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Subject:Re: what doc formats do READERs want ? From:Richard L Hamilton <dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net> To:TechWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:45:22 -0800
Monique,
Given the rapid changes in the industry, I suspect this is one where any academic study more than a few years old is going to be out of date. That said, I did an informal survey a couple of years ago where among some other questions I asked people what formats they delivered information in and what formats they preferred to read.
While not in the least scientific, the results were that most people were delivering information in electronic form (primarily web), but strongly preferred print (on paper:-) for reading. This is supported by there being a reasonable business in providing print versions of content that is freely available online (one of our best sellers falls into that category).
HTH.
Best Regards,
Richard Hamilton
-------
XML Press
XML for Technical Communicators http://xmlpress.net
hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net
On Dec 12, 2011, at 6:43 PM, Monique Semp wrote:
> Hello, writers,
>
> I’ve certainly been following the trends for authoring docs – Wikis, DITA, single-sourcing, all kinds of tools, etc. – but I’ve been asked a very good question: what are the trends from the audience’s (reader’s) perspective?
>
> That is, we can generally state with confidence that users don’t want to read giant PDF docs, but... what do they like more? Do they like HTML pages (whether in a wiki or just as HTML output or HTML help)? Do they like more traditional Help systems? Will they want to dispense with reading and just watch videos?
>
> I can find all sorts of info about the advantages and disadvantages of all sorts of possible doc types, but I’m not sure where to go to find out what the users will be looking for now, next year, and in 5 years...
>
> Where would you recommend I look for actual metrics? Or certainly feel free to share anecdotes!
>
> Thanks,
> -Monique
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
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