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What’s the Matrix? The Content Matrix Deconstructed Intelligent Content 2012 24 February 2012 Sarah Beckley @sarahbeckley
SARAH BECKLEY
• Senior Content Strategist, Razorfish, Chicago
• 6 years in CS, 10+ years tech writer/print editor
• Specialize in the financial services industry
• @contentstrategy – accepting contributors
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THE RABBIT HOLE
• Brass tacks
• Recipes
• Resources
• Conclusion
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BRASS TACKS
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WHAT IS A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Definitions vary widely
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WHEN DO YOU USE A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Whenever you need a: • Content inventory or audit/assessment
• Gap analysis
• ROT analysis
• Migration plan
• Content development plan
• Site map
• Any time capturing content and/or data about the content supports the project goals
• “A superficial understanding of content isn’t going to cut it anymore.” -Rachel Lovinger
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WHERE DO YOU USE A CONTENT MATRIX?
• Discovery: inventory, audit, audience
• Design: crude digital asset management
• Develop: templates
• Deploy: migration plans
• Govern: metadata
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WHY DO I NEED A CONTENT MATRIX?
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MOST OF US ARE IN THE MATRIX
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HOW? THE MATRIX RECIPE
• Identify goals/needs • E.g., track, audit, build
• Define your audience(s) • E.g., execs, tech, content owners
• Add inputs • E.g., owner, disposition, metadata
• Build your matrix • Implement macros
• Morph the matrix through project phases
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SAMPLE MATRIX INGREDIENTS
• Content itself • Text, video, audio, user comments, etc.
• Information about content • Metadata, owner, status, url, content type
• CMS data for input
• Accessibility metadata
• Disposition • Toss, edit, archive
• Status • Edited, approved, in legal review
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RECIPES
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PROBLEM: MANUAL INVENTORY
• Spider inventory needs to be validated
• Small to medium-sized project
• Sample-size inventory of larger site
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RECIPE: PARSE URLS MACRO
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RECIPE: PARSE URLS MACRO
• Copy live urls from a website
• Create a macro to separate those urls from their page name
• Create a second macro to reformat names and paste them into the spreadsheet
• As in the example on the previous page
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PROBLEM: MULTIPLE AUDIENCES
• One document, many audiences • Content owners, technology, legal, etc.
• Very different needs
• Large matrix
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RECIPE: AUDIENCE MACRO
• Macros let you hide or show sets of data
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PROBLEM: CONTENT VARIANCE
• Content in the matrix
• One product, 50 variations
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RECIPE: VARIENCE MACRO
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PROBLEM: EXECUTIVE AUDIENCE
• Executives are a special challenge
• Don’t want to see unnecessary information
• Want lots of context
• Need lots of direction • How to read
• How to give feedback
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RECIPES: SIMPLE MATRICES
• AVOID giving executives a matrix
• Create a new, simpler matrix
• Strip/hide extra content from existing matrix
• Format matrix to be easier to read
• Copy content into Word
• Add wireframe or comp images to doc
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RECIPE: PROGRESSIVE FORMATTING
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PROBLEM: CONTENT DELIVERY
• Content editing and delivery must be in a matrix
• Long and short content blocks
• Must map to other deliverables
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RECIPE: REVIEWER COLUMNS
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RECIPE: MAP TO OTHER DELIVERABLES
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RECIPE: GET GRANULAR
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Bank Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
SIMPLIFY NUMBERING: NOT LIKE THIS
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Bank
Bank
Bank
Bank Bank
RECIPE: EMBED WORD FILES
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Chose to “Display file as icon” to get this result.
RESOURCES
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Resources
• Templates
• KPN: kevinpnichols.com
• Intentional Design • http://intentionaldesign.ca/2011/04/19/transactional-content-matrix/
• Google Knoll • http://knol.google.com/k/content-strategy#Content_Strategy(3A)_Deliverables
• Web Content Strategist’s Bible • http://www.contentstrategyweblog.com/2008/09/content-matrix-master-
template.html
• CMS Consultants • http://www.cmsconsultants.org/resources/website/contentMatrix.html
• LinkedIn Content Strategy group
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Resources
• Excel guidance
• Excel Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools by David E. Hawley, O’Reilly
• Excel Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Favorite Spreadsheet by Curtis Frye, O’Reilly
• General help: Chandoo.org: Become awesome in Excel
• Count formulas: Contextures.com/xlfunctions04.html
• Learn VBA: ozgrid.com/VBA
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CONCLUSION
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THE MATRIX RECIPE
• Nail down the ingredients
• Add macros to make it cook faster
• Use formulas to slice and dice
• Adapt the recipe throughout project phases
• Enjoy!
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Thank you!
• Questions?
• Contact options: • [email protected]
• @sarahbeckley
• @contentstrategy
• LinkedIn.com/in/sarahbeckley
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