All Things Content with Kevin Nichols

In the current digital space, the field of content design remains a topic of fascination. What exactly is content design, and what is it not? As explained by content strategist and this episode’s guest Sarah Johnson, it can be described as “designing with words”. She talks with Kevin about how she discovered her calling in content design after a career as a novelist and a computer programmer. Later, she explains the difference between content design and content strategy, as well as between content first design and content design. Sarah then speaks about the process and framework she leverages for effective content design. Sarah and Kevin also discuss the importance of communication skills in the field, the role of empathy and conversation mapping, and the intersection of content design, user experience, and customer experience.    Sarah is an Associate Senior Manager of Content Strategy at CVS. She also teaches content strategy at Bentley University’s User Experience Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. She has twenty-five years of experience with companies such as CVS, TIAA, Fidelity Investments, and Bank of America. Sarah works with content teams to help them grow leadership and user experience skills, running content strategy summits within her UX teams. She also spearheaded a workshop entitled “The Art of the Difficult Conversation”, which she developed in conjunction with Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. The workshop went on to be offered corporate-wide at TIAA. Sarah is a graduate of the InnerMBA offered by SoundsTrue, LinkedIn, and NYU.    Sarah's Info:   Sarah's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sajwriter/ Kevin's Info:   Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG   AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

How can designers leverage content as a vehicle for social change? What legal ramifications will proceed from new forms of content like Augmented Reality and the Metaverse? These are just some of the questions Heather Snyder Quinn is asking. In this episode, Kevin sits down with Heather to inquire about her work on her project “Mariah: Acts of Resistance”. “Mariah”, co-designed by Adam DelMarcelle, tells the story of a young woman who overdosed on heroin that viewers experience as they tour the Sackler wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. They do this by holding up their cell phones to artifacts procured by the Sackler family, viewing pieces of Mariah’s story via the augmented reality app that Heather designed. Kevin and Heather talk about how art responds to authority before delving into the topics of speculative design and design fiction. Their conversation leads to further discussions around the future of freedom of speech, the power of Big Tech in modern society, and the impact the Metaverse and other emerging technologies will have on our conception of reality.     Heather is usually where she “isn’t supposed to be.” You will find her playing in unexpected places, physical or virtual, and collaborating with people from an array of backgrounds. She uses design fiction to empower communities to imagine possible futures and understand technology’s impact on human freedoms. Yale Law School, The World Economic Forum, MIT Press, The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, and NASA have recognized her work. Dedicated to improving society through the field of design, she serves as Director of Design Futures for Design Incubation, Co-chair of Speculative Futures Chicago, and was previously co-chair for AIGA Chicago’s Women Lead. She is an Assistant Professor of Design Futures at Washington University in Saint Louis, Director of the Parallel Futures Lab, and mother of two daughters.   Heather’s Info:  Heather’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathersnyderquinn/   Heather’s Email: heathersnyderquinn@gmail.com    Kevin's Info:   Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

Is academia a potential career when working in content? Professor Kim Sydow Campbell is living proof that it is, but what is the typical course of action for someone looking to join her profession? Kevin discusses this topic with her, a valuable conversation for any student looking for a career in writing. They also talk about what technical communication is, the history of the field, its importance in various industries, and how she incorporates it into her courses. Professor Campbell describes the class projects that involve her students working with private companies to gain real-world experience. Kim Sydow Campbell is a professor and Director of Corporate Relations at the University of North Texas. As the Director, she develops and maintains relations with corporate partners on behalf of the University’s Department of Technical Communication to increase the relevance of degree programs to the industry, sponsorships of course projects for students, access to industry data or sites for faculty research, and the quantity and quality of full-time and internship placements for students. She previously was a professor and associate dean at The University of Alabama. Before this latest period in academia, she was Editor of Transactions on Professional Communication at the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Professor Campbell originally got her BA and Ph.D. at Louisiana State University, first getting her degree in English Linguistics, and later her Ph.D. in Linguistics and Professional Writing. Kim's Info: Kim's Twitter: https://twitter.com/_dr_kim_?s=20&t=jTiXN6gHeD_Q6b0vKKsnRg Kim's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimsydowcampbell/ Kim's Email: Kim.Campbell@unt.edu Kevin's Info:  Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

What is the connection between media studies and content strategy? On this episode, Robert Mills, founder of Fourth Wall Content, explains how his background in narrative theory led him to working in content. Kevin and Robert discuss the many ways forms of media, particularly film, subconsciously convey information to observers. Using examples ranging from cinema to fairy tales, the two decipher media codes that storytellers and directors use to tell and create stories. In addition, Robert explains how an understanding of these covert and subtextual themes can apply to the world of marketing and branding across a customer journey, empowering content specialists with the knowledge needed to tell their client’s own stories. Robert Mills is a content and communications strategist based in the UK. Having a track record at multiple agencies, he started his own in 2021 to work with clients on various content-focused projects. A writer with a diverse skill set, he graduated college with a journalism degree and has also worked as an Audience Research Executive at the BBC. He now runs his businesses out of the log cabin at the bottom of his garden. Robert’s Info: Email: rob@fourthwallcontent.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertMills LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertmills81/ Website: https://www.fourthwallcontent.com Kevin's Info: Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

In this episode of “All Things Content”, Kevin is joined by content strategist, musician, and documentarian Matt Geraghty. Matt describes his journey growing up as a musician and becoming fascinated with the musical traditions of other cultures. He talks about how those interests led him to creating multiple documentaries highlighting the untold stories of many artists and communities in Latin America. In addition, he and Kevin discuss the intersection of content and art, and how Matt’s work in the corporate world and artistic landscape supplement each other. Matt Geraghty is a multi-instrumentalist, music producer and filmmaker best known for his cross cultural and inclusive music collaborations across New York City, Chicago, Europe and Latin America. Matt founded JUST PLAY in 2013, a music and documentary project developed from meetings and improvisations with musicians from New York, New Orleans, Havana, San Juan and Peru. Matt created the project to increase the visibility of artists across the African Diaspora in the Americas. JUST PLAY, now with 275 artists, is a traveling artist collaboration project based on 3 central pillars: creativity, freedom, and global unity. For news about upcoming performances, news and ongoing projects follow Matt through the links below: Matt’s Info: Email: matt@justplay.world Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattgeraghty LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-geraghty/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattgeraghtyproject Website: http://www.mattgeraghty.com Just Play Project: http://www.justplay.world Kevin's Info: Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

In this episode, Kevin is honored to interview his good friend and content pioneer, Rahel Bailie. Listen in as Rahel describes her journey developing the very fields of content strategy and content operations during the early stages of the internet. In addition, learn how content operations are a necessity for growing organizations looking to scale their content libraries and processes. Rahel Ann Bailie is Chief Knowledge Officer at Scroll, an STC Fellow, an industry author, and a results-driven content strategist. She has a strong track record of developing successful digital content projects, tackling the complexities of managing content for clients globally. Her strength is diagnostics: calculating how to use content to deliver compelling experiences and to increase ROI of product lifecycle content. She is also a supporter of content structure and standards. Rahel is the co-author of Content Strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits (XML Press, 2013) with Noz Urbina, and co-editor of The Language of Content Strategy (XML Press, 2014) with Scott Abel. She has contributed to a number of other industry books. Rahel also teaches in the first-ever Content Strategy Master’s Program at FH-Joanneum in Austria. Rahel's Info: Book: https://contentstrategy-thebook.com Email: rahel.bailie@scroll.co.uk Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rahelab LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rahelanneb... Website: https://www.scroll.co.uk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScrollLondon/ Kevin's Info: Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR

On the third episode of “All Things Content”, Kevin sits down with Professor Steven Grindlay to reminisce about the history of content, beginning with the early days of the internet. They discuss what trends have continued into today and the role content will play in the future. Visionary, highly creative, and motivated, Steven is passionate about content and how it’s evolving in the digital space. A McGill University professor, he has over 30 years of experience working in the field of communications, including being the past owner of two advertising agencies and a designer of several niche news publications. Steven has in-depth expertise in designing and developing the framework, structures, and processes that enable organizations to focus their communications on creating and supporting a competitive advantage. In addition, Steven has worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop content strategies and build the architecture that supports the end-to-end digital content life-cycle and ecosystem. Most recently he co-founded the Content Strategy Alliance, a growing international organization of thought leaders committed to the advancement of the field of content strategy. Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR Steven’s Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3yH7tdm Content Strategy Alliance Website: https://bit.ly/32nXw8E

On this episode of “All Things Content”, Kevin and John discuss whether the “default” digital experience will retain its current position in digital personalization. If the default state goes away, what will it mean for content and digital experiences, and what will replace it? John Berndt is a person of many talents with accomplishments and interests in a number of fields including business, music, philosophy, and art. When the Web began in 1993, John was able to design some of the first large websites—a professional momentum which has never slowed. Having worked on hundreds of significant websites in varied markets, he has a world-class sense of what it means to build leading digital properties. Today, John focuses on making TBG the best national Web design firm of its size—working with his colleagues to solve the many pressing practical and intellectual issues of Web strategy, Web operations, multi-channel tactics, and content personalization. Because of his contributions to the Sitecore community, John holds the esteemed distinction of Sitecore Digital Strategist MVP (Most Valuable Professional). He is the author of the book Personalization Mechanics: Targeted Content for Web Teams of All Sizes (2015), the first truly detailed book about the intersection of Web personalization and Web operations, available here: https://amzn.to/3mZgj1J Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR John’s Twitter: https://bit.ly/3qkXLLo John’s Blog: https://bit.ly/3n0pnU9

On this inaugural episode of "All Things Content", Kevin sits down with Paula Land to discuss the benefits and challenges that come from performing content inventories and audits. Paula Land is the founder and principal content strategist at Strategic Content, a Seattle-based consultancy offering various services in web content strategy, digital strategy, user experience, content management strategy and CMS implementation, and content development and marketing. She is also a Guest Lecturer at the University of Washington Information School, co-founder of Content Insight LLC, and author of the book "The Content Inventory and Audit Handbook". You can see her full resume and purchase her book here: https://strategiccontent.com/about Kevin's Website and Blog: https://bit.ly/3in284l Kevin's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3jhscNG Kevin's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3xn9SHG AvenueCX Website: https://bit.ly/3lsSFdR Paula's Twitter: https://bit.ly/3bXghBi Paula's Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3bXz53q