Gadgetopia

I just accepted a speaking slot at Web Content 2009 in Chicago in June. I’m going to be talking about modeling content — how do different systems handle the breaking down of logical content into manageable units? It’s something I’ve always been interested in, as the history of this blog demonstrates:

• Open vs Closed Content

• Discrete vs. Relational Content Modeloing

• The Envelope Pattern of Content Management

• Architecture and Functionality in Content Management

This is directly from the session brief I submitted:

• How well does a CMS allow you to structure content? Does it have any ability to manage different content types? Through configuration, or through custom module development?

• Can it structure content at all, or is everything an amorphous “page”? What are some common datatypes you might use to model content? What datatypes are offered by various systems?

• Can a system automatically generate input forms for your content? Can it validate these input forms? How usable are the forms? How well does a system allow you relate content to other content, and in what ways?

• Can you content pick up properties or attributes from context? Does the content object’s “place” in the content structure of the site allow you to derive information about it?

• Can a system allow you to easily compose content from separate component content objects?

• Can a system let you have repeating properties? Can you create “subcontent” to represent parent-child relationships between content objects?

I love to see some of you there. As we discussed a few weeks ago, this is a great conference for anyone involved with content management.