Foreword

The Rapid Rise of Content Strategy at Facebook and Beyond

At Facebook, employees are empowered to be bold in the name of innovation. “Move Fast and Break Things,” “What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?” and “Done Is Better Than Perfect” are a few of the mottos pasted on the walls at Facebook headquarters.

Back in 2009, Facebook content was getting “done,” but it was far from perfect. Engineers, designers and product managers were writing most of the copy. If you had a keyboard, you were a copywriter. If you could commit code, you were a publisher. And there was a lot of content: menus, navigation text, product tours, multi-step forms, nomenclature, in-product education, help pages, blog posts, and much more. Less-than-perfect content meant confused and frustrated users, and it was taking its toll on the brand.