[Originally presented at Intelligent Content 2014] It's been about 1000 years since the last time our basic understanding of communicating content has changed as much as it's changing today. Under the pressures of multi-channel and multi-device content challenges, the old rules we learned about good content and processes are breaking down. How do we optimize for all this diversity? There is a way to understand, master, and even leverage all this change before competitors beat you to it. This isn’t an industry issue. The challenges around discussing and making full use of today’s digital communication platforms are faced by all cultures around the world as they adopt them. Contemporary research in cognitive science and neurobiology, leads us to new ways of thinking about communication at a basic, human level. This session could be considered a study in empathy. It offers cognitive science and neurolobiology lessons relevant to today's content landscape, and a common language to help you bridge the communication issues with your clients, colleagues, managers, and end users. Don’t worry – this session isn't a jargon-filled nerd-fest, but a roadmap to navigating the world of content, today and tomorrow. It will cover techniques and methodologies to better structure content, optimize editorial processes, and build effective, influential strategies.

1. The biological imperative
for intelligent content
1
@nozurbina
urbinaconsulting.com/about-you
img: bit.ly/brainneb

2. @nozurbina
Me (Noz Urbina)
Content strategist & modeller
Consultant/trainer
Author
Futurist
H2H (Human-Human/B2B/B2C)
urbinaconsulting.com/events
89 3929 31 x88
24g
UC.com 2015
thecontentstrategybook.com

3. The problem
3
We have been side-swiped by change too many times.
Web shocked us after print, and mobile after desktop

4. The problem
4
And we’re still not ready for wearable & augmented

5. @nozurbina
Empathy
5
Go from
reactive to
proactive
We need return to fundamentals. To truly, deeply understand
each other, so we can better predict trends and optimise in
advance

6. @nozurbina
Sources and reviewers
@nozurbina - 6
MIT & Stanford
Lectures
Slides, models & drafts reviewed by Clinical Psychologist
Alberto Soler & Kontchín Soler, PhD in Psychobiology

7. To influence behaviour…
…we must understand
behaviour
Behaviour starts and
ends in the mind
http://bit.ly/brainneb

8. We need to (constantly) redefine
@nozurbina - 8
http://bit.ly/1cqjUbv
To invent physics, Newton had to redefine various words like “mass”,
“force”, “time”, and “motion”. He was trying to describe things never
before described

9. We need to (constantly) redefine
@nozurbina - 9
http://bit.ly/1cqjUbv
Digital technology is putting the same pressure on communicators.
People have never communicated this way before

10. We need to (constantly) redefine
@nozurbina - 10
http://bit.ly/1cqjUbv
We must build the new conceptual vocabulary required, so we can
discuss the issues and work out solutions

11. Communication
and the mind
http://bit.ly/brainneb
The topic

12. http://bit.ly/brainneb
The topic
Increasing complexity is pushing together communication specialists
of various disciplines
Communication
and the mind

13. http://bit.ly/brainneb
The topic
We need to think of language at the level of “systems”, not words or
pages. Intelligent content is free from format, rich in semantic and
structural metadata, and automation-system-ready
Communication
and the mind

14. http://bit.ly/brainneb
The thesis

15. Intelligent Content
supports our biological,
mental processes better
than traditional content
http://bit.ly/brainneb
The thesis

16. So let’s look at these
processes…
http://bit.ly/brainneb
The thesis

17. WE ARE SENSE MAKING
MACHINES
We’ll make it up if we have to
17

18. @nozurbina
BABY
18
We’re born on a biological mission to start to fill our
minds with information about the world around us

19. Semantic models
19
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/
Semantic models are semi-conscious
mental storage units.
We can call up a semantic model instantly
and know how to react or interact.

20. Do you want to make me cry?
20
Prevent me from building my semantic models.
“Mommy, I need data!”

21. Do you want to make me cry?
21
A toddler needs input to their models in the same
way they need food or sleep

22. QUALITY CHECK
How good are our models?
22

23. @nozurbina
A & B are the same colour
23
Wikimedia commons

24. @nozurbina
But they aren’t
24
Wikimedia commons

25. @nozurbina
But they are!
25
Wikimedia commons

26. @nozurbina
Yet they aren’t
26
Wikimedia commons

27. @nozurbina
But they are
27
Wikimedia commons

28. @nozurbina
Yet they aren’t
28
Wikimedia commons

29. @nozurbina
Yet they aren’t
29
Wikimedia commons
Our models and processing
clearly aren’t perfect

30. Thinking Systems 2 and 1
30
Brain economics and the
cost/benefit of cognition

31. @nozurbina
Thinking System 2
• Plays poker and chess (unless
you’re a master, and can use System 1)
• Contains our conscious
experience
• Analyses, reflects on and digests
content
• Taxed when learning new skills
• Delegates to System 1
whenever possible 31
S l o o o w
“Expensive”
Tiring

32. @nozurbina
Thinking System 1
• “The zone”, “the gut”, “the heart”,
“lateral thinking” and inspiration
• Drives, plays violin (any embedded skill)
• Picks up on body language, style,
mood, metaphor, symbolism, etc.
(using associative memory)
• Uses compression & semantic models
• Skims content (using keywords, colour,
shapes and other fast cues)
32
Fast!
“Cheap”
(Nearly)
Effortless

33. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
Answer these questions
(out loud or in your head)
33

34. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
What’s your first name?
34

35. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
What month were you born?
35

36. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
How do you spell the month after
that month – backwards?
36

37. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
Feel the effort spike? If the month had a
long name, you might even have had to
look away from the screen momentarily.
37

38. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
That’s the difference between data
System 1 just returns vs data System 2
needs to work for.
38

39. 39
System 1 can:
Read and understand large-
print and/or familiar words
Complete the phrase “bread
and…”
Drive a car on an empty road
Get which country is referred to
by: “Stars and stripes, Apple
pie, and optimism”
Find the “submit” button on a
form
System 2 can:
Try to reason out the
meaning of new words (if
System 1 doesn’t offer up a
satisfying definition)
Drive in heavy traffic or
adverse weather conditions
Search for an address on a
row of houses
Compare two products to
establish their overall value

40. @nozurbina
System 1 says these are the same.
System 2 can realise they really aren’t.

41. @nozurbina
System 1 uses compression to take the
fundamentals from the right and match it
to the model on the left.

42. @nozurbina
http://wtface.com/
WTFace.com
Compression creates errors. We see what
is not really there (Look up pareidolia and apophenia)

43. BUT THERE’S MORE
System 1 doesn’t just make
compression errors visually…
43

44. COMPRESSION ERROR
ILLUSIONS
Experience vs. Memory
44

45. @nozurbina
Who suffered more?
45
Time in minutes
Pain
0 10 20
2
4
6
8
10
Patient A
Time in minutes
Pain
0 10 20
2
4
6
8
10
Patient B
Each patient rated their pain over time. B suffered more
pain, for over twice as long, but doesn’t remember the
experience as negatively as patient A

46. @nozurbina
Who suffered more?
46
Time in minutes
Pain
0 10 20
2
4
6
8
10
Patient A
Time in minutes
Pain
0 10 20
2
4
6
8
10
Patient B
In controlled pain studies, subjects given an option will
choose to suffer more pain, for longer, provided that it
tapers off at the end

47. Memory trumps experience
…what we get to keep from
our experiences is a story.
What defines a story are
changes, significant
moments and endings.
Endings are very, very
important.
The remembering
self is a storyteller
47

48. I wanted to give a Delta Air Crew positive feedback on an
experience, and I was faced with this. It doesn’t work on a phone
and takes a lot of work to fill out

49. I just gave up

50. So not only did the air crew team not get their praise, my
memory of the whole experience went from positive to
negative because of the web team

51. Now I tell the story as “my disappointing Delta experience”
instead of my “amazing, brand-identity-altering Delta
experience”.

52. For each user/brand interaction: If you do a hand-off to
another silo, team, page or process that ruins the end of the
user’s story, your hard work is simply wasted

53. THE EXPERIENCE TO
IDENTITY PYRAMID
The semantic ladder for anything with interactivity
53

54. 54
I.D.
(identity)
Model
Category
Pattern
Memory (story)
Experience
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia

55. 55
I.D.
(identity)
Model
Category
Pattern
Memory (story)
Experience
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia
As we experience
things they get “rolled
up”, level by level for
efficient storage

56. 56
I.D.
(identity)
Model
Category
Pattern
Memory (story)
Experience
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia
The details of user
experience eventually
and systematically
build brand identity,
but only after multiple
layers of heavy
compression

57. Our brains reward the
creation of new models
and IDs
But it’s always
“cheaper” to relate new
ones to old ones
http://bit.ly/brainneb

58. This is why “first
impressions” are so
impactful. With no
history, experiences
apply quickly to
identity.
Subsequent
experiences have to
outnumber or
overwhelm earlier ones
to make changes.
http://bit.ly/brainneb

59. 59
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dopamineseratonin.png
Dopamine is the brain’s “reward” chemical.
If activated, it will cause the hippocampus to create a more
potent “write” to long term memory
I.D.
Models
Categories
Patterns
Memories
Experiences
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia

60. 60
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dopamineseratonin.png
Memories created in the presence of dopamine are recalled
and pushed up the Experience-I.D. Pyramid more easily.
I.D.
Models
Categories
Patterns
Memories
Experiences
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia

61. 61
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dopamineseratonin.png
These memories will have a stronger impact on related
models, whole categories, etc..
This impacts System 1’s associative memory
I.D.
Models
Categories
Patterns
Memories
Experiences
Easieraccess
Compression
Rewards
Inertia

62. @nozurbina
62
Today’s web uses these same constructs. E.g. Hashtag
searches on G+ pull associated concepts, just like in the
mind’s associative, semantic model-based storage

63. HOW WILL YOUR BRAND
STAND UP TO
COMPRESSION?
63

64. @nozurbina
64
http://3rdbillion.net/2014/01/apple-logo-2/
Get it right, and your brand will enjoy powerful positive
inertia and associations. Users will forgive bad
experiences more easily

65. INTELLIGENT CONTENT
Intelligent content enables agility from experience to identity
65

66. @nozurbina
66
Intelligent Content The Mind
Free from format, i.e., takes
messages and meaning across
devices, styles.
Compresses out details, retains only
the key content memory.
Rich in metadata – uses tagging to
make associations.
Associative by nature.
Uses structured content models. Builds models and uses them
frequently and easily.
Machine-validation-ready and
reusable to make diverse yet
consistent stories.
“Likes” finding patterns and
consistency using System 1. Gets
tired out by needing to parse
inconsistency, which needs System 2.

67. Your creators
and customers
will internalise
your models

68. Your creators
and customers
will internalise
your models

69. @nozurbina
Simplified model…
69
of complex reality

70. Intelligent content uses
semantic, structural
models of content and
tags it for associative
use in various contexts
(e.g. related links, taxonomy filtering, auto-
indexes or reuse by compilation…)

71. Computer’s can
validate models.
Content creators and
end users will
internalise them.
(allowing System 1 to move
through them more easily)

72. @nozurbina
Intelligent content
supports tailored delivery
Manage Serve &
Transform
Create
components
ProfileA
ProfileB
ProfileC
ProfileD
Same content
Everyone
…with WPT/
processing
tools
…in CCMS
(Structure
-aware)
…in structured
Authoring
Tool(s)
???

73. SO NOW WHAT?
Your System 1 does everything it can to restore the status
quo.

74. SO NOW WHAT?
New ideas are “brain-expensive”, so they are naturally
dropped during compression, or we try to mould and fold
them into existing ones.

75. SO NOW WHAT?
So take a deep breath and tell System 2 to take charge!

76. SOME PARTING
THOUGHTS

77. @nozurbina
Attitude shift
Stop framing the
user in the window
of the medium.
Assumptions and
analytics aren’t
enough.
Find out who they
really are.

78. @nozurbina
Embrace structure
78
Visual designers get that structure isn’t the opposite of beauty and
the consistency doesn’t kill creativity. Why can’t content people do
the same?
Check out bit.ly/artofgrid
for great designer quotes
about “ the grid system”

79. HOMEWORK
Specific lessons and terms to take home
79
(some of which are in our
book. Nudge nudge, wink
wink)

80. @nozurbina
Embrace Intelligent
Content
• Write for system 1 and system 2
• Explicitly define the semantic models implicit in
your content
– Map out the different perspectives and contexts in
which content will be used
• Give creators clear tools to create and visualise
their work across contexts
• Store semantic content so machines validate it
and can help you deliver tailored experiences
80

81. @nozurbina
Embrace Intelligent
Content
• Measure user memory of whole journeys
– UX is just a means to an end
– Digital alone CANNOT SHOW a customer’s full
journey
• Set up your team properly
– “Chief content officer” and “chief experience officers” are
becoming real things
– Get content creators, strategists, engineers (and the rest)
who understand the value-add of each other’s work
• Start bashing your boss’s System 1 and 2
81

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