Demand-driven content management
Each month in ‘Filosofie Magazine’ another euphemism is discussed. This month it is ‘creating for yourself’. The author warns for artists who claim only to create for themselves, claim independence of acknowledgement by others. They only take cover for rejection. For what is more dissatisfying than creating something nobody values? And, vice versa, what is more satisfying than creating something that you already know will be used by others?
The recognition by peers is one of the most powerful drivers for people to deliver any work. On the internet I believe this is one of the major forces behind Web2.0. And it is one that can be reused within a business context, if we find the right leverage mechanism. For why would employees at work be so different from the people they are when they come home?
Where can we recognize and stimulate this pattern in a business context? My gut feeling is: everywhere. Content is complex, information that has meaning for people very often is a combination of content from multiple sources. The quick start guide for your new mobile device contains information from marketing, usability engineers, legal, sales etc. The consumer information for the drugs you take likewise is composed from information by different departments.
So we have the dependency in content, where you need information provided by others. The only thing we have to do is make sure that these others know you are depending on them and really appreciate it if they deliver on-time and with high quality. If you bring it to them in the right way, people will want to make small changes in what they create. In return you can give them the guarantee that you will then be able to use it as is. You are then creating a demand-driven content management chain and giving the authors the satisfaction of being of use to others.
Now of course, I have to put the question to myself as well. Who will use what I write? Until now I have received only a few real responses on what I write (and yes, hundreds of spam before we installed the re-captcha). The best read blog post was the one on the internet police. Am I writing only for myself? Google analytics tells me a lot more people are reading, although not in overwhelming numbers. What could I expect? Where is the thin line between not doing enough PR and talking to yourself?
