Storytelling is the oldest content practice. Alan Porter helps enterprises and content practitioners improve their story craft.  Alan shows how better stories both convey the unique benefits of a business to their customers and improve cross-functional communication within organizations. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/alan-porter/

Joe Gollner, Managing Director at Gnostics Research and an expert in content strategy, shares his extensive knowledge on the evolution of 'content'. He introduces a seven-layer definition that captures its complexity, highlighting the distinctions between content and information. Gollner discusses how AI-enabled text analytics and headless systems impact content management. He emphasizes content's role as an organizational asset and the challenges professionals face in aligning diverse stakeholder perspectives, offering insights into effective governance and content structure.

Localizing digital product content is challenging on its own. When you add the need to communicate about sensitive financial topics to very specific audiences, the complexity of the work quickly grows. Stephanie Pereira is a content design manager working on the Google Payments product. She deftly balances a range of internal compliance and design concerns with the very specific hyper-localization needs of her audience.  (We had an internet connection issue around 28:00 - apologies for the break in continuity.) https://ellessmedia.com/csi/stephanie-pereira/

Colleen Jones, President of Content Science and author of "The Content Advantage," explores the intersection of AI and content strategy. She discusses how organizational maturity affects the successful implementation of AI, stressing the need for intelligent content to thrive. The conversation highlights the role of AI in optimizing content operations while maintaining human creativity. Colleen also emphasizes the transformative potential of AI amid digital disruption, urging content professionals to adapt and evolve their skills for this new landscape.

Chris Bach, Co-founder of Netlify and a pivotal figure in web development, shares his insights on the evolution of web architectures. He delves into the concept of Jamstack, discussing how it revolutionized the landscape with decoupled systems. The conversation highlights the benefits of composable architectures, including improved performance and SEO. Additionally, Chris touches on the growing role of AI in content creation and the necessity of maintaining quality in an increasingly automated market. A fascinating exploration of the future of web strategies!

Fran Alexander, a Montreal-based taxonomist, champions the democratization of taxonomy practices. She emphasizes the growing role of taxonomies in managing complex AI systems and enhancing their functionalities. The conversation highlights the balance between structured organization and user-friendly categorization, crucial for effective information navigation. She also delves into the relationship between ontologies and knowledge graphs, and encourages community engagement through events like the Taxonomy Bootcamp in London, making taxonomy accessible for more practitioners.

Mike Gifford, the open standards and practices lead at Civic Actions, dives into the vital intersection of web accessibility and digital sustainability. He highlights the environmental impact of online practices and the importance of integrating accessibility from development's start. The conversation stresses collaboration between content creators and engineers to ensure resource-efficient systems. Mike covers the role of user testing, especially with individuals with disabilities, and advocates for a holistic approach that includes all disciplines in content management.

Through her taxonomy and other information architecture work, Michele Ann Jenkins helps people across the organizations she works with align their mental models and terminology usage. This alignment of concerns and language forms the foundation of the semantic architecture that is so crucial to modern content systems.  https://ellessmedia.com/csi/michele-ann-jenkins/

Ilse Jonker, an independent content strategy consultant, and Joyce van Aalten, a specialist in taxonomy and semantics, discuss the dynamic interplay between content structure and meaning. They highlight how effective collaboration enhances content projects, sharing insights on navigating digital transformations with humor. The duo emphasizes the significance of patience in taxonomy development, the power of metadata to connect users, and innovative strategies to overcome content redundancy while adapting to changes like generative AI.

Vinish Garg takes a holistic and pragmatic view of the role of content and other crafts in digital product design, using an approach he calls "product sense."   Content strategy and design are just two of many practices that contribute to the success of any digital product. All digital practitioners justifiably take pride in their individual crafts, but Vinish encourages content, design, and other practitioners to favor product utility over their individual crafts. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/vinish-garg/