Content Company: Content News, January 2004

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Content News, January 2004

Happy new year, and welcome to the January 2004 issue of Content News, the newsletter that provides solutions to your content issues. Feel free to send this newsletter to anyone you know who is choosing a content management system, thinking about implementing content management in their organization or developing a content management system. Also, I welcome your feedback on this newsletter or my site -- send it to feedback@contentcompany.biz.

Best,

Hilary Marsh
Editor, Content News
President, Content Company

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Feature Article: Demystifying Content Management Software: What you need to know and what to do next

Note 1. Winner of our survey drawing

Note 2. Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Note 3. Recent updates to the Content Company website

FEATURE ARTICLE:

Demystifying Content Management Software: What you need to know and what to do next

by Hilary Marsh, President, Content Company
originally published in January 2004 Content News, the newsletter that provides solutions to your content issues

What is content management software? What is the difference between content management and CMS?

Content management software automates the process of publishing information to a website. That simple statement has several important assumptions behind it:

that information is published, vs. posted
that there is a process that can be automated
that the website will have enough content being updated often enough that it will warrant a substantial investment

These assumptions are not to be taken lightly. Often, Web content is created by different people than those who communicate in person, by phone or in print from an organization to its audiences. As long as that is the case, your website's effectiveness will be limited.

Content management is the means to ensure that the information an organization issues is accurate, on-target, legally compliant and consistent. True content management encompasses Web content, call center scripts, direct marketing materials, sales presentations, press information, advertising, product information, executive speeches, etc.

Imagine if your information was integrated

...if your organization's information was created through a collaboration of communications, training, marketing, business strategy and customer service...

...if your customers could go to your store, your website, your salespeople, your call center and get the same information...

...if your salespeople, executives, communications department and customer service representatives all knew what each other was saying, and that their information matched.

Managing Web-based content

Good Web content needs a publishing process behind it, to ensure that it is accurate, up-to-date, on-brand and serves the needs of the author and organization who generate it, as well as the reader. Software tools can automate some of the content management process, but content management can happen without software-and the thought processes drive the content management requirements, not vice-versa.

Specifics

Content management systems, in general, do the following things:

Have a standard way to accept all content, whether through the use of templates (forms) or by saving from standard office software.
Store content in a central place
Take content along the approval chain, usually called workflow
Separate content from presentation, so that changes in the design of a page or site can happen independently from the content and content is easier to reuse
Enable metadata to be entered for each piece of content, enabling it to be found more easily by internal search engines and delivered dynamically on pages

There are benefits and risks to using a CMS

Benefits

Your website will have a consistent look and feel, since a CMS presents content according to sitewide standards.
Further, if the same content appears on different sites, it will be displayed in the look of each site.
Most CMSs can automatically update internal links, ensuring that no one reaches a dead end in your site.
By standardizing your editorial processes, your website is likely to have better content.

Risks

Content management systems are expensive, costing up to several hundred thousand dollars. Open-source software might have no cost to buy, but it needs extensive customization.
Myth: If you build it, they'll use it. Without motivation and recognition, people's behavior won't change.
You can't count on a CMS to create content for you, or inspire people to update their content, or make people better writers.
Many content management systems are not usable without training...an especially significant issue for content owners who only need to update their information infrequently. (This is often complicated even more if the people who post content are not the ones who author it.)

Do you need a CMS?

You definitely need content management in your organization. The question is whether you need software to do that management.

In your organization...

who distributes information?
who receives that information?
what information was the recipient looking for, and did the information provide that?
why was the recipient looking for that information, and did the information meet that goal?
what was the organization goal in communicating the information, and was that the right one?

Most organizations don't know the answer to these questions. And, to complicate matters even more, they don't know much at all about what information is being communicated from various parts of an organization to various audiences -- in other words, whether several business units or departments are saying contradictoryory things about the same things, to the same audiences.

Creating Enterprise-Level Content Management

Content management efforts cannot only reside in the communications department, although communicators should take a leadership role. They cannot be centered in IT, although technical developers need to be involved through the entire process. There needs to be a cross-functional team devoted to assessing what the organization's content management needs and opportunities are, given that organization's culture, business goals, and audience needs.

How to Choose the Right System and Avoid Choosing the Wrong One

See content management as a strategic companywide effort, not a technical project
If content management is seen purely as a technical project, its focus will be on the implementation of a software package, vs. a significant shift in business process.
Scrutinize CMSs in light of your needs
Frankly, the marketing language for many content management systems sounds similar. But start by screening vendors and reading comparison reports, including CMS Watch <http://www.cmswatch.com/>.
Start by learning what you need
Phase one of your CMS project is to create a strategy for your content and requirements for what you need a CMS to do.
Your focus can't be only on the technology. The strategy/discovery process needs to uncover content creation processes and develop best practices that can be adopted throughout the organization. It needs to state a compelling case for content management that will inspire executives to embrace its use. And it needs to involve HR, motivating people to participate in this effort.
Make your RFP very specific to your needs
State each requirement (or preference, if a feature would be good but not essential), and have vendors answer the following questions for each one:

Does your product provide this capability?
Is this capability a standard feature, an add-on, or will it require custom development?
If the feature is not standard, how much will it cost to buy/build?
Please provide details about how you would meet this requirement.
Are there any qualifications to your answer?

Create a multidisciplinary team for the CMS selection process
The people who choose a content management system should include technology, content and business.

Content Company can help your organization develop a content management process, or choose software to help manage your content. Contact us at info@contentcompany.biz.

NOTE 1. Winner of Our Survey Drawing

We recently posted a survey asking folks for their opinions about Content Company's website, newsletter and, most important, our offerings. Many thanks to those who took the survey and gave your input.

In December, we held a drawing and selected one lucky recipient to win a free one-day website or intranet consultation. The winner is Anthony Vitagliano of OfficeHQ, a business-to-business internet startup.

Although the drawing is complete, you may still take the survey by going to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=15693005E20

NOTE 2: Upcoming Speaking Engagements

February 2, Society for Technical Communications, Chicago chapter, "Content Management: Implications for Publishing, Technical Writing and Software Knowledge"
Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights, in the Hendrickson Room.
Admission: $10.00. A light supper will be provided.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
RSVP to Andi Dunn (mamarachel@comcast.net) by January 31st.

February 10, Independent Writers of Chicago. "Writing for the Web: Building a Site from the Outside In - How a Writer Can Add Value to Website Creation"
Feltre School, 22 West Erie, Chicago.
Admission: free for professional members, $5 for associates, and $15 for nonmembers.
Networking opens at 5 p.m. and the program begins at 6:00 p.m.
Plan to stay for the buy-your-own dinner at a nearby restaurant afterwards. It's a great networking opportunity.

March 29, Best Practices in Content Management for Financial Services conference in New Orleans. Three-hour workshop: "A Step-by-Step Approach to Developing an Enterprise Content Management Strategy for Financial Services Organizations."

April 22, Community Media Workshop. "Using Email to Enhance Marketing and Communications."

NOTE 3: Upcoming NetContent/Chicago Meetings

Net Content/Chicago is one of only three organizations in the world for online content professionals. We host monthly events covering topical issues for the online content industry, and sponsor two email lists. Net Content/Chicago is a SIG of the Association for Multimedia Communications.

To subscribe to the NetContent/Chicago email discussion list, visit http://www.amcomm.org/dynamic/subscriptions.php

To subscribe to our announcement list:
http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/netcontent-chicago

Check out the archives of our previous presentations: http://www.amcomm.org/contemplate/assembler.php?page=SIG_content_archives

JANUARY: Contingency Design -- Designing for when things go wrong

Wednesday, January 28, 2004, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
DePaul University - Loop Campus, 1 East Jackson, 11th Floor - North Cafeteria
Admission: $5; free for 2003-2004 CHI-Squared members
(Meeting hosted by CHI-Squared; NetContent/Chicago members are welcome to attend)

Speaker: Jason Fried, President, 37 Signals, www.37signals.com.
Contingency Design, a field pioneered by 37signals, refers to designing for when things go wrong (error messages, no search results found, missing pages, bad form entries, etc.).

Context & Perspective: Helping people judge the size, weight, and bulk of objects online (without being able to touch or hold them as you could in a retail store).
Setting Expectations: Helping people understand what comes next when they click a button or fill out a form or move through a process online.
Contingency Design: Helping people both prevent errors and get back on track if an error does occur.

FEBRUARY: Healthy Client-Vendor Relationships

It's all about good chemistry, give-and-take, sound planning and solid contracts. Or is it?
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Giordano's, 310 West Randolph, Chicago
Admission: $10; free for AMC members & full-time students with ID
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Catch the indispensable advice of Edward Prentice III and Stephanie Spindler of The Centrax Corporation, an e-learning company that for the last 18 years has been practicing the fine art of high-tech courtship. Find out the best way to launch a project and keep it thriving. Learn what to do when times get compressed from the original timeline, and discover how to rescue a project when the last vendor just ate up your critical days.

In addition, we'll introduce the Centrax Check-up: key questions to ask at specific points in the relationship:

Are you continually demonstrating short-term results to the client?
Do you have the right number of "chefs" on the client and vendor side?
Do you know when it's time for the client's Subject Matter Expert, or your own?
Are you using online approval tools or e-mail templates for an "adjustable" communication process (and steering clear of quick fix "content conversion" tools)?
Have you been coping with "re-usable learning objects" when there's no decently written content to work with in the first place?

Any process is a flexible process. If you work in e-learning, e-marketing, video or DVD production or with any content that is pushed out to an audience with high expectations, meet Edward and Stephanie and ask them the questions that are keeping you up at night.

NOTE 3: RECENT UPDATES TO THE CONTENT COMPANY WEBSITE

New Projects

Read about our latest endeavors in our news section.

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ABOUT CONTENT NEWS

Content News is the monthly newsletter from Content Company where we share our learnings about and insights into content management and other issues related to content, lists our latest projects and reports on other tidbits.

ABOUT CONTENT COMPANY

Content Company provides a variety of content services, from content management strategy to content development. Content Company helps organizations achieve dual goals: to fulfill their business goals and help their audiences (employees, customers, partners, etc.) meet their needs.

Our clients are corporations, associations and nonprofit organizations. Our projects have included intranets, public websites, newsletters and video scripts. If you are interested in disucssing how we can work with your organization, please feel free to contact Hilary Marsh, Content Company president, at hilary@contentcompany.biz

Content News, January 2004, No. 5, copyright © 2004 Content Company, Inc. You are welcome to pass along this newsletter, as long as you do not change the content, you keep the opening and this closing material, and you notify Hilary Marsh at hilary@contentcompany.biz. Hilary Marsh retains copyright of this material.

This newsletter was originally sent to 404 subscribers on Monday, January 19, 2004.

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