About me
Who is this guy?!
Who is this guy?!
I have 20 years' experience in digital content, management, governance and online operations.
I am an independent commentator and author of The Website Manager's Handbook, the first practical guide to Web Governance.
I have been working in web since the early 2000s. My key skill areas are Content Design, UX, Web Management and Digital Governance.
In 2015, I completed production of the first online training course in web management and governance. Created in partnership with leading tech vendor Siteimprove, this programme comprises 8 in-depth lessons, 4 videos and many downloadable supports.
In 2013, I was invited to contribute to an important new policy paper on Digital Governance by Forrester Research. Read the resulting report here.
Back in 2006, I published The Website Manager's Handbook, the first practical guide to Web Governance. This book has sold hundreds of copies and appears on the reading lists of several universities. Read reviews and download your copy now.
Since then, I have continued to write extensively about Content Design and Web Governance on this website, as well as for the respected journals, A List Apart, SmartInsights and OneNorth.
More recently I been investigating the impact of AI on web and Content Design.
I have come to believe that the end of traditional websites is coming and that in future (soon?) many user interactions will be intermediated by AI - especially Agentic AI. This means that the way we build web services and content needs to change. I delivered a talk on this topic at the Working in Content conference in May 2025.
I have completed numerous Web Governance, Strategy and Content projects for organisations in sectors as varied as non-profit, government, higher education and more. See some sample deliverables.
My project work is praised for the quality of its insight and the professional manner in which it is conducted. See LinkedIn for endorsements.
For 7 years I was Senior Analyst with iQ Content - a user-experience firm with global scope. I also co-founded a startup SelfieCop (now discontinued) which received government funding and a national commendation award.
As a result of my communications effort for SelfieCop I was interviewed by WIRED and FoxNews 17.
For those doing ancestral research and end up here, a little bit about us of the Diffily clan.
Diffily is an anglicisation of the surname Ó Dhuibhghiolla, which literally translates as Grandson of the Black Servant/Page/Boy but whose actual meaning is Grandson of the Dark-haired Servant Boy.
Dubh = dark, black. Giolla = servant boy. O'Dhuibhghiolla = 'of the' dark haired servant boy. The extra 'h's and 'i's in dubh and giolla are required due to grammar, as the genitive cases of the nouns.
The sound produced by the concatenation of ...bhgh... in Irish Gaelic approximates to an f sound as in fox. So 'bhgh' became 'ff' when anglicised.
Thus My name is Shane Diffily would be rendered in Irish as Seán O'Dhuibhghiolla is ainm dom. The female form differs slightly as Anne Diffily becomes Áine Ní Dhuibhghiolla, where ní means 'daughter of'.
Diffily is also rendered as Diffley and both are in use. The name is not common but may be encountered in North Roscommon and East Galway, where various pubs and shops display the name Diffily or Diffley.
The Coat of Arms features a red band across a white shield.
And finally, my main past-time is caving. I am national treasurer for the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation and a volunteer on the rescue team. I also co-founded the Dublin Caving Group.
Chomh maith le sin, tá an-suim agam sa Ghaeilge agus glacaim páirt go minic in eachtraí Gaeilge i mBóC agus mórthimpeall. Molaim Gael Chultúr le Gaeilge a fhóglaim.
I live in Dublin (Ireland).
