My name is Corey Vilhauer.
I am director of strategy at Blend Interactive. I write here. I also write at Eating Elephant about content strategy. I am co-author of a book about the web process, The Web Project Guide, and co-host of a podcast by the same name. I used to occasionally write about records at Kallax 365. The W stands for Wayne.
Latest Posts
July 30, 2022
When My World Was Sunny Day Real Estate
A look at my own self-centered fandom — specifically around Sunny Day Real Estate, but even more specifically about my own dip into emo from 1994 – 2000.
June 30, 2022
Crying Over Dungeons and Dragons
I cried during my last Dungeons and Dragons session. Partially, it was because I meant what I was saying: that I loved and trusted my kids. Partially, it was because this nation feels like it’s actively trying to ruin their future.
May 31, 2022
Fake Plastic Sushi
I talk about sampuru — the Japanese art of creating “sample” food out of plastic. I also use it as a metaphor for how society hopes for perfection instead of fighting for progress.
April 27, 2022
The Followers We Made Along The Way
A look at Twitter’s influence on my life, my friendships, and a very specific few hours in which I was stranded without cash at Cape Town International Airport.
March 29, 2022
Nostalgia (Remake)
I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, and it’s got me overthinking the two spectrums of nostalgia — general and specific, and restorative and reflective.
Selected Works
August 5, 2015The Pastry Box Project
While No Guitar Gently Weeps
The world continues to move even as you wander around, looking for inspiration, and the risk is always there: what happens when everyone passes you by, and what happens when you realize you never really cared in the first place?
February 28, 2012A List Apart
Audiences, Outcomes, and Determining User Needs
Every website needs an audience. And every audience needs a goal. How do we get to really know our audience and find out what these mystery users really want from our sites and applications?
May 2013Offscreen Magazine
Life In Folders
Commissioned thoughts on organizing photos, organizing files and folders, and organizing life.
January 14, 2014Black Marks on Wood Pulp
The Ocean
Thoughts on large bodies of water, the dream and desire to see the world, and the utter exhaustion of travelling for work when all you want to do is hang out at home and be a dad.
December 7, 2011Contents Magazine
A Content Methodology Primer
Content wants to be messy. It wants to roll around in the mud. It wants to be gross. Our job is to pull it together—to take the guesswork out of creating and curating it—and to treat content work as something closer to a science.
July 19, 2011Eating Elephant
Domain Knowledge: What You Need - Or Don't Need - To Know
As content strategists, we are expected to help our clients communicate the concepts, benefits and advantages of their company or industry. But we are not who our clients are. We do not possess the same amount of knowledge about their business. How do we bridge this gap?