Content Insights Blog

When it comes to creating content "wow" moments, the U.S. federal government now has a proven track record. You might recall CDC's explanation of how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. Well, now the White House has responded to a petition to build a Death Star with a geeky tongue-in-cheek explanation. A sample...

We don't have a Death Star, but we do have floating robot assistants on the Space Station, a President who knows his way around a light saber and advanced (marshmallow) cannon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is supporting research on building Luke's arm, floating droids, and quadruped walkers.  Read More >

It's been a rough year for my heroes. Jonah Lehrer, a talented neuroscience writer and thinker, has a plagiarism and taking-things-out-of-context problem. And, Lance Armstrong has a doping and bullying problem. I find Armstrong's example particularly troubling. He didn't simply dope to win a race.

No, Armstrong architected an intricate system of lies, drug use, and intimidation to dominate a sport. In the process,  he wreaked havoc on many, many, many people's lives. He actively and intentionally tried to "destroy" people's reputations, careers, and even personal lives. In many cases, he succeeded. (For a well-articulated summary, check out this column on CBSChicago. Don't miss the book by Tyler Hamilton, either.)  Read More >

In my last essay, I explained why valid, sound arguments are so important to helping people make decisions. In this post, let's delve more into what arguments mean for planning all sides of your content—communicaton (or editorial), architecture, and design.

Communication: Articulate + Reiterate the Case

An argument is more than a key message and less than a flood of information. The brand method does a nice job of articulating a pithy case for being clean with the its tagline "people against dirty" and in this "humanifesto."   Read More >

This very short post appeared on my personal blog. I've had a few requests for it, and Erin Kissane kindly quoted it in The Elements of Content Strategy. (If you haven't read that book, give yourself a treat and do so right away.)

I recently read the book Neuro Web Design. Useful? Yes. Clear explanation of psychology in persuasive websites? Yes. All you need to know about persuasive websites? No. And that's okay—even good.  Read More >

This sample chapter from Clout by our own Colleen Jones explains rhetoric.