Six ways to add Web 2.0 functionality to your manuals

This is an end of a long day post, so forgive me if I miss anything obvious. Here are some suggested actions and ideas for creating Web 2.0 technical documentation: 1. Put your documents on the Web, as Web pages.2. Create a link to the Web version on folksonomy/tagging sites such as Digg, Technorati and… Read more »

Ten Challenges for Technical Authors in the Network Age

The Supernova 2008 conference is currently running in San Francisco – on the theme of “the Network Age”. Professor Kevin Werbach has outlined ten challenges: “In the Information Age, computers and communications networks produced a global village and astounding gains in economic productivity. The Network Age incorporates those advances into an environment where anything connects… Read more »

Failure in technical communication

JK Rowling made a great commencement speech recently at Harvard University – on the topic of failure. Failure is something that stalks the world of technical authors. Failure affects our clients. Users often have to feel they have failed before they call up online Help. It is said that Microsoft nearly renamed “Help” in Vista,… Read more »

Trends in Technical Communication – Peering into the crystal ball

I’m starting to think about a conference presentation I have been asked to make later this year. Sometimes, our talks are about “big picture” issues, such as “what makes a good technical author?” or “what’s the value of documentation?”, and I’m currently considering whether I should talk about the future trends in technical communication. The… Read more »