Category Archives: Editorial skills

What is user experience?

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

Of the many digital developments of the past five years, (e.g. mobile apps, tablets, console expansion into broader entertainment products) two of them that affect content people working in the sector are: “Web” is now an outdated term, replaced by … Continue reading →

Posted in Content, Copy, Corporate communications, Corporate identity, Corporate online, Editorial skills, Experience design, Usability, UX | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Why corporate websites matter

Posted on November 15, 2011 by

For anyone who didn’t already realise how much trouble ill maintained and resourced websites can get organisations into, two recent high profile examples of mistake or omission unequivocally make the case. The most recent is Standard & Poor’s error: “France demanded … Continue reading →

Posted in Content, Copy, Crisis communications online, Editorial skills, Public relations | Leave a comment

Books on content strategy

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

A few books about Content Strategy have come out recently. Kristina Halvorsen’s “Content Strategy”, published by New Riders press; “Elements of Content Strategy” by Erin Kissane, published by A Book Apart; and “Clout” by Colleen Jones, also New Riders. These … Continue reading →

Posted in Content, Content strategy, Copy, Editorial skills, Online strategy, Usability, UX | 1 Comment

More about blogs

Posted on December 28, 2008 by

The BBC has an editorial strand called City Diaries, in the business section (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7788608.stm). Are these blogs? Are they user generated content? Are they vox pops? Are they amateur journalism?

Posted in Content, Copy, Editorial skills, Web 2.0 | Leave a comment

Can’t get the staff?

Posted on May 19, 2008 by

Have you ever noticed that sometimes…no, often…companies put out adverts or job specs for a web editorial role that is, more or less, a request for a whole department in one package, rather than just one individual with a specialism? … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers sites, Corporate communications, Corporate online, Editorial skills, Public relations | 1 Comment

Why content editors shouldn’t design web pages

Posted on April 23, 2008 by

There are a few content editors out there who have been told or who think that using Dreamweaver (or whatever) and designing web pages for their company is a good idea. I was in that position for a while and … Continue reading →

Posted in Content, Corporate communications, Editorial skills | Leave a comment

Need to cut costs? Hit delete.

Posted on January 5, 2008 by

The rate of profit is falling for USA corporates (see EUI: 40% risk of recession in the United States by Robin Bew). It doesn’t take a genius to predict there will be a (further) spending squeeze for most companies. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Buzzword bingo, Content, Copy, Corporate online, Editorial skills, Effectiveness, Online strategy | Leave a comment

Yes, Mr Nielsen, right you are…

Posted on October 1, 2007 by

Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, October 1, Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill? has a great piece of advice: take the red pen to the extraneous introductory text and cut to the chase. He then points out that: “It’s easy to tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Copy, Editorial skills, Effectiveness, Usability | Leave a comment

Online marcomms and corporate comms: same family, different faces?

Posted on September 13, 2007 by

Over the past five years I’ve learned a lot about consultancies’ and companies’ approaches to corporate and marketing websites. It seems to me that the development and performance measures of websites today are dominated by a marketing-communications approach, no matter … Continue reading →

Posted in Copy, Corporate communications, Corporate online, Editorial skills, Effectiveness, Online strategy, Public relations | Leave a comment

The tagline is still (always) important

Posted on July 8, 2007 by

“Let me save you 100,000 dollars,” says Guy Kawasaki, ex-Apple guy, and leads his audience to the Dilbert mission statement generator where you can find exactly the kind of buzzword bingo that we’ve all come to love to hate. At … Continue reading →

Posted in Buzzword bingo, Corporate identity, Editorial skills | Leave a comment