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
March 31, 2025
A Little Relief
A gentle reminder that it’s okay to appreciate the little reliefs, and to give yourself some grace.
February 27, 2025
The Long Way Through
In which the author position’s Television’s “Marquee Moon” as a metaphor for uncertainty, the long game, and resolution in the face of chaos.
January 31, 2025
On Not Knowing Where to Look
When the world decides to fill itself with horrors, it can be difficult to know where to look. So I’ve started looking at dumb memes.
December 31, 2024
I Am Writing a Newsletter Post
A step-by-step review of how I write a newsletter post, including how I came to decide that “newsletter post” is the singular term for an item within a newsletter.
November 20, 2024
In Moments Like These
In moments like these, there are a thousand ways to fill the silence. Because if we don’t fill the silence, the world will do it for us.
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?