Saturday, June 21, 2008
Convergence is King
New media means new ways of doing business within an organization -- not just in terms of tools and systems, but also in terms of cultural dynamics and work processes. The model I advocate for any organization with an Internet presence mirrors the nature of the technology. New media, digital media, web-based enterprise applications are interactive and multifaceted. The business teams that support them should likewise be dynamic and diverse. This calls for an interdisciplinary, collaborative product team model, centered on a common, holistic objective.
A product team model brings together application developer, information architect, graphic designer, content editor, business analyst and project manager, working as an integrated unit to produce a Web site.
The Internet is first and foremost a communications medium. Although it's infrastructure is based on computers, it is not simply an engineer's domain of binary calculations and electrical cables. It is a channel for messages and a platform for multimedia production and delivery. The Internet and the World Wide Web produce a convergence of diverse media that requires interdisciplinary collaboration. These are broad concepts that most people in business today have already understood. Application of these concepts at ground level within a business organization, however, is not ensured without savvy management.
An enterprise Web site is not simply a programmer's domain of custom event handlers and asynchronous services. The adage that "content is king" refers to the value of a Web site as a communications medium. It requires a clear understanding on the part of management to organize resources in support of an organization's Web site in a way that optimizes the true character of this medium. That character is convergent, not compartmentalized like most corporate environments. The structure and content of a Web site are interdependent, interrelated as form and function. These elements should be managed separately in the application code, but not in the functional design and production of a site. Having one department developing structure while a different department generates content, in isolation from each other, will result in a weak user experience -- which means a weak Web site.
Working separately on core components of a Web site, an IT application development team will be compromised when their task runs into presentation design and content organization issues. Developing text and images in isolation, a communications or marketing Web team will be disadvantaged in optimizing technology strategies.
The convergence of media on the Internet is the essence of Web publishing. The convergence of technical and creative experts around the same table for a meeting of minds on business requirements and design specifications, user acceptance testing, and product enhancement is critical to viable Web publishing in business today.
A product team model brings together application developer, information architect, graphic designer, content editor, business analyst and project manager, working as an integrated unit to produce a Web site.
The Internet is first and foremost a communications medium. Although it's infrastructure is based on computers, it is not simply an engineer's domain of binary calculations and electrical cables. It is a channel for messages and a platform for multimedia production and delivery. The Internet and the World Wide Web produce a convergence of diverse media that requires interdisciplinary collaboration. These are broad concepts that most people in business today have already understood. Application of these concepts at ground level within a business organization, however, is not ensured without savvy management.
An enterprise Web site is not simply a programmer's domain of custom event handlers and asynchronous services. The adage that "content is king" refers to the value of a Web site as a communications medium. It requires a clear understanding on the part of management to organize resources in support of an organization's Web site in a way that optimizes the true character of this medium. That character is convergent, not compartmentalized like most corporate environments. The structure and content of a Web site are interdependent, interrelated as form and function. These elements should be managed separately in the application code, but not in the functional design and production of a site. Having one department developing structure while a different department generates content, in isolation from each other, will result in a weak user experience -- which means a weak Web site.
Working separately on core components of a Web site, an IT application development team will be compromised when their task runs into presentation design and content organization issues. Developing text and images in isolation, a communications or marketing Web team will be disadvantaged in optimizing technology strategies.
The convergence of media on the Internet is the essence of Web publishing. The convergence of technical and creative experts around the same table for a meeting of minds on business requirements and design specifications, user acceptance testing, and product enhancement is critical to viable Web publishing in business today.
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