Content modellingMaking content smarter

Angus GordonWeave (weaveweb.com.au)

What is content modelling, and why should I care?

Why am I the right person to do content modelling?

Where do I start?

What is content modelling, and why should I care?

If this was how Facebook collected information, they couldn’t...

● Deliver content related to user interests● Connect users to other users● Adapt user profile pages to different devices● Promote users’ birthdays to their friends● Sell targeted advertising

What makes Facebook smart is structured content.

Structured content is chunked

Structured content is constrained

● Formats● Allowed values● Sizes / character counts

Structured content is machine readable (where relevant)

2009-03-23

Most website content is unstructured or minimally structured.

Content modelling is identifying opportunities to turn unstructured into structured content...

...and documenting those opportunities as a coherent system, the content model.

● Content types● Fields (attributes,

properties)● Relationships

Why should I care?

● Stop your content breaking on mobile● Build relationships between content items● Help authors keep content consistent● Single source of truth means easier maintenance● Make your content future ready

The content model ultimately needs to be built into the CMS.

So why don’t we just leave it to the developers?

Why am I the right person to do content modelling?

Typical workflow

Wireframes

Developer

Content model

Results

● Assumptions● Ambiguous or unclear labels● Under- or over-engineered solutions● Hacks and workarounds● Poor usability for authors

Collaborative workflow

Wireframes

Content strategist + developer

Content model

A content model communicates intention and shared language. It doesn’t have to be a rigorous spec.

What makes someone good at content modelling?

Analytical

Context

Empathy

How do I start?

Three questions

● What are my content types?● What fields do they need?● What are their relationships?

Three questions

● What are my content types? → High level audit● What fields do they need? → Deep selective audit● What are their relationships? → Diagram

Three things to remember:

1. A content model is not an ontology.

In other words, model what’s useful, don’t try to model all the things.

2. Be presentation agnostic.

3. Test with real content early and often.

Thank you!

@angusgmelb@WeAreWeave

http://www.meetup.com/We-Are-Content-Strategy/