from nightclub dj to content management consultant -- developing a business career the content...

From Nightclub DJ To Content Management ConsultantDeveloping A Business Career The Content Wrangler Way

In Case You Were Wondering, Now You Know, This Is Not MeHe’s Not Only Strong, He’s Apparently Quicker To See The Value Of His URL Than I

It All Started In AcademiaI Earned 146 Credits, In Four DifferentPrograms ... And Didn’t Earn A Degree

My First Area of Study Was ArtI Learned That I Was Not An Artist,But I Knew Good Art When I Saw It

Next Stop, Business SchoolI Quickly Realized This Was Not Where I Fit

Then I Dabbled In PhotographyI Liked The Medium And Being Able ToCommunicate Messages Visually

Journalism Fed My MindAffording Groceries, An Automobile, And A Place To Live Was Another Story

Everyday Was A Learning EventThe People I Interviewed Were Subject Matter Experts; I Explained What They Knew

What Do You Mean We Get A “B”?Starting A Local Alternative Magazine Proved Fun, Exciting, And Profitable

I’ll Be Your Server This EveningLike Many Before Me, I Waited Tables To Get Myself Through School

Then I Became A BartenderThe Money Was Much Better, But It Wasn’t As Glamorous As One Might Think

Age 14: My First Gig As A DJI Learned From A Club DJ Who Worked At Our Local Under 21 Disco

DJing Taught Me About Content Reuse And PersonalizationPlaying The Wrong Version For The Wrong Crowd At The Wrong Time Is...Well, Wrong!

Turning Around On A Music BoxI Had An Ear For The Unusual And No Fear Of Trying Something Until It Worked

Remixes Were User-GeneratedUsers Were DJs Who Played In Discos And Needed Songs Longer Than 3 Minutes

<--- LARRY LEVIN ATPARADISE GARAGE

NYC CIRCA 1978

Two Turntables And A MixerUntil The Late 1990s, All Remixes Were Made Manually By Musically-Inclined DJs

Tempo Control Was The KeyThe Technics 1200 Turntables Are Still The Instrument Of Choice For Many DJs

<--- CONTROLS BPM

Reuse Is In The RemixVocals Are Reused Identically And Combined With Different Styles Of Music

Madonna Helped Explain HowIn An Interview On MTV, She Explained How The Technology Worked

Madonna Helped Explain HowIn An Interview On MTV, She Explained How The Technology Worked

Digital Players Mimic AnalogThey Allow DJ To Use Finger To Control Tempo And Computers To Lock In Speed

The Old Guy At The BarI Was Heading Nowhere Fast And Needed To Find A Sustainable Future -- A Career

USE YOUR IMAGINATION.

In 1999, I Sought Help From An Employment CounselorHe Suggested My Skill Set Would Make Me An Excellent Technical Communicator

<--- not my counselor

I Put Together A PortfolioMy Magazine, Ads I Designed, Photos I Shot, Articles I Wrote, Music I Remixed

One Interview Later...My First Assignment: Documenting Mortgage Loan Automation Software

At First, I Didn’t See The SignsI Was Bedazzled By The Corporate Culture, My Paycheck, And Benefits

You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!Totally Disorganized, Inefficient, Wasteful ... They Were Later Sued Out Of Business

I Started Searching For AnswersThe Internet Became My Hunting Ground

Unified Content StrategyMy Involvement As Technical Editor Was My ‘Ah ha!’ Moment: I’ve Not Turned Back Since

WRITTEN BY FORMER TECHNICALWRITER ANN ROCKLEY, WITH

STEVE MANNING AND PAMELAKOSTUR, THIS BOOK IS REQUIRED

READING FOR ANY ONE WHOWANTS TO WORK IN THE CONTENT

MANAGEMENT ARENA.

I Needed A Way To Get OrganizedLots Of Information I Wanted To Remember, But Carrying It Around Was Not Practical

The Content Wrangler Was BornIt Was Nothing More Than An Online Storage Cabinet For Things I Wanted To Remember

The Accidental AudienceMy Focus On Managing Content As A Business Asset Resonated With Others

Blogging Raised My ProfileI Was Recruited Based On My Views And My Perceived Expertise; People Noticed Me

Thanks, But No Thanks!I Turned Down Jobs That Required Me To Write Unstructured Content In MS Word

I ACCEPTEDNON-TRADITIONAL

ROLES ANDDIDN’T WORRYABOUT “TITLE”

AND, I MADE MUCHMORE MONEY

WITH THIS APPROACH

Started Speaking At EventsSpeaking At Business And Content Management Events Helped Me Find Work

Defining My Value PropositionGood Idea: Communicating and Rebranding Myself As A Content Management Strategist

“CONTENT IS ABUSINESS ASSET

WORTHY OFBEING EFFECTIVELY

MANAGED”

THIS MESSAGE SELLS!

Whiners Vs. Winners (Duh!)I Ran Toward Winners, Which Also Meant I Was Running Away From Whiners

WINNERS ARE MUCHMORE LIKELY TO

HIRE YOU.

WHINERS AREMORE LIKELY TODISTRACT YOU.

Scott, Commoditize Your BlogAt The Syndicate Conference in 2006, Dick Edleman Encouraged Me To ‘Think Bigger’

<-- DICK EDLEMAN,PRESIDENT AND CEO,

EDLEMAN PR

EDLEMAN IN WORLD’SLARGEST PR FIRM

Banner Ads Brought In RevenueCompanies That Want To Sell Products Also Need Help Creating And Documenting Them

<-- ADS ALLOWED ME ACCESS TO SOFTWARE AND SERVICES

COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS, EXPERTS

Conferences: Natural ExtensionMy Readers Said They Needed To Learn How To Do What I Was Writing About

Presenters Seek AttentionThe Same Folks Who Speak At Conferences Write Articles And Participate In Groups

The Need For CommunityWhat Was Missing Was A Way For People To Connect To One Another Without My Help

Birds Of A Feather ...Social Networking Technology Allows People To Congregate In Ways Meaningful To Them

So Many Jobs, So Little Time Being An Individual Consultant Is Not Scaleable...This Is Good News For You

Grow Your KnowledgeThere Is No Future In Commodity Writing: The Future Is In Solving Content Challenges

WRITTEN BY FORMER TECHNICALWRITER BOB GLUSHKO, NOW A

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE, THIS BOOKIS REQUIRED READING FOR ANY

SERIOUS CONTENT PROFESSIONAL.

ARE YOU A DOCUMENT ENGINEER?HOW ABOUT A CONTENT

CHOREOGRAPHER?

The Road To SuccessThere Is No One Right Way To Become A Content Management Expert

YOU MUST BE WILLINGTO CHANGE AND OPEN TODIFFERENT APPROACHES.

ALLOW YOURSELF TOTHINK BIGGER.

DON’T ALLOW OTHERSTO DEFINE YOU.