October 2006
Advocating Plain Language: Thom Haller Discusses The Need For Clarity
We asked Thom Haller, Director of the Center for Plain Language, to define Plain Language, discuss U.S. legislation related to Plain Language, and provide perspectives on why this outreach is needed now.
September 2006
Controlled Vocabularies Aid Translation and Content Management
Berry Braster explores the need for controlled vocabularies -- to avoid ambiguous language -- especially when we are delivering translated content to a global audience. Braster discusses a few of the many reasons -- humourous, disasterous, and otherwise -- that adopting Simplified Technical English could reduce unecessary expense, minimize risks, and prevent death.
August 2006
September Rockley Report To Feature Customer-Centric Content Management
Don't miss the next issue of the Rockley Report, due out in mid-September. The theme of the issue if customer-centric content management. Special guest contributors Bob Boiko (author of The Content Management Bible) and Emma Hamer (E. Hamer Associates) will explore critical aspects of content management designed to support the customer and enhance the customer experience. Get your free subscription today.
July 2006
In Review: Document Engineering By Robert Glushko and Tim McGrath
In "Document Engineering: Analyzing and Designing Documents for Business Informatics and Web Services", Robert Glushko and Tim McGrath explore the document as an interface to business and provide a common sense approach to modeling both documents and services for information exchange.
June 2006
W3C Publishes New Cascading StyleSheet Module
The World Wide Web Consortium Cascading Style Sheet Working Group has released a Public Working Draft of their new "CSS3 Module: Generated Content for Paged Media." The module aims to provide features on the web that are often used in printed publications.
March 2006
Teaching The New Art Of Authoring In XML
Bill Albing explores the new art of teaching authors to create reuseable, structured XML content. Albing provides practical, real-world advice for authoring teams attempting to make the move away from traditional word processing.
February 2006
The Rockley Report Adopts Free-Content Model, Opens Archives To All
Free access is now available to the entire library of The Rockley Report, a journal about content management. The Rockley Report was previously a quarterly, subscription-only journal, but adopted a free content model March 1, 2006.
January 2006
Planning for DITA Success: How to Set Up the Right Team and Select the Right Strategy
Discover why DITA has created such a buzz in the content management arena, particularly among technical documentation teams—and learn what you need to do to prepare for long-term DITA success.
November 2005
In Review: Cashing In With Content
David Meerman Scott showcases 20 web sites that use content to attract and retain customers, drive sales, and increase revenue. From Aerosmith to Weyerhaeuser, Scott provides a treasure trove of lessons learned and web content best practices from some surprising sources. Download a free chapter!
October 2005
The Semantic Web
Tim Berners-Lee explores the ideas behind the Semantic Web, how it will work, and why it's so badly needed today.
September 2005
Fundamental Concepts of Reuse
Before you can begin auto-populating your documents, web sites, and forms with reusable content, you'll need to understand the basic tenets of content reuse.
August 2005
Information Architecture for the Web
No content management library would be complete without a copy of "Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Websites." The book is an easy read (less than 500 pages) and offers practical advice for those looking to improve the way they manage online content.
July 2005
DITA Resources Online
If you need to learn more about the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), look no further. We’ve provided links to a few of the most useful DITA resources available on the web today.
June 2005
The Content Management Handbook
If need to convince upper management why your organization should move to content management, Martin White has information you need. In "The Content Management Handbook" (2005, Facet Publishing), White discusses how important it is to take into account Total Cost of Ownership before selecting a content management system.
May 2005
Innovation Happens Elsewhere: Open Source as Business Strategy
In "Innovation Happens Elsewhere: Open Source as Business Strategy" (Morgan Kaufmann, 2005), authors Ron Goldman and Richard Gabriel examine the world of open source software and address the human and business factors involved in adopting and maintaining open source systems.
April 2005
In "Learning XML" (Second Edition, O'Reilly, 2003), Eric Ray, co-founder of the TECHWR-L technical writing web site and listserv, demystifies XML and explores, in depth, how XML DTDs work.
March 2005
The Role of Content Standards in Content Management
Learn how using DITA, DocBook, SCORM and SPL can help you organize, author and deliver content to those who need it. Discover how adopting the right standards can assist your organization with regulatory compliance, industry conformance, and provide new avenues for information interchange.
February 2005
Before you can create your own XML markup language, you'll need to understand how XML works. A wide variety of books on XML are available at your local bookseller, but few are designed to teach you what you need to know to begin to master XML quickly. In fact, many XML books on the market today are so jargon-laden and poorly organized that they make learning XML more difficult than it need be. But, there is one XML book that can help you get up and running in just one weekend.
January 2005
CMS Vendor Q4 2004 Financial Roundup Report
Learn how well Interwoven, Stellent, Vignette and others vendors did, what issues are affecting how their financial results are being interpreted, predictions for workforce growth, service reductions and more.
December 2004
XMP, Round-Trip Conversion, Digital Rights Management And More In Our 2004 Required Reading Archive
If you're involved with content management, you need to be well-informed. Check out the complete list of book reviews and other useful resources in our 2004 "Required Reading Archive".
November 2004
Enterprise Content Management: What You Need To Know
The folks at Open Text Corporation, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada have published a new book, authored by Tom Jenkins, entitled "Enterprise Content Management: What You Need To Know". It's packed full of useful statistics, factoids, and case studies -- information any content mangement professional would find valuable.
October 2004
DITA Case Study: The Mechanics of Single Sourcing
Learn how one organization -- CEDROM-SNi --implemented DITA. This case study provides detailed information about the project, its goals, scope, challenges, and lessons learned.
September 2004
If you’re interested in metadata for publishing, get the “lowdown” on the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) from XML.org columnist, Bob DuCharme. His September 22, 2004 article examines the XMP specification and helps demystify how it works, who is using it, and for what purposes.
August 2004
The Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Strategy Management
The Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Strategy Management is a must-read for those who need to keep in touch with the ever-evolving facets of Customer Relationship Management.
July 2004
Roundtrip Conversions: Seven Golden Rules for Making Convertible Documents
In [url=http://www.dclab.com/xmlconversiontools.asp]Roundtrip Conversions: Seven Golden Rules for Making Convertible Documents[/url], Gross shares seven secrets designed to help make legacy content conversion a snap. The article discusses tools, conversion strategies, publishing stylesheets, and provides a list of helpful hints every legacy content conversion team should master.
June 2004
Free Online Access To XForms Essentials
O’Reilly Media and the XForms Institute have teamed up to provide those interested in XForms technology with free online access to XForms Essentials by Micah Dubinko. Learn more about XForms Essentials and gain access to the free online version of the book.
March 2004
Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible Markup Language
The U.S. General Accounting Office report, "Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible Markup Language" is an excellent source of information for those seeking to adopt an XML-based content management system. The report outlines difficulties preventing the widespread implementation of XML in the U.S. government, describes U.S. federal government XML projects, illustrates several potential uses of XML in government and in industry, and provides recommendations for adopting an "enterprise architecture" to avoid creating a "patchwork solution".
February 2004
The Technology of Rights: Digital Rights Management
While this space is normally reserved for book reviews, this month's "Required Reading" is an article entitled The Technology of Rights: Digital Rights Management by Karen Coyle. The article explores the world of digital rights management from a beginner's perspective and is a must-read for anyone responsible for the management of copyrighted or other sensitive material. It's timely and the issues discussed are relevant to a wide variety of audiences.
January 2004
November 2003
Book Review: "Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies" By John Yunker
In "Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies", John Yunker explores the globalization landscape and the role Web-based content plays when we attempt to reach beyond our native marketplaces.
October 2003
Book Review: "What Is Six Sigma?", Pete Pande And Larry Holpp
Discover how Six Sigma quality strategies can help your organization demonstrate a quantifiable return on investment.
September 2003
Book Review: "Information Architecture With XML: A Management Strategy" By Peter Brown
In "Information Architecture with XML: A Management Strategy", Peter Brown illuminates the importance of XML and explains why it is critical for top-level managers to understand and control the spread of XML in their organizations or risk costly, undesirable consequences.
August 2003
Book Review: "Leading Change: Overcoming The Ideology Of Comfort And The Tyranny Of Custom"
The best way to overcome challenges to change is to start by understanding the nature of resistance, and to develop a strategy for overcoming fear associated with change. James O'Tooles book, "Leading Change" is an excellent starting point.
July 2003
Book Review: "Structured FrameMaker (7.0): Introduction To Authoring Workbook"
The folks at Scriptorium Press know Adobe FrameMaker 7.0. Even better, they know how to transfer their knowledge to others. Scriptorium's Professional Training for Professional Communicators series of learning workbooks are an excellent learning tool for those interested in mastering the world of structured authoring using Adobe FrameMaker 7.0.
June 2003
Book Review: "E-learning Tools And Technologies" By William And Katherine Horton
"E-Learning Tools and Technologies" provides a phenomenal amount of information about the tools and technologies that can be used to develop, manage, and deliver e-learning content.
May 2003
In "Managing IT As An Investment - Partnering for Success", the authors make the case for transforming IT into a "value center" - a mission critical member of the business enterprise, managed as a strategic asset.
April 2003
Book Review: "The Consultants Scorecard" By Jack J. Phillips, Ph.D.
Consultants can be a valuable addition to a content management project team. But, determining what value they provide to your organization can be a tricky proposition, unless your prepared.
March 2003
Book Review: "The Content Management Bible" by Bob Boiko
Bob Boiko's "Content Management Bible" is a handy reference book for those involved in creating, maintaining, publishing, and archiving content on the web and across the enterprise.
February 2003
Book Review: "Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation"
"Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation" provides an excellent resource for creators of single source technical documentation. Let from an expert how to get started writing modular content today.