RE: Video vs The Written Word

Subject: RE: Video vs The Written Word
From: "Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>
To: "'Peter Neilson'" <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>, "'procrastiwriter'" <procrastiwriter -at- googlemail -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:01:24 -0800

Try to dog-ear, highlight, bookmark, review while for a walk, or make a note
next to your favorite part of the video.

Lauren

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of Peter Neilson
> Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 5:25 AM
> To: procrastiwriter
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Video vs The Written Word
>
> Advantages:
> - WTFV may be easier to enforce than RTFM.
> - Some people cannot read.
> - Some people can but do not read.
> - SMEs may believe their work is done when they've mumbled
> before a camera.
>
> Disadvantages:
> - Very hard to update.
> - Bohhhring videos are bohhhhhhhhring.
> - Snazzy videos are often content free.
> - Hard to discuss the three major points in an hour-long
> video without re-watching the entire video. (You can't just
> turn to the second top-level head, but instead have to hunt
> for it in the unscripted ramblings that pass for video documentation.)
> - If the quality is poor (as it usually is in amateur
> videos) each viewer must perform the sifting and integration
> work normally done by a tech writer. May have to invent
> questions to ask to learn material that should have been
> covered but wasn't.
> - The handout for the video, if any, becomes the outline of
> the document that should have been written.
> - If the quality is to be high, it'll cost as least as much
> to get it right as it does to write a set of docs.
>
> Pitfalls:
> - In any crime, the principle question is "Cui bono?" Who
> wants the videos, and what do they (personally) gain?
>
> Maybe I am too old and out of touch. I have not watched TV
> since about 1985.
>
> procrastiwriter wrote:
> > Out of the blue, a few key people are hell bent on using
> videos (e.g.
> > Camatasia) over anything else and I fear that they see it
> as a way of
> > not having to worry so much about improving the written
> documentation.
> > In principle, I'm not against using videos for things like
> tutorials
> > and examples, but it's not area that I've explored before.
> I would be
> > very interested to hear what people think about using video
> tutorials
> > in technical writing, for example:
> >
> > - When do you use them?
> > - What are the merits?
> > - What are the pitfalls/drawbacks?
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