iPad, Blackberry, Droid, PS3, In-Dash Car Console – Virtually all digital devices now connect to the Internet. Be cognizant that your content may not be viewed as you intended. Is your content scalable? Accessible? Consumable?

2. The Message IS The Medium


Pride yourself on being a forward-thinking, innovative company? Perception is reality. Content created for social, mobile and tablet is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a requirement for the next decade. See Commandment #3.


3. Content Can’t Be Re-Purposed


We know that content written for print doesn’t work online. It works even less in a fragmented digital device market. Content must be planned for, created, and published for the medium. Content with contextual hyperlinks is only 2-dimensional. It’s time to start thinking in 3 and even 4D.

4. Content Is Non-Linear

There is no start, middle and end. All content is “in medias res”. Much like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, your user determines what they will read, how much, and how they will interact with your content. Don’t assume anything.

5. Content Is A Line Item

You can’t budget content (or anything created for digital consumption for that matter) as a one-time expense. Content Strategy is a recurring expense. Don’t just focus on content creation either. You need to monitor, edit, revise, and test your content to ensure you are reaping its full value. Remember: It costs money to make money.


6. Fear Not Foreign Tongues

Thanks to technology, language is becoming less of a barrier to communication. Google Translate and the Google Translate App are just the start. While we’re not there yet – it won’t be long before content translation won’t be the organization’s responsibility but that of the individual. Shift your focus towards creating great, plain language content that is easy to read, understand and share no matter what language you’re publishing in.

7. Content Is Consumable

This isn’t Shakespeare. Digital content is consumed, not cherished. While Shakespeare strove to attain immortality through writing, digital content creators die a certain death each time they publish. And that’s a good thing. Digital content is a fast food economy. Users graze and consume it faster than you can publish. What might be the hottest blog post today is a forgotten link in a matter of days or weeks. Keep up with demand.

8. Content Must Be Shareable

You can’t own content. Once you release it, you want people to share it. That‘s how you build word-of-mouth …and relationships …and value. Make your content relevant and easy to share through all viable channels. Include “Tweet This”, “Email This” and “Share This” buttons on all consumable content published.

9. Don’t Make Content A Commodity

It might be a consumable, but it’s definitely not a commodity. Content is a business asset. Highly valued content yields high value results. Content isn’t just a nice to have investment anymore, it’s a business driver. Invest wisely.

10. Content Should Always Exceed Expectation

Sell the sizzle! Savvy users are demanding digital content delivery in sexy new ways. Don’t underestimate their expectations. While you may not yet be delivering content in innovative ways, others already are. It’s time to start turning content on its head!

A Common Scenario:

Traditional marketing/communications managers or even CEO’s read web content and automatically dismiss the value in it because it doesn’t read the way they think it “should”:

- Long, complex sentence structures
- Third person voice
- Gobbledygook business terms
- Written from the perspective of the business (“We”)
- Industry or corporate acronyms

The Problem:

The above represents a style and tone that has become synonymous with “professional”, “credible” and “authoritative”. But, it’s a style that doesn’t work on the web.

The Solution:

So, how do content writers within an organization help to change the perceptions of content writing in those who are accustomed to the out-dated traditions of the passive voice?

1. Web Analytics Data
2. Word Clouds

First, analyze your analytics.

Note which pages are being read, and which ones aren’t. 9 times out of 10, the pages that are most important to the organization aren’t even close to being in the top 10 of those being viewed by your target audience. If it’s a document that’s important to the company, but clearly not important to the reader, then you have to ask why it’s even being offered online in the first place.

[Of course, I know how large organizations work and I know that pulling down the "Important Company Document" is never going to happen. So this is when you move to step 2 - revising the content!]

Next, start by creating a word cloud of the page in question.

In content marketing, we use word clouds to illustrate the prominence of keywords within a web page. In this case, use the word cloud as a way of demonstrating organization-centric vocabulary and messaging. Here’s a word cloud I created from a web page on the Government of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans website:

From the words alone, you can tell this is a traditional “top-down” approach to messaging.

Next, rewrite the content in a manner keeping with proper writing for the web techniques:

- Using the researched vocabulary of your target audience
- Plain language
- Short, sound-bite sentences
- Bulleted lists
- Task-oriented
- 150-250 words maximum (if possible)
- Proper use of headers and calls to action

Then, create another word cloud of the revised content:

This word cloud still contains organizational vocabulary, but you can see clearly the message has tipped in favour of a more balanced approach biased towards the target audience – gone are the acronyms and prominence of organizational program names.

Using this method, factual data and qualitative illustrations stress the results of proper web content writing and serve to bolster support for the investment of time and resources from those who still control both budgets and message.

Related Video:

As a hat tip to the end of 2010 and the beginning of a new year with the many possibilities it brings, here then are a list of my favorite things for …business …for writing …for content. May they help you as much as they have me! Cheers!

The Fine Print: The following products/services are NOT paid endorsements but simply reflect personal preference on my part.

Read:

There are very few books on content writing that acknowledge that online content is more than just getting your point across succinctly in plain language. This book fills a significant gap in any “writing for the web” library by exploring and revealing the basics of “persuasive” writing. This is my approach to web writing and I love the hybrid mash-up of psychology and marketing fundamentals that Colleen Jones articulates and applies.

Finally! A book that talks about web content as a compendium …a contextual diffusion of messaging that doesn’t just stop at the corporate website but is interwoven throughout the online space. With a cohesive approach to content strategy that includes Social Media, this isn’t just another Social Media book extolling the virtues of social media in it’s own bubble. It’s about time!

Have you read this yet? If you haven’t, and even if you have, the 10 year anniversary edition is brilliant! I love it! My copy is highlighted, tagged, bookmarked and well-loved. It’s a smart read that asked many philosophical questions about the web ten years ago, that still remain relevant and unanswered today. All businesses must read this! It’s a book that makes you think about the web …about society …about the future. After reading it, you won’t just see outside the box ….you’ll think differently about the box entirely.

Learn:

It all started with an idea. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. That was the premise behind the idea that my business partner, Jeff Parks, and I came up with when we started Follow The UX Leader.

What I love about our workshops is that they’re hands-on, interactive …and fun! And that’s not just from the participant perspective, but from mine too. I love talking about what I do! I love teaching! And I love learning from participants! I’m proud of what Jeff and I have created and I’m excited to continue bringing high-quality, highly-interactive learning opportunities to businesses, governments and individuals in the future.

Every now and then you come across a blog or e-zine that stands out. It’s smart. It’s worth your time. It’s written by credible thought-leaders who bring value to the community of practice. A List Apart is one of those!

Analyze:

The future looks bright for content marketing. It’s not just about keyword research and repetition. It’s about using the researched vocabulary of your target audience. ScribeSEO was created by writers for writers …so it has the functionality and finesse that anyone who’s ever done SEO “the old fashioned” way through WordTracker will appreciate. It’s a beautiful app!

A website is not a brochure and the cost to run it is not a single line item expense for the company. In my opinion, every website that launches should factor in the annual cost of running ClickTale – a web analytics program that actually shows you how people are interacting with your website. “Time on page” can’t tell you if someone has actually read your website, but a ClickTale movie can pretty quickly show you if it has …or if it hasn’t!

I do math reluctantly. So when I learned that keyword ratios are just as easy to visualize as they are to demonstrate in a mathematical equation, I now present all of my clients with a Word cloud of their search engine optimized content. Many are now proudly pinned to lunchroom bulletin boards as a way to recognize that words alone can, in fact, represent a corporate culture.

Write:

I actually think this is the future of writing. Between multiple edits and multiple authors, a single document passed around for review becomes a mess of colorful comment tags that cause more confusion than clarity. Text Flow lets you version control and collaborate your content in a way that mimics content creation today: write, revise, revise, revise etc…

I write in Pages. I love full screen mode for distraction-free writing. While I don’t recommend OmmWriter for client projects, if you’re just looking to tap into your inner creativity and “free-form” for awhile, this free app is the way to go!








Watch:

That’s the trouble with words. Without context, they remain ambiguous; chameleons with multiple meanings.

And, that’s the problem with search engine optimization (SEO). Simply choosing keywords based on the number of hits they receive doesn’t really justify the use of these words within your content marketing lexicon either.

You see, just like Amy and Sam, words can mislead without context …and in the case of content marketing, can misdirect target audiences entirely.

Consider what kind of traffic might come to your website using the keyword phrase “stainless steel chains”:

- urban hipsters?
- metrosexuals?
- mechanics or construction workers?
- bikers?
- thugs?
- prison officials?
- tow truck drivers?

You see how keyword strength can’t just be based on numbers alone? A website can fail simply by using words that have too broad a meaning to attract and convert the kinds of customers you are actually looking for.

Without defining the purpose of your website and your target audience, search engine optimization really is a numbers game …with a very high failure ratio.

In certain industries, keywords based on popular topics can cause a veritable traffic jam of high bounce rates caused by the right information being presented to the wrong audience.

Consider what kind of traffic might come to your website using the keyword phrase “breast cancer treatments”:

- patients?
- doctors?
- researchers?
- students?

While the number of hits might be high enough to justify its use within your content, the significance of the number alone doesn’t account for the myriad of individuals from different backgrounds who might be searching for this same keyword phrase.

As this “literal” video demonstrates, content without context and meaning (as often used in keyword stuffing) is just plain absurd.

Words are wonderful things. They have multiple meanings, spellings and pronunciation. All of these must be factored into your search engine optimization research in order to truly come up with a content marketing lexicon that doesn’t jeopardize meaning (and conversion) at the expense of hits alone.

Show! Don’t Tell!

Just like gobbledygook business terms, a corporate mission statement holds no more value in the eyes of your customer if the vision expressed can be applied to any company within any sector. Naturally, your company aims to be #1 …in your industry …with the best customer service …and the most fantastic products around. You wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t!

Trust and Engagement Online Are Predicated By What Users Want and Value

When customers go to an About Page online, they want to know more about your organization through the lens of what matters to them.

About Page Do’s

- Do include background information on your organization to affirm credibility. Tell a story if possible.
- Do post pictures of the business and key personnel to establish rapport and build trust.
- Do keep the tone engaging and light.
- Do answer key questions that your customers might want to know about your organization.
- Do get creative! Borrow from magazine-style interviews or create a narrative through imagery.
- Do use internal links to other sections of the website to illustrate quality products and customer service.
- Do start most sentences with “You”.

About Page Don’ts

- Don’t write in 3rd person.
- Don’t rely on gobbledygook business terms.
- Don’t use corporate or industry acronyms.
- Don’t transpose content from print sources like Quarterly or Annual Reports.
- Don’t include “A Message from the President”.
- Don’t embed a video of yourself “Welcoming” people to your website.
- Don’t provide statistics that are only meaningful to the company …not the customer!
- Don’t start all sentences with “We…”

Mission and Vision statements are a way for organizations to communicate corporate culture, values and objectives in a few short sentences. In theory, they serve as a beacon for which to guide all future business decisions. In essence, mission statements are both for you and about you.

…the difference on the web is that the About Page itself isn’t really about “you” at all!

Finding the perfect word, or string of words in traditional marketing was typically left in the hands of the creatives whose manipulation of the poetics of language could sway even the most unfavorable of arguments in support of their pitch.

But for the countless “power words” that drive enterprise, there are many more that have become so ingrained in the established lexicon of business that they have lost all meaning …and influence.

In the words of marketing strategist and author, David Meerman Scott, these cliched terms are nothing more than “Gobbledygook“.

And let me tell you, as a writer, Gobbledygook is what business leaders are conditioned to look for when determining “good”, “quality” content. The more hyperbole, the more professional and “business-like” the content sounds …or at least that’s how it used to be.

The problem with Business Gobbledygook, of course, is that it’s generic, bland, overused and speaks at the customer …not with them, in the terms that they use and value.

Dow Jones Analysis Of Gobbledygook

“The folks at the Factiva Reputation Lab used text mining tools to analyze news releases sent by companies in North America. Factiva analyzed each release in its database that had been sent to one of the North American news release wires it distributes. The news release wires included in the analysis were Business Wire, Canada newsWire, CCnMatthews, Commweb.com, Market Wire, Moody’s, PR newswire, and Primezone Media network.”

~ The Gobbledygook Manifesto

The Top 10 Gobbledygook Words and Phrases in 2008

Dow Jones Insight Ranks Most Used Gobbledygook Terms

“Another major drawback of the generic gobbledygook approach is that it doesn’t make your company stand out from the crowd. Here’s a test: take the language that the marketers at your company dreamed up and substitute the name of a competitor and the competitor’s product for your own. Does it still make sense to you? Marketing language that can be substituted for another company’s isn’t effective in explaining to a buyer why your company is the right choice.”

~ David Meerman Scott, The Gobbledygook Manifesto

While the business community continues to speak “gobbledygook” offline, there is no value in puffing up websites with language that does nothing to connect with target audiences online. If you only have 150 words to work with on a web page before users click the back button, that leaves little room for “angel food fluff”.

Search Engines Put The Words Back Into Customer’s Mouths

Search engine optimization changed the rules of the game a number of years ago when businesses fought for page rank using search engine results for keywords and keyword phrases. Except what search engine marketers did was the opposite of what traditional marketers do – they looked to the vocabulary of their target audience (not the gobbledygook of corporate speak) to saturate their content with the very words they knew their customers used to find the products and services they were selling.

Keywords Are Big Business

“Around half the companies (49%) are reallocating budgets to search engine marketing from print advertising. More than a third (36%) are shifting money away from direct mail, and almost a quarter are moving budgets from conferences and exhibitions (24%) and web display advertising (23%)”

~ 2010 State of Search Engine Marketing Report, BusinessWire

Until Search Engine Optimization came along, it was very hard to place a dollar value on words alone. While SEO was good for writers to finally be able to justify the importance of their role to the business community, the downside was in compromising the readability (i.e. usability) of content at the expense of optimization (i.e. keywords).

A Fine Balance

“SEO copywriting ‘techniques’ – as they are commonly understood today – represent a bastardized version of copywriting that’s not good for customers, not good for users and serves up pure schlock… Sadly, most people never talk about the second half of the SEO copywriting equation – the half that’s even more important than keywords. And that’s writing compelling, interesting and persuasive content designed to communicate with your customers.”

~ SEO Copywriting is Dead, Long Live SEO Content Marketing

The bygone era of Madison Avenue and martini lunches may have set corporate America on the path to respecting the influence of words, but the information age has solidified that relationship with the need to provide quality content using the researched vocabulary of an intended target audience.

“Consider this: While 30-second Super Bowl commercials cost $2.6 million each and reach 80 million people, the One Times Square tower draws 211 million pairs of eyeballs when the New Year’s Eve ball drops … According to media sellers, the rental prices for ad real estate varies widely depending, in part, on size and — like everything else in Manhattan — location.”

~ Advertising Age, The Cost of Advertising on Times Square

While the CPM model does apply to online advertising campaigns, the effectiveness of web content as a whole can’t be measured by the number of “eyes” landing on a web page alone.

So why do so many people focus their ROI on the number of “Hits” and “Page Views” their website receives?

Anyone who has visited Times Square can tell you the barrage of billboard advertising can lead to a sensory overload of colors, lights and imagery. So much so, that although you might see an ad, you probably don’t entirely absorb its message. The same applies to the web:

Web Pages May Be Viewed But Not Read

Most web content writers will use the “Average Time On Page” from Google Analytics as a rudimentary way of determining the effectiveness of their web content. I know the statistical “before and after” results garnered from web content projects I have worked on show convincing arguments towards professionally written web content.

A generally accepted Google Analytics target-result in my industry takes “Average Time On Page” from seconds (before) to over 2 minutes (after).

The ambiguity of the results, of course, leads us to assume in our favor. We choose to believe that the web content we have written is connecting and engaging with its intended target audience. But the increased time on page could just as easily be doing otherwise.

Web Content Is An Incredible Marketing Opportunity!

While Google Analytics may only be able to report broad results similar to the CPM of a billboard in Times Square, web content offers something print content can’t:

Web Content Is Bolstered By Technology

What this means is that interactions with a web page – clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements – can be tracked to determine the effectiveness of the web content on it: video, audio, images and copy. These results (both individual and aggregated) give organizations invaluable feedback on whether their website is working or not …and how!

I believe that web content is a valuable business asset. I have worked in traditional marketing, communications and advertising, and the reason I love the web is because it is the only medium that can deliver reports and results based on concrete data.

Until now, I’ve only been able to “tell” clients about the value of web content based on what I know as a web professional working in this industry since 1999. Thanks to the generous support of ClickTale, however, I’m now going to be able to show you. ClickTale has given DigitalWord a free three-month subscription to track, analyze, and monitor this website and blog as a means of “showing” results. My goal is to be able to share with clients and readers alike, how

- mouse move heatmaps
- attention heatmaps
- scroll reach heatmaps
- click heatmaps
- link analytics

can give us contextualized data that will help to create better online experiences, and in turn, demonstrate the ROI of a quality web content strategy and professionally written web content.

Many thanks to Shmuli Goldberg, Director of Marketing and Communications at ClickTale for believing in and supporting this approach to illustrating the business value of web content

…and to Jeff Parks of i.a. consultants inc. for making this important introduction and connection between DigitalWord and ClickTale.

As I’ve talked about before in this blog, content for most organizations hasn’t evolved past the online brochure paradigm adopted from the print marketing collateral days. An organization’s content is still driven by information pertaining to the products, services, about/history, and contact/location of the organization itself.

Problem: It’s Always About You!

Using this approach, website traffic arrives from search engines (or directly) to a website that PROCLAIMS everything it thinks you need to know about the business through the lens of its marketing department.

What’s Wrong With That?

The problem with this method is it fails to take advantage of the technology behind websites that make them so much more than just static brochures. We talk a lot about conversion online, but few websites actually take the time to recognize that a lot of what converts website traffic into paying customers is, in fact, the content …and the functionality of that content.

(This is also why generalist writers often end up writing web content that reads more like a brochure. Their lack of technical understanding of content functionality can impede the user experience-focused interaction necessary for a successful website over the long term.)

Functional Content

Here is a model I use to describe the four kinds of web content that should exist on every website in order for it to be successful. Hat tip to Gerry McGovern who is a passionate advocate of Task-Based Content.

The inverted pyramid is a figurative approach to funneling website traffic leads into customers. Of course, a website’s audience is not only SEO driven but also (hopefully) an online representation of your business as a value-added service for existing customers as well.

Reality Check: The kind of content you have on your website will not only increase its functionality but its overall value to your business.

To borrow from a typical sales model – In order to move from lead generation -> qualified leads -> paying customer, your web content must encourage repeat website visits from both organic traffic and existing customers.

Web Content Ideas For Layered Content Delivery

Here are just a few ideas of the kinds of content that might exist on your website. Bear in mind that the purpose of your website will always trump the type of content and the proportions that are present.

For instance, a government research lab will probably be heavily weighted towards providing mostly information-based content, whereas an e-commerce site might be less inclined to focus on substantive details.

Information-Based: Great source for search engine optimized keywords. Provides general information about the organization to establish credibility and trustworthiness. More does not necessarily equal better.

Task-Based: Great way to build a customer database. Encourages repeat visits through functionality and bookmarking. Asks the site visitor to interact with the website in a way that gives them what they need/value i.e. Download the PDF, complete the form, sign up today, try our online calculator etc.

Community-Based: (or Conversation-Based) A great place for reputation management and encouraging feedback. A source of inspiration for new products/services and evergreening of web content. Social media tools like blogs, twitter, facebook, youtube are an easy addition provided an overall strategy is involved.

Retention-Based: Convenient approach for 24/7 customer service. Password-protected area may be required. This content is most linked to offline business strategy as it provides online value to existing customers. Closed-loop marketing campaigns with offline tactics (i.e. promotions, coupons, give-aways) would be one application of this kind of content.

Unlike print brochures, web content is a two-way conversation between an organization and its customers. That’s not to say that brochure websites aren’t going to deliver results, it’s just that it’s time to make our online conversations more engaging to target audiences by providing content that is interesting, entertaining, and of most value to them.

Sadly, the same holds true on the Web. Businesses often overlook the value of web content as being both a driver of new business and a vehicle for customer service. Since most web projects are still managed the same as print publications, web content is very much an after-thought both in scope and budget.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, web content writing looks deceptively simple and straight-forward on the surface. How much time could it possibly take to write 150 words? Even as a writer I often fall into that trap, failing to remember my own rule:

The problem with forgetting about all of the “stuff” that goes on below the surface, is that companies fail to accommodate and invest in the time it takes to do the proper homework necessary to create websites that deliver long-term value.

Here is the dollar breakdown of two recent web projects with total project budgets equalling CDN$20,000 or higher.

New Website Project:

Website Redesign Project:

The problem I have with this kind of project budget breakdown is that it UNDERVALUES the longer term business value of the website.

If the purpose of your website is to attract, engage and retain customers, then why are you investing less than 15% of your website budget to the very thing that drives over 80% of your business?

Reality Check:

- Web Content Is Your Primary Driver of Website Traffic – Keywords and Organic Search Engine Optimization are Critical

- Web Content Makes the Sale and Closes The Deal – Clear Headers and Calls To Action Are Key

- Web Content Provides Information, Facilitates Usability, Connects and Engages With Customers, and Supports Brand Messaging – Web Content Strategy Is Paramount

Don’t get me wrong. The back-end of a website is just as important as the front end. The web development portion of any web project budget will always be the most weighty. However, to simply throw what’s left of any budget towards the content portion of the project in the hopes that it will deliver “some” value is not only short-sighted …it’s just plain dumb!

How Much Do You Think These Companies Value Their Business?

The following is a screenshot of freelance web content writing projects posted on elance.com.

The scary part isn’t that web content writers are willing to work at an hourly wage equal to that of the Great Depression (perhaps the undervaluing of content is one propagated within our own ranks…), it’s that companies are willing to risk their future sales and potential viability as a business in an effort to save a few bucks!

Web Content Is A Business Asset

Here is some feedback that I received on a recent project for a company that took the time to properly investigate how web content could help grow and solidify their business. Their investment in properly researched and written web content paid off within a week of launch. Here is a direct message that I received on Twitter from agile coach, Dave Rooney

Web content is intrinsically tied to a company’s overall business strategy. If a web content writer cannot convey the value of your business in a meaningful way that delivers results, then all you have invested in is pretty copy that is lovely to read and nothing more.

Companies: Understand and value web content in a way that will cause you to seek out the best content writers and engage them accordingly. You will assuredly reap the rewards of your investment (ROI) both in website traffic and in sales.

Writers: Mind your worth! How is anyone going to value what you do if you do not place value on it yourself? Stand up for what you are worth and others will value that worth in turn.

“Would you go to the gas station and ask for free gas? Would you go to the doctor and ask them to take out your spleen for nothing? How dare you call me and want me to work for nothing?

They always want the writer to work for nothing and the problem is there’s so many goddamn writers who have no idea that they’re supposed to be paid every time they do something they do it for nothing.

I sell my soul but at the highest rates.”

~ Harlan Ellison

As Kristina Halvorson, president of Brain Traffic and author of Content Strategy for the Web, proclaimed in February of this year:

“Content strategy will soon be getting more attention than social media… Content strategy is more or less on the same trajectory as social media was three years ago.”

I knew that.

But few businesses do. Most know that the web development process doesn’t go as smoothly as they’d like …and even more recognize the need for an editorial process or publishing schedule after their websites go live ….but the majority don’t even know where to go to find a solution.


The Solution Is In Education and Awareness
…but how do you learn more about a burgeoning field like web content strategy?


Sign-Up For A Training Workshop!

Follow The UX Leader is a professional development workshop series created for organizations looking for hands-on knowledge in managing and supporting their corporate websites through content strategy and user experience design.

These aren’t the typical web courses you’d find at a local college or online. They’re hands-on, interactive and designed for non-technical people who often find themselves in roles where the web is also their responsibility. The goal is to give you the basics of web content writing, design and management – in one day – with practical experiences and knowledge you can bring back to your office and apply right away.

Workshops are currently scheduled for September/October 2010 in Ottawa, Canada, with additional locations and venues coming soon.

[disclosure: Follow The UX Leader is a joint initiative of Digitalword and its partner company i.a. consultants inc.]



Join A Local Web Content Strategy Meet-Up!

Web Content Strategy Meet-Ups are springing up all around the world on the heels of this year’s very successful Content Strategy Forum 2010 in Paris. If you are unable to attend the upcoming Web Content 2010 in Chicago in June, a local Web Content Strategy Meet-Up will initiate you into the benefits and challenges of this burgeoning discipline.

Local Ottawa professionals seeking to connect with other web content strategists, information architects and web content writers are invited to attend the inaugural Web Content Strategy Meet-Up Ottawa on May 18, 2010 with regular meetings to follow monthly starting in September.

[disclosure: Web Content Strategy Meet-Up Ottawa is sponsored by Digitalword]

Web content strategy isn’t a passing fad. It’s here to stay. As websites balloon to ten times their size and ever-changing social media campaigns are continuously added-on as after-thoughts, it’s time we got serious about the information organizations present online.

“…the world contains an unimaginably vast amount of digital information which is getting ever vaster ever more rapidly. This makes it possible to do many things that previously could not be done: spot business trends, prevent diseases, combat crime and so on. Managed well, the data can be used to unlock new sources of economic value, provide fresh insights into science and hold governments to account.”

~ The Economist, Special Report On Managing Information, February 2010