As I write this, a very good friend of mine is packing for a year-long stay at an orphanage in Mozambique. Over the past months we have had several conversions about the increasingly common technologies that she will be using to keep friends and family updated and herself connected to North America, such as wireless connectivity, blog and photo sharing applications, Skype, iPod and podcasts, and other digital media. Amazingly, she’ll have access to the Internet, but not access to hot showers on a regular basis unless she visits one of the area’s luxury resorts.
As we’ve conversed, I can’t help but be intrigued by the recent emerging disruptive technologies that are enabling new ways of communication and changing the way we control, manage, and use content.
Just under 10 years ago, the XML Working Group was formed at the W3C. XML continues to be one of the most popular topics concerning reusable content. (Paul Prescod’s and Su-Laine Yeo’s September presentation on DITA, an emerging XML authoring standard, confirmed that this remains a hot topic for our community.)
However, there are more technologies out there that having an impact how we work, what our customers want, and what we produce, including:
Changing methods of navigation and increasing importance of search tools.
Increasingly sophisticated XML-based authoring tools.
Increasing social web (Web 2.0) technologies including collaborative software, blogs, WIKIs, RSS-enabled distribution, and user communities.
Increasing amounts of open source software.
Increasing abilities to use interactive media and video content.
More accessibility requirements.
Increasing uses for portable electronic devices (cellphone, iPod) and new computing devices.
More knowledge portals and communities.
Increasing selection of content management tools (frameworks and software).
Use of PHP, NET, Java, etc.
In short, a rich landscape is before us, enabling more creativity with user-focused content. What lies next? How might the above trends evolve our traditional content offerings (what we now define as help systems and user manuals)? As technical communicators we have an opportunity to be on the forefront of this innovation.
Speaking of keeping in the loop on great ideas, I invite you to attend our January program meeting to network with your fellow communicators as well as encourage you to participate in other upcoming Canada West Coast STC activities (posted at http://www.stcwestcoast.ca). Belonging to our community offers many benefits, but one of the most valuable is the opportunity to network and learn from each other.
