Adventures in Content Strategy
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin
Travel, reading, knitting, and writing outside of Mad*Pow and the UX and content strategy community. What Marli does in her spare time.
Every year I like to share the books I’ve read, along with my own rating system. While I read 57 books this year, or more than a book a week, I only had one new book I really loved – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I found the plot interesting, which is always the…
What do you value in life, and how does that come across in your work? The values we hold close to us don’t force us to do anything. But personal and professional values impact how we feel when we act. Sometimes guilt and shame are motivated by cultural factors. But often those feelings actually come…
“The secret is not to go to sleep until you’ve written your words for the day. You might be sleep deprived, but you’ll finish your novel.” Matt Cutts, Try something new for 30 days As part of my manager training through Alphabet, someone recommended I watch Matt Cutts’ inspirational talk “Try Something New for 30…
Back at the end of 2019 I thought to myself “I’ve read a lot of difficult, complex books. In 2020 I just want to read fun books!” Then March happened. I actually couldn’t read at all for a few weeks, and when I started reading again I could barely focus on Star Wars books, let…
Last week was Mental Health Awareness week. I guess I missed it, so this is belated. Though, to paraphrase The Bloggess, “wouldn’t it be awesome to just have to be aware of mental health one week a year?” (Apparently there’s also a month in May.) Anyhow, many people see weeks like this as an opportunity…
It’s been over 5 years since I started a new era at Mad*Pow. And now I’m taking the next step of my career, moving on to Content Strategy Lead at Verily. A Health Content Strategist When I started at Mad*Pow I myself a content strategist who was particularly interested in health and education. That’s part…
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and guilty because everyone in Twitter is suggesting books to read and ways to make this “the best time of you life” but you can barely get out of bed in the morning, please know: this is what depression feels like. — Marli Mesibov (@marsinthestars) March 22, 2020 Lately I’ve had…
2019 was a year of “should reads”. As you might expect, most of the books a person is told to read end up disappointing. Eat and Run, though a “must read” for runners, did not inspire me. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Ragtime (both read with my book club) may be great books,…
The end of the calendar year is a good time for reflection. This year I’ve taken on a few initiatives (and furthered some ongoing goals). Here’s how I’m feeling about my professional and personal 2019 accomplishments. Professional Work: Expanding Content Communications I love content strategy because I love communication. Written or verbal, through gestures or…
When I first read Mary Cain’s story of disordered eating, encouraged by her coach, I was sad. But I wasn’t horrified, because I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I was a little relieved to find that an amazing runner like Mary struggled with some of the same challenges I did. The more I follow Mary’s story,…
