CSForum 2016, Melbourne

“Organising CSForum 2016 was probably one of the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve ever had. To meet some of the biggest content strategy names in the world, coupled with being surrounded by my peers from all over Australia and New Zealand, was immensely satisfying. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very big task to put it together, but it’s invigorating, inspiring and ultimately absolutely worth it to see how much people enjoy and benefit from it. It has certainly started a new wave of CS love Down Under!” — Lennie Beattie, Conference Manager, 2016

CSForum 2016 was proudly hosted and organized by Content Ark in Melbourne, 5–7 October 2016.

The conference program is replicated in Tables 1–3 below. Links are provided to any material or recordings that were made available from the event or are still online. If you know of a resource still online but is not linked below, feel free to let us know.

Program resources

The first day of CSForum 2016 was an all-audience line of talks centering on the theme: 'Perspectives from the Frontline: The Big Issues'.

Table 1: Talks from CSForum 2016, 5 October.
Session Speaker Recording
Morning
Opening Keynote Kristina Halvorson
Content as Connection Hilary Marsh n/a
Wicked Ambiguity and Content Strategy Jonathon Colman n/a
Afternoon
It's Not a Technology Problem Leisa Reichelt n/a
What's your (business) problem? Selling Content Strategy into your organisation Rahel Anne Bailie n/a
10 Things I Learned in 10 Years as a Content Strategist Rachel Lovinger n/a
Speaker panel Q&A — Sally Bagshaw, Chair

Second-day talks at CSForum 2016 were spread across three tracks: 1) Collaboration: Getting it done with colleaugues and peers, 2) CS toolbox: Tools and techniques to help Content Strategists do their work, 3) Customer first: Putting the customer at the centre of our thinking.

Table 2: Talks from CSForum 2016, 6 October.
Collaboration CS Toolbox Customer First
Morning
Taming Fiefdoms: Collaboration, Content, and Complex StakeholdersSally BagshawSnappy Sentences Introducing the 'Content Canvas' — a Tool to Help You Nail Creating Awesome ContentElle GeraghtyConsultant Talk to the People: Customer Interviews for Content StrategistsKerry-Anne GiloweyAugust Sun Projects
When Your Product is Content: Applying Human Centred Design to ContentAngela StengelABC Radio Content Strategy by StealthKate ThomasFreelance / no session /
The Value of Content DesignHawk ThompsonChaotic Moon Studios Content Modelling: Making Content SmarterAngus GordonWeave Writing Thoughtful Product Content at ScaleElizabeth SanfordShopify
Making Content Objective: Employing UX Research Methods to Create User-Informed TextYvonne Gando and Utkarsh SethGoogle / no session / / no session /
Afternoon
Designing Content with PurposeDavid Kennedy and Paul FosterSuncorp Group When Content and Design Became Best Buddies: How a Lean Team Rebuilt a Major Bank's WebsiteMichelle AndersonBank of New Zealand From Project to Product: A Content-First Approach to Redeveloping the Website for the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaRuth HendryMuseum of New Zealand
Content People and Marketing People: It's ComplicatedMax JohnsJade Software Content? What content? This is a technology project!Gavin HinceStepchange Digital 20,000 Pages and Counting: Content Strategy for Large CollectionsJonathan RoperBriarbird
How We Use Scrum: Agile in a Content Strategy ContextLeticia MooneyBrutal Pixie You Can't Spell CMS Without ContentSimon WongDeloitte Digital Make Magic With Anticipatory DesignMarli MesibovMad*Pow
Better Together: Content Strategy and DesignRebekah CancinoTogetherly Beyond Deliverables: Bringing Content Strategy to LifeMichael MettsThe Nerdery A Practical Guide to Defining, Implementing, and Measuring a Content Strategy that Meets Business Needs and User GoalsRobert MilssGatherContent
Closing KeynoteNigel DaltonREA Group
Table 3: Workshops from CSForum 2016.
Workshop Host
Half-Day Workshop
Practicing Accessibility: Understanding the Experience of Your Users Katherine Barcham and Meg Howie
Full-Day Workshops
Content Strategy Tools and Deliverables: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Strategy Right Meghan Casey
Pair Writing: How to Collaborate Closely on Content with Subject Matter Experts Richard Ingram
Creating Responsive Content Experiences Steve Fisher
Content Strategy for Copy Writers John Ryan

Crowdsourced

Blog posts, write-ups, and samaritan reporting