What makes a CMS a CMS? What features should a content management system have? Is a CMS a subset of other common knowledge management systems -- or does the CMS contains theses sub systems?
Core considerations for a CMS:
Content Management - Document management and related workflow
Content Creation (authoring) - Web based forms for content entry. Easy-to-use UI for editing (WYSIWYG editor)
Content Delivery - Separation of content from presentation. Publishing.
7.25.2005
RSCM = Really Simple Content Management
While 2005 is marked as the year where RSS came of age, 2006 will mark the dawn of RSCM (Really Simple Content Management) -- a new protocol for the standardization of content management. By using an XML based structure CM vendors, content providers and publishers will improve productivity and knowledge management.
The RSCM protocol is a common language spoken by systems that handle content management data, such as news, articles, lists and other standard Website data.. A common language enables computers like the one on your desk to receive information from many different content management systems without being specially "trained" to understand the information from each.
Standards like RSCM exist in many different fields. Sometimes, the standard simply adopts one of many pre-existing languages that everyone agrees to use. For example, air traffic controllers at international airports all speak English, no matter what their native language, so pilots are guaranteed that they need learn only one language to fly anywhere in the world.
RSCM, like many XML standards, is a language that was built for a specific purpose, but the goal is the same: to have all computers that deal with content management, workflow, so that you can use the same desktop computer program with any CM that has adopted RSCM.
For software developers and for providers of CM applications, RSCM means having to write programs to use only one language, the common language of RSCM, in order to work with many different CM systems. This means lower costs, more products, more competition among vendors, and faster implementations of new systems.
The RSCM protocol is a common language spoken by systems that handle content management data, such as news, articles, lists and other standard Website data.. A common language enables computers like the one on your desk to receive information from many different content management systems without being specially "trained" to understand the information from each.
Standards like RSCM exist in many different fields. Sometimes, the standard simply adopts one of many pre-existing languages that everyone agrees to use. For example, air traffic controllers at international airports all speak English, no matter what their native language, so pilots are guaranteed that they need learn only one language to fly anywhere in the world.
RSCM, like many XML standards, is a language that was built for a specific purpose, but the goal is the same: to have all computers that deal with content management, workflow, so that you can use the same desktop computer program with any CM that has adopted RSCM.
For software developers and for providers of CM applications, RSCM means having to write programs to use only one language, the common language of RSCM, in order to work with many different CM systems. This means lower costs, more products, more competition among vendors, and faster implementations of new systems.
7.12.2005
A CMS that Supports "Ad-hoc" Data
I am discovering that with all of the CMS products that are now available, the good majority do not support Ad-hoc data (A.K.A "metadata").
When it comes to standard "content" fields such as "Title", "Description", "Author", "Date" most CMS tools have a means to publish and search on these fields. This of course also makes sense when it comes to the standards for syndication -- RSS, ATOM, etc..
But what happens when other industry specific data needs to go into your CMS? While there are endless scenarios that can be applied -- consider the Real Estate Industry. Realtors (NAR) are now formulating the industry standard RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) specification. This is an XML-based protocol that will define common fields for real estate listings and transactions.
Ideally, for a CMS to assist with the support of RETS, it would require a means for CMS administrators to "add-on" some of the RETS fields:
"Bedrooms", "Bathrooms", "Acres", "Rental", "W/D", etc..
So now when a content item (page) gets created, we can apply our custom real estate data to our standard CMS data.
"Title"
"Description"
"Location"
"Bedrooms"
"Bathrooms"
etc...
PortalApp does support this "ad-hoc" data, which means it can be used to publish or index any content fields as defined by the CMS's adminstrator. This means that "content" can literally be anything from a "news article" to "real estate listing" to "classified ad" to "tech note".
For example, here is how you create an article with PortalApp:
http://www.portalapp.net/content.asp?contenttype=Article
AND, here is how you create a real estate listing with PortalApp:
http://www.portalapp.net/content.asp?contenttype=Real%20Estate
(Login using Admin, Admin if you want to try it yourself)
Let me know when you find another CMS that will allow you to create custom (ad-hoc, metadata) fields to accomodate industry specific data.
CMS, Content Management,
When it comes to standard "content" fields such as "Title", "Description", "Author", "Date" most CMS tools have a means to publish and search on these fields. This of course also makes sense when it comes to the standards for syndication -- RSS, ATOM, etc..
But what happens when other industry specific data needs to go into your CMS? While there are endless scenarios that can be applied -- consider the Real Estate Industry. Realtors (NAR) are now formulating the industry standard RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) specification. This is an XML-based protocol that will define common fields for real estate listings and transactions.
Ideally, for a CMS to assist with the support of RETS, it would require a means for CMS administrators to "add-on" some of the RETS fields:
"Bedrooms", "Bathrooms", "Acres", "Rental", "W/D", etc..
So now when a content item (page) gets created, we can apply our custom real estate data to our standard CMS data.
"Title"
"Description"
"Location"
"Bedrooms"
"Bathrooms"
etc...
PortalApp does support this "ad-hoc" data, which means it can be used to publish or index any content fields as defined by the CMS's adminstrator. This means that "content" can literally be anything from a "news article" to "real estate listing" to "classified ad" to "tech note".
For example, here is how you create an article with PortalApp:
http://www.portalapp.net/content.asp?contenttype=Article
AND, here is how you create a real estate listing with PortalApp:
http://www.portalapp.net/content.asp?contenttype=Real%20Estate
(Login using Admin, Admin if you want to try it yourself)
Let me know when you find another CMS that will allow you to create custom (ad-hoc, metadata) fields to accomodate industry specific data.
CMS, Content Management,
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