Ian M Rountree

Copywriter, Project Manager, Digital Marketing

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Good Morning, Orion

October 25, 2010 by Ian Leave a Comment

Orion - The Sun Circle at The Forks, Winnipeg, ManitobaI’m working on a re-design of this site – I’ve mentioned this.

What I haven’t mentioned is why, what’s involved, or how it may affect the people who have been faithfully reading for a while (and, while we’re on that – thank you if you have).

Let’s start with some history. In November of last year, I skipped National Novel Writing Month to write 50 thousand words in this blog instead. I dropped a post every weekday for the entire month, and for much of December, January, and part of February following that. In February, however, I took at job with Modern Earth Web Design, here in Winnipeg, as an Online Marketing Specialist. My blogging momentum dropped, but so did a couple of other things, including the regular posting of The Dowager Shadow, which only made it to chapter 4 as a web serial.

I had intended to continue posting daily, and working on Dowager Shadow – but job transitions are difficult, especially moving into a new K2-style learning curve as I did. So, both the blog and the novel fell off.

I want to fix both of these things.

I’ve recently written bits about making sure you don’t suck at social media, and ensuring your information architecture has integrity – the work I’m doing now follows some of my own advice. Here’s how;

My sensei and I are working on a project outside of this blog, to create an information resource for web workers. This project removes some of the pressure of currency from my blog, and will allow for some new challenges and opportunities down the road.

I’m also re-building the Dowager Shadow’s website, and working on finishing the book. More details will come on that front – but it will mean I’ll be a little quiet during November, because I’ll be participating in National Novel Writing Month (with only a limited expectation of completion).

Lastly, I’m rebuilding this website with a focus on supporting the work I’m doing at Modern Earth. It won’t be a “hire me” blog – but it will certainly be far more clear that I do, in fact, want to work with businesses on growing their presence on the web. I’ll keep you in the loop as the site is rebuilt. The aim for completion is the end of December – so it’ll be an ongoing process.

The short of it is that things are changing – and I’d rather keep you all in the loop over how, when, and what – even if I’m not quite ready to share the why – rather than springing things on you later and causing confusion.

Sometimes the plans are as important as the execution.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: dowager shadow, mwyw, project orion, this site

Rethinking Information Architecture

October 20, 2010 by Ian Leave a Comment

What’s your website for?

Seriously – when was the last time you gave a lot of thought to how you position the content of your website? And I’m not talking about writing 500-word blog posts versus 300-word ones, or developing your editorial calendar. I’m talking about the flow, pulse, and purpose of every piece of content on your website – and what it helps you achieve.

We’re so quick to blog, we forget to create anything else.

Many of the newest, most powerful content management systems, such as WordPress, put the news feed – the blog, or whatever else you want to call it – right at the front.  So, we build our content based on blogs. This is getting more and more common, and it’s not a mistake.

Updated, fresh content helps search engine rankings – “new” is great for SEO. that’s half of why any blogger writes – to keep themselves relevant in the face of a constant stream of other new posts. But what does this do for our pillars?

It’s very difficult to create pillar content in a blog post. Even with longer form, less commonly updated blogs, 1250 to 1500 word exegesis-style missives don’t usually cut it. How many blog readers actually want to read an essay? Not many.

This is why we need to get better at creating our Pages.

We – yes, you, me, and every other blogger out there – need to get better at making the pillars which hold up the remainder of our content stronger. We need to plan, not just what word to put where, but what aim each link in our websites have.

For example; in the next few weeks, I’m transitioning the primary focus of my website away from being wholly a blog. I’m going to be restructuring my information architecture, and using the blog as a supplement to that architecture, rather than a replacement for it. Why? Because my needs are changing, and the purpose of my work on the web must follow. If it doesn’t, I don’t lose anything – but if I can do things better, I stand to gain. And if I gain sufficiently, I can pass that gain on through other projects, so that you can gain as well.

That’s what the web is about; creating a cycle of consistent, Pareto-increasing gains.

So expect some difference here. Soon.

I’ll be sure to explain as it goes – because I wouldn’t want to be a bad leader and dump change on people without warning.

And, I’ll ask you as well: how intentional is the content structure of your websites? How much consideration (not just planning) goes into developing the information architecture of your new projects as they come out?

How can I help you do better?

image by suchitra prints.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blogging, changes, information architecture, project orion, this site

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