Product vs content (Scott Kubie)

Writers of Silicon Valley

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A few weeks ago I made a post on LinkedIn that caused a little bit of a stir. I said that content designers need to do more in considering how content supports the greater product ecosystem...and why that lack of curiosity might be holding them back.

In essence, I was asking: which is more important - product or content?

I got a lot of great responses, but Scott Kubie's was one that stood out to me. His view was that my assessment of the situation was a little upside down, and that we should talk about it.

So I did.

Scott and I agree that content designers need to think bigger, but we're coming at this from slightly different directions. This episode, we hash it out. I hope you enjoy it - it was a productive, pleasant, and deep conversation that really left me with a better understanding of Scott's position.

What we talked about:

• Why Scott thinks content people are “playing small” — and what they can do about it
• What "content" actually is
• The real role of content in a product
• The difference between interface copy and content that truly drives value
• Why structured content and content operations are the future
• Scott’s candid thoughts on how to navigate industry challenges and thrive
• The content "death star":

Notable quotes:

• “Content is what people are there for… not just the words on the screen.”
• “There’s a massive opportunity available to any product manager who wants to pick it up and run with it, which is to start thinking about your content ecosystem.”

Resources Mentioned:

• Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines

Where to find Scott:

• LinkedIn
• Scott's website

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