A List Apart, December 8, 2009
SUMMARY: Feeding the Web. Our Web sites are important assets and curating them is an essential part of our overall organizational strategy. Balancing timely and timeless content, using analytics to better understand users' needs and managing the conversation flow are the building blocks for success in any business. Read on for more reasons not to skimp on Web site management when it's budget time.
COMMENT: There's a lot of good sense in this essay that translates well for our environments as the author comes from a library/museum background. I think the most compelling thing said is not the design or curation advice but the admonition to establish a relationship with your audience. I was recently at the Digital Strategies for Heritage http://hangingtogether.org/?p=760 (DISH) conference in the Netherlands and there were two keynotes that nicely framed this topic. Review Simone Brummelhuis' keynote that explains the types of communities and Josh Greenberg's on how to use existing tools and staff to build those communities.
Both are available on slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/DISH09. (Michalko) http://hangingtogether.org/?page_id=12