Preston So: Immersive Content and Usability – Episode 144

Preston So Designing content for immersive experiences has been around longer than you might think. Many people jump straight to modern VR headsets when they think about immersive digital experiences, but the craft of immersive content design also shows up in applications like location-aware text alerts and games like Pokemon Go. Preston So has just written the first book on immersive content design, drawing on his unique background in programming, product management, design, and content strategy. We talked about: his background at companies like Oracle, Acquia, Gatsby, and Time Inc. an orientation to immersive design the differences between how we experience web content and how we experience immersive content the two types of immersive content: embedded and environmental how the idea of locomotion fits in immersive content the unique challenges of addressing accessibility in immersive designs the relevance of disciplines like architecture and urban planning to immersive design the benefits of taking a generalist approach to immersive content design the importance of cohesive content strategy and adopting an omnichannel mindset when thinking about immersive content design equity and inclusion within the immersive space, especially issues around accessibility and identity Preston's bio Preston So (he/they) is a product, design, engineering, and innovation leader, digital architect and strategist, designer and developer advocate, polyglot educator and speaker, and author of Immersive Content and Usability (A Book Apart, 2023), Voice Content and Usability (A Book Apart, 2021), Gatsby: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly, 2021), and Decoupled Drupal in Practice (Apress, 2018). He has been a programmer since 1999, a web developer and designer since 2001, a creative professional since 2004, a content architect since 2007, and a conversational and immersive designer since 2016. A product leader at Oracle, Preston has led product, design, engineering, and innovation teams since 2015 at organizations like Acquia, Time Inc., and Gatsby. Preston is an editor at A List Apart, a columnist at CMSWire, and a contributor to Smashing Magazine and has delivered keynotes around the world in three languages. A globally recognized authority on the intersections of content, design, and code, he is based in New York City, where he can often be found immersing himself in languages that are endangered or underserved. Connect with Preston online Preston.So LinkedIn Video Here’s the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/1xqX8FqsgOk Podcast intro transcript This is the Content Strategy Insights podcast, episode number 144. When you think about content in immersive experiences, you might first picture a teenager in a headset scanning the scenery in a virtual game environment. In fact, immersive content spans a range from low-tech media like text messages to those full-blown virtual reality experiences. Preston So has written the first book on content design for these immersive settings, drawing on his unique background in programming, product management, design, and content strategy. Interview transcript Larry: Hey everyone, welcome to episode number 144 of the Content Strategy Insights podcast. I'm really happy today to welcome back to the show Preston So. We talked a couple years ago, I think, about his book Voice Content and Usability, and now he's got a new book out called Immersive Content and Usability. And just a quick introduction, Preston is a product and design leader. He operates at the intersection of content, design, code. He's a one person operation in the technical product world. But anyhow, welcome Preston. Tell the folks a little bit more about what you're up to. Preston: Hey Larry, thanks so much for having me back on the Content Strategy Insights podcast. It's always a pleasure to be on the show and to hang out with you. Yeah, I'm Preston So. Pronouns are he/him/they/them. I work at the intersections of content design and code as you mentioned earlier. Preston: I've worked across my entire career with a lot of different organizations on problems that revolve around content design, content strategy, and how to architect content in the way that works. Folks like Oracle, Acquia, Gatsby, Time Inc. A lot of different companies and customers. I've also written several books on the topic from not only the developer side of things, the coding angle, books like Decoupled Drupal in Practice, and Gatsby: The Definitive Guide, but also two books on content design and content strategy, Voice Content and Usability, which we talked about a few years back. Preston: And my newest book, which it will have already come out - most likely by the time this podcast is released - on April 18th and that's content and usability. And currently what I do is I work on a lot of stuff that revolves around how we can architect content better for omnichannel use cases, and how we can design content better for these omnichannel use cases, and for channel specific experiences as well. Preston: By the way, quick plug before we get started. If you are looking for a conference to attend this summer, we've got the Decoupled Days conference happening in August in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the call for presentations is open and we're looking for sponsors. So check it out at decoupleddays.com or follow our Twitter or LinkedIn at Decoupled Days. Larry: Yeah, we're actually working together on that, and I will second the recommendation. That's going to be a great conference. I mean, we're in this new modular decoupled world. I'm hoping we can push things along there. Larry: But in terms of immersive content, what are we talking about there? Kind of set the scene. Because I think a lot of content people come out of copywriting or journalism or something like that, and that kind of transition into product content writing. There's some stuff to be done, but there's a whole new orientation and there must be an analogous challenge coming from wherever you're coming, into doing immersive content. Can you talk a little bit about what you're getting into when you start writing immersive content? Preston: Sure. I think that there's a bit of a misunderstanding of the idea of immersion that exists in the technology world today. I think a lot of people focus immediately and perhaps a little too much on the notion of immersion or immersive technology revolving around those goofy-looking headsets that your teenage nephew wears locked in his room for days. What I will say is that immersion is that, but it's about so much more. If you look at the way that Forrester, for example, defines immersive experiences, immersive experiences are those you experiences that really facilitate a almost lack of separation between different devices, and between those devices and the environments in which we spend our lives. Preston: The way that I like to think about immersive experiences is as a continuum. We have a lot of things in our docket as content designers, as people who work in content strategy, that revolve around the user experiences that we have on our screens, on our devices. And for the most part, those of us who write copy, write content for those devices are writing for what's really for content's purposes a rectangle. It's a glowing rectangle, it's a glowing blue-lit rectangle. But there's not really any way to write content for what goes beyond that proverbial rectangle. Preston: And what I mean by this is that we've only just begun to scratch the surface of user experiences and content-driven experiences that allow us to experience the world around us in a more rich way, and isn't limited to or captured in, the devices that we use on a daily basis. Preston: One very, very simple example of this is location-based content. And for example, all of us have received a text message that says something about a severe weather alert, says something about, for example, a COVID-19 exposure. Those are all examples of immersive content as well. Preston: So a little while back, I wrote an article for A List Apart that defines immersive content. And immersive content, really essentially when you boil it down to its bare essentials, is content that plays in the sandbox of physical space. Preston: We're not talking about content that's on the page, that's limited to the page, that's on a web browser. Or content that's limited to the web mobile screen on your mobile browser. We're talking about content that might be driven by outside forces, outside landscapes, outside physical settings in which we live in work. Preston: So location-based content is one good example of this. Extended reality, augmented reality, virtual reality. And also things like beacon-driven content, digital signage, orienting content, maps of content, that allow us to experience the physical world around us in a more rich way, driven by interfaces that might not bear much resemblance to the devices that we use on a daily basis like computers, and smartphones, and tablets, and so on and so forth. But they still play a very important role in that lattice work of devices that we're going to use. Preston: Now, one of the quotes that I really like from my book is I describe immersion as a flow state. And I think that's really what a lot of the early thinkers around immersive technology were getting at when they wanted to conceive of this virtual world or a sort of fully immersive world. Preston: What they're really looking at is the ability for us as users to feel that our devices and the digital experiences that we have are in complete sync with, and are in complete tandem with, the experiences that we have in the physical world around us, whether that's a virtual world, or a world that is our actual real physical, visible and tangible. Preston: ...