Now that the design changes are updated, I look forward to posting more frequent blog entries. Stay tuned, and thanks for visiting!

Of course not. And no one would blame you. It’s not a cracking of the chestnut of judging a book by its cover—rather, it’s judging a book for what it contains. Judging it by its content. And if the content isn’t solid, no reader will stick around.

I recently stumbled upon an article on the website A List Apart, and it contains one of the most intriguing, smartest articles I have read about content strategy and web content creation. In her piece “The Discipline of Content Strategy,” Kristina Halvorson writes:

“Until we commit to treating content as a critical asset worthy of strategic planning and meaningful investment, we’ll continue to churn out worthless content in reaction to unmeasured requests. We’ll keep trying to fit words, audio, graphics, and video into page templates that weren’t truly designed with our business’s real-world content requirements in mind. Our customers still won’t find what they’re looking for. And we’ll keep failing to publish useful, usable content that people actually care about.

“Stop pretending content is somebody else’s problem. Take up the torch for content strategy. Learn it. Practice it. Promote it. It’s time to make content matter.”

This is expressed so eloquently, and describes a real-world problem in accurate, easily digestible yet profound terms. So much of the content on the web is, simply stated, not good. Much of it runs the range from forgettable and ineffective to appallingly bad. Some web sites that offer merely mediocre content seem to shine in comparison, simply because the content isn’t awful.

I think we can do better. The world is full of eager writers—smart people who can turn a phrase artfully and draw a reader in. Regrettably, many writers still view the web as an enemy, a passing phase or an irritant. I would urge those writers to keep an open mind. Every day, my appreciation and passion for interactive communication grows. There are so many unique benefits to communicating online; the ability to immediately interact with audiences, the capability to reach a wider group of readers and the leisure of unlimited space are all siren songs that this writer can’t resist.

I’m all about taking up the torch for content strategy. To me, the flame is exciting, challenging, rewarding—and fun.

How do you feel about web content—creating it, consuming it, judging it? Comment below.

All of these facets of website design and development are interrelated, and each of them interacts and influences content decisions.

The examples are limitless. If the design of a website calls for teeny tiny text, in a funky font color on a busy background, that is going to influence how people receive your content. You could feature the most moving and powerful prose the Internet has ever seen, but if readers can’t read it, it’s irrelevant.

Proper web content isn’t simply engaging, informative and well written (although it should be all of these things.) Great web content works for you in more ways than just communicating with your reader—it’s enriched by strategic key word placement, it’s influenced by matters of organic search engine optimization (SEO). Great content can bring people to the site by working with current technology, and then it can entice readers to stay longer, because of the value of the information.

The fascinating field of usability is quite intricately interwoven with content creation and management. From the elementary to the advanced, usability (how a visitor uses a website) should be taken into consideration in every aspect of a web site.

From macro to micro, usability and content strategy are symbiotic arrows in the same quiver, employed for accomplishing the same bulls eye hit. Even seemingly smaller choices, such as whether or not to use ‘click here’ in links*, have huge ramifications in the efficacy of the content and the website at large.

Usability, content strategy, web design and interactive marketing are constantly changing and developing. It’s not enough to read a book on the topic of the web and consider yourself an expert. In order to understand the web, you must immerse yourself in it, daily, and develop a first-hand perspective and informed opinion.

The best and most talented web folk I know are voracious learners who are inspired by the constant evolution of their medium. They feel challenged and intrigued by the daily innovations and newness of the field. They find it exciting. And the best web teams have an innate sense of how important each element is. They work together in the most genuine sense of the word. And together, they create.

*I’ve recently been examining and exploring this topic. It seems logical that in most cases, “Click Here” isn’t a great way to label links. Especially if there’s no further information, simply stating “click here” offers no value or clear direction to a reader. But, if it’s coupled with info, great action words and clarity, is “Click Here” sometimes OK?  This informative article says no (and the comments offer a vigorous debate.) I’d love to hear what you think—comment below.

Companies are growing to understand how essential their content is to a successful web site. In this great blog entry, 15 Key Elements All Top Web Sites Should Have, ‘Meaningful Content’ comes in as element #5.

“You might have a pretty web site which will catch someone’s eye, but if the content is no good, you can be willing to bet that they aren’t going to stick around.”

The article lists ‘A Solid About Us’ page as #6, which also ties in well to the concept of great content being central to an effective website. Visitors to websites want information. They want pertinent details, and they want them swiftly and logically. The web can be a sucking vortex of time, when information is hard to find, and today’s web users are more savvy and more demanding. They want the information they seek to be easily accessible, and useful once found.

A web writer plays such an integral part in creating a winning website. We can help companies develop an overarching, strategic content plan and then research, develop and create this content. A great web writer makes great content, and great content is a key element to success.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the new White House site is the White House Blog. It’s been steadily updated since 12:01 Inauguration Day, and so far the pace hasn’t slackened—it’s going steady at approximately an entry a day. It features speeches, videos, events, task forces and more. Most historically, the blog team is posting pending legislation to the blog, to allow the public time to review and comment. This allows for greater transparency—we now have a better idea of what our government is doing on our behalf. It also takes advantage of the opportunities of web communication, to allow greater interaction between the governed and the government.

Since this technology is already widely accepted and well understood, it’s a logical step towards integrating government with the world of American tech innovation. And it will be fascinating to watch how it changes this country’s discourse.

To read more about the new White House website and blog, check out this great article from Slate and an interesting entry from The New York Times on-line.