Archive for May, 2011
I hate being called a marketer.
And from the many content strategists I heard last week distancing themselves from the oh-so-nefarious ad world – not to mention frequent assertions from the UX crowd, including one of my favorite rants on the topic from back in November – odds are good that many of you do, too.
But half a dozen years into this bizarre business of persuading and positioning, targeting and selling, I’ve decided (however grudgingly) to get a bit more comfortable with the term.
Should you?
It’s two days after Confab and the scent of a Minnesota hailstorm is still wafting from the pile of laundry dumped haphazardly from my suitcase. There are a million things I could write about right now: Erin Kissane’s poetic take on the definition of liveliness; Karen McGrane’s salty assertions about selling content strategy; Erika Hall’s fiery deconstruction of the very kumbaya we were all in the middle of.
But this blog is brand-new (um, hi everyone!), so instead I thought I’d christen it with something appropriately hazily defined and self-indulgent: what I think Confab means for the CS community – and most importantly, what comes next.
But first, some history.
I’ve been writing and speaking about content strategy for some time now. But I’ve never written about it for us – the content strategists and other associated word nerds and data geeks who’ve been hanging around the internet trying to make better shit.
I’d like to say this is because I was focused on educating all the others – I’m not done telling my clients, colleagues, and pretty much anyone who’ll listen about content strategy, after all. But it’s probably got a lot more to do with deep-seated feelings of shame and inadequacy (who the hell am I, anyway?) than some kind of higher purpose.
So why now?
It only took me two days, a dozen-ish conference sessions and a seemingly inhuman number of alcoholic beverages in the North Star State to realize that we, my friends, have reached a critical mass: ain’t nobody gonna hold us back now. Especially not when we’re fueled by bourbon, cake, and Halvorson’s cheek kisses.
But we’re also at a crucial moment for content strategy. If we let it pass, no amount of sweet Minneapolis cherry sculptures can keep our lovefest from turning sour.
