Content modeling is a critical part of modern digital publishing projects, but too often it's treated as a specialist task rather than an opportunity for collaboration and communication. By looking at the content from each team's perspective, we can build a better understanding — for everyone.

1. Maps, Models, and Teams
Content modeling as collaboration
Confab Central 2017
eaton@lullabot.com
twitter.com/eaton
hashtag #ccm

2. I work for Lullabot.
We big content.
I’m @eaton.

4. Stuff
Page

5. Title
Body
Location
Page

6. Title
Price
Sales Copy
Photos
SKU
Variants
Product
Date
Stars
Text
Review

8. Show content
Metadata
Curation tools
Promotional content
Standalone news
Cast member
A show host or recurring on-air
TWiT personality
Top News
Breaking News globe
A hub for news updates on an
important tech news development
Article
Long-form written news coverage,
potentially including other media
Event Coverage globe
A hub for TWiT coverage of a
conference, convention, or event
Series
A sequential collection of
segments or articles on a subject
Topic
A theme that’s frequently covered
on TWiT shows, like “Privacy”
Static Page
A simple, flexible page for storing
Transcript
A textual transcript of a particular
TWiT show episode.
Tip
How-To
Interview
Review video
Unboxing
Pick
“Segments” break out
material from episodes
for easier discovery
Episode video
Individual (often weekly) instance
of a show
Show
A recurring, personality-driven
collection of TWiT video content

10. dwight
said
Car chases are interesting, but spelling is more importanter
Please take a moment to ask yourself this question before reading this
web log: “Am I a stupid person that canʼt spell?” If yes, then answer this
question: “Will I be offended if somebody, namely Dwight K. Schrute.
adoolia
Chapter 3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin
sed felis ac libero pellentesque volutpat ut ut risus. Ut ultrices
laoreet orci vel fermentum. Phasellus rhoncus porttitor mauris id
dignissim. Phasellus quis metus dignissim erat accumsan
luctus eget eget neque. Donec ullamcorper, magna et ornare
blandit, odio mauris molestie augue, eu adipiscing augue elit et
urna. Nullam dui quam, facilisis sed porta in, scelerisque non
nulla. Aliquam nibh lacus, mollis a euismod non, cursus aliquet
felis. Integer iaculis placerat ipsum. In vitae augue id neque
dapibus gravida et sit amet ligula. Donec tristique dui a massa
convallis ullamcorper. Aenean ac nulla a sapien aliquam ornare
non ac nisi. Nunc eu auctor justo. Nulla lectus metus, laoreet et
dignissim aliquam, tincidunt vitae dolor. Donec vehicula quam
non purus euismod feugiat. Integer consectetur congue mi in
gravida. Integer nec mi dolor, at tristique justo. Phasellus
pretium ipsum et enim iaculis pretium.
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Chapter Listing
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
***** Share CommentVOTE
Synopsis
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11. But…
Who should
be in charge?

12. But…
Will anyone
actually understand?

13. But…
Howwillwe
keep it up to date?

14. Which one is the
real content model?

16. “…In the Deserts ofthe West, stilltoday,
there are Tattered Ruins ofthat Map,
inhabited byAnimals and Beggars…
On Exactitude in Science, byJorge Luis Borges

18. What is “Chicago?”

24. A map shows
important
things, not
everything

25. Each one
gives a view
ofthe whole

26. “Which model is the ‘official’ one?”
“Which angle are we looking at?”

27. The goal of content modeling is
shared understanding and clear,
consistent answers to content
questions from allteams.

28. 1.
What distinct kinds of content do we
create and manage, what are their
unique purposes, and how do they
relate to each other?

29. 2.
What individual properties make up
each piece of content? What rules
govern them, and where do they come
from?

30. 3.
How is the content organized behind the
scenes, and to our consumers?

31. 4.
What processes does the content go
through as it’s developed, published,
promoted, and maintained?

32. 5.
What people and roles are responsible
forthe content throughout its lifecycle?

33. 6.
What goals are we trying to accomplish
with the content, and what things are we
measuring to track our progress?

34. No one document
captures it all.

35. No one team
has allthe answers.

36. Everyone’s artifacts
can build shared
understanding.

38. Entity Relationship Diagrams
‣ Types of content
‣ Clusters and groups
‣ Explicit relationships
‣ Important properties
37
Show content
Advertising
Metadata
Curation tools
Promotional content
Standalone news
Cast member
A show host or recurring on-air
TWiT personality
Product
A product or service mentioned or
reviewed on a TWiT show or in
published articles
Top News
Promo
Standalone video created from
clips of other TWiT episodes
Breaking News
A hub for news updates on an
important tech news development
Article
Long-form written news coverage,
potentially including other media
Event Coverage
A hub for TWiT coverage of a
conference, convention, or event
Series
A sequential collection of
segments or articles on a subject
Topic
A theme that’s frequently covered
on TWiT shows, like “Privacy”
Static Page
A simple, flexible page for storing
static content like Privacy Policies
Announcement
Internal TWiT news and updates,
for example “We’re hosting a
studio audience next week!”
Transcript
A textual transcript of a particular
TWiT show episode.
Tip
How-To
Interview
Review
Unboxing
Pick
“Segments” break out
material from episodes
for easier discovery
Episode
Individual (often weekly) instance
of a show
Show
A recurring, personality-driven
collection of TWiT video content

39. User Personas
‣ Access levels
‣ Content ownership
‣ Navigation needs
‣ Accessibility needs
38

40. Annotated Wireframes
‣ Priority, emphasis
‣ Content gaps
‣ Metadata, relationship needs
‣ Volume assumptions
‣ Reuse potential
39
jibbajabba
said
I pity you fool.
dwight
said
Car chases are interesting, but spelling is more importanter
Please take a moment to ask yourself this question before reading thisweb log: “Am I a stupid person that canʼt spell?” If yes, then answer thisquestion: “Will I be offended if somebody, namely Dwight K. Schrute.
adoolia
Chapter 3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proinsed felis ac libero pellentesque volutpat ut ut risus. Ut ultriceslaoreet orci vel fermentum. Phasellus rhoncus porttitor mauris iddignissim. Phasellus quis metus dignissim erat accumsanluctus eget eget neque. Donec ullamcorper, magna et ornareblandit, odio mauris molestie augue, eu adipiscing augue elit eturna. Nullam dui quam, facilisis sed porta in, scelerisque nonnulla. Aliquam nibh lacus, mollis a euismod non, cursus aliquetfelis. Integer iaculis placerat ipsum. In vitae augue id nequedapibus gravida et sit amet ligula. Donec tristique dui a massaconvallis ullamcorper. Aenean ac nulla a sapien aliquam ornarenon ac nisi. Nunc eu auctor justo. Nulla lectus metus, laoreet etdignissim aliquam, tincidunt vitae dolor. Donec vehicula quamnon purus euismod feugiat. Integer consectetur congue mi ingravida. Integer nec mi dolor, at tristique justo. Phasellus
pretium ipsum et enim iaculis pretium.
dwight
said
Car chases are interesting, but spelling is more importanter
Please take a moment to ask yourself this question before reading thisweb log: “Am I a stupid person that canʼt spell?” If yes, then answer thisquestion: “Will I be offended if somebody, namely Dwight K. Schrute.
Related Works
Work Title Here
Author Name
Work Title Here
Author Name
Work Title Here
Author Name
Home Parent Genre Genre Work Title
Current Voting Cycle 23 days remaining
Author Name
Title Shows Here
home | my adoolia | browse | shop | logout search
Chapter Listing
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
***** Share Comment
VOTE
Synopsis
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipiscing elit. Proin sed felis ac libero
pellentesque volutpat ut ut risus. Ut ultrices
laoreet orci vel fermentum. Phasellus rhoncus
porttitor mauris id dignissim. Phasellus quis
metus dignissim erat accumsan.
Title Shows Right Here
by Author Name
Genre
A AA

41. Workflow Diagrams
‣ User roles
‣ Metadata gaps
‣ Governance gaps
‣ Staffing needs
40
Manager
Writer
Stakeholder
Lawyer
Needs/gap
analysis,
assignment
First and
subsequent
drafts
Draft In Review Approved Translated Live
Editing and
submission
Review, then
vote on
readiness
Translator
Translate
and localize
Schedule or
publish
Review
every 90
days
Reject or
Approve
Minor
Changes
Major
Changes
Archived
Review, vote
to preserve
or delete
Reject or
Approve
Out of date,
Irrelevant
Rejected
Approved

42. Journey Maps
41
Curiosity Evaluation Purchase Learning Daily Use
Web
Social
Print
Sponsored
Sponsored
Ads
Unboxing
Reviews
Reviews
Coupons
Product Desc.
Box Copy
Ads
Tutorials
Manual
Tips
Forums

43. Journey Maps
‣ Distribution channels
‣ Segmenting metadata
‣ Goals and metrics
‣ Audit criteria
41
Curiosity Evaluation Purchase
Web
Social
Print
Sponsored
Sponsored
Ads
Unboxing
Reviews
Reviews
Coupons
Product Desc
Box Copy

44. Journey Maps
‣ Distribution channels
‣ Segmenting metadata
‣ Goals and metrics
‣ Audit criteria
41
Curiosity Evaluation Purchase
Web
Social
Print
Sponsored
Sponsored
Ads
Unboxing
Reviews
Reviews
Coupons
Product Desc
Box Copy

45. With each artifact, ask:
‣ Whose perspective does it represent?
‣ Where does it overlap with the others?
‣ Are we using different words forthe same thing?
‣ Does it reveal oversights in other artifacts?
‣ Should we revisit/rework another one?

46. Meanwhile, in
Huge-Nerd-Landia

47. Domain Driven Content
‣ Expert/Builder collaboration
‣ Bounded context
‣ Shared language

48. “
“Dealwith large, complicated models by dividing
them into different “bounded contexts” and being
explicit about their interrelationships.”
Eric Evans, Domain-Driven Design

49. “
[Develop] a language and don’t be satisfied until it
flows — complete and comprehensible, made up
of simple elements that combine to express
complex ideas.
Eric Evans, Domain-Driven Design

50. 47
Marketing

51. 48
Marketing Tech

52. 49
Marketing
Design
Tech

53. 50

54. 50
“What do you callthe eyebrow?
“What do our users callthese steps?”
“I don’t think ‘datasheet’ makes sense…”

55. 50
“What do you callthe eyebrow?
“What do our users callthese steps?”
“I don’t think ‘datasheet’ makes sense…”

57. No one document is
the content model…

58. …But all ofthem
get us closer to it.