Okay, we get it. No more blobs. Make things chunky. Separate content from code. But this is easier said than done. Most content professionals work with small budgets or cope with big bureaucracies. We can't move forward on ideals alone. We need practical approaches (and dare we say, compromises) for implementing adaptive content in our day-to-day jobs. Instead of discussing in vain how to build perfect solutions, let's look closely at real-world case studies of people who have made tough calls and tradeoffs to move toward adaptive content in ways that solved actual problems. Adaptive content requires a cultural shift in thinking, and along the way, we need to be able to allow ourselves some tradeoffs. Many situations today cannot realistically support, or even require, the chunkiest solution possible. When could a little WYSIWYG sometimes be a good thing? Is it heresy to allow the errant blob into your content management system for a special use case? As we defend the purity of content, it's also our responsibility as strategists to empower content creators to do their jobs well. Sure, the larger theory is exciting to think about, we'd like to talk more about the things we can actually start doing when we arrive to work the next morning.

1. How Chunky Do
You Need To Be?
AKA, There’s No Perfect Way To Do
Adaptive Content, So Let’s All Stop
Beating Ourselves Up About Not
Implementing Our Site Like NPR Did.

2. SUBTXT
Tosca Fasso
Content Strategy
@toscafasso
Christopher
Ward
Digital Strategy
& UX
Hello!

3. We’re CMS
dorks.

4. Joy! At the
conference.

5. Score! Adaptive Content.
Image
from
Adap%ng
Ourselves
to
Adap%ve
Content
by
Karen
McGrane
(Slide
44)

6. Make Chunks, not Blobs!
HEADER
M
E
T
A
D
A
T
A
HEADER
SUBHEADER
<div><div>
EXCERPT
IMAGE
COPY
<span>EVERYTHIN
G GOES HERE </
span>
</div></div>

7. Next week, at work.

8. One does not simply
separate their content from code.

9. Not all code is
created equal.

10. Let’s talk about tags, baby.

11. <p>
<div>
Syntax
Style

12. <p>
<div>
Syntax
Style

13. <p>
<div>
Syntax
Style

14. Gray Area
<p>
<i><strong><br>
<div>
<font> <h1> <img>
Syntax
Style

15. WHAT LEVEL OF CHUNKY…
…gives creators control of syntax?
…keeps content adaptive enough?

16. Ok, so how in the f###
do I use this at work?

17. Case Study 1
How To Keep Content Adaptive
Enough.

18. What’s a Lullabot?

19. What they did.

20. 1. Groups, not pages.
From
Lullabot

21. 2. Importance, not appearance.
From
Lullabot

22. 3. Shortcodes, not code-codes.
From
Lullabot

23. 3. Shortcodes, not code-codes.
We
wish
we’d
done
a
spread
for
Radiohead,
but
these
SUBTXT
comps
for
illustraHon
only
Radiohead Rains Down
on Austin City Limits
The
progressive
rock
icons
drew
almost
exclusively
from
their
last
three
albums:
The
King
of
Limbs,
Radiohead Rains Down
on Austin City Limits

24. 4. Content editing, not design.
From
Lullabot

25. 5. Allow some blobs.

26. Use Your CMS To Create
Guardrails, Not Rules.

27. Moboom.com!
A Truly Adaptive CMS
1. Content Sets, Not Pages.
2. Dynamic Content Delivery.
3. Feed Into Existing CMS.

28. Case Study 2
How To Be An
Adaptive
Ambassador.
Way to design
like it’s 1999.

29. SUBTXT
The client request:
“Fix all the random content
overlaps and differences
across our many websites.”

30. Yes, it seemed like the
worst project.

31. Multiple
sites
with
some
shared
content.

32. Dry,
overlong
copy.

33. A team
who had
never
heard of
adaptive
content.

34. But it was the perfect storm.
An unsexy
silo wanting
to make a
splash.
A developer
team ready for
a challenge.
An innovative
stakeholder.

35. Adaptive content often
starts with convincing
stakeholders.

36. 1. Educate teams.
“You can’t excite people if
they don’t know what
you’re talking about.”

37. 2. Excite ambitious people.
“Who doesn’t want to do
portfolio-worthy work?”

38. 3. Use data to convince.
“How many users are you
alienating by not offering
the best mobile content?”

39. Think Big, Start Small.
Find a leader who lives for innovation
Find a department who
doesn’t get any attention
Find a executive sponsor, offer to help
them do something bold

40. Three Chunky Conclusions
1. Separate syntax from style,
not content from code.
2. Create guardrails, not rules.
3. Think big, start small.

41. How Chunky Do
You Need To Be?

42. How Chunky Do
You Need To Be?

43. How Chunky Do
You Need To Be?

44. How Chunky Do
You Need To Be?

45. Get Started!

46. SUBTXT.US
Thank You.
Contact
tosca@subtxt.us
christopher@subtxt.us
ACMS
Examples
Link to Slides
Moboom,
Kit (DSC),
iAPPS,
Lullabot
subtxt.us/icc