Content Adaptation.

The internet is a unique medium that requires unique content. Production methods adapt content to suit its surroundings.

Online, content can be published and presented in various ways. Its technological abilities are far advanced than other mediums of yesteryear. Yet, too often, traditional limitations are applied when it’s not appropriate.

Producing content, particularly writing copy, isn’t the same as other forms of written communications. It applies specific techniques and uses a tone and style of its own. Yet all too often the formal writing of letters or the vacuous marketing copy is used instead.

Break away from these traditions and misuses and instead adapt your content to best suit its stated intent and satisfy your audience.

Sourcing.

Depending upon your content purpose and type of business, content can be sourced from many places. It’s fine to use any copy written for letters, emails, marketing and reports as a basis for content. But by doing so, apply any style guides and suitable formating.

Original content doesn’t have to come from designated ‘web’ people. Most businesses employ staff with professional knowledge and skills. This is a rich source to develop new content you can share online. Even if the experts provide the basis any content, it can polished by content producers before being published.

Most content is developed because you want to tell people something. However, take a step back and look at what your audience is asking you. Is there information or services you provided that isn’t represented well? Could new content be created based on regular enquiries you receive?

Formating.

Wherever you may have sourced new information from, consider it at this point nothing more than ‘raw information’. It may have been presented in a particular way to suit another ‘offline’ mediums, but it needs adapting before it goes online.

As you start to adapt this information, consider its purpose. What is being published and what use will it be once it’s live? Think about the platforms it will be consumed on and whether it needs to be tailored differently, or specifically to them.

Online, information doesn’t have to only be delivered using words on a page. Remember, in this Technicolor world, many things are possible. Present information using audio or video. Show data in a table or list, or better still input it into a database or plot it on a map.

Repurposing information is what makes the internet special. It moves it from simply being a digital newspaper into a truly unique medium of its own. It may take some effort to adapt, but it’s time well spent.

To adapt content, determine a suitable type, give it a value and decide on one or more presentation formats and publication methods.

Content Platforms.

The internet is much more than websites and email. Content can be published in different ways, consumed on a variety of devices and connected to networks at different speeds.

If you can ignore the odd format war of the past, you’ll see the way content is delivered and received by traditional media is reasonably standardized. This helps content creators and the device manufactures work to a common goal.

Radios broadcast on an AM or FM, and more recently a DAB, frequency. Television uses the same analogue, and more recently digital, signal to transmit 4:3 or 16:9 ratio pictures to black and white, and colour tv sets.

However, the internet is unlike the publishing and broadcast mediums of the past. Yes, there are well practiced and emerging standards for everyone to sign-up to and use. But by design, the online world will never be as rigid as past mediums.

The internet’s approach is to put the user first. To deliver content in a form and method suitable to them, not the publisher or broadcaster. This new idea presents challenges for content producers (and designers and developers), but it also means there are a greater opportunities too.

Content can no longer be published in the same way on every occasion. Although, this is the beauty of the medium. Instead of one mass-produced, mass-consumed information, it can be bespoke and tailored in specific ways to reach and connect with people differently each time.