Kim's Blog

Education in 2010: The Perfect Storm

Posted on January 14, 2010 at 02:32 PM

Now that we have officially rung in the new year, it is time for me to make some new predictions for 2010. And as I look back into my crystal ball, I have 10 predictions for what the coming year will look like—both for Education and content.

This week, I will begin to discuss the first of five predictions for Education. So, what is my first prediction for Education in 2010?

Education and innovation will be used in tandem.

The broken model in Education stems from the relationship between states and publishers. This has created the perfect storm for Education to really move forward. With the implementation of Race to the Top (RTT) at the federal level, states will have to channel their creativity and innovation in order to gain a share of the federal dollars they need. This competitive grant program rewards states that strive to achieve significant reforms in four specified areas of Education: enhancing standards and assessments; improving the collection and use of data; increasing teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution; and turning around struggling schools. We can only hope that this program will begin to turn our Education structure into a true 21st century system.

To find out my next 2010 prediction for Education, check back next week.

Junta42’s 100 Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2010

Posted on January 6, 2010 at 02:31 PM

Last week, I finished reviewing my five predictions for 2009, and as we kick off the New Year, I will begin making some new predictions for 2010 (and hopefully, with a little more accuracy).

But first, I begin this week with a prediction I already made for Joe Pulizzi, founder of Junta42, for his blog on social media and content marketing. As an author, speaker and strategist for content marketing, Pulizzi wanted to know, “What is your prediction for how brand marketers will create and distribute their own content in 2010?”

More than 60 professionals in marketing, content marketing, custom publishing and social media offered their predictions. So, what was my answer? I predict that in 2010 there will be a clear division between quality customized content and content that is created in a factory-like fashion. To read the rest of my prediction—and to see what the other experts had to say--check me out on page 31 of the ebook created by Zmags. You can download it for free here. Or, check out the original blog post with the predictions here.

And don’t forget to check back next week to find out my other predictions for 2010.

Reviewing My Crystal Ball Part 5

Posted on December 28, 2009 at 09:40 AM

[This is the fifth and final in a series reviewing my predictions I made at the beginning of 2009.]

My final prediction for 2009? Supplemental publishers are poised to make a big jump into the publishing pool.

Valid prediction? No.

Well, they may have been poised, but they never took the plunge.

When I first made this prediction, we had been seeing more work from our supplemental publishing clients. Between that and the proposed budgets that called for more differentiated and pre-kindergarten materials, I was sure 2009 would see at least one of the supplemental publishers turn into a major player.

As with my third prediction (third quarter would see business loosening up), the stimulus budgets and proposed monies didn’t materialize in the way we thought—or hoped—they would, which prohibited supplemental publishers from taking the spotlight.

So how’d I do? Three out of five—60% was a failing grade when I was a teacher! But, I will say it was my first time as a professional forecaster, and I think few people could have predicted where this year was going to take us. Hopefully I can shoot for a better score with my 2010 predictions—so come back next year to check them out.

In the meantime, may you have a wonderful, healthy, and happy New Year!

Reviewing My Crystal Ball Part 4

Posted on December 21, 2009 at 03:05 PM

[This is the fourth in a series reviewing my predictions I made at the beginning of 2009.]

My fourth prediction for 2009? Repurposing content will be the key—but it’s not as cheap as most think.

Valid prediction? Yes.

This past year was the year of repurposing content! From workbooks to webinars, alignments to articles, many of the projects we worked on involved repurposing existing content into a new product.

But as I also originally noted in my prediction, it’s not as cheap as most people think it will be. It is certainly helpful to work off of existing content, but it still takes a lot of work and creativity to make it into something new. In some cases, it can even be more difficult than starting from scratch, say for example if the original research doesn’t fulfill the current goal, or the source material is out-of-date.

If you’re looking for a way to keep costs down, repurposing your existing content might be the answer—but it’s certainly not free! It still takes time, money, and effort. However, if you’re trying to put out a new product in an era when money and resources are tight, repurposing what you already have can help stretch your dollar farther. It’s certainly a tactic that many of our clients used!

Check back next week when I’ll review my final prediction—and then get ready for my predictions for 2010!

Reviewing My Crystal Ball Part 3

Posted on December 18, 2009 at 09:44 AM

[This is the third in a series reviewing my predictions I made at the beginning of 2009.]

My third prediction for 2009? Third quarter will see business loosening up.

Valid prediction? No.

When I posted this prediction originally at the beginning of second quarter, I thought I was about to see decisions being made by higher-ups that would loosen up some business that had been put on hold. I believed things would slowly—but surely—get better.

Maybe it was just that’s what I wanted to happen, or hoped that’s what would happen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. Everyone hoped 2009 would be better, but instead the recession continued to drag on. The stimulus package didn’t turn into increased spending in 2009, and credit opportunities continued to shrink instead of grow.

Third quarter wasn’t all bad, but it was hard. It’s hard to be wrong anytime, but even harder to be wrong when times are tough. If I had predicted that third quarter would be tight but in reality business had poured in from all over, I would have been happy to be wrong!

Thankfully, because we worked hard and made smart business decisions, we were able to come through 2009, regardless of the climate. As we ring in 2010, more and more people are predicting that a recovery will happen. Do I change my predictions on business loosening up again? Stay tuned to find out…

Check back next week when I’ll review my fourth prediction!

Reviewing My Crystal Ball Part 2

Posted on December 15, 2009 at 09:40 AM

[This is the second in a series reviewing my predictions I made at the beginning of 2009.]

My second prediction for 2009? Innovation is a must.

Valid prediction? Yes.

Education and content go hand in hand, and if the term “education” is evolving, so must content. As I said in my prediction, content that educates does not have to be in a textbook. We get educated by videos we watch on YouTube, podcasts we download to our iPod, even tweets on Twitter—I’m a firm believer in this!

As I expand Shakespeare Squared and its offerings, even though I hate to admit it, I don’t know everything. Whether I want to find out how people in a similar situation have handled a business issue I’m dealing with or I have a question on the latest marketing technique, I’ve found a quick tweet on Twitter will provide me with a wealth of information.

YouTube is not just about funny home videos. Twitter is not just about what someone ate for lunch.  These are tools to deliver your message and reach your communities. Technology continues to evolve, forcing all of us to evolve as well. The businesses that won’t or cannot innovate will be left in the dust, and we’ve seen this all over. I’ve seen too many businesses—in my industry, in the news, on the boarded-up storefronts—struggle because they couldn’t innovate this year.  It’s one of the reasons Shakespeare Squared is so heavily involved in incorporating technology into our work and our offerings—you can’t survive without it.

Check back later this week when I’ll review my third prediction!

Reviewing My Crystal Ball Part 1

Posted on December 11, 2009 at 02:02 PM

It’s hard to believe, but 2009 is over and we—as a country—collectively survived.

At the beginning of this year, I made five predictions about what I thought 2009 would look like. Was I on track? As we round out the year, I’ll discuss my predictions, whether or not I was right, and why. Then, once we ring in the new year, I’ll look back into my crystal ball and make some new predictions for 2010.

My first 2009 prediction? Education would become a general term.

Valid prediction? Yes.

I predicted that we would see more and more companies focusing on educating their clientele, and we have definitely seen this to be the case at Shakespeare Squared. We do educational work day in and day out, but it’s not the same kind of education we were looking at two or three years ago.

Whereas previously we might have classified our educational content as almost exclusively textbooks and supplemental workbooks, this year has seen our educational content broaden to workbooks one day and whitepapers the next, with a healthy dose of educational Internet articles thrown in for good measure.

People really do want to learn—we’re truly thirsty for knowledge. Smart businesses are getting on board by providing educational content—webinars, whitepapers, podcasts, Internet article series, etc—and are poised for recovery for 2010 and beyond.

Check back next week when I’ll review my second prediction!