We (technical writers) all know the prime directive: "Know thy audience." But here it is stated a little differently from the perspective of creating web "content."
How to get great content from people. "There is a need to connect the person who creates the content with the person who reads it. Content creation must be seen as an important and valuable task within the organization. When a piece of content delivers value, the person who created it should be praised and rewarded." (Gerry McGovern) [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]
There's something about calling it "content" that bothers me, though. Maybe it's just that in this context, content is what is bought and sold by content providers to fill up their customers' websites. If you read publications like eContent magazine, there's precious little attention paid to the people who actually create content: primarily writers, but also photographers and artists. To these folks, content is something that's bought and sold and managed, not created by intelligent human beings who would love to connect with their audience and would love to get a little feedback. Maybe McGovern's piece, however condescending, is a small step toward getting content creators a little respect.
11:02:44 AM 
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