Over the last week I've been uploading the copy from the print version of IWR onto our website. It has been a long and sometimes painful process. In doing this, I couldn't help but compare using the content management system that websites require with the process of updating the IWR blog. My conclusion was that content management systems could face a serious threat from blogs.
Adding copy and images to Typepad, the blogging application IWR uses, is simplicity itself. I hope you agree, the blog is relatively easy to navigate. In comparison content management systems, and I've used a few, often come with a host of difficulties.
Before every CMS vendor rushes to throttle me, I accept that a great deal of the complexity comes from the integrations and from the rules of the enterprise using them. That said, blogging works because the application is simple, with fewer buttons to press the likelihood of problems are reduced. Blogging reminds me of one technological development that just won't go away - paper.
Paper works, its simple and reliable, blogging is simple, the applications that IWR has tried all seem reliable and provide the users, both content providers and readers with easy access.
For many organisations looking to publish or share information, blogging must surely be considered.
mark:
ReplyDeleteI agree. In fact, I predict this is what will start to happen -- as soon as blogging tool makers realize what content management customers need (which, they have not). If any vendor of blogging tools actually gets serious about this market, then some commerical CMS vendors are in BIG trouble.
Strucutred blogging and microformats are just the tip of the blogging iceberg. Workflow and process management are the big selling points, as well as granular content reuse and translation management tools.
Personally, I can't wait to see what happens. I've been trying to educate my blog vendor (for free) for quite some time. Unfortunately, they just don't get it. The first ones that do -- the ones that offer affordable blogging tools that delvier ROI of a CMS with the usability of well designed a desktop tool will reap fantastic monetary rewards.
Scott Abel
Vice President,
Content Management Professionals
www.cmpros.org
I agree with both Mark and Scott. However, do you you think that blog tools are less complex as compared to CMS is because of the fact that they do much less? There's no version managament, no workflows (okay simple workflows but you can't have for example, a parallal workflow with email notifications) and so on. Templating is also simple because all you do is display articles in chronological order. If you were to build all these in a blogging tool, would they remain as simple as they are now?
ReplyDeleteBut yes i agree with the basic premise that blogging has become so popular because it's simple to do it!