Erik Schut is cofounder and President of WoodWing Software. With his profound understanding of the publishing market and its products, he has led WoodWing to its current leading market position. Erik Schut is now focusing entirely on product development and future trends. We asked him what the future of publishing will look like with regards to online publishing.

“Online has a great future. The single most important change is already taking place. The Web will become more and more critical to develop new sources of income. Publishers used to provide one printed product for everybody. Today's digital generation expects custom service: personalized content, in tailored form, at the right moment. It’s something we call ‘blended media’; making optimal use of the various media available, to tell the story how and when people want it, blending the media together into one overall user experience.”

That doesn’t seem like a major revolution. You simple select relevant items from your database, and export them to the user’s personalized Web environment.

“Sorry, but that’s exactly what we want to warn our customers about. You can’t handle the Web like another file format. You have to serve the customer. It is an interactive means of communication, and requires a completely different approach. That’s why WoodWing uses Web Services to integrate with dedicated Web CMS systems like Drupal and Escenic.”

What’s the difference between an XML export and integration with a Web CMS?

“Two-way communication. Information from the Web, like page views, ratings and reader comments, can flow directly back into the editorial system. For example, you can identify hot stories immediately, and use that to steer the focus of subsequent publications, either print or online. Or imagine user comments being incorporated in the next publication. In fact, the bottom line of current and future developments is that a truly content-centric approach is necessary.”

But isn’t everyone doing that already?

“Maybe some, but certainly not all. A true content-centric approach is a radical change with vast consequences. First of all, your organization will need a single content team, instead of separate teams for online and print. Secondly, a strong Enterprise Content Publishing (ECP) system is required, to facilitate the editorial process for the entire team.”

In other words, people need WoodWing’s Enterprise?

“Yes and no. Our Enterprise publishing platform is one part of a future-proof solution. As I said before, real integration with Web CMS systems is necessary, too. But most of all, we need to anticipate future demands of content-centric teams. That’s why we developed a totally new product with the codename "Lucina", which we will officially release at IFRA Expo 2008. It’s an ECP portal that supports all story stages, from the inception of the story idea, through planning, gathering material, editing texts, up to managing the publishing to multiple channels.”

So the content team works with this new "Lucina" product, which runs on top of Enterprise?

“Exactly. It puts strong focus on the content, instead of the final publication channel which is still the case with many systems. A very important concept is the Story Dossier. It keeps all components (such as text, Web teasers, photos or video) and background materials of the story together, along with other related Dossiers. This helps to manage the story while it develops from inception to publication, but it also keeps the complete team communication up-to-date. Each Dossier also features an individual blog, for example, providing a quick way for new team members to catch up.”

And the team can use that Story Dossier to publish to multiple channels?

“From the Dossier, you can determine which piece of material goes to which publication channel, by (un)checking the corresponding columns for each item in the Dossier. You can even select the available publication channels per Dossier. Just select the items for the Web, click the Publish to the Web button and the Dossier is posted immediately on the Web site, either with or without a preview. The same mechanism is used to select material for print, via our Smart Connection and productivity plug-ins. And after publication, the Dossier is also of great value as a source for input, reference and re-use.

What other developments are you expecting?

We have lots of ideas for integrating the "Lucina" product even more tightly with the Web CMS. For example, live Web URL’s will become available directly for printed publications; we also see a great future for QR codes, printed codes – a bit like bar codes – that contain a link to a Web site. Mobile phone users can take a picture of the code, and they will be taken to the corresponding Web page straight away. In Japan for example, this technology is already in use. New business and revenue models will emerge using these kinds of possibilities, blending online and print.