Presented at Publishing Expo 2012 at Earls Court 2, London by Noz Urbina, Senior Consultant, Mekon. Developed in collaboration with Mark Poston, Senior Consultant, Mekon. This presentation looks at how an XML-based architecture can act as an enabler for content solutions across diverse scenarios. By enabling content curation and recombination for new deilverables, publishers can leverage existing assets for new benefits. It explores ways in which XML can be dynamically delivered to web and mobile applications with examples including location-aware solutions and socially enabled content.

1. Delivering Dynamic Content Solutions
using XML
Noz Urbina Mark Poston
Senior Consultant Senior Consultant
noz.urbina@mekon.com mark.poston@mekon.com
@nozurbina @mekonmark
@nozurbina

2. Me/Mekon
• Consultant/Trainer for Mekon Ltd. (www.mekon.com)
– Content strategy
– Mekon 20 years, me 10 years – specialists in content and
mark-up
– Small-to-medium-to-huge enterprises
• Mekon principal sponsor, myself chairperson for
Congility events (www.congility.com)
– Today’s Content Needs Agility
• Prepared in collaboration with Mark Poston,
Mekon
@nozurbina

3. www.mekon.com
lessworkmoreflow.blogspot.com
www.congility.com
Next at :
~ Content Strategy Applied - UK, Mar 1-2
~ DITA Europe, Apr 23-25 - La Jolla, California
~ LavaCon, October - Portland, Oregon
@nozurbina

4. Formats are diverse
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5. What is a Dynamic Content Solution?
• Goes beyond traditional methods of publishing
• Published at the moment it is requested
• Understands how content is being used
• Makes direct use of semantics/metadata
– tagging, conditions, annotations
• Doesn’t limit future opportunities
– New content products, services, even user generated
content
– Enables automatic and manual content curation
@nozurbina

6. Content Curation and reuse
• Content curation is reusing content for new aims
• Sometimes it can be automated, sometimes can be
hand-curated
• Considerations:
– Is it modular? (References to old context, links, etc.)
– Metadata - is it findable by the appropriate metadata in the
new contex?
– Is it still current/accurate at the point of reuse?
– Is it editorially, stylistically, etc. appropriate in its new reuse
context?
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7. Scenarios are diverse
Original Flow New New New
Scenario Audience Platform
Does your content have the
necessary agility?
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8. XML – Enabler of Dynamic Content Solutions
• Take advantage of XML standards
– Metadata, Conditions, Specialization, Reuse, Maps
– Taxonomy-based relationships
• Common processing architecture for all
content (DITA)
@nozurbina

9. Outside our comfort zone:
What are non-publishers doing with publishing?
DYNAMIC XML PUBLISHING SOLUTIONS
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10. MARITIME ROUTE DATA
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11. Maritime Route Data – UK Gov
• Create a catalogue of about 100 page-based
books about shipping routes around the world
• Wanted to move to a resuable, integratable
platform
– Single source of Geographic information referenced in
the content
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12. Example of Content Creation & Delivery
• Links from content to physical features in
geospatial database
• Each physical feature on earth has matching
XML content document
– name, description, position, user-defined content
• Authors can reuse a physical feature’s data in
their content
• Link back and forth between maps and content
• Deliver content on location-aware devices
– Electronic Navigation Systems
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13. @nozurbina

14. Easy insertion of
live data links
into hand-
authored
content
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15. What can we learn?
• Content services inside and outside your organisation
could be integrated into apps, digital editions
and more
– news tickers
– financial databases
– and more
• Change related links and ads based on SATNAV
information
• “There’s a nando’s around the corner”
• “Meet up with singles in croydon now”
• Interactive guides?
@nozurbina

16. HIGH TECH MANUFACTURING
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17. Medical Devices Manufacture
• Content from various sources in page-based
deliverables. Coming from:
– Partners
– Official technical communications
– User-generated content
– Product management updates and customer notices
• Going to various audiences and scenarios:
– Planned and corrective maintenance
– End Customers, Field Engineers, Support Engineers
• Want a way to relate and recombine content for
various needs/scenarios/devices
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18. Traditional Website Scenario
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19. Socially Enabled, Customised Scenario Community
and Personal
Bookmark/Download data
Page discussion
Comments
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20. On the iPad
-User content linked back to central
content...
-By related article
- By client
- By product
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21. What can we learn?
• When properly structured and componentised,
we can create new deliverables based on what
the customer wants
• Deliver new value from same content
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22. Application in traditional publishing
Original Flow New New New
Scenario Audience Platform
With XML reuse you can re-
monetise existing content
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23. Summary
• We can learn from what other industries are
doing with dynamic publishing
• DITA acts as an enabler to solutions
• XML complexity can be hidden from authors
where necessary
• Curation and reuse creates competitive
advantage and new revenue opportunities
@nozurbina

24. Thank you!
Q&A?
Noz Urbina Mark Poston
Senior Consultant Senior Consultant
noz.urbina@mekon.com mark.poston@mekon.com
@nozurbina @mekonmark
@nozurbina