This is my Lightning Talk from Confab 2012 in Minneapolis. For a long time content management systems have been sold to content authors with the promise "you don't even need to understand code, it's like working in a Word document". But now that structured "use anywhere" content is back in the spotlight - what will this mean for the many organisations who rely on non-technical authors to develop and maintain content? My initial thoughts are: Change management, Context and Compassion.

1. Waving goodbye to
WYSIWYG: What structured
content will mean for authors
A Confab 2012 Lightning Talk by
Sally Bagshaw

2. CMS projects
are hard work.

3. You sell the magic.

4. You make promises.
“Don’t worry, it will
be just like working
in Word.”

5. You end up with this.

6. And everyone is happy.

7. But…
Structured content
will break the
concept of
WYSIWYG.
We must find a
way to keep
authors on side so
great content
remains a priority.

8. How?

9. Change management

10. The move to structured content
affects all aspects of content
strategy.
We must make authors more
than a line item on a project plan
with better consultation &
communication.

11. Context

12. Even though it sounds
complex, structured content has
the potential to make an author’s
job easier, not harder.
We must motivate authors to get
it right with fantastic training &
ongoing support.

13. Compassion

14. Understanding structured
content is (conceptually) a big
leap for some authors.
We must be ready to adapt our
systems with strong workflows &
smart governance .

15. Changing our approach to content so it's
future ready and adaptive is exciting and
will mean great things for our end users.
But if our content authors aren't
supported in this process, it will be a
hard battle for us all to implement in
our organisations.
Let’s work together to sell the new
magic.

16. Gee, that was quick!
Let’s talk some more:
Sally Bagshaw
sally@snappysentences.com
Photo credits (in order)
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www.flickr.com/photos/39747297@N05
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www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt
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