EU Data Regulation – Implications for the Digital Customer Experience

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is designed to establish a single set of rules for data privacy across Europe and to strengthen consumer protection. The GDPR has been under discussion for several years as we continue to live with the legacy of the law failing to keep pace with technological development. Under the new… Read More »

BrightonSEO

I’m delighted to say that I’ll be speaking at one of my favourite events, BrightonSEO, in September 2015 on Global Content Quality. “In just a few short years BrightonSEO has become one of the most popular and respected natural search conferences in the UK.  This isn’t an event that just tells you ‘content is king’ or… Read More »

Content Management Systems

An author-friendly CMS is the most effective way to manage your content. A surprising number of organisations rely on word documents, which are uploaded manually, and hard-coded content. I define ‘hard-coded’ as content which is doesn’t live in its own easily-accessible system but can only be located, by developers for example, within the code for… Read More »

Legacy Content

“If I was going there I wouldn’t start from here” (Irish words of wisdom) One of the biggest challenges faced by content strategists the world over is knowing where to start. In very few cases are you starting afresh and creating new content, adhering to the organisation’s style guidelines, entering data into an easily-navigable CMS… Read More »

Quiet – Book Review

‘Quiet’ by Susan Cain – so good I read it twice, once when it was first published in 2012 and then again recently. In the current climate we live with, what Susan defines as, the Extrovert Ideal; an appealing personality style defined as a gregarious, alpha person who is comfortable in the spotlight. Introversion can be perceived… Read More »

SEO Visual Representation

Search engine optimization (SEO) is thought of as a dark art to those not familiar with the topic.  However, it is a key part of the process of professional content development.  The Periodic Table of Search Engine Ranking Factors (updated in 2015) goes some way to visually explaining the factors involved in a more scientific format. Search engines… Read More »

Content Taxonomy Defined

Content Taxonomy Defined – a taxonomy structure is a hierarchical arrangement of controlled words and phrases arranged in sections/aspects/dimensions/facets in the form of broad to narrow or parent to child associations.  The structure is created to help with the classification and categorisation of mixed content, support the browsing and exploration of content online and strengthen the… Read More »

Global Content Strategy from FiftyWords

Welcome to my FiftyWords blog for news, views and insights into the Content Strategy discipline, discussions and information on how to make your content world-ready and create a truly global digital presence. Not all posts will be fifty words in length as there’s so much to say on the subject!

Content-driven Marketing Strategy

There are five stages through which grieving companies pass on the road to an enlightened, content-driven marketing strategy. Working through the process they arrive at acceptance, summed up by the Zen proverb: ‘The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now’. (This post was originally published in June 2011)