SuperEdit is an online editorial and publishing service capable of meeting the greater needs of today’s web sites in a single product. The main features of this service are:

• Content is fully staged, allowing for a complete editorial process before content is published
• Content is created, updated and deleted by powerful online tools
• Sites are fully dynamic, both in navigation and content
• Site pages are under the full control of the client’s editorial departments

This service is designed for those sites in which the editorial needs are great, and the system requirements would demand multiple products to complete the workflow process. Under SuperEdit, content can be created, edited, approved, and published all from a common interface, eliminating the need for editors, producers, and site managers to evaluate, install, and learn many different products to create and manage their site. The service also allows the client to ignore the difficult process of staffing system and database administrators, developers, and other technical positions, and instead focusing more closely on the design and content of their sites.

SuperEdit is comprised of two complete sites per client, staging and production, linked by the publishing process. The following diagram outlines the highest view of the system:

The content can be infinitely refined and tested in the staging system. When the content is published, it then moves to the production system, and now becomes available to the site’s customers and visitors. The content then again can be prepared for the next publishing on the staging system. In this way, content can be in a constant state of revision with very controlled releases to the "visible" (live) site.

The staging system is the heart of SuperEdit, comprised of:

• Users
• User Roles
• User Administration Tool
• Content Creation Tool
• Site Hierarchy and Tool (Navigation)
• Dynamic Media Toolbar Tool
• Meta-tag Field Initialization Tool
• Publishing Tool

Users are created using the User Administration Tool and are assigned User Roles based on their function within the organization. The roles are:

• Writer
• Editor
• Publisher
• Site Manager
• Site Administrator

The writers create and edit content using the Content Creation Tool. This web-based tool is logged into (on the staging server) and presents a series of screens that allow writers to create, copy and edit content "owned" by them. They can also see other writer’s entries in the system in a "read-only" mode. The Content Creation Tool can display the writer’s entries based on a number of different criteria, such as the creation date, the "state" (i.e. edit, submitted, approved, or live), or the categories (which will be discussed later).

Editors review content submitted by the writers, and either approve it or "return" it back to the writer for further changes. If the editor approves the entry, it then moves on to be published. If not, it is returned to the writer for corrections and is then resubmitted to the editor.

The publisher controls the releases to the production (live) system. This would typically be a single person with the sole responsibility of coordinating the site updates with the QA group and the editorial department. The Publishing Tool is used by this individual to perform the activation of the publishing process from the staging to the production system.

The site manager is responsible for the site architecture. Using the Site Hierarchy Tool the site manager creates the layout of the site with category and sub-category branches. For instance, the site manager of a travel site might create two top-level branches that appear on the "home page" (starting point):

DESTINATIONS (places to go)

INTERESTS (things to do)

Under each of these branches, the site manager would then create more branches:

DESTINATIONS -> USA -> CALIFORNIA -> SAN FRANCISCO

INTERESTS -> LODGING -> HOTELS -> FOUR STAR HOTELS

And so on, until the "tree" was complete. It is these branches that the writers and editors use to assign content to (content as a "leaf"). It is also these categories and sub-categories that appear on the site as navigation:

HOME : DESTINATIONS : USA : CALIFORNIA : SAN FRANCISCO

HOME : INTERESTS : LODGING : HOTELS : FOUR STAR HOTELS

In this way, the site navigation is represented dynamically at all times for the user, allowing them to view content at each point along the way.

The site manager also performs two other important tasks, initialization of the Content Creation Tool with meta-tag information (the "view" the editorial department will see) and the initialization and layout of the Dynamic Media Toolbar. The first of these requires the site manager to label each field needed in the system, which will be displayed in the Content Creation Tool as a text or select box field. In this way, one client may wish to label a large text field as, say, the hotel description if they are running a hotel reservation site, and another may wish to label it the painting description for an art site. One may wish it to be required, the other not. Each client’s interface appears to be specific to their site, yet the service is using the same web server, application server, and database for both clients, very intelligently presenting different "views" to each.

The Dynamic Media Toolbar Tool (also controlled by the site manager) manages the (optional) media toolbar’s layout and setup. The client may load videos, photos, sound clips, and maps, for instance, and then associate them to different levels in the system. The toolbar must be setup to recognize the button name, the media type, and the order in which buttons on the toolbar will appear. As a site user moves about the client’s web site, the current point of navigation will determine what lies "behind" each of the buttons (grayed out with a disabled link if none). Adding navigation related media content to a site provides a rich user experience, as well as additional pertinent information.

The site administrator’s task is to set up and maintain user accounts using the User Administration Tool. The tool allows users to be created and associated to different roles, such as writer or editor. The site administrator can also view the current state of the system, create reports, and view the "lower" levels of the system.

This system of users and roles is designed to mirror actual editorial groups within publishing-based organizations. The entire SuperEdit service should be easy to put in place into any existing editorial group, and the roles and tasks should mirror current roles and tasks, with the ease of one common web-based interface. The ability to mirror an entire publishing organization in a single product should greatly reduce the time it takes to replace or create any existing publishing-intensive web site.

The Content Creation Tool is the central component to the editorial process. The editors and writers for any given site can easily login to the service, and are presented with the correct screens to create, update and delete content, as well as associate to the levels within the site. The content is managed in the staging database and may be in these states:

• Edit
• Submitted
• Approved
• Live

The content may also be:

• Created
• Updated
• Deleted

When content is created, the writer is presented with a screen to input a new piece of content:

This example is the simplest of entries. The Content Creation Tool can be set up handle many select and text boxes. A client may require many fields to produce a single piece of content.

The same interface is used for updating and deleting content. The page would fill itself in with the current values, and allow the content to edited or, if desired, the entry can be deleted.

Every time content is created, updated, or changed, and the writer and submitted the changes, an editor may then view the changes and approve those changes. Any changes not approved go back to the writer for further revision (state returns to edit).

The site publisher does the final step in the process. This is accomplished by a simple one-button push from the publishing tool. At this point the approved content is moved to the production server and the content is marked as live.

SuperEdit allows each site to construct a customized toolbar that presents media content specific to the current level in the site. Toolbars of this type accomplish an important task, to enrich a site with content relevant to the current navigation that many sites need to draw and keep users to their site. Videos, sound files (mp3, wav, etc.), photographs, maps, and games are just some of the media large web sites are expected to provide to stay competitive.

First, the site manager initializes the toolbar with following parameters:

• Number of slots in the toolbar
• Name in each slot
• Slot order
• Image file name and path for each slot
• Location where media will live (file path)
• Media type (i.e. gif, jpg, mov, etc.)
• Meta-data field names

The number of slots will determine the options in the toolbar, and name is associated with each to keep track of it internally. The order of slots must also be determined; that is the actual order the slot’s images will be in on the site pages. A path and two file names must be supplied for each slot’s image. Each slot must have both an active and inactive image, one display when there is media associated at a particular level and one when there is not (and is dynamically made active/inactive).

For each type of media, a directory path must be supplied. This will tell the tool where to find a specific file of a specific type. After the media is published, this will also be where the web server will pick and present the media. Each type of media must also have an association to the different file types it should look for, for example, mp3 and wav file extensions for sound media.

The final step in the setup is to set the meta-data field names. These will be the names used by the system to identify and display additional information about the media. Common fields associated with media are:

• Title
• Description
• Author
• File Size

Once the toolbar has been setup, the media can now be imported, which will require the media to be moved to the staging system via FTP. The Dynamic Media Toolbar Tool may now be used to view and assign the content to levels within the site (see next page).

After the photo has been approved and published, it will now be available at the assigned level in the site via the dynamic toolbar (the toolbar will be an active link for this type of media, as there is at least one photo available). A secondary page would display all the media at this level as links (media index) and now may be clicked on and viewed.

As mentioned earlier, the actual number of site pages is greatly reduced under the dynamic content concept. A web page need only be created for each level in the site (and a few for displaying media). Each of these pages becomes a template, filling itself with the correct content dynamically (and often tailored to the user as well).

The process to create and publish these templates would go something like this:

1. An account would set up on staging system for the client (Unix)
2. Designers would create the design for the site (one per level)
3. Designers would upload the pages to staging system
4. Wherever dynamic data would be used, a servlet call is placed (in the html)
5. After testing and QA, the pages could then be published to the production machine

Using the travel example again, designers might produce pages like this:

• index.jhtml
• destination__level_1.jhtml
• destination__level_2.jhtml
• destination__level_3.jhtml
• destination__level_4.jhtml
• interest_level_1.jhtml
• interest_level_2.jhtml
• interest_level_3.jhtml
• interest_level_4.jhtml
• article_display.jhtml
• photo_display.jhtml
• sound_display.jhtml
• map_display.jhtml
• video_display.jhtml

Inside each page, servlet calls would look like this:

Hi, <valueof property="Member.name"></valueof> (displays the user’s name)

Go To: <valueof property="Navigation.nextLocations"></valueof> (next level links in the site)

So, the page can include any valid meta-data tag for the site and can be placed anywhere. As content, navigation or any other dynamic element changes, the pages still work, pulling info into the page in real-time.

The real benefits are many under this system. A new design can be implemented easily as there are only a handful of pages. Also, designs are consistent, as pages are reused for the same content on the same level (again, only a few pages to maintain). Most importantly, the design changes are staged, and can be fully reviewed and edited before pushing out to the live site.

The SuperEdit web publishing service provides a robust and simple way to manage text, media, and navigation on large and content-rich web sites. The ability to control the complete editorial process through staging the content, as well as user roles, assures quality assurance and provides a basic level of organization and security.

Another important benefit the service provides is the speed in which the site framework can be constructed by the site manager, allowing an editorial staff to begin creating and publishing content immediately after the initial setup has been completed. Once the site structure has been decided upon, and the users and their roles are determined, it is possible to run through the set up procedures and have a site up and running in a matter of days. The time to market is greatly reduced from conception to realization, giving an edge over competition.

The underlining architecture of the service (Dynamo, Oracle) will also open up the possibility to enhance the service’s features quickly, to meet the need of the clients. These may include:

• Personalization
• Syndication
• E-commerce Systems
• Targeted Ad Serving
• Search Engines Tailored to a Site’s Hierarchy

Personalization will provide a means to create registration systems that may capture important information about the site users, as well as provide registered areas within a site. Business-to-business transactions and information may be shared by creating simple logins and user types (such as users, client, etc.), and then presenting different "view" of the site based on this type. A sense of community can be created in this way, and user information can be used for many different purposes (ad targeting, implicit recommendations, etc).

Syndication is an automated process in which content on one site can be shared, or syndicated, to another. Content can be owned by a particular site, but can be delivered to others, often for a flat fee. In this way, a site that provides, say, travel information may syndicate its car rental information to a general reservation site. The site receiving the car rental information would get updates automatically as they are published, supplying real-time updates.

Many successful sites provide both rich content as well as a commerce component. E-commerce is currently the most successful revenue stream in the internet industry. Content could easily be construed as purchasable items, and any site wishing to set up an e-commerce system could purchase the e-commerce module from the service, and begin creating content within it. As soon as the "content" is published from the staging system for the first time, the commerce system would be live.

The e-commerce system would consist of the standard shopping basket, secure server transactions, and a required minimum registration/login when making purchases. SuperEdit could provide two additional features, "suggested" purchasable items, and ties into the site content (site tracking). Both of these features increase the number of purchases made by creating an experience tailored to each user.

Returning the travel example, user X might have both implicit and explicit traits that assist the "targeting" module to make "educated guesses". A useful implicit trait may be the areas user X often returns to, say, European destinations (through site tracking). An explicit trait captured at registration might be the income level, say user X makes more than $100,000 per year. Based on these traits the "targeting" module might be able to suggest deals on travel packages to Europe, on airlines that provide greater luxury. It may also suggest a high-priced electronic map locator/finder that provides instant maps for all of the major European cities. The more information gathered, both implicitly and explicitly, including previous purchases, increases the "targeting" modules ability to make more refined recommendations.

Serving ads on web sites has become a standard practice in today’s market as an additional revenue source. Targeting ads to users allows ads to be tailored to individual user’s profiles. Specific ads may also be delivered in specific area of a site (i.e. hotel ads under the "Lodging" level in the travel site example). Targeting creates higher click-through rates and produces a higher premium on the ad space itself.

Search engines are also a standard on today’s successful web sites. Searching under specific levels could produce more meaningful results, that is, where a user is within a particular site could be used to produce the search results (i.e. in travel example, if a user has navigated to "San Francisco" and types in "lodging" into the search box, San Francisco hotels and motels could top the search results list).

SuperEdit should provide a much needed web publishing service, offering features other web-based applications and services fail to provide. Future enhancements will then provide a wide base of options for clients to choose from, covering all important features successful web sites offer.