Web Content 2011 hits the street in Chicago. (Image via Ciccioetneo)

Content professionals gathered in early June at Web Content 2011 in Chicago to discuss the state of content strategy for mobile. Over the course of two days there were workshops and presentations by over 20 speakers and while there were many highly engaging topics with some common themes arising, the takeaway was clear: the future is wide-open.

For content strategists and consumers of mobile content this is just the beginning.  Tasked with developing world-class mobile experiences, the future is ours to seize.  It is not however, without challenges.  For those willing to experiment and find bold new ways to provide compelling content true to the brand and on any device, opportunity abounds.

Here are some of our favorite quotes from the featured speakers and be sure to explore videos from Web Content 2011.

“By the end of the year, over half of the people in this country are going to be using their mobile device to connect with content.  That’s something that even 2 years ago seemed like a far off milestone.” – Mark Donovan, comScore, Inc.

“Mobile means we now we need to focus much more on creating experiences that are useful and appropriate to that target audience in their context and appropriate to the needs of that brand.” – Margot Bloomstein, Appropriate, Inc.

“We have to start thinking in an abstract sense — if I only have this much space what am I going to do? It’s not only about designing the iPhone version, but rather what am I going to do to present content across any device in the future.  That’s a hard transition for people.  When it comes down to priorities, the conversation will be around what are the fundamental tasks that the user performs.” – Karen McGrane, Bond Art and Science

“As content people working in mobile, I think it’s really important to think like designers.  Being able to have these hybrid skills is really valuable for mobile content development.” – Erin Scime, HUGE

“This day has been about raising the alarm that context aware platforms are on the horizon.  They are coming and becoming an increasingly important part of how we will deliver content to our audiences — no matter how big or no matter how small. We need to start applying that filter of context to how we’re handling our content strategy.” – Robert Rose,  Big Blue Moose.

“What’s the best technology solution to go and deliver content across different devices?  There is no one size fits all environment. There are lots of choices and options.   You need to make the trade offs and understand what your business requirements are, what your content strategy is and what your organization’s threshold is for complexity and for cost. ” - Bryan House, Acquia

“This is the beginning of very very very big changes and many companies are going to fail, some of them will go under, some of them will be purchased at a much cheaper value by bigger companies that will munch them up and take their business assets, which will be their content.” - Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler

Did you attend Web Content 2011? Let us know about your experience.