Issue 0

Well, the time has come.

I’m launching Model Thinking this week, and I want to set some expectations.

It's simple, really. Expect things to change.

I could keep tweaking things behind the scenes, trying to get my newsletter perfect, but alas, I’ve got some good stuff to share and I want to start sharing it now! (Also, as a writer-type, there’s a continual struggle toward perfectionism and I need to work on shipping-and-learning.)

Even as launch week is here, I’m still unsure of the frequency I’ll publish. I’ve got ideas of sections and topics that I’ll cover, but I probably won’t hit each one in each issue. What will that look like over time? We’ll figure that out together, I guess.

Expected topics

There's a variety of things I’d like to cover, all under the banner of Improving your organization’s content.

• Structure: how content lives in systems
• Style: how to improve your content
• Strategy: the importance of thinking strategically about content
• Solutions: selecting content tooling
• Scuttlebutt: news from the UX design, content strategy, and content management communities
• Soft skills: a look at the less-tangible characteristics and skills that can expand your influence

Yes, that’s all alliterated. But there's one other section I anticipate, and it breaks the trend (unless you have an alternate suggestion!): Top of mind.

I take learnings and observations from a wide range of places and I synthesize them, and top of mind may be where some of that happens.

Who is the audience?

My goal is to help everyone create better, more impactful content. When I say everyone, I’m thinking of content practitioners AND folks who don’t work extensively planning, creating, and making content.

I hope to provide content that helps practitioners upskill and grow their careers, as well as to provide content that helps small business and enterprise executives make decisions about their business and communicate more effectively themselves.

I'm giving a free livestream talk on Friday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. Central about globalization, internationalization, localization, and translation. Register for free

Here we go!

I look forward to having you as a reader, and I hope that you find great value from it. Stay tuned for Issue 1!

John Collins

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Actually, one more thing...

My younger teen son has a growing interest in photography. To foster that, I recently helped him set up a website and list some photos on a print-on-demand shop. If you’re looking for a gift idea, consider one of his photos!