Sometimes it takes a tip to navigate the blurring landscape of iPhone apps. (image courtesy of Steven Rhodes)

The Breakdown: Everyone is talking about the iPad, and we’re interested in seeing what develops, but in the meantime we still love our iPhones. That’s why we asked a handful of Razorfish iPhone users to tell us about iPhone apps they like and why.  Explore their recommendations and tell us what your favorite is too.

Nicholas Heasman, Information Architect
StationStops is an awesome iPhone app that helps me figure out what trains I can catch out of Grand Central Terminal (GCT) each night without having to carry a folded paper Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) train schedule. After I enter where I want to go, StationStops displays the entire schedule for my stop, highlights the next train, and tells me how long it will take. The most useful feature is the fact that the entire train timetable is stored locally, so it’s always available, regardless of cell phone reception, which can be key when shuttling around underground by subway. With reception, the app becomes more powerful by displaying the posted track numbers for soon-to-depart trains. When you’re commuting every day, not having to stop to look at the departure board is a huge win, helping save time and reduce the need to do battle with the crowds. If I could improve the app, I’d allow users to enter both origin and destination stops, instead of being required to always either depart or arrive GCT. Overall, it is a very useful iPhone app that is innovative because it encourages the MTA to open up and share more of its public transportation data.

Shiv Singh, VP & Global Social Media Lead
My favorite iPhone application is Baby flash cards. It lets me expose my son (who’s not yet a year) to new words and sounds. Why is it special – because it’s an application that can be used to help someone who is far too young to have an iPhone himself. There’s nothing strictly social about it and nor is it probably the most sophisticated application but it serves a distinct, discrete and important need without cluttering up my apartment. Is it truly pushing the boundaries of the iPhone experience? Maybe not in the traditional sense but it’s another way that I’m being brought closer to my son and that makes all the difference. The best apps are the ones that connect people to each other even if its parents connecting with their children in different ways and helping them learn.

Andrea Harrison, VP Strategy
I’ve enjoyed playing with Where the Wild Things Are app.  It was designed for the movie launch and has the standard movie info, but for me the real fun is playing with the animated Carol Wild Thing.  He interacts with you and even breaks your screen if you throw too many rocks at him.  The app lets you select pictures and contacts from your phone and insert them into the animation where Carol eats them, laughs at them and stomps on them.  You can also select music from your iPod and he’ll dance to it. All in all a great free app showing what you can do outside of straight brand promotion when you use all the parts of the phone.

John Pettengill, Information Architect
It’s hard to pick one app to be my favorite (because, really, I love them all equally), but I’ve been seriously impressed by Pocket God. A playful, discovery oriented environment combined with regular updates lead to a playful environment that isn’t technically a game. There are no rules, there are just activities to explore. The faceted game play (through clever gestures and the sheer number of things to discover) makes me come back to this app again and again whether I have 1 minute to kill or 15.

Matt Geraghty, Content Strategist
One app that has caught my eye is GQ Magazine — Conde Nast’s first shot at publishing a monthly issue through the iPhone.  It has the feel of a mini-magazine in the palm of your hand as you quickly flip, zoom, and explore content and features. Two alternate elegant viewing options are enabled by switching between the horizontal and vertical view and there’s a cool navigation bar that lets you leap instantly from page to page.  Most of all I like the simple idea of having an entire issue of your favorite magazine in your pocket . To be honest, I’m also very interested to see how the new digital possibilities play out for magazines with the iPad.  Word has it,  GQ is first in line.

Kyle Outlaw, Experience Lead
I’ve been interested in augmented reality applications lately. Augmented Reality is loosely defined as a live view of a physical real-world environment merged with virtual imagery resulting in a “mixed reality” experience (according to Wikipedia). Recent examples of augmented reality for mobile include Mobilizy’s Wikitude and Layar augmented reality browsers for the iPhone and Android platforms. I’d argue that one of the more ground breaking (and lesser known) examples of AR is ARGH (Augmented Reality Ghost Hunter). The point of ARGH is to capture “ghosts” that have been superimposed on the users’ environment using “Ghost Goggles”. It will be interesting to see how agencies and their clients will utilize augmented reality combined with social networking, geolocation services, and other mobile-based technologies to transform the physical world into something more gamelike.

The Breakdown: In anticipation of this year’s SXSW Interactive conference, our next interview in the SXSW Q&A series is with Margot Bloomstein (@mbloomstein), a brand and content strategy consultant who will be giving a talk called Content Strategy: what’s in it for you? One of the things we love about Margot is that she always comes up with the best metaphors for explaining content strategy concepts, as evidenced in her ALA article, The Case for Content Strategy – Motown Style. Margot always reminds us – in those rare moments when we forget – that we should be having fun with all this.

S/G: So, content strategy, what IS in it for me?

Margot: Fame, fortune, and everything that goes with it–what? No? Well, at least when you address content strategy, you can enjoy the peace of mind that goes with knowing you’re helping to facilitate communication.  It’s only slightly less fabulous than glam rock.  What else?  Whether you’re a designer, IA, or broader web strategist, when you evangelize content strategy, you’re helping to create a more cohesive experience for your end user.  More immediately, you’ll also strengthen your own deliverables and help your client appreciate a more holistic vision of the end product.  Ready to rock your work from a new angle?  Check out this workshop at SXSW.

S/G: What’s one of your favorite websites that demonstrates really excellent content strategy?

Margot: I’ve been spending a lot of time (and money, sigh) at REI.com lately.  I appreciate that their content strategy reflects a clear brand strategy: REI is a co-op “owned” by its members, dedicated to inspiring, educating, and outfitting for outdoor adventure and stewardship. Therefore, they complement “expert advice” with user reviews and go beyond just commerce to offer content about trips, local events, environmental cleanup, and more.  This plays out beyond the content types, too. Sentence case, careful punctuation, and detailed product descriptions combine to manifest a style and tone that are very democratic and accessible but experienced.

S/G: What’s the biggest myth about content strategy?

Margot: The biggest misconception is that content strategy’s just the latest fancy, expensive term for copywriting.  And if you take care of the copy, you can check off content strategy, too.

S/G: What’s the difference between content strategy and copywriting?

Margot: What’s the difference between a nutritious dietary plan and a bunch of carrots? Carrots are great–but they may not even be part of the bigger picture if, say, your family doesn’t like them or you need to figure out how to get more protein into your diet.  Content strategy and copywriting face a similar sort of carrot confusion. Content strategy addresses the what, why, by whom, at what frequency, how–all issues that may affect copywriting, but aren’t synonymous with it. Copywriting is just one aspect of the tactical execution of a content strategy.  And for most of us, carrots are just one small part of a healthy diet, into which we also bring recipes, other ingredients, and preferences.

S/G: What are you looking forward to seeing at SXSW?

Margot: I’m looking forward to seeing the lightbulb moments. The content strategy workshop track offers a great opportunity for people in other roles to learn more about the processes, deliverables, and conversations that comprise content strategy.  At the same time, we’ll arm content strategists with more ways to evangelize their work.  I’m excited to see the meeting of minds as folks in a variety of interactive roles learn how content strategy–and engagement with content strategists–can enrich their work and empower their clients.

If you’re in the New York Area, come meet Margot at the Content Strategy NYC meetup on Thursday, February 11th. Also, check out the other posts in our SXSW 2010 Q&A series.

The Breakdown: We’re very excited about SXSW Interactive this year. There’s an amazing lineup of content-related panels that we can’t wait to see. So we’re kicking off a series of short interviews with some of the speakers we’re most looking forward to seeing and hearing. This first one is with Rich Ziade (@richziade), Partner & Lead Strategist at Arc90, who will be giving a talk called The Revenge of the Editorials with his colleague Tim Meaney (@timothymeaney).

S/G: What inspired your talk, The Revenge of Editorials?

Rich: In short, this: Google Reader (1000+).

I use Google Reader pretty regularly and to constantly be told “hey Rich, guess what? There are over 1,000 entries that you haven’t read yet! In fact, it’s so much more than a thousand, we stopped counting!”

I love the Web and I love how dramatically it’s lowered the barrier to publish (even the word “publish” feels outdated). Everybody can talk into the channel today. It’s an awesome democratizer. At the same time, it’s getting increasingly difficult to really find things that I value. There have been attempts to crack this puzzle – Digg, Delicious, certain social sharing mechanisms – but in the end of the day, I’m behind and I feel like I’m always behind.

At the same time, I feel like the attempts to manage the firehose is just more of the same thing: technology being used to solve a mess that technology got us in in the first place. As a result, the real appeal of content and the human elements of creating, composing and lovingly arranging content are going out the window.

I need to be able to lean on people I trust and respect to better present information for me. I don’t want a “stream” or a “river” of anything. I want to stop drowning and I want quality to win over quantity.

S/G: What’s the antidote for Demand Media?

Rich:  I don’t think Demand Media and its ilk even need an antidote. I think Demand is inevitably on a path to face a backlash, if it hasn’t started already. What’s happened with the Web is similar to what happened in the wake of the industrial revolution: massive efficiencies in production and distribution. The result? Everyone in America could eat the exact same shrink-wrapped Twinkie for $.25. After WWII, this world of automation and mass distribution was hailed as utopian. Fast forward to today, and you’re left with a palatable backlash against mass-produced anything and an embracing of all things that show some semblance of craftsmanship and artisanal care. We are in the age of commoditized junk food content. The backlash and flight towards quality is inevitable.

S/G: What is the Cult of Innovation?

Rich: The Cult of Innovation is just a place for Arc90 to share the things that surprise and inspire us. In this interview, I’ve been lambasting the “Junkyard Web” but in the midst of all that stuff flying our way, there’s always something inspiring waiting to be found. We just wanted a place to share these bits that we come across. Innovation is a big part of the DNA of Arc90. We like to think of ourselves as a forward-looking shop that constantly gives the status quo dirty looks. Kindling, our idea management product, also shares in that spirit.

S/G: What are you looking forward to seeing at SXSW?

Rich: We’re looking forward to just being there! We’re SXSW virgins at Arc90 and we’re excited to hopefully meet in person all the great people we’ve connected with through the usual Web channels. Oh…and the film festival. I’m a sucker for a good film.

Image credits, from left to right:

Austin – by tantek

Badge – by adactio

4sq iPhone app  – by dpstyles(tm) [dennis crowley]

Microphone – by hiddedevries

Nexus One – by pittaya

Music tagging gone wild. (Image via Stribs)

The Breakdown: Look no further to solve all of your iTunes song tagging problems. Robert Stribley tells us how his review of iTunes reveals some interesting principles about metadata and tagging, and may help you get to the music you love most.

I’m organized but not overly so. I mean, I kept my books in alphabetical order as a kid, but I didn’t think of it as an early indicator of the career path I’d take. But I do appreciate order, so when I import a CD into iTunes and iTunes assigns metadata to my lovely new tunes via its Gracenotes system (which compiles user-generated and submitted data), it’s a relief to me, when the provided data has been entered with, you know, some semblance of order. Often, it isn’t. In reviewing this data over time, I noticed users make certain mistakes consistently when tagging their music. These mistakes then, reveal principles, and though they happen to apply to music in my iPod, in practice, they also apply to tagging other digital files.

For your consideration then:

1. Some tags are more important than others

In iTunes, the artist tag proves more important than other tags (album and genre do also), and how it’s completed can affect iTunes’ ability to filter and present your music effectively. The wrong date tag may not matter. A typo in the artist, album, or song field however, may mean you can’t find your music. A typo in the artist field also affects more files than misspelling a single song title. The consequences of errors in completing some fields are simply far greater than others. Specifically, when fields are tied into key functionality, such as sorting and filtering, creating flawed metadata within those fields blunts that helpful functionality.

2. Tag key fields consistently

Some fields like the song name allow you to tag each file differently. The artist and album fields don’t. For example, you should complete the artist field with the artist primarily associated with the work, and use another category to add additional artists, which happen to contribute to a single tune. In other words, tagging Mos Def’s recent song “History” as “Mos Def with Talib Kweli” screws up a sort on “Mos Def” in your iPod because your iPod now thinks “Mos Def” and “Mos Def with Talib Kweli” are two different artists. A solution is to add “(with Talib Kweli)” after the song title. Otherwise, I end up with one orphaned song in my iPod: If I select to play all songs by “Mos Def,” that song doesn’t even show up.

Similarly, tagging one album “R.E.M.” and another “REM” creates two different bands. Be consistent. Simple things like the use of the word “The” (“Cinematic Orchestra” or “The Cinematic Orchestra?) or an ampersand (“Antony & the Johnsons” or “Antony and the Johnsons”?), can throw a wrench in the works. If alternate spellings exist for a particular piece of information, you should decide which will be the primary spelling and enter that consistently.

3. Avoid meaningless tags

Completing the genre field with tags like “other,” “unknown,” “unclassifiable” and, arguably, even “alternative” provides little if any utility. You may as well leave the field blank. “Unclassifiable” sounds cute to the fan, who doesn’t want to pigeonhole their band, but what does the “unclassifiable” genre sound like as a playlist? Probably a pretty icky mélange. “Unclassifiable” may reflect one’s personal appreciation, but effectively, it’s no better a category than “miscellaneous.”

“Alternative” seems useless for different reasons. It originally referred to bands, who signed with non-mainstream labels, so “alternative” doesn’t necessarily refer to a well-defined sound or genre.  “Alternative” doesn’t mean two songs sound even remotely alike. Furthermore, bands which were once “alternative” may now be mainstream (Hello, Snow Patrol!). Wolfmother sounds enough like AC/DC that you may as well label both “rock.” Or “metal.” Or something more helpful than “alternative.”

4. Combine redundant tags

This principle overlaps with the point about consistency, but we should highlight the importance of both combining and distinguishing between categories – something that may apply to the same file or song. (For a related discussion, see Rachel Lovinger on splitting and lumping, too.) For instance, when I searched on “electronic” within iTunes, I found I had songs tagged with the following genres: electronic, electronica, Electronica/Dance and Dance/Electronic, Electronica & Dance and Rock/Electronic. That doesn’t even include electro, which I’d allow a separate genre for or other genres like downtempo, dubstep or trip-hop which would often fall under Electronic.

What a mess. I selected all of these and replaced them with “Electronic.” Could I have distinguished between Dance and Electronic? Perhaps, though, if they truly share the Electronic genre, I’m happy to go with that. That does bring us to our next point, though.

5. Distinguish between different tags

As important as it is to group things consistently, it’s also important to allow their distinctions. Trip-hop, glitch hop, dubstep and electro, for example, are all sub-genres, which might appear under electronic. They are all, also, arguably distinguishable. If you’re familiar with these genres, you’ll provide more sorting utility by labeling music with them, rather than simply placing them solely under an amorphous tag like “Electronic/Dance.” We’re spoiled with a wealth of musical variety in the 21^st century. May as well help other folks discover these rich veins of music.

Now, if I could just get Apple to add a separate column for “tags” (or at least allow multiple genres), then I could place songs under more than one genre or subgenre (electronic and dubstep) and filter them in different ways (dubstep is also chill is also electronic). Then I could tag a tune like Burial’s “Shell of Light” with all of these. Creating a playlist just ain’t the same, and it’s more difficult to create playlists when songs aren’t tagged correctly.  Besides, I use playlists to create groupings, which ignore genre (workout, Summer Party, NYC, road trip, romantic, etc). Finally, allowing for additional, well-crafted tags would allow me to better create new playlists on the fly.

Well, back to my iTunes. I have housecleaning to do.

*Links provided to songs and bands on Lala.com, purely for your listening enjoyment

The CS challenge: Connecting data – one content clue at a time . (Image via KrazyDad)

In the aftermath of the failed plot to blow up a Northwest airlines jet bound for Detroit, the finger-pointing over what President Obama called a “systemic failure” has centered on an inability to connect the dots. The language used in several commentaries I’ve read about the plot jumped out to me as oddly familiar. Reporters and columnists were speaking about a failure to rationalize databases, a failure to collate clues, a failure by the National Counterterrorism Center -the nerve center and “fusion center of all fusion centers“- to identify a dangerous set of data adding up to an extreme threat.

It’s not often that stock-in-trade content strategy work takes on an air of national importance, but the failures that occurred and the peril it permitted have roots in common challenges that content strategists try to solve from project to project: structuring and tagging data so that meaningful and useful information can be extracted and acted upon.

Truth at your fingertips, courtesy of Hunch.com. (Image via Laurie).

This summer I found myself with an absurd amount of free time between finishing graduate school and beginning my new job. Amid marathon sessions of Rock Band and America’s Next Top Model, I logged many an hour on Hunch.com, the latest brainchild of Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and a group of MIT and Harvard alums. For those unfamiliar with Hunch, it is a decision-making site that provides personalized answers to questions ranging from “Which camcorder should I get?” to “Do I have bipolar disorder?” Or even more timely inquiries like “Have I had an affair with Tiger Woods?” to “Should I get my DNA sequenced?” Hunch relies on its community to generate and maintain a myriad of content, much like Wikipedia. In addition to providing their own questions and results, users edit, flag, approve, and refine their peers’ creations to improve the advice that the site doles out.

I hopped onto to the site at the tail end of its public preview phase, and after the June 15 launch there was a noticeable jump in both the site’s membership and its coverage in the tech blogosphere. Industry buzz about the NYC-based startup intensified last week when Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales joined the board of directors on December 7. Wales cited Hunch’s unique combination of algorithms and collective intelligence as its major draw, saying,

[U]ntil recently I hadn’t seen a great example of how the two approaches could come together, co-exist and truly complement each other to form something greater than the sum of the parts – which I believe is the future of the web.

Staff members pitch in as well – one of Ms. Fake’s most recent additions was a thoughtful list of pros and cons about her dishwasher. The quantity of submissions continues to rise with nearly 15,000 as of this writing, and while every submission would ideally jibe with Hunch’s witty tone, even expert users’ contributions probably won’t be 100% perfect. As a result, Hunch employs some unique features to manage this deluge of user-generated content.

The “Workshop” section of the site helps determine which topics are of publishable quality; it provides a space where users can view and edit recently created topics, promoting the stronger contenders and voting down weak or redundant ones. Once a topic receives enough votes the staff promotes it to the main library, while unpopular topics become dormant. Hunch also provides a “Training” feature in which users adjust the logic of both promoted and Workshop topics, after which staff members lock thoroughly trained topics to prevent further unnecessary edits. Finally, a system of badges and points – “banjos” in Hunch-speak – encourages a steady stream of new content by making participation addictive and fun. While the satisfaction of contributing to a greater cause may inspire altruistic types to remain active members, racking up pieces of flair provides the extra nudge that the rest of us need to do the same. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t go on a contribution spree while chasing after my “10,000 Banjos Club” badge.

Of course, just as information-seekers must remember that Wikipedia entries aren’t always reliable, it seems twice as true that Hunch results – especially regarding major life decisions – should be taken lightly. Whereas Wikipedia’s vast and active user base allows for rapid self-healing of its inaccuracies, mistakes seem less likely to be corrected on Hunch, which has a much smaller community. However, as Hunch attracts a larger and more diverse audience it will hopefully grow and evolve to truly harness the wisdom of the crowd. It is already far more content-rich than when I first logged on, and while I still wouldn’t seriously listen to Hunch’s advice on how many children to have or whether to leave the East Coast, maybe it will help me plan my next vacation or choose a new hobby. I’ll also keep doing my part to make the site smarter for my fellow Hunchers. Why stop now? There are so many more banjos to be had.

Kick back with some groovy content combinations.  (Image by the talented Derek Yaniger)

The holidays are almost here, so it seems like a good time for a little game. A couple years ago, I added a page to our internal wiki called “UXification.” We explained* it like this:

UXification is what happens when real-world words are combined with UX or tech words to describe a user experience-oriented twist on the original. As the Internet and Web 2.0 continue to saturate popular culture, more and more wordbinations (word combinations) and technopuns (technology puns) will show up for us to lovate (love and hate).

This was followed by a list of portmanteau words, along with definitions. Here are some examples* you may recognize:

• brochureware= brochure + software – Web pages created by taking an organization’s printed materials and translating them directly to the Web.
• crowdsourcing= crowd + outsourcing – Saving money on content production by sourcing it out to the audience (originated in Jeff Howe’s The Rise of Crowdsourcing, Wired Magazine).
• disemvoweling= disemboweling + vowel – The practice of removing all the vowels in a comment or forum message, rending it very difficult to read. This is a tactic often employed by forum moderators to censor unwanted posts, rather than outright deleting them. (see Disemvoweling on Wikipedia)
• navitorial= navigation + editorial – “Editorial content on a Web site that clarifies and supports the site’s navigational structure.” (as defined by Gareth Brownwyn in Jargon Watch, Wired.com)
• typosquatting= typographical error + cybersquatting – a variation on cybersquatting. Someone registers domains that are very similar to common or trademarked URLs, so that when people make a common typo they will end up on a page with just a list of ads or some other revenue-generating nonsense. (See Typosquatting on Wikipedia)

And here’s one that we completely made up:

• pubmiliate = publish + humiliate – to embarrass someone by publicly reporting comments that were not originally intended for a wide audience (For example, see Robert Stribley’s recent post about the use of Twitter lists on Huffington Post)

So now it’s your turn. Share your favorite UXified word in the comments. And don’t forget to include a definition of the word!

*Special thanks to John Pettengill and Joy Andrews, coworkers who contributed to the UXification page on the Razorfish wiki.

Speaking, writing and drinking beer: The only 3 technologies you’ll ever need.

The breakdown: Best selling author and writer Scott Berkun talks about creative thinking and public speaking. We are reminded that technology alone is not going to solve our communication problems and in order to connect with an audience, we still need authentic and engaging storytelling.  Click above for insight and inspiration.

More keynotes from the Web 2.0 Expo NY 09 here.

Riding the Content Strategy Wave: not nearly as dangerous as you might think. (Image via fishfoot)

Mesdames et messieurs, allons à Paris !

Earlier this year, the Content Strategy community put a stake in the ground at the IA Summit’s Content Strategy Consortium, which – as far as I know – was the first ever official meeting of a sizable group of content strategy professionals from a wide range of companies and organizations. This coming April, CS has will have its large-scale International debut.

Content Strategy Forum 2010 is a 2-day conference that’s been organized by STC France and STC TransAlpine. The schedule is packed with professionals who are practicing Content Strategy in France, Ireland, England, Canada & the United States. Workshops will take place on the first day – including one on Content Analysis that I’m co-leading with Karen McGrane of Bond Art + Science. The main conference day includes keynotes by Rahel Anne Bailie (Intentional Design, Inc.) and Kristina Halvorson (Brain Traffic; author of Content Strategy for the Web) and enough enticing talks that attendees are bound to have trouble choosing (check out the whole program for details).

The hosts are European chapters of the Society for Technical Communication, a professional organization for people who are involved with communicating information about technical processes. It’s a fairly broad discipline that incorporates many research, analysis and communication practices, and has a lot in common with Content Strategy. The intended audience for the conference is “anyone who develops, manages, or delivers content within their own organization or for their clients: user experience designers, information architects, business analysts, technical writers, web project managers, documentation managers, translators, web marketers, practicing content strategists, and those looking to break into the field.”

2009 has been a breakout year for Content Strategy, and this conference heralds some major steps forward in 2010: sharing methodologies and perspectives with another content-oriented discipline; expanding the CS community beyond the US/English-speaking Web; and introducing more delicious, delicious pastries. I hope to see you there!

Kristina Halvorson, founder and president of Brain Traffic, has done more to raise awareness of Content Strategy than any person in the world of web design. She’s well known for her dynamic, clear presentations about web content at many of the industry’s most celebrated conferences. And now she’s written a book on the subject, Content Strategy for the Web.

(Full disclosure: Kristina Halvorson is a friend and colleague. She quotes me in her book and thanks me in the acknowledgements. I still feel comfortable saying: It’s a great book.)

Halvorson’s book is written in an easy, conversational style. It addresses both the reasoning behind the concepts, and the practical application of the discipline. Its broad approach will make it useful for a wide range of web professionals. Here’s what I think different groups of people will get out of it.

• Project Stakeholders: The book makes a great case for Content Strategy. If you have clients or bosses that are hesitant to invest the time or resources it takes to make sure the project has great content, if they think it can be done at the last minute, or they just want to buy cheap content, have them read Halvorson’s book to understand how much better, smarter, and more effective their content could be with a reasonable amount of time and attention.
• Project Planners/Project Managers: If you’re trying to scope, schedule or assign resources to a project, you’ll gain a much better understanding of what’s needed to make sure that content is ready at the same time as the rest of a web project.
• Web Design Generalists: You may be muddling through with the content part of your projects without any real guidance or methodology. This book describes the tasks that should be performed, provides a wealth of practical tips, and poses the questions that need to be answered at each stage of the design process.
• Web Design Specialists: If your organization is large enough for different people to focus just on IA, visual design, functional requirements or content strategy, there’s a need to identify what each person is going to contribute and who’s responsible for which tasks and deliverables. Whichever role you’re in, Halvorson’s book will show you how content touches all parts of a project. Even if you’re not primarily responsible for the content, it’s valuable to understand how the pieces will come together to make a more successful final product.
• Aspiring Content Strategists: If you’re looking to transition into the field of Content Strategy you’ll learn how your experience maps to the responsibilities of a CS, how to speak the language of the practice, and what skills you need to build to be well rounded in your new role. At 172 pages, the book can’t provide every detail to turn you into a Content Strategy expert, but Halvorson includes references to other resources that will be helpful for diving deeper into specific practices.
• Practicing Content Strategists: If you’re a specialist you’ll learn about aspects of the discipline that you might not practice on a regular basis, and you may reassess your strengths and areas of growth. If you’re a generalist you’ll learn which skills you need to build upon to become fully versed in all areas of the practice.

I’m willing to bet most people will think differently about their web content after reading this book. And I’m certain that everyone who reads it will gain new ways of explaining the practice and value of Content Strategy to other people who aren’t familiar with it.

As an added bonus, if you’re in the New York area, the Content Strategy New York City Meetup Group will be hosting a book launch party for Kristina on Tuesday, November 17^th. Come meet the author and a bunch of local content strategists. If you bring your copy of the book, Kristina will sign it for you (but she won’t be selling copies there, so make sure you get it in advance).