Joe Welinske and RoboHelp

Joe Welinske's claim that the RoboHelp authoring tool will fade from common use over the next two years has created quite the furore in the authoring community. It may cause a "Tipping Point" in the documentation community - a rapid move away from the tool, caused by the "word of mouth" actions of influential people.

What will replace it and how quickly will depend on "Connectors", "Mavens", and "Salesmen" (see Malcolm Galdwell's "The Tipping Point"), such as Joe Welinske and, I guess, Cherryleaf. As and when the "Connectors", "Mavens", and "Salesmen" settle on a better alternative, we may see a rapid move towards that tool.

The chances of Adobe/Macromedia reprieving RoboHelp are pretty slim, given development team were reportedly laid off.