In higher ed, any content worth its salt is going to convey some sense of the life on campus, whether it's student experience and an active research community. And that sense of life often boils down to people and their stories. Who are the people—real people, mind you, not stock photos and composite sketches—who make our campuses come alive? We can tell these stories well through profiles, both written and audio-visual. But what … [Read more...]
A Little More Conversation
May 10, 2012 by
Last week, I saw this great tweet by the University of Kentucky's Jeana Clark: @markgr IA = the building/rooms/floorplan. UX = Hospitality in the building.— jeana (@jeana_with_a_j) May 2, 2012 So, if UX is hospitality, how do we express that hospitality? In a hotel, hospitality may be conveyed in part through tone of voice, manner, the questions we ask and answer—in short, content. Ginny Redish, author of the essential … [Read more...]
Case in Point: Content Strategy at N.C. State
May 8, 2012 by
Learning the principles behind creating and sustaining effective web content is important, but it’s always helpful to see how someone else has put them into practice. With that in mind, we reached out to Tim Jones, executive creative director at North Carolina State University, to talk about how he is using content strategy at his institution. Jones came to content strategy through journalism, working as a newspaper reporter for almost a year … [Read more...]
Nimble Content Development
May 3, 2012 by
Much content development in higher ed happens in giant leaps -- major news channel launches, 18-month website redesigns, expansive social media campaigns, you name it. A big rollout can mean big impact, but it also means big resources and, potentially, big failure if we haven't done our due diligence. In the field of software development, there is an increasingly popular school of thought around agile development, which entails iterative … [Read more...]
Accessibility Considerations for Web Content
May 1, 2012 by
Our top concerns in planning web content should be our goals, message and audience. What are we saying, who are we saying it to, and why? But with regard to our audience, we also need to consider the “how.” What devices are they using the view the content? Do they have limitations in perceiving certain content, such as visual or rich media? How do we publish content in a way that makes it available to the full range of our audience? When … [Read more...]