Help shape my next diagram

By Richard March 29, 2011 content strategy, open project

Pencil sketch of me and the community working together to create a diagram

While I’m certain you could be doing something far more interesting with your time than reading this piffle, I’m really glad you’ve stopped by. You see, I’m looking for some help with my next diagram.

As a final flourish to my last post, in which I shone a little light on the process I followed to create ‘Partners for the content strategist’, I whimsically floated the idea of getting the wider online content community (I’m sure there’s a better term than that) involved in the conception and development of a similar diagram. On reflection, I realised this wasn’t such a bad idea at all.

Often, what moves me to pick up a pen and doodle is the need to solve a problem using pictures, or it’s to help stimulate my brain into revealing unrealised and surprising connections and relationships between such things as people and tasks. The trouble is, I’m all too aware that the finished diagrams only offer a single viewpoint – that of my own. I think I’d be interested to see now what we can conjure up together as a community. I know the end result will be all the richer as a result of your input.

When I went looking for potential snags I immediately arrived at this: running a successful open project requires as its figurehead a warm, witty personality with an almost effortless knack of being able to orchestrate and engage a community over a project’s duration. Alas, I couldn’t locate anyone fitting that description nearby. So instead, you’ll have to accept being politely nudged into action by this self-confessed introvert with a voice as influential and booming as a dormouse’s in a parade of lions. Having said that, I’m prepared to swim against the current, go against the grain, ‘leg it’ up a descending escalator, and a whole host of other such phrases that aptly describe going against all my natural tendencies, to make this a moderate success.

Over the course of the next few months I want to hear from all kinds of people – particularly those responsible for designing and shaping content for online audiences. I really don’t mind whether you consider yourself a fully fledged content strategist (I don’t; I’ve so much more to learn first), an information architect, an advocate for effective online content, or you’re the person who has taken the organisation’s content by the scruff of its neck because nobody else will. I need you all if this is going to work.

I could boldly suggest that by helping me you’ll be part of what could be an interesting journey of discovery; where we learn a little more about who we all are, how we’ve arrived at this point and, now that we’re here and still conscious, understand where and how our diverse professional talents can be applied, but I won’t because that would make me sound like some hyperbolic, pompous ass. Let’s just have some fun, shall we?

Check back here in a few weeks to see how you can get involved.

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