We're working to get our content ready to go anywhere, but are we inadvertently headed for a sea of sameness? In the 1950s, American tract housing was our answer to the post-war population boom. This utilitarian system of construction was designed for speed and efficiency, but we ended up trading character for a mass of canned communities. Are we at risk of history repeating itself in our digital future? If we want an adaptive web full of fluid content that's rich and unique, it's going to take all of us working together and building processes that encourage distinct results.

1. SHUNNING WEB
SUBURBIA
Rebekah Cancino
//CS Forum 2012
@rebekahcancino
img source: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/salinas/students/student_sites/Fall2007/John_David/images/levittownbig.jpg
Hi my name is Rebekah Cancino, I'm a communication strategist at Forty, an experience
design firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Let’s talk about something that is very important for us to
consider while we're working to make our content structured and ready to go anywhere.

2. img source: http://www.phxre.com/willo-historical-homes-for-sale.php
These are homes from a neighborhood in downtown Phoenix, (That little white duplex in the
bottom corner is actually where I live) in a historic district called Willo, built during the 1930s
and 40s. What I love about my neighborhood is that it’s so vibrant and full of character.

3. And they all look just the same...
But most neighborhoods in Phoenix don't look like that, in fact they look a lot more like this.
A sea of monochromatic sameness and I think this is a bit sad and depressing. How did we
go from neighborhoods like Willo, that are so full of character, to cookie cutter communities
like this?

4. Oh, babies!
Photo cred: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Look into the history of suburbia and you’ll trace it back to babies, basically. More specifically
the post World War II baby boom when all the soldiers were returning home, getting married,
and starting families with lots and lots of kids.

5. Processes for building were
unsustainable
This put a lot of stress on our cities, especially ones that were already overcrowded. The
processes for building homes at the time were suddenly unsustainable and we could not keep
up with the influx of new housing demand.

6. A system of building with
interchangeable parts and modular structures
img source: http://levittownbeyond.com/myPictures/1958Rancher.jpg photo credit: WOLYNSKI
So along came a man named Bill Levitt, who would later become known as the father of
modern suburbia. During the war, he had perfected a process of building mass amounts of
military housing using uniform and interchangeable parts.

7. 1 modular
2 structured
3 nimble
4 interchangeable
UTILITARIAN SYSTEMS OF
CONSTRUCTION
After the war, he became convinced that utilitarian systems of construction were the answer
to the housing crisis, because the methods were modular, structured, nimble and allowed for
very fast production of homes built on land right outside the city.

8. “I want to build a town
to be proud of.”
- Bill Levitt
img source: http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/87d21e5781626805627e89cd023c419c_1M.png
Mr. Levitt wasn’t a bad fellow, he really had the best intentions. He wanted to provide
affordable, modern, comfortable housing for war veterans and their families, AND build
something he could be proud of. We can relate to that.

9. 1 rapidly changing demands
2 need for flexibility and speed
3 structured system solution
WE’VE GOT A LOT IN
COMMON
There are a lot of connections with the start of suburbia and where we are now with content.
We're facing similar challenges, in a different context, and we are changing our workflows to
adapt to those challenges.

10. img source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_virginia/2898490777/in/photostream/
img source: https://si0.twimg.com/profile_banners/11855482/1348146182/web
In seeing the similarities with between this two seemingly disparate situations, there is
actually an opportunity here for us to learn from their mistakes.

11. modular sterile
structured
nimble ≠ bland
monotonous
interchangeable boring
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO
BE THIS WAY
The mistake I'm talking about is that of allowing a system for doing something, completely
strip away the personality of the thing the system is designed to serve in the first place. It
really doesn't have to be that way, but it could be, if we're not careful.

12. modular vibrant
structured
nimble + fresh
diverse
interchangeable rich
WE CAN DO BETTER
I think we can do better. And we have to, because people don't fall in love with a business or
organization, they fall in love with a personality. Structured content, done the right way can
give us content that's fluid and ready to go anywhere but also full of life and lovable.

13. See the similarities?
But it’s not automagical
img source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trialsanderrors/3117920975/
But that's not going to happen all on its own. We need to be careful not to get so granular
and clinical in our approach that we inadvertently create our very own sprawling web
suburbia.

14. 1 plan
2 work together
3 give equal priority
4 think like an art director
(No, seriously.)
As we're bringing in our focus and starting from the smallest canvas out, it's important for us
to it's important for us to build in ways to keep our content alive and our brand messages
intact.

15. We need smart planning and strong workflows
img source: http://levittownbeyond.com/myPictures/1958Rancher.jpg
One of the first things we can do is plan and intentionally allow time and processes in our
workflows that ensure our content stays distinct and wonderful.

16. “But if our content authors aren’t
supported in this [structured] process,
it will be a hard battle for us to
implement in our organisations.
Let’s work together to sell the new
magic.”
- Sally Bagshaw
We'll also need to work together really closely: content strategists, IAs, developers, designers
and most importantly content authors. As Sally Bagshaw said at ConFab earlier this year, if
our authors aren't supported and on board then we'll really have problems.

17. science wonder art
Just as only focusing on the voice, tone and message of our content, has failed us. Focusing
solely on structure and organization, will fail us too. We need to maintain equal balance in
our priorities, or we’ll end up with a bunch of adaptable content that doesn’t inspire or
motivate us at all.

18. “Metadata is the new art direction.”
- Ethan Resnick
img source: http://therarebulldog.org.s47293.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/eethapnl.jpg
Finally, I think we all could could benefit from thinking more like an art director. There's been
a lot of talk about this quote by Ethan Resnick, Metadata is the new art direction. We love
that, because we know that we need rule based instructions to impart human decision
making into automatic processes.

19. Art direction
1
Brings clarity and definition
2 Enhances meaning
3 Evokes the right emotion
4 Makes you memorable/lovable
From Dan Mall’s A List Apart article, Art Direction and Design
But let's make sure to consider all that art direction really encompasses: it elevates meaning,
evokes the right emotion, and helps makes our content memorable and amazing.

20. Let’s talk, preferably with cocktails.
@rebekahcancino
So far, we’ve made awesome progress with adaptive content, but we've only scratched the
surface, and it's never too early to start safeguarding against the suburbs.