" column below.)

When you advertise on websites that attract the right people through quality content, your advertising will reach the right people. As a result, your advertising will be more likely to influence those people.

Test Our Content + Credibility Survey

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Good things come...in phases. That's our philosophy with the Content + Credibility Study. To get the most useful insights possible, we've planned three phases for our research.

What's the first phase? It's a survey to help us understand what people think about credible web content. Now, to ensure our survey is a quality survey and not simply a marketing or media poll, we're doing what's called a reliability test. We've launched a dry run of the survey, and then we'll conduct some statistical analyses to check whether people understand the questions the way we planned. Ultimately, the reliability test tells us whether the survey really is measuring what we intended. If not, then we'll adjust it.

This reliability test is where you come in. If you have 15-20 minutes, share your opinions in the survey. Your feedback will make the final survey give results you can trust.

Take the Survey >

2 Books to Watch

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We're pretty studious here at Content Science. So, the bevy of handy volumes coming out over the next year tingles our bookish minds. We wanted to point out two books coming out very soon that promise to be handy.

Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems
Part of the beautiful Rockport series, this book summarizes 100 research methods to help you use the right method for the right problem. This book is thorough. How thorough? Well, it even includes an often-forgotten method, content analysis, along with a visualization inspired by one of our reports.

Mobilizing Websites
The world is adopting mobile quickly. How do you get your website ready? This book will help you address your immediate needs. We had the pleasure of contributing tips on making your content work well with mobile now.

Content Matters Redux

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Last week at Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, Liza Dunning of Scoutmob (shown above, main) shared the difference editorial content makes to their mobile deals. And that's only one highlight from this panel led by our own Colleen Jones (right).

Darin Wonn of IHG, Rob Leary of FootSmart, and Lance Yoder of Cerner Corporation kindly shared insights about their trials and triumphs with content. From finding the right editorial voice to making content work well with search engines to mobilizing content, the panelists covered much ground, quickly.

That's only fitting as the demands on content rise and change, quickly.

Did you miss the panel? You can catch a glimpse here:

See more photos >

Flip through the slides >

Content and Story: 3 Resources

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Storytelling and content go hand-in-hand. Start to weave narrative into your content from these resources by us and other smart folks.

The Art + Science of Using Stories to Influence Decisions
Check out slides from our presentation for MIMA Summit 2011.

Making Up Stories
Randall Snare and Elizabeth McGuane weigh in on stories and influence for A List Apart.

Become an Interactive Storyteller
Our own Colleen Jones offers techniques and examples in iMedia Connection.

3 Ways Clout Is Helping Out

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Colleen here. Few things delight me more than hearing that Clout has helped someone. While many folks have been VERY kind to share reviews on their blogs, on Good Reads, and on Amazon.com, not everyone has time to give such formal or public feedback. So, we opened a survey for sharing quick, anonymous thoughts. What did we find? That the book is helping in 3 main ways.

1. Getting a Grip on Content Process"

"Clout helped me define a content strategy process that I could show to stakeholders."

2. Connecting Content to Bigger Results

"We had planned a 60 minute webinar on an important topic, but really just a standalone, one-time thing. Now, instead, we're looking at ways to tie a kick-off story in our newsletter to the webinar and then follow-up with a Q&A article...wringing way more out of the same work and giving it more staying power. It is very exciting and I think has made all of us on the project see that the effort has a bigger payoff than just that 60 minute webinar."

3. Planning Content to Influence Decisions

"It was very helpful to learn more about the psychology of decision-making. I now look at content planning through the lens of 'what decisions will visitors make on this site?"

Comments like these are MORE than worth the blood, sweat, and edits I put into the book! If you were of the many who shared your thoughts, thank you.

Did Clout help you out? I'd love to know. Take the quick survey >

What Do the Facebook Changes Mean for Your Content Strategy?

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Catch the Facebook show and tell yesterday at F8? If so, you saw many changes to the Facebook timeline and more. A big goal of these changes is to make content (photos, music, personal data, etc.) easier to discover, experience, and make meaningful.

To us, these changes mean that the social network really is becoming the second major gateway to the Internet. The first big gateway to the Internet is search, mainly Google. Portals a la Yahoo!....not so much anymore. The future that's quickly becoming now is users will start their quest for content with either search or social.

In Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content, our own Colleen Jones saw this coming and explained why. A short snippet...

"I predict portals will keep declining as a gateway to the Internet...Social networking compensates for many drawbacks of portals. When friends and colleagues share content, it's more likely to be relevant. These friends and colleagues act like personal content curators."

In principle, the Facebook changes make it easier to discover content curated by your friends and easier to curate your own personal content. Genius.

Why should you care about the gateways to the Internet? Because planning for your content to work well for search is different from planning for it to work well in social networks. For search, your content has to be findable. For social, your content has to be sharable. And that's just for starters.

So, we think the Facebook changes are very smart in principle. We can't wait to see what happens in practice. And, we suggest planning for people to discover your content through social sooner rather than later.

Who Uses What Media When?

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Find out from this handy infographic. We love to see data turned into useful insight for content decisions.

Created by: MBA Online

2 Handy Presentations from New-ish Voices in Content Strategy

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Some of our favorite thinkers and doers in content strategy presented at Content Strategy Forum last week, along with some new voices. (By new, we mean folks who haven't presented as often on the topic, not that they're inexperienced.) Consider us impressed. Here are presentations from two "newbies" that we think you'll find useful.

Contextually Relevant Content Strategy

CSforum2011 London Marko Hurst-ProveContentValue

Working the Clout Workshop at Content Strategy Forum

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

At Content Strategy Forum 2011 in London, UK, our own Colleen Jones had the pleasure of leading a workshop based partly on her book, Clout. Professionals from around the world enthusiastically applied ideas mentioned during the conference...and learned a thing or two more.

Congratulations to Jonathan Kahn, Destry Wion, and Randall Snare for making their vision for this conference a delightful reality. It was an honor for Content Science to contribute.

Take a peak at more photos >

Good Content Each Day Keeps the Doctor Away...Literally

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

At Content Science, we believe better content makes for better health. Let's look at a perfect specimen from Daily Challenge. Daily Challenge delivers an email like this one to you each day (after you sign up, of course).

Why do we admire it? It applies techniques for motivating and supporting action that we discuss in Clout.

The email kicks off with a clear instruction for a realistic action. (It's hard to act if you don't know what to do. And, a task that's too hard is discouraging.) The email also simply defines carotenoids, in case you didn't know. (We didn't.)

The eager can take action right away. For the hesitant, the email supports the instruction with answers to basic questions...how do I do it? Why should I do it? (Really, there's no excuse not to eat some carotenoids.)

To boot, the email shows how many other people completed yesterday's challenge. Peer pressure, in a good way.

So, take a lesson from Daily Challenge. When you want to influence people to take action, use the right content techniques.

Content Strategy Is Not a Deliverable...But Deliverables Sure Do Help

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Content strategy is a process and a mindset that results in many possible deliverables for a project. Learn more about those deliverables from the latest update to the Content Strategy knol, courtesy of Shelly Bowen.

Learn more about deliverables >

Will We See You This Fall?

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Our team will be at several events soon. Let's connect over content!

In September, we'll cross the pond to London for CS Forum 2011. Our own Colleen Jones will give an exclusive workshop, Climb to Clout.

Staying stateside? Colleen will explain how to best use stories in your content at the MIMA Summit.

Are you in higher ed? Don't miss Colleen's webinar to help you make your content make the grade.

Near our hometown of Atlanta? Colleen is leading a panel in October for Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association. (Watch the site for details.)

In November, we'll be at the ever-informative Gilbane Conference Boston, where our workshop will help you get your content down to a science.

Your Customers Are Going Digital: Are You Ready?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

McKinsey Quarterly just released more evidence that everyone's going digital. That means your customers. And, that means your customers need the right content in the right place at the right time. To help your content plans, learn more about the seven ways customers go digital.

Read the article >

3 Social Books Based on Science

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Social is critical to spreading your content to the right people. Much is said about social. But, not much is worth reading about it. Until now...

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
Susan Weinschenk summarizes insights from social science and wisely applies them to design.

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives
This research offers insights such as people with the most followers, fans, or connections are not necessarily the most influential online or off.

Social Circles
So, this book is no longer available. The author is a Google researcher who moved to Facebook. Google then suppressed the book. Drama aside, snag a used copy if you can.

Mobile Is About the Moment: A Video

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Mobile demands the right content at the right time in the right place. Are you ready? No? You're not alone.

Duo Consulting recently invited our own Colleen Jones to speak on the question of mobile content strategy. Find out Colleen's answer from this video:

Special thanks to Tim Jones, interim CCO for NC State University, for sharing his experience.

Going Mobile? Don't Be a Content Dumper

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Find out how to avoid the mistake so many companies make with mobile—no content strategy.

View more presentations from Colleen Jones

Smart + Steady Wins the Content Race for AutoTrader.com

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

New to creating your own content? Watch and learn from this clever case study.

Why Content Is Critical to Interaction + Persuasive Design

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Johnny Holland, a popular trade magazine, talked with our own Colleen Jones about the role of content in interaction and persuasive design. Guest host Kristina Mausser, a leading content strategist in her own right, asked smart questions and contributed her insights. The result? A fun and informative conversation that will help you make the most of content AND design to meet your business goals.

Listen to the podcast >

Special thanks to Jeff Parks for editing and producing.

Mashups, Mobile, Flu, + You

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

At Content Science, we love studying content. But, we love experimenting with it even more. Why? Because it's the only way to get results. When we heard about the CDC Flu App Challenge, we knew we had to take it.

We turned feeds of CDC data + content into a web AND mobile site called Flu Shot Finder. The site helps users know flu activity in their area, find a place to get flu vaccine, share a badge after they get a shot, and send a record of their vaccine to their Google Health. (Get the full explanation on Colleen's blog.)

Here's a glimpse of the mobile site:

Why do we like Flu Shot Finder so much? It demonstrates big concepts in a small package. And, it shows the possibilities of better content for better health.

Try Flu Shot Finder. >

CDC's Zombie Apocalypse Is a Wow Moment

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

How do you prepare for emergencies? The same way you prepare for a zombie attack, points out CDC in a blog post so popular it crashed the server.

We're calling Zombie Apocalypse a wow moment. By reimagining emergency 101 content in zombie terms, CDC (a federal public health agency) brought new attention to an old topic. CDC likely reached a younger audience, to boot. How can you create a wow moment? We explain in this excerpt from our book, Clout:

"The irony is the better you plan, the more consistent your content quality, and the better organized your content, the better your ability to shake things up every now and then...If you have a well-known message, voice, or approach, doing something different will stand out....You can create wow moments efficiently by repackaging existing content and data in a unique way."

We can't think of anything more different from CDC's voice than zombie talk. WOW. Well done.

Thinking Location-Based Marketing? Start Thinking Content

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

If you're considering location-based services to boost your mobile marketing, then consider content. If you don't, you're at risk of reaching your customers in the right place but with the wrong message. Learn the basics of content planning for location-based services in this article for Content Marketing Institute from our own Colleen Jones.

Read the article >

Beware of Content Shortcuts

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

When you tackle content problems, don't make the mistake of turning to shortcuts such as SEO snake oil. Learn why in this article by Colleen Jones for Smashing Magazine.

Read the article >

What Do Changes in Web Use Mean for Your Content?

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The organizers of Content Strategy Forum asked our own Colleen Jones some juicy questions about how people use the web, international content issues, content marketing, and much more.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript >

Three Handy Content Checklists

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Sometimes, a checklist is just what you need to move your project or your practice forward.

A Checklist for Content Work
This excerpt from the new book The Elements of Content Strategy covers the essentials.

Checklist for Valuable Content
This checklist covers key attributes for effective content. It reminds us of www.heardable.com, too.

Content Quality Checklist
We created this interactive checklist in answer to that tough question "What makes content good?"

Our Content Talk with Kristina Halvorson

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

What makes content compelling? Colleen Jones answered that question and more in this fun-yet-informative chat with Kristina Halvorson, author of Content Strategy for the Web.

Listen to the podcast >

Special thanks to Dan Benjamin of 5by5 Studios for producing this podcast series.

Two Content Testing Resources

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Refreshing. We're getting many questions about testing content with users. To celebrate, we're sharing two resources:

Testing Content
This article from A List Apart breaks down the basics well. (We're not fans of the readability index mentioned. But, if you find it helpful, use it.)

Testing Content: Early, Often, and Well
We co-presented this case study based on a project with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HowTo.gov Is Here to Help

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:00:00 GMT

HowTo.gov is a new website for government professionals. But, we think almost any industry can benefit from its practical guidance about giving users a better experience with websites, call centers, social media, and other communication channels. You'll find credible advice on everything from usability testing to plain language here.

Visit HowTo.gov >

What Makes Health Content Credible? Quality, Says Yet Another Study

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Recent research from National Cancer Institute tells us again that when it comes to health content, the key to earning people's trust is quality. (To buy the full study, complete with stats, look here.)

Many factors in content (referred to in the study as information) quality were the same as those in our content quality checklist. The source of the content, such as whether the content was from a government agency, also was important.

So, how do you improve the quality and credibility of health content? We explain in our new book, Clout.

Practice Better Content with Our New Workshop

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Practice. It's the only way to get better at anything, even content. That's why we're offering a workshop, hosted by Content Strategy Forum 2011 in September. Called "Climb to Clout," this workshop is based on Colleen Jones' book.

The session will give you principles and tools to make your content compelling. And, the activities will help you practice immediately.

To ensure everyone who attends has a great experience, we can offer only limited seating. (We wish everyone could attend, but it just wouldn't be fair.) So, reserve your seat soon.

Learn more + register >

A Chat about Content and Clout

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Content strategist Kristina Mausser asked our own Colleen Jones tough questions about influential web content. Here's a sample:

"KM: To some Web content purists, the very idea of persuasive writing might evoke the negative connotation of swaying readers rather than guiding their interactions. How do you respond to this?

CJ: There’s a big difference between persuasion, or influence, and manipulation. People have experienced much interactive marketing in the United States as a collection of manipulative tricks—to the point that the connotations of marketing and advertising are now almost synonymous with lying. That really needs to change."

Read the entire interview at UXmatters >

Poynter on Evaluating Ads Using Social Metrics

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

"For all the measurability of digital publishing, tracking the real impact of social media advertising remains a hope still awash somewhere between art and science. Even though social network advertising is expected to account for only about 10 percent of online ads in the U.S. this year, it’s a fast-growing category that news sites will need to do a better job of understanding and explaining to their advertisers," says Bill Mitchell.

Stratecution

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

When it comes to marketing—and, in our opinion, content—you can't separate thinking far from doing. Michael Baer, SVP of Kramer-Crasselt, explains why.

"The truth is that strategy and execution need to go hand-in-hand. You need the insight-driven, business-focused, brand-inspired thinking of top-down strategy. You also must work bottom-up, recognizing the everyday realities and real-world complexities you’ll face, while also being nimble, improvisatory, and open to evolution along the way. It’s equal parts strategy and execution, or what I call 'stratecution.'”

Learn more from Michael about stratecution >

Content Matters, Say College-Bound Students

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

In Noel-Levitz's survey of high school students bound for higher education, 80% said that a college or university website's content is more important than its design.

See more research from Noel-Levitz >

CMS Wire Reviews Our Book, Clout

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Respected trade publication CMS Wire concludes that Clout will help anyone who wants to attract the right people through content.

"Through a series of charts and case studies, Jones helps us figure out how to understand our customers better and how our brand can help them. … If a new outlook is in your company's future, Clout is worth adding to your book list. But don't limit it to just C-level suite executives or the design team. In order for content to influence, it needs to have complete buy-in from those who will be on the front line."

Read the review at CMS Wire >

Americans Spend Equal Time With TV and Internet

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A recent Forrester report reveals that consumers are spending more time online than ever. For businesses, this behavior makes digital content and advertising critical to any marketing or product plan.

“… this change hasn’t come as a result of a drastic decrease in the time consumers are spending with their TVs. Rather, the change is due to the explosive growth in the time consumers are spending online.”

Learn more from the Forrester blog >

Mobile + Content Strategy = Win

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The mobile industry is catching on. Kudos to Nokia, who recently added a mobile content strategy section to its Web Developer's Library. These simple guidelines are no doubt a sign of things to come in 2011 and establish a solid foundation for mobile development by focusing on what matters most—the user's behavior and the mobile context.

"Mobile sites should not be ‘dumbed down’ versions of the original, but rather a version that has been targeted to a mobile context and user behaviour."

Learn more at Forum.Nokia >

Get a Sneak Peek of Our Book

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

This sample chapter from Clout by our own Colleen Jones explains rhetoric.

Book to Watch: The Elements of Content Strategy

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

We're eager to get our hands on this concise introduction to content strategy by thought leader Erin Kissane. Look for it in January 2011.

Learn more at A Book Apart >

Interoperability: Hope for Your Intranet Wasteland

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The intranet wasteland—that's what we call a large company's intranet landscape when it's littered with web applications and websites that aren't connected. Is there hope to revive the intranet? We're optimistic about interoperability (content management interoperability standards, or CMIS). Imagine connecting content and data from different intranet sites and applications, without all the messy migrations. Genius.

Learn more from CMS Wire >

(Hat tip to Rahel Bailie of Intentional Design for bringing CMIS to our attention.)

Text Really Matters

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Craving comments for your blog or website? Try text. As Tom Johnson explains, textual content is what really matters to your users. So, he asks, "Shouldn’t a content expert play a role in shaping and planning that content?"

"Content includes more than text. ... But the kingpin of it all is text. Words. And this is the writer’s domain. Rather than trying to move beyond text, maybe we should embrace our strength."

Learn more from I'd Rather Be Writing >

Content, Community, and Effective Curation

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Your content strategy could very well rely on curation. If you're looking to build an audience through curation, Valeria Maltoni offers some tips.

"What is it that you want people to experience -- read, see, hear, even do in stores or gatherings -- from your business? How can you filter, classify, build upon, and provide existing information to do that?"

Learn more at Conversation Agent >

Planning Content With the Right Metrics

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

When can metrics help you plan content? When you understand their context.

"Online you can measure everything. In fact, you can measure so much, you may drown in numbers before you get a chance to ask what any of them mean," explains Clare OBrien.

Learn more about what the numbers mean at Johnny Holland Magazine >

Do Too Many Contributors Spoil Your Content?

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The more people you have involved in writing content for your website, the more challenging it can be to produce quality content. How do you make things easier and ensure your project's success? Content strategy can help.

"Dust off your style guide, keep everyone connected, and make sure your CMS is working for you and not against you," says content strategist Sally Bagshaw.

Learn more tips from Johnny Holland >

Is Engaging Just a Buzz Word?

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

We love the concept of "engaging," but we hate to see it become business jargon. So, when Content Marketing Institute (CMI) challenged our own Colleen Jones to define it, she decided to reclaim the word from the buzz. She says...

"Engaging content draws me into the moment. It gets me to think—but not so much that my head hurts. It leads me to see a need I didn’t see before, to view an old topic or idea in a new way, or to consider a different and better solution. It’s unique. It subtly disrupts my way of thinking without interrupting me like an ad. And, engaging content doesn’t feel like I’m being 'marketed to.' Why? Because it focuses on me, not the marketer."

Find out how other experts define it at CMI >

Content Strategy—It Plays Well With Others

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

"Prioritized communication goals, working with real copy, on-brand nomenclature and instructional copy, and a better sense of scope beyond mere page count...." are just a few benefits of collaborating with a content strategist, says expert Margot Bloomstein.

She discusses these benefits, her thoughts on the content strategy future, and her secret to surviving a big content inventory in this interview with Vertical Measures >

Reframe the Conversation—Strategic Content Management

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Too often, we select a CMS for the wrong reasons—popularity, culture, features, price. As Jonathan Kahn explains, we need a "grown-up CMS selection process," one that includes a selection and customization plan driven by content modeling and task analysis.

"It’s time to regain control of our content management systems by harnessing the power of content strategy."

Learn more from Kahn's article at A List Apart >

From the AP Wire to Twitter and Beyond—Robert Scoble on Online Curation

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Curation is certainly a hot topic among content strategists. But what does it mean, and how do you do it successfully? Robert Scoble, one of the web's most respected curators, says it's all about understanding people's passions, seeing patterns that others might overlook, verifying and expanding those patterns ... and keeping a close eye on Twitter.

Learn more from Howard Rheingold's interview >

Designing to Change the World

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Jon Kolko, creative frontman for frog design, thinks design is about more than decoration.

"Good design is design that changes behavior for the better. I think it needs to take into account the context of the environment, of the human condition, the culture, and then attempt to make the things you do—make us do them better, make us do better things. It encourages us to change the way that we live.”

Check out his interview with Forbes >

The Truth Isn't the Truth Until People Believe You

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

What's the connection between clarity, creativity, and influence? Advertising legend William Bernbach sums it up:

"The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly."

From Hey, Whipple, squeeze this: A Guide to Creating Great Ads

Content to Attract People and Content to Keep Them Around

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Ian Alexander calls these types of content traffic and trust content. Most companies need both types. He notes

"The implied value of these services/deliverables are very clear. Getting visitors to your site is not at all the same as keeping them there. Inversely paying for good trustbuilding content without a comprehensive search strategy that includes SEO is also shortsighted."

Learn from Your Content Archives

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Your content archives can teach you some valuable lessons. As content strategist Richard Ingram says,

"We, quite rightly, focus on the ‘now’ when we’re compiling or tending to our content audits, but I think there’s a lot to be learnt from digging into your archives from time-to-time – especially if that content pre-dates your direct involvement. Learning from past experiences will often help you work out where to focus your skills and budget on next."

Read on at Richard's blog In retrospect >

Voices That Matter Videocast Interview with Colleen Jones

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Colleen talks content strategy, how to make content more influential, improving a website through content analysis, and the importance of context.

For Persuasive Content, Use the Force

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Your content's ability to persuade depends a lot on the force of your ethos—your perceived honesty and credibility.

"When it comes to persuasion, people respond to a person’s perceived character way more than logic. ... great content can’t be faked, and a worldwide reach means you can be you and attract like-minded people who think you rock just the way you are."

Learn more tips for intensifying your force from Copyblogger >

Storytelling Is the Future of the Web

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

What's one key to successful marketing? Telling the story. And what's essential to storytelling? Good writing.

"... good design gets out of the way of the message. ... Writing is clearly the first and most important part of telling your story. ... Without devoting considerable time toward writing, and investing in the structured work writing requires such that it becomes an established discipline at your firm, the value of your story will be lost."

Learn more from Newfangled's Chris Butler >

Yes, Your Customers Read Content

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Erin Kissane debunks the myth that people read less online. If your users and customers are inclined to read content, then content is a big opportunity to influence them. It's logic. Erin notes that...

"In fact, people read more deeply online than they do in print, and on the web, 'scanners' tend to read about as much text as 'methodical readers.'"

Read the details at Erin's blog. >

And check out our own Colleen Jones' analysis of online reading. >

Is Your Content Nimble?

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

How can traditional content producers successfully move into the digital age? Rachel Lovinger says the key is making your content nimble—well-structured, adaptable, and meaningful.

"[Content] must be free to be read or viewed on a wide range of portable and networked devices. It must be free to mix and mingle with services, social networks, apps, and content from other sources. ... Being nimble is about the ability to adapt quickly to the new challenges and opportunities in today's media ecosystem ... And it's about how prepared you are to face the opportunities coming in 5 or 10 years, the ones that haven't even been predicted yet."

Learn more on how to be nimble from Razorfish's Nimble Report >

Ideas Don't Appear Out of Nowhere...They Take Analysis

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Content strategists can take inspiration from a designer's perspective on analysis. In a recent Layers Magazine article, freelance designer and illustrator Jonas Bergstrand shared his tips on maintaining a creative edge. The key, he says, is analysis.

"Ideas don’t appear out of nowhere; that only happens in cartoons. In reality, they appear after methodical provocation—analysis. Having a clear strategy on how to attack a creative problem is the best way to maintain inspiration because that rules out the fear of not coming up with an idea. ... The first thing to do when handed a brief or problem is to strip the info all the way to the bone, cut it to the core, rewrite it in just a word or two, and then illustrate what’s left."

Learn more from Layers Magazine >

Content Is Never Free

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Serious about content strategy? You need to think about funding content. As Erin Kissane says,

"You have to plan for content, and you have to figure out to pay for it—not just immediately, but over the long term."

Check the discussion at Content Is Expensive >

Mobile Content Strategy

Thu, 27 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Going mobile with your content? Here's a fantastic overview of how to approach it from Erin Scime of HUGE.

Patients & Doctors Make Better Decisions Thanks to Web Content

Fri, 21 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Wired just published a fascinating article about how web content and communication make health decisions easier and quicker.

" 'If you think about the way you go to a doctor, it’s kind of upside down. In a 10-minute visit, six or seven minutes are spent gathering background information...Then we do a quick exam and run a test, and then spend the last few seconds talking about what we’re going to do,' Livingston [a doctor] said.

For example, on a typical day, Livingston often has young patients asking about birth control. If they’ve never explored the issue, then Livingston typically spends most of his time explaining options, along with their risks and benefits. If, however, he can point his patients to online resources, such as a podcast he created and links to on Facebook, then the majority of patients already know what they want when they arrive in the office.

'What’s really fascinating is how often the educated patient makes the exact same decision that I would have for them,' he said."

Read the full article at Wired >

Social Media Starts With Content

Wed, 12 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Jumping into social media? First look at your content.

"Your content gives you a presence. It’s like your circle of your influence, and without influence, there is no social media presence. ... Whatever you need to promote, it can be promoted through social media, but the actual message exists in the form of content on your website or blog."

Learn more from Content Gyan >

Consider Content First

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Would you build an art gallery without first considering the art? Of course not. So don't build a website without first considering the content.

"It's time to give content the attention it deserves."

Learn more from Rachel Lovinger and Karen McGrane's presentation, Understanding Content >

A Call for Relevant, Influential Health Content

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Where do people go for health content? The Internet. But, they often leave unable to use, trust, or act on that content.

"Health plans, drug companies, and other providers of online health resources can increase the relevance and influence of their Web sites if they focus on site usability, bolster the credibility of their content, and bridge the gap between the Web and the point of care."

Learn more from Forrester Research >

Content Strategy and Reinventing Design

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

If SXSW 2010 is any indication, the design community sees value in content strategy. Take it from designer Chris Fahey, who said:

"The biggest way to show your product's personality is through your content strategy."

Learn more from Fahey's presentation >

Psychology for the Web

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

How do you influence people online? Ben Scofield thinks it's by following key principles such as likeability and social proof.

"When we like people, we do what they want."

Learn more from Scofield's SXSW presentation >

The Future of Wireframes

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"IA, content strategy and visual design are quickly converging on the Web. As design becomes democratized and users demand more than the "craigslist experience", business owners are discovering that the way to keep users on a site is to differentiate themselves through intelligent content and innovative design that exist within the natural patterns available to the respective mediums (browsers, phones)."

Learn more from MIX >

We Find Negative Words Fast

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

War continues.

No sign of peace.

"Does our brain treat these two sentences differently, despite their identical meaning? A new study suggests it does...we are better at detecting words that carry negative meaning than those that are positive."

Dig deeper with Scientific American Mind >

Technologies Don't Solve Content Problems

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"There are all these technologies around desperately looking for some kind of problem to solve. Instead, they should be saying we have a content problem, and we need to find a solution for that content problem."

Read more from an Interview with Edward Tufte >

Google Curates Sources of Quality Health Content

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Roni Zeiger of Google describes a curation feature to Pew Internet:

"Health information is obviously an important category of information users are looking for. For this health search feature we decided to offer users one source each from a governmental health agency, a medical institution, and a commercial site. We'll study how users like these choices and continue to iterate."

Words That Zing

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"As web professionals, we craft a context for the opportune moment. But we then need to aim at that context with words that zing. To do that, I believe we have much to learn from kairos."

Read more about kairos from Colleen Jones >

Why I Embrace Content Strategy (and You Should Too)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"The Web is content. People forget that. It’s the entire reason for the Web in the first place...People don’t come to the Web for design. They come to solve a problem, to complete a transaction, to learn something, to find entertainment. That involves content in one form or another."

See more great reasons to embrace content strategy from Stacey King Gordon >

The Decision Tree: How Smarter Choices Lead to Better Health

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Can the data revolution lead to healthful choices? Thomas Goetz thinks so.

“Instead of checking in on our health episodically…we can now tap into a constant stream of information and opportunity…We can build ever more sophisticated, and useful, decision trees.”

How We Decide

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

To create content that influences people's decisions, we need to know how people decide.

"The science of decison-making remains a young science. Researchers are just beginning to understand how the brain makes up its mind....And yet, even at the dawn of this new science, it's possible to come up with a few general guidelines that can help us all make better decisions."

Learn more from Jonah Leherer in How We Decide >

Usability Testing: Be Sure to Test Content As Well As Navigation

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"Too many usability tests focus only on finding information—not on how the information itself works for people. Testing 'finding' (navigation) is critical—but not enough. People come to web sites for the information (content), not for the pleasure of hunting for that content."

More about testing content from Ginny Redish >