When and When Not to use "SDL" When Talking about Tridion

Consider using "SDL Tridion" or #SDLTridion when communicating about your favorite Web content management system.*

*Okay it may not be your favorite. Use "Tridion" when complaining.

My main social media approach has three elements focused on being authentic and genuine (and improving my communication skills).

• share interesting, useful, or amusing content (the quality of of which is determined by you, though I try to stick with things that I want to write about)
• be authentic, personable, open, fair, and honest-as-possible-when-dealing-with-proprietary-info (it's an interesting balancing act for sure)
• engage with others by giving/getting credit
  (one of my more popular recent posts wasn't about me, it was about the creative logo work from the Tridion PowerTools open source project.)
  

Respecting SEO

After learning a little about SEO or search engine optimization in previous work, a past teacher (who went into software consulting from a retail background), and experience with this blog (especially after getting a link from a leading Web content management company) I went from 3 readers (one of them being me) to dozens (now coworkers, Twitter bots, and possibly SDL Marketing).

Though I recognize the role SEO plays in client websites, my projects, and developing my own "personal brand" I feel like all powerful tools, it's something to use appropriately and with respect. Creating useful, compelling content to drive traffic is easier, safer, and more effective than resorting to any scams around SEO optimization.

It is okay, however, to follow best practices by using semantic markup (tags that make sense, though I admit I could spend a little more time on my own HTML tags), linking to interesting content, and not hindering indexing bots where possible.

My tip to any would-be bloggers or marketers: work on compelling content first before thinking about SEO. Then as long as results come back under a Google search with site:yoursitename, you're at least searchable.

Keywords: "SDL Tridion" or "Tridion"

I'm noticing the "official" communication related to Tridion all have "SDL" in the content or title. Specifically, "SDL Tridion" is showing up in search engine results, marketing materials, and official tweets while I believe some of my peers and external consulting counterparts are still using "Tridion." I think this is to associate the   product, Tridion with the company, SDL. The full phrase may also help distinguish it from other unrelated products named Tridion (the Smart car frame), though based on the growing online community, I doubt there's much confusion in the respective markets.

Feel free to ask around the technical community, but I've seen a slight preference from (at least one) long-term Tridion consultants for the original term. The original company name is so strong, in fact, that you can find dozens of people that report working or having previously worked for "SDL Tridion" on Linked-In. I'll have to credit and thank fellow consultant and SDL Tridion Community Builder, Julian Wraith for the distinction.

To wow (or annoy, depending on context) someone on how much you know about the Web content management industry, point out that the Tridion consultant from professional services is an employee of SDL, working for the Web Content Management Solutions Division implementing the SDL Tridion product. 

Recommendation: "SDL Tridion" (ftw!)

Since "Tridion" is a subset of "SDL Tridion" and you will still be able to find my content searching for either keyword,  I'm going to try to include the SDL, even at the cost of 3 precious characters in the 140 Twitter character limit.

If you want to complain about the software, be sure to use the word "Tridion" by itself, preferably also mentioning the keywords "Smart Car" and "frame" as this will do two things:

1. help users, bots, and anyone interested in Web content management to find only the good things related to Tridion, the software (this self-serving recommendation may selfishly keep me in the good graces of the SDL Tridion MVP selection committee)
2. hide from SDL Marketing (which probably applies more if you're with, or would like to join SDL or a similar company)

Whether you choose to include the "SDL" or not, have fun Tweeting, Blogging, or otherwise leveraging social media to authentically share and engage the communities that interest you.