Flexible and Smart Documents with Reusable Content

Augsburg Fortress (a 200-year-old Lutheran publishing house) had two centuries’ worth of content … and no idea how to use it. Surely churches and other institutions must be interested in having access to it. But how? Web Development Director Mark Stahura led a 5-year initiative to make their documents flexible and smart. By developing a user-centered taxonomy (while avoiding The Bottomless Pit of Possibly Useful Metadata, or Death by Over-Tagging), Mark and his team created a database of reusable content. The result? Thousands of subscribers to six subscription applications, generating new and growing revenue for the publisher. This case study will give you insight into how structured content can actually happen, making content a truly valuable asset.