Model Thinking
Whether you’re an executive who wants a content management system that enables business growth or a content professional looking to improve your content strategy and content modeling skills and grow your career, Model Thinking will help you learn, connect some dots, think differently, and get actionable tips.
Are we selling ourselves short as content strategists?
Issue 17 Recently, I’ve been part of several conversations that revolve around a concept that might sound nerdy to some, but to those of us who care deeply about the meaning of words, it's a fascinating discussion. It may seem like a trivial debate at first, but I think it’s one that holds more weight now as we navigate the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and how we position our work among colleagues. Let’s start with something simple: We talk about content management as a field. We use...
AI just raised the cost of outdated content
Issue 16 Strategy Quick thoughts about the importance of thinking strategically about content Inertia is hard to overcome. The world of content is a good place to observe this. The inertia of content is to keep creating, keep churning out more. Occasionally, a content strategist will come along and attempt to get rid of content that is outdated, incorrect, or somehow obsolete. Rarely does this get buy-in from the business; instead, it’s a side project done on Friday afternoons, and I suspect...
I built a tool to help you choose your CMS (and avoid blind spots)
Issue 15 Personal notes A couple quick updates This newsletter issue would normally have been sent last Friday, but I postponed it due to the American Independence Day holiday. No doubt you’ve seen the news coverage of the horrific flash flooding that occurred in Texas. It’s been an emotional weekend. My oldest son just finished working at a camp in another part of the state, and I can’t imagine if he had to go through something like this. The worst flooding, in Kerrville, was a...
Governance is about roles, not just rules
Issue 14 Help with research? I’d love your feedback on two topics: What should I teach about content? Tell me about your learning budget (if you have one)—or if you don’t! The surveys close on Monday, June 30, so act now! Thanks if you’ve already answered. Please share with colleagues if you don’t mind. Strategy Quick thoughts about the importance of thinking strategically about content If you’re in an enterprise, a non-profit organization, or a government agency, is there any one person who...
The four primary roles in content
Issue 13 I realized that some of you may not be familiar with the framework I often use to explain content roles. It has resonated with many, so it’s worth sharing again. I first wrote an article in June 2021 in response to a debate about content job titles. The article got a lot of engagement, led to several podcast appearances, was cited in a founder keynote at a CMS vendor conference, was syndicated in Japanese, and is cited in a book (and another book coming soon). Read more about the...
Why content modeling matters in the age of AI ... plus, fluid v. crystallized intelligence
Issue 12 Structure Quick thoughts about how content lives in systems In past issues, I’ve talked about different ways to think about content models (such as blobs versus chunks, the fidelities of content models, the power of content relationships, or granularity). However, I haven’t talked much about why content modeling matters. Let’s fix that. Here’s a few reasons why content models are important: All content has structure—some content more than others. Content models make it possible to...
The edge of chaos in content
Issue 11 Structure Quick thoughts about how content lives in systems I was recently doing some content modeling, and I wanted to attach a location to some entities. Two were event types in two different content management systems (CMSes) and the third entity was an organization in a third CMS. In the first CMS, I used a text field and just planned to use the syntax of “City, State, Country” (for a personal project). But the other two CMSes had “location” field types available, with either...
Content teams should not be working 100% on content creation
Issue 10 In issue 9 of Model Thinking, I introduced the topic of content debt, and I tackled it from the angles of content structure and content strategy. Turns out, it’s a topic that resonated with a lot of people. When I posted about it on my LinkedIn profile, the post got above-average engagement, my subscriber count shot up, and the newsletter issue became my most-visited issue so far. So, let’s spend some more time talking about content debt. In lieu of most of my typical newsletter...
Content debt is real, and getting real-er in the age of AI
Issue 9 Note: Some months ago, Deane Barker shared some principles of content management, and beginning with Issue 6, I started sharing pieces of what Barker wrote along with a few thoughts of my own. Today, we’ll look at the structural and strategic implications of a single principle. Content can accumulate debt over time Content can accumulate deferred work which will be required to re-use the content in other contexts. Experience, skill, and planning can limit or slow this debt...
A quick “top of mind” issue
Issue 8 Top of mind Things that are bouncing around in my head as I synthesize a range of ideas I’m dispensing with most of my regular sections in this issue of Model Thinking, in favor of a quick update on my first two weeks after my big announcement. I’ll get more substance in my next issue! Truth is, I’ve been on the road much of the last two weeks. I made a 17-hour drive to be part of the funeral of an uncle, taking a couple days and nights for sightseeing on the trip back. It was a...
Whether you’re an executive who wants a content management system that enables business growth or a content professional looking to improve your content strategy and content modeling skills and grow your career, Model Thinking will help you learn, connect some dots, think differently, and get actionable tips.