techcomm 2.0 what you need to know

presented by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, Inc.

scott abelnightclub dj, investigative reporter, technical

writer, trouble-maker, entrepreneur, evangelist

Tampa, Amsterdam, Indianapolis, New York City, San Diego, Key West

advocate for changetechnical writing skills are easy to duplicate;

user expectations are changing faster than we are

blogs, user-generated content, handhelds, virtual worlds, podcasts, geospatial positioning

what’s your difference?Microsoft Word mastery does not adequately differentiate;

neither do good grammar, correct punctuation, nor smooth segues

future-proof careerhighly sought after skills, easily transferable to other areas of business;

skills must provide positive impact throughout your organization

in demand skillsinformation architecture, interaction design, modular content creation, localization and translation, document design, standards knowledge

document engineerdocuments were only interfaces for people;

documents are now interfaces to business services and processes

changing expectationslook outside of technical communication for examples;

user expectations are changing MUCH faster than we are

mobile devicesportable, powerful, and personalized;

handheld devices have changed user expectations

web 2.0leverages the internet as an operating system to deliver

service; helps users “do stuff”

playable searchallows users to find and play multimedia

content from within a web browser

seeqpodhelps you find and listen to music almost instantaneously; it also works for videos

jotthelps you remember what you don’t want to forget;

audio in, text out

tape failureno more guessing what website users like;

watch them use your site and make changes based on real user experiences

taggingtagging helps us stay organized;

sharing tags helps us help others quickly;what we tag can help improve documentation

mashupslooking at content from all angles helps us make meaningful decisions; combining content makes

content accessible in meaningful ways

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Exhibitmashup that allows users to sort, filter, and visualize

content in various ways without a database

web 2.0syndication allows users to remix content;

structured content makes it possible

yahoo! pipessyndication allows users to remix content;

structured content makes it possible

really simple syndicationan XML standard;

provides structure and semantic value to content

publish/subscribeextends the reach of content;

users reuse content in unlimited ways

publishwrite it once and let go of control;

content is both human and machine readable

subscribeservices provide relevant information, delivered how,

when, and where users want it

hosted softwareonline office applications are exploding in popularity; open standards and

ease of use drive adoption; offline access now available

XML word processors97% of the world uses MS Word;

XML word processors provide familiar interface

blogstwo new blogs are created every second of every day

wikisweb-based collaboration tools that support user-generated content;

users can consume, create, correct, corrupt, and cut content

wiki toolsthere are many available (free to expensive)

wikis for documentation?

wikis are being used to create documentation;there’s even a wiki based on DITA

podcastsanyone can create bad audio faster than ever!

user-generated content

users are creating their own documentation whether you want them to or not

video documentationuser expectations are changing; are you?

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

they’re doing it, nowvideo jug, expert village, sclipo, 5min, viewdo,

teacher tube, youtube howto

social networksnetwork effects; users share with one another in

uncensored online communities

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

for additional informationcontact Scott Abel at TheContentWrangler.com317.466.1840 scottabel [at] mac [dot] com

www.meetingwizard.comwww.jott.comwww.simile.mit.eduwww.pandora.comwww.slideshare.netwww.confabb.comwww.del.icio.uswww.structuredblogging.orgwww.microformats.orgwww.edgio.comwww.pipes.yahoo.comwww.docs.google.comwww.plazes.comwww.twitter.comwww.tapefailure.com

Save time. Arrange meetings in a snap -->Create “to do” lists with your cell phone -->Provide differing views of your content -->Create/share personalized radio station -->Find/rate/reuse slide show presentations -->Find a conference; rate events/speakers -->Tag content so you/others can find it later -->Create structured content using a blog -->Standards for popular content types -->Syndicate classifieds from your blog -->Mashup RSS feeds and create new ones -->Collaborate on spreadsheets/documents -->Tell others where you are/find others -->Tell others what you’re doing right now -->Watch videos of how users use your site -->

Web 2.0 sites of interest