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Presented by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler Community, Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at the Society for Technical Communication Summit, Philadelphia, PA.A look at how Scott Abel moved his career from a dead-end nightclub job to a career as one of the foremost experts in content management and technical communication. Step-by-step progress will be explored. Lessons learned and best practices will be shared.
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From Nightclub DJ To Content Management ConsultantDeveloping A Business Career The Content Wrangler Way
In Case You Were Wondering, Now You Know, This Is Not MeHe’s Not Only Strong, He’s Apparently Quicker To See The Value Of His URL Than I
It All Started In AcademiaI Earned 146 Credits, In Four DifferentPrograms ... And Didn’t Earn A Degree
My First Area of Study Was ArtI Learned That I Was Not An Artist,But I Knew Good Art When I Saw It
Next Stop, Business SchoolI Quickly Realized This Was Not Where I Fit
Then I Dabbled In PhotographyI Liked The Medium And Being Able ToCommunicate Messages Visually
Journalism Fed My MindAffording Groceries, An Automobile, And A Place To Live Was Another Story
Everyday Was A Learning EventThe People I Interviewed Were Subject Matter Experts; I Explained What They Knew
What Do You Mean We Get A “B”?Starting A Local Alternative Magazine Proved Fun, Exciting, And Profitable
I’ll Be Your Server This EveningLike Many Before Me, I Waited Tables To Get Myself Through School
Then I Became A BartenderThe Money Was Much Better, But It Wasn’t As Glamorous As One Might Think
Age 14: My First Gig As A DJI Learned From A Club DJ Who Worked At Our Local Under 21 Disco
DJing Taught Me About Content Reuse And PersonalizationPlaying The Wrong Version For The Wrong Crowd At The Wrong Time Is...Well, Wrong!
Turning Around On A Music BoxI Had An Ear For The Unusual And No Fear Of Trying Something Until It Worked
Remixes Were User-GeneratedUsers Were DJs Who Played In Discos And Needed Songs Longer Than 3 Minutes
<--- LARRY LEVIN ATPARADISE GARAGE
NYC CIRCA 1978
Two Turntables And A MixerUntil The Late 1990s, All Remixes Were Made Manually By Musically-Inclined DJs
Tempo Control Was The KeyThe Technics 1200 Turntables Are Still The Instrument Of Choice For Many DJs
<--- CONTROLS BPM
Reuse Is In The RemixVocals Are Reused Identically And Combined With Different Styles Of Music
Madonna Helped Explain HowIn An Interview On MTV, She Explained How The Technology Worked
Madonna Helped Explain HowIn An Interview On MTV, She Explained How The Technology Worked
Digital Players Mimic AnalogThey Allow DJ To Use Finger To Control Tempo And Computers To Lock In Speed
The Old Guy At The BarI Was Heading Nowhere Fast And Needed To Find A Sustainable Future -- A Career
USE YOUR IMAGINATION.
In 1999, I Sought Help From An Employment CounselorHe Suggested My Skill Set Would Make Me An Excellent Technical Communicator
<--- not my counselor
I Put Together A PortfolioMy Magazine, Ads I Designed, Photos I Shot, Articles I Wrote, Music I Remixed
One Interview Later...My First Assignment: Documenting Mortgage Loan Automation Software
At First, I Didn’t See The SignsI Was Bedazzled By The Corporate Culture, My Paycheck, And Benefits
You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!Totally Disorganized, Inefficient, Wasteful ... They Were Later Sued Out Of Business
I Started Searching For AnswersThe Internet Became My Hunting Ground
Unified Content StrategyMy Involvement As Technical Editor Was My ‘Ah ha!’ Moment: I’ve Not Turned Back Since
WRITTEN BY FORMER TECHNICALWRITER ANN ROCKLEY, WITH
STEVE MANNING AND PAMELAKOSTUR, THIS BOOK IS REQUIRED
READING FOR ANY ONE WHOWANTS TO WORK IN THE CONTENT
MANAGEMENT ARENA.
I Needed A Way To Get OrganizedLots Of Information I Wanted To Remember, But Carrying It Around Was Not Practical
The Content Wrangler Was BornIt Was Nothing More Than An Online Storage Cabinet For Things I Wanted To Remember
The Accidental AudienceMy Focus On Managing Content As A Business Asset Resonated With Others
Blogging Raised My ProfileI Was Recruited Based On My Views And My Perceived Expertise; People Noticed Me
Thanks, But No Thanks!I Turned Down Jobs That Required Me To Write Unstructured Content In MS Word
I ACCEPTEDNON-TRADITIONAL
ROLES ANDDIDN’T WORRYABOUT “TITLE”
AND, I MADE MUCHMORE MONEY
WITH THIS APPROACH
Started Speaking At EventsSpeaking At Business And Content Management Events Helped Me Find Work
Defining My Value PropositionGood Idea: Communicating and Rebranding Myself As A Content Management Strategist
“CONTENT IS ABUSINESS ASSET
WORTHY OFBEING EFFECTIVELY
MANAGED”
THIS MESSAGE SELLS!
Whiners Vs. Winners (Duh!)I Ran Toward Winners, Which Also Meant I Was Running Away From Whiners
WINNERS ARE MUCHMORE LIKELY TO
HIRE YOU.
WHINERS AREMORE LIKELY TODISTRACT YOU.
Scott, Commoditize Your BlogAt The Syndicate Conference in 2006, Dick Edleman Encouraged Me To ‘Think Bigger’
<-- DICK EDLEMAN,PRESIDENT AND CEO,
EDLEMAN PR
EDLEMAN IN WORLD’SLARGEST PR FIRM
Banner Ads Brought In RevenueCompanies That Want To Sell Products Also Need Help Creating And Documenting Them
<-- ADS ALLOWED ME ACCESS TO SOFTWARE AND SERVICES
COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS, EXPERTS
Conferences: Natural ExtensionMy Readers Said They Needed To Learn How To Do What I Was Writing About
Presenters Seek AttentionThe Same Folks Who Speak At Conferences Write Articles And Participate In Groups
The Need For CommunityWhat Was Missing Was A Way For People To Connect To One Another Without My Help
Birds Of A Feather ...Social Networking Technology Allows People To Congregate In Ways Meaningful To Them
So Many Jobs, So Little Time Being An Individual Consultant Is Not Scaleable...This Is Good News For You
Grow Your KnowledgeThere Is No Future In Commodity Writing: The Future Is In Solving Content Challenges
WRITTEN BY FORMER TECHNICALWRITER BOB GLUSHKO, NOW A
MULTI-MILLIONAIRE, THIS BOOKIS REQUIRED READING FOR ANY
SERIOUS CONTENT PROFESSIONAL.
ARE YOU A DOCUMENT ENGINEER?HOW ABOUT A CONTENT
CHOREOGRAPHER?
The Road To SuccessThere Is No One Right Way To Become A Content Management Expert
YOU MUST BE WILLINGTO CHANGE AND OPEN TODIFFERENT APPROACHES.
ALLOW YOURSELF TOTHINK BIGGER.
DON’T ALLOW OTHERSTO DEFINE YOU.