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 tools called content management systems (CMS). We have content design and content strategy roles.

Something that’s been on my mind lately is knowledge management. While this concept has been around for years, it seems like it’s having more of a moment in the days of AI.

Let me offer a few terms and definitions—not as an authority on the subject, but more as an attempt to think out loud and start a discussion. If you were to Google these terms, you’d find plenty of definitions that might not even agree with each other, and that’s part of the fun (and danger) of diving into the internet rabbit hole.

Here’s how I think of it:

• Data: Unprocessed quantitative information based on an existing schema.

• Content: Raw material like words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, images, videos, or audio files.
• Information: Structured content that has meaning attached to it (like context).
• Knowledge: Information that is understood and applied.

These definitions aren’t perfect, but notice the through line: If we’re talking about our work as content strategists, we might be underselling ourselves. Content strategy goes beyond simply creating content.

Any content strategist worth their salt isn’t just creating content. They’re turning it into something meaningful (information), and then organizing that information in a way that it can be understood and applied (knowledge).

Some of you might be thinking, “But knowledge management is all about internal knowledge, right?”

Yes, there’s definitely that aspect to the term today, but it’s really about moving internal (within an organization) knowledge into external knowledge where customers and potential customers can apply that knowledge.

Isn’t that exactly what content strategists and content designers try to do? We aim to deliver the right content to the right users at the right time.

With AI and large language models (LLMs) stepping in to answer questions for our organizations, it’s probably more important than ever to focus on knowledge rather than just the raw material of content. This shift could fundamentally change how we think about our roles in the world of AI … and content.

John Collins

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