I’ve struck a nerve in this discussion of content, (WikiLeaks:  Lessons of Content and Its Management for the Organization) judging by some e-mails I’ve received.  I know there are a number of IT leaders who struggle with their organization’s lax attitude regarding content control.  Let’s keep this discussion rolling…

Beyond mere accountability, however, the modern and evolving discipline of managed content is more sophisticated and powerful than anything previously established.  Beyond “Wiki-proof,” we make content searchable and relevant to people in powerful new ways, in support of projects and disciplines within the organization. 

We find supporting and illuminating relationships between existing content that were previously hidden because there was no way to find or readily expose these relationships.  We see new clues regarding markets, customers, products, services, trends, activities, and risks.  As importantly, when new content is developed, we want to automate the assignment of key information fields to it so as to make this new content a part of our leveraged information assets. 

Instead of being buried under an explosion of content, we explode content to splay its purpose, relevancy and value.  We then snap content together with other content to form a completed picture.

Imagine this: a scrambled jigsaw puzzle where the pieces reside in various departments, in various physical locations – perhaps all around the world – with individuals and groups working the various pieces in some measure of ignorance for the efforts and work of others.  We now connect all the pieces with an interwoven thread.  The thread guards against loss, and identifies puzzle pieces as relating to each other, among other things.  On demand, an authority pulls a master thread, and all the pieces come together to form as complete a picture as the moment allows: not part of a picture, not a picture with missing pieces, not a picture that requires recreation of missing parts that had already been created – but a 100% collection of parts with corresponding context and fit to the other parts. 

Exciting?  Yes – and the smart organization understands the value in this; implements, supports, protects, and rides the heck out of it.

Tomorrow:  We continue.

NP:  Brubeck.  Time Out.  Vinyl.  Thorens TD-125.