Recently here at One to One Interactive we’ve been pitching a new style of website, which isn’t a website at all but rather an extensible collection of content, functionality and permissions that help brands and organizations manage their web presence.
We’re arguing that old-school websites should be replaced by flexible content and page management platforms that enable publication, customization and disaggregation of content. By closely managing user permissions, organizations can blur the lines between content publishers, consumers and administrators and make it easier for new content and pages to be generated. Content can then be atomized to enable commentary and transportability so that an organization’s presence can be extended to outside social media platforms.
As a result there is less of a burden on administrative staff to generate and manage content, while at the same time increasing and improving the amount of relevant content available. Administrators will need to expand their role as content coaches; when any given participant can be a consumer, creator and manager of content, new ways of thinking will need to evolve about the roles constituents play in this new ecosystem.
What are the benefits?
First, your audience expects this. Younger demographics particularly have come to expect this sort of fluid engagement with their content and older demographics are not far behind.
Second a website that just sits there is a website that won’t be returned to. Investment in your online presence needs to further your ability to establish a dialogue with your tribe, and to do so in the models, places and platforms they are already comfortable with.
Finally, the most interesting reason to build a fluid, portable web presence instead of static websites is that you want to enable surprise. No one will ever be surprised by a traditional website, but by enabling your content, consumers, publishers and managers, unplanned new content, communities and meta-content structures can emerge. It’s very hard to plan for innovation, but by enabling flexible content and organization new models can organically emerge.
Mitchel Ahern
Director of Product Management, OTOlabs Interactive marketer, writer, speaker; multi block lino-cut typographic mono-prints on fabric; self-invented musical instruments; performance artist.
http://www.otolabs.com
