Wow, time really does fly by. May 23, 1994 was when the doors officially opened here at Content Rules. So much has changed since then. Here are a few things that come to mind off the top of my (aging?) head:
Our name was Computer Education Consulting. We started as a training development company.- In 2000, we changed our name to Oak Hill Publications.
- In 2000 we incorporated.
- A few years later, we ditched the Pubications part of the name and changed to Oak Hill Corporation. In 2011, we renamed the company to Content Rules.
- Our first customer was Roche Pharmaceuticals.
- There was no internet. That didn’t happen until a year later, when we were working with Netscape (it was an exciting time, indeed).
- We used FrameMaker 3.0 for most of our work.
- Editing was done via a red pen and a blue pen. Yes, on paper.
- We delivered final content to customers in print and on CD. I even had special CD labels with the corporate logo made for this purpose.
- I did the writing myself for the first year or so. But I quickly added additional writers, editors, and others to the team.
- We had no office. In fact, we didn’t get an office until 2008.
Here are some other pieces of random historic trivia (when you get to be 18 years old, you collect a lot of random trivia):
- The very first consultant we hired in 1994 was a graphic artist. He still does work with us today.
- We hired our first full-time employee in 2000. She still works with us today.
- Our first startup is still in business. In fact, I am on my way to see them right now.
- We started working with our oldest customer in 1995. We still work with them today.
Of course, we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of my staff, our world-class consultants, and our loyal customers. Happy birthday to us and thanks to you all.
Val Swisher is the Founder and CEO of Content Rules, Inc. Val enjoys helping companies solve complex content problems. She is a well-known expert in content strategy, structured authoring, global content, content development, and terminology management. Val believes content should be easy to read, cost-effective to create and translate, and efficient to manage. Her customers include industry giants such as Google, Cisco, Visa, Facebook, Roche, and IBM. Her fourth book, “The Personalization Paradox: Why Companies Fail (and How to Succeed) at Creating Personalized Experiences at Scale,” was published in 2021 by XML Press.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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