Ford, Byrne on whether content management will eliminate the need for editors

Last week, an opinion piece on content management enjoyed several blog mentions and was the basis of an Atlantic.com article. Well, Paul Ford's blog post, "Real Editors Ship," was actually about editors (and their role as content managers). Of course, the post's popularity among writers was partially due to the fact that it defended the importance of skilled bloggers and journalists in an age where anyone can generate content.

"Editors are first and foremost there to ship...They order the raw materials--words, sounds, images--mill them to approved tolerances, and ship," wrote Ford. "These are people who are good at process."

Ford argued that many media companies have content problems and lack the staff needed to manage the content, saying that editing, writing, commissioning, contextualizing and searching will solve the problem of information glut.

But failing to see how solid content management can help address some the problems of SEO, compliance and the reuse of content is a major oversight on Ford's part.

"Most CMSes are parasitic technologies dedicated to preserving the cultural and hierarchical status quo of their hosts no matter the cost, literally," wrote Ford.

Tony Byrne, analyst and founder of the Real Story Group, a vendor-neutral consultant which evaluates and compares content management technologies, told FierceContentManagement that Ford isn't completely wrong in his criticism of content management systems.

"Ford is right that very often, organizations mis-align their spending priorities: Overspending on technology rather than editorial effort," Byrne said. "This is often because IT has budgets for this stuff and [marketing and communications] doesn't. Although that trend appears to be shifting of late."

Byrne added that Ford's commentary indicates the need for a broader debate about the "human touch," something FCM Editor Ron Miller has previously written about.

"Do we need editors if there are great search technologies and information is assiduously tagged? Can the wayfinding be automated?" Byrne asked. "I would say 'no,' especially [with regard to] over-inflated expectations about the power of search technologies. In our research into search tools, most of them come up short most of the time."

For more:
- read Paul Ford's commentary
- here's The Atlantic article

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