Ode to the Lonely Webmasters

They’re a smart and dedicated bunch: the lonely and lowly webmasters. Actually, they’re not really a “bunch” at all considering they work alone—the sole members of their organization’s Web “team” or “department.”

Certainly, some organizations only warrant one webmaster if they need such a full-time role at all. But, you will also find lone webmasters in mid-to-large size organizations, usually those that lack strategic intent for their Web programs. Such organizations may have a content management system and a decentralized publishing model with users “in the field” updating and creating content but it’s the central, lone webmaster at a junior seniority level who keep the Web program functioning. They are multi-taskers who dream of a group of cohorts to divide and conquer the ever-increasing workload of tactical tasks.

Often, lone webmasters work for well-meaning but ineffective bosses who want to support online growth but only do so with one-off maneuvers and limited funding. In such situations, no one holds real power and no one is effective, let alone strategic. The lone webmaster is subject to the whims of their superiors who manage a strategic resource as a tactical, print-like brochure.

While such a scenario may also exist in larger Web teams, I suspect that there’s a shared burden and a camaraderie that comes from mutual projects, goals and professional interests. Not to mention that larger Web teams may be more prevalent in organizations that view their Web site as an integral, strategic component of their business model.

The lone webmaster is not doomed to such a lonely state. The antidote is for the organization to develop a Web Operations Management strategy that articulates guiding principles and objectives for their Web offerings based on direction from senior-level management. (After all, they’re the ones already driving the organization’s business objectives.) Strategy alone doesn’t do the trick. It must be put into action with a Web governance model outlining who is in charge of the site and how decisions will be made in regards to the content, data and applications on the site. But the model itself must also be put into action and not buried in a Word doc on the department’s shared drive. At the very least, the lone webmaster should become educated on governance and how it’s driven by strategy as education alone could be a sanity-saving measure.

Web Operations Management strategy and Web governance are key steps in maturing the organization’s Web operations and in helping the lone webmaster better manage the Web. And, with any luck the lone webmaster won’t be the lone one for long. Unfortunately, getting senior-level management involved at the strategy level in the first place is often a considerable challenge (and is blog post for another time).

Ok, so this wasn’t exactly an ode but you’ve gotta admit I’ve sung a pretty sad tune in this post. How’s this for a shot at a lyrical poem:

I promise to be more up tempo next time ‘round
‘Cause surely the message is getting out—
That positive results abound
When your Web governance is truly sound

(Kinda has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?)