There is a saying, attributed to Lao-Tzu, that the value of a pitcher is not the physical material of the pitcher itself , but the empty space it creates to receive water.. Similarly, the value in a modern content management system is not the system itself but the occasions it creates for communities of interest to interact: content management and community management have become virtually interchangeable. 

Traditionally, content management systems were designed to be used only by the select few behind the scenes: authors created content, Editors filtered, approved, and often placed content, and users merely read it. Increasingly, however, users expect to take an active role in the creation, consumption, and distribution of content.

In this talk, we’ll look at a number mechanisms for engaging with communities of users and discuss how a number of content management platforms support such engagement. Specifically, we’ll look at user contributed content, user contributed meta-data (tagging, rating, and filtering), and mass syndication.

We’ll look at a number of example sites, built on open source content management systems like Drupal and Alfresco, in terms of the challenges and opportunities that engaging with communities create.

Enabling users to contribute content for example, shifts the burden of effort but does not eliminate it. Allowing users to rate, recommend, tag, and respond to content makes possible new mechanisms for discovery and personalization than human editorial control could provide.

We’ll also look at the increasing trend of mass syndication through Facebook applications, and widgets, including a discussion of the Open Social APIs recently released by Google, in the context of content distribution in particular.