[Sigia-l] Fwd: Time for communications to take charge of your website

[Eric Scheid]

Gerry McGovern last week said "someone should be in charge of your 
website" ... that is, someone to say "the buck stops here" and to end the 
pastiche of design by committee.

This week he answers the question of just who... the "Communications 
Manager". Not IT, not Marketing, ... Communications.

http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2002/nt_2002_05_20_ownership.htm

>The natural home for your website is within the communications
>section of your organization. This is because the Web is first
>and foremost a communications medium. To fully own the website,
>communications managers need to stop being scared of technology.
>They also need to get to grips with information architecture
>design.

Huh? 

I've never heard of a Manager of Communications. Someone please enlighten 
me here.

He then goes on to say some provocative things about Information 
Architects...

>Another reason why communication executives have not embraced the
>website is because they have shied away from information
>architecture design. Again, the impression is that information
>architecture is a technical discipline.
>
>It is absolutely not. It is a communications discipline. Those who
>try to make it seem technical don't understand it properly or are
>trying to protect their turf.

Comments anyone?

>Information architecture deals with the organization and layout of
>content on a website. If a communications executive has ever managed
>the publication of a magazine, large report, or book, they have
>dealt with information architecture-type issues. Figuring out how to
>lay out the front page of a magazine, the table of contents, the
>index, the chapter structure; these are all information
>architecture-type issues.

I thought those were page layout issues, more the domain of information 
designers, not information architects.

>Yes, information architecture is quite complicated on a large website.
>However, metadata, classification, navigation, search, and webpage
>design and layout, are communications challenges.

and not logistics or interoperability or ... ?

>The person in charge of your website should be a communications
>expert with strong expertise in editing and publishing content.
>They should have control of the entire website, not just parts
>of it.

Call me cynical, but is this guy in the business of content consulting?

>A website's core objective is? To communicate.

Tell that to eBay and Amazon. Communication, for those sites, is only a 
*means* to an end -- their true core objective is to sell stuff.

<hurrumph>

Thats my gripe for the day.

e.

______________________________________________________________________
eric at ironclad.net.au                 i r o n c l a d   n e t w o r k s
information architect                      http://www.ironclad.net.au/