Why I want to go to Confab

“I started formally learning about content strategy about two weeks ago. I say formally because when I started reading Kristina Halvorson’s “Content Strategy for the Web,” I realized that what I’d been trying to do for the last 5 years with every organization I’ve ever been involved with has been content strategy.”

The above was the opening paragraph to my application for Facebook’s Content Strategy Fellowship, a program to send university students to Confab, a content strategy conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’d been encouraged to apply by Dana DiTomaso, CEO of Kick Point.

I had asked Dana to meet me for coffee so I could pick her brain about what I might do when I graduate from my communications program in December. I didn’t know where I fit in the world – all I knew was that I wanted to be able to create great content, and Dana   spoke about content in a way that got me all fired up.

She listened as I told her that I knew I wanted to be able to write for a living, but that I also knew I needed to find a way for that to make sense in a world that doesn’t pay writers very well. I told her about how I was fascinated by what her company does and about how I was exploring my  interest in digital media by learning code. I told her about my project leadership certificate and business degree and about how I wanted to find a way to put all of it together.

She told me I sounded like a content strategist.

Dana sent me a list of links and books to check out, and she also sent me the link to the application for the Content Strategy Fellowship. That day, I did two things that set me on a course that I feel was almost set for me five years ago when I looked at the City of Camrose’s brand new website and thought, this sucks: 1) I ordered “Content Strategy for the Web” by Kristina Halvorson, and 2) I told my classmates that I was applying for a content strategy program with Facebook.

I laughed a little when I said it out loud because I almost didn’t believe myself. Maybe that’s why I told everyone – it would force me to take action.

I began digging through the links that Dana had sent me and started searching for more information on my own. I signed up for the Kick Point newsletter. I became completely overwhelmed. On one hand, I felt like I had finally found THE THING that I was meant to be doing with my life. I finally felt validated that the things I had tried to do with that crappy City of Camrose website had been the right thing. I had thought like a content strategist. I had identified the right problems. I had asked the right questions. On the other hand, I had no idea how I was going to wade through all the information I’d now found. Which sources were credible? Which ones were going to turn me into a producer of expensive, disposable crap?

I did three interviews with Facebook last week. When I got the first email that I’d been shortlisted for the fellowship, I almost fell out of my chair. That is not an exaggeration. I sent a lot of all caps text messages. It’s been a very wild ride, but after my last two interviews on Thursday, I was left with the feeling that I didn’t clearly enough articulate to Facebook’s content strategy managers why I wanted to go to Confab. Between all the nervous excitement and trying to finish my end of term projects, I’m not sure I even really knew at the time. It’s much clearer in my mind now, and that’s why I’m writing this post.

Here’s why I want to go to Confab:

I am a content strategist.

AM. Not, “want to be.” I might not be experienced or even any good—yet—but when I think about how I approach the projects I’ve had both in school and in my volunteer work, I know that I’ve been practicing long before I had the vocabulary to describe what I was trying to achieve.

I want to learn how to do it right.

As I mentioned before, there’s a lot of crap out there. I’m new to the field; I do not want to get sucked into it. I told Dana that I wanted to learn how to create great content, and that’s the truth. Why wouldn’t I want to learn from the leaders in the field?

 I want to learn it in person.

It is one thing to read a book, it’s another thing entirely to be able to learn from the experiences of real people. I’ve been privileged enough to attend a lot of conferences and I know from experience that there is a lot of learning that can happen over drinks or in between sessions.

I want to contribute.

It might sound weird for me to want to contribute to a field I’m just entering, but hear me out. As a noobie, I’m bringing a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the table. I’m also full of naïve questions. In my experience, questions can promote a lot of really useful discussion. Content strategy strikes me as a field where sometimes the more you know, the more there is to learn, and hopefully my contrarian and questioning nature can help spark someone’s imagination.

 

I was one of six finalists for the three fellowship spots. That alone to me means that I’m on the right track. When I applied, I never expected to hear a response, but this week has solidified in my mind that content strategy is something that I really want to do when I graduate. And Confab can help me get there.