Bridging The Content Gap

Crossing Another Chasm... There are many reasons why people can't or won't adopt new technology. It is generally assumed that the main obstacles are our resistance to change and the difficulty in learning new technology. However, the Content Gap is emerging as a key inhibitor of adoption for many of the newly minted dot-coms and their customers. A Content Gap occurs when new systems lack enough current, correct and comprehensive data to allow a user to confidently abandon old processes. Let me give you an example.

Last December I bought a personal accounting software package for about $100. The system could automate our bill payments, keep detailed records on our spending, help us with budgeting, and -- best of all -- eliminate the need for an accountant. That would save me at least a thousand bucks, a return of 1,000%. To achieve those benefits, however, I was required to input and maintain vendor addresses, income sources and expenditures throughout the year. Something I never had to do with the old paper process. I never quite managed to get all of the data entered, which meant that I had to maintain my old paper system and the new "automated" system. I am now back to my paper files and annual visits to my accountant. Like so many of us who "invest" in technology, I bought a product based upon what the software could do, not what I would do with the software.

The software itself was able to deliver on all of its promises. A well-designed user interface made it easy to learn, and I was certainly motivated by all of the benefits. It was the Content Gap, the creation and maintenance of the content that tripped me up. I never generated that critical mass of content that would allow me to shed the old ways. This is also where the dot-coms and their clients stumble. In most cases no one has assumed responsibility, budgeted or strategized for the Content Gap. New systems are not being adopted because users are being forced to maintain two systems. That is because most of the new offerings are unable to deliver the Three C's of content: Correctness, Currency and Comprehensiveness. Without all three, users will have to maintain legacy processes in parallel with the new technology. That just creates extra work and does not encourage adoption. Let me know how your organization is bridging the Content Gap.

--Bob Potter