Kate Thomas is an Australian content architect and strategist, who makes content work for people and their organisations across multiple platforms and countries. As a leader of content teams in Australia, the UK, and the US, Kate has successfully delivered content projects for a diverse range of organisations, from global tech companies, digital agencies, universities, and government departments. Kate is currently planning a move back home to Australia from the UK.
“Diversity of thought is vital in content architecture and technology more broadly so the experiences and services that technology delivers reflect what people want and need. This isn’t possible if people working in digital, content architects included, share the same experience and points of view.”
Right time, right format, right audience, right reason
I studied history at university, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1994, and then did a diploma in professional writing and editing in the late 1990s. After starting my career in the mid-1990s as an editor in print publishing, I landed my first job in digital in 1998, building an online learning system for a university.
I’ve since worked in government, the private sector, for global digital agencies, and big tech. Internet and publishing trends have come and gone but my role has essentially remained unchanged: I advocate for end users by building systems that ensure content can be delivered at the right time, in the right format, to the right audience, for the right reason.
The role of a content architect
A content architect organises and structures content so it can be re-used in a variety of situations, and across channels and devices easily. Architects create content models defining what job the content is doing, with associated metadata and taxonomy tags to support re-use and search.
A model may also capture any workflow or governance rules around the content and will reflect the business rules required to identify how content is assembled when a customer requests it. Think of a content model as a cookie cutter, and the content as a cookie. An organisation may have different kinds of cookies, but as long as they’re made using the same cutter, the organisation can streamline production, will know what job they’re doing, and how well they’re doing it.
AI: Friend or foe?
At the moment, as with most of the digital industry, the biggest trend is AI. However, I remain sceptical about how AI could help create or manage models, as the nuance of business rules reflected in the model’s governance and workflow would be challenging to capture in AI prompts.
This will probably come full circle eventually though, as AI needs structured content to be successful, and architects, as custodians of structured content manifest in the models, will no doubt have a role to play.
Teamwork making the dream work
Diversity of thought is vital in content architecture and technology more broadly so the experiences and services that technology delivers reflect what people want and need. This isn’t possible if people working in digital, content architects included, share the same experience and points of view. By asking different questions, pitching a range of ideas, innovating and building products that break the mould, digital is more successful, makes more money and retains more talent.
Content architects are a sociable bunch too. We collaborate well and often! We need to talk with marketers, strategists and UX designers to understand intent, and create an architecture that supports this. With developers to align content with code. With content strategists, SEO and content managers to ensure models can support desired content.
Advice for readers interested in careers in content architecture
My advice for readers interested in careers in content architecture is simple: Stick to your guns. Engineers, designers and product managers will try to rush you and override your recommendations. Your job is to advocate for end users by creating an architecture that ensures content is strategic, structured, supported.
Also, be patient. This is a new field; expect no one to know what you do or how your work fits in. It’s up to you to define this and be a squeaky wheel, reminding colleagues why you’re there, showing them how you’re delivering business objectives.
And last, but not least, ensure you get along with engineering. Engineering and content architecture are two sides of the same coin. You need to be comfortable advocating for content (structure, semantics) in the code, and ensure engineers align with you before making decisions about how content will flow in the experience.
Reach out … I’ll be there!
If you’d like to connect with me LinkedIn is best: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharinethomas/.
To learn more about my content architecture efforts at PayPal, listen to this 2023 interview with the Content Strategy Insights podcast: https://ellessmedia.com/csi/kate-thomas/.
On the move
Excitingly, there’s a lot coming up for me. I’ve resigned from PayPal, and am moving home to Australia and so I need to find a new job. After moving to London “for a couple of years” in 2006(!), the call of home has finally overridden the possibility of lunch in Paris! I have thoroughly enjoyed my career in the UK and US and I’m looking forward to starting afresh with a content leadership role down under. Feel free to contact me about any roles that might be suitable.
Header and jigsaw images: Freepik
Typing image: tirachardz on Freepik
