What was missed? Let’s take a step back from content management, and look at the way we talk about technology. 

Notice the terminology we use on a daily basis; we call sites used for searching the web “engines.” We use “tools” to accomplish things that would otherwise require deeper technical knowledge. We label images with the letters “RSS” to denote that syndication is available. The focus is on the implementation and not the application– its function, and not its practical purpose.

This came to be because, for the most part, it requires technical sophistication to create meaningful experiences on the web, and we’re using the language of its creators– engineers and geeks. Yet in the larger picture, that language is unfitting and unfamiliar to most of the people using it. 

But I’m convinced that over the next couple years we’ll see this language change because as “content management” evolves from a “tool” into something more meaningful and relevant to a larger audience, the web experiences we’ll have will be influenced by a new crowd, those without computer science and engineering degrees. And just as natural language evolves over time due to sociological and cultural influences, the language of the web will change as a new wave of contributors enter.

How this happens—well, that’ll be the fodder for many posts. Suffice to say I’m a big believer that there’s huge room for opportunity and improvement in the way we’re currently organizing the words, pictures, and relationships that comprise our personal and business experiences on the web.