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
February 28, 2023
Seeing the Past (Through Two New Lenses)
In which the author wrings his hands over being old, when in fact he’s not old at all, really. Also, in which the author writes about how the passage of time shows its head in chunks and touchpoints, rather than in a straight line.
January 31, 2023
An Approximation of Art
A personal frustration with the concept of AI-created art and writing, with a short interlude about high school show choir.
December 31, 2022
About That Time I Got Stuck in the Snow
I got stuck in the snow this month, becuase I didn’t know how my car worked. You can use this as whatever kind of metaphor you need at this moment.
November 29, 2022
It Snowed, and I’m Trying to Write a Book
A week of opposites — from a sunny cruise to a weekday snowstorm — leads to some deep consideration of what “waiting for inspiration” really means.
October 31, 2022
Returning Over and Over Again
An old small engine shop, the difficulty of trying to recapture the past, and the peace that comes from routine.
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?