Content Complete.

My Current Content Projects

April 3rd, 2007

Wow, I’ve been busy, lately. I tell ya, it’s rough being “self-employed”!

I’ve joined a couple friends/colleagues on an online flashcard project called Flashcard Café. Please feel free to take a look. It isn’t really even in “beta” yet, so don’t be surprised if you encounter odd behavior and frustratingly shallow flashcard “decks”. We’re working on it! Let me know if you find any bugs or have suggestions for new decks we should add. Recently, I created a deck to assist my seven-year-old daughter, who’s just learning multiplication.

I’m consulting for Websters Multimedia: coaching, training, and doing a bit of hands-on work (yes, actual work!) with the team responsible for maintaining content in Microsoft Student and related products and services. This has been really pleasant in so many ways: I like my colleagues, I like the content, and I like maintaining a sense of continuity with this project that I’ve worked on for so many years.

I’m now a regular contributor over at Navagear (”The gear and gadgets blog for cruisers”). This has been a lot of fun; I get to indulge, at last, in my interest in boats, ships, and nautical lore. But here at Content Complete, we talk about content, so allow me to direct your attention to one entry, in particular, over at Navagear. In my article about “Artificial AIS”, I’ve written about a different kind of content; content that can save lives. AIS is a technology that allows properly equipped vessels to identify AIS-equipped vessels in their area; the data includes vessel name, size, destination, current heading, and speed. AIS isn’t radar, and it doesn’t replace radar; it works alongside radar, GPS, chartplotters, VHF radio, and all the other tools modern mariners use to clarify the sometimes-confusing navigational environment in which they operate. In my article, I discuss an innovative new application for this AIS technology called artificial, synthetic, or virtual AIS. I came up with this idea on my own, but a little research revealed that, alas, it wasn’t entirely original. However, it remains relatively unexplored at this point, for some inexplicable reason. At the end of the article, I call upon the US Coast Guard to take a leadership roll in testing and implementing this powerful, inexpensive enhancement to the proven AIS infrastructure.

All that, PLUS I’ve got a bunch of new Content Complete articles in my head! Stay tuned…

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Content Tracking

February 21st, 2007

Unless your content project is so small that you can just remember it all, you’ll want to create a formal system to keep track of your content; metadata, you know, about the content. Where did it come from? When was it last edited? By who? When should it be reviewed again? By who? When should it be removed or replaced? Is it part of a distinctive group of similar content items that should be handled together? Sometimes, you can include all the tracking information you need right in your content database. Sometimes, you’ll just need a simple table to help you keep track of your content; an Excel sheet, for example, listing each content item and recording all the metadata you need. But for projects of any size, you’ll probably want to create a dedicated content tracking system. More often than not, this means you’re going to create…wait for it…yet another database! Read the rest of this entry »

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Content Maintenance

February 12th, 2007

If you intend to publish content in a digital form, you better set some time aside to think about content maintenance. Even static (or “evergreen”) content will need maintenance from time to time. So let’s take a few moments now to think about the different ways you might choose to approach content maintenance for your project. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ergonomics For The Content Worker

January 29th, 2007

First, a disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. Officially, I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about when it comes to health, pain, discomfort, and treatment or prevention options. Consult your physician if you experience pain or discomfort at work.

OK, that should cover it. Now, this is what I do not know and cannot advise you to do about it. The work can be demanding, but it shouldn’t produce injuries, you know? We’re not working with power tools or manipulating heavy objects. We don’t travel at high speeds while working. We’re not working in the ocean, or underground. We’re not exposed to toxic chemicals or radiation (as far as we know). Our daily commute ought to represent the riskiest part of our day. This is easy work, physically. At least, you’d think so. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hey I’m Famous!

January 28th, 2007

I’m as famous as famous can be, I must say…

I mean, as long as “famous” means “my sister posted an interview with me on her vlog.” I don’t care what they say about me, as long as they spell the URL right.

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Content Database Architecture: Lesson Two

January 26th, 2007

In Lesson One, I introduced some basic concepts about database design, including the distinction between logical and physical data structures. To illustrate these concepts, we created a simple relational database structure to store scientific names of organisms.

In this lesson, we’ll add some features we might require if we were going to use this database to drive a real content presentation of some kind. Read the rest of this entry »

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Books I Like To Keep Nearby

January 25th, 2007

I still use books. Sure, a multitude of valuable references and resources is available online, for free. My experience, however, is that there is still a need for books, and I like having a few nearby while I work. Certain books, in particular, can be valuable for content workers. Here are a few of the books I keep handy no matter what sort of content project I’m working on. Read the rest of this entry »

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Content Database Architecture: Lesson One

January 10th, 2007

In this article, you’ll learn a bit about how databases are designed. I’ve intentionally simplified and streamlined the many elements involved in robust database development, but I think I’ve retained enough of the substantive issues to give you a start, even if you’ve never used a database more complicated than the telephone book. If, like me, you come from a liberal arts background and never took any computer science courses, this article should help you understand how relational databases work. If you’re some sort of database architecture guru, please try not to laugh too hard. With that, on with the lesson! Read the rest of this entry »

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The Dangers of Forking Content

January 8th, 2007

Sometimes, it’s expedient to create a copy of a body of content and then modify it for use in another context. It seems so simple: you already have good content in-house, and with just a little bit of work, you can create another body of content optimized for a different audience or presentation. It’s great!

We call this “forking” the content. And almost without exception, it’s a bad idea. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is a Squirt Analysis?

December 29th, 2006

Throughout any content production cycle, decisions will have to be made. Decisions about what to do, how much of it to do, how good a job to do, who’s going to do it, and how long it will take. At any point in the process, we do our best to make accurate predictions about what we can accomplish, and we try to identify the productivity “sweet spot” where progress toward our goals can be maximized within the constraints under which we have to operate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Content Complete.

My Current Content Projects

Content Tracking

Content Maintenance

Ergonomics For The Content Worker

Hey I’m Famous!

Content Database Architecture: Lesson Two

Books I Like To Keep Nearby

Content Database Architecture: Lesson One

The Dangers of Forking Content

What is a Squirt Analysis?

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