TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Are Tech Writers Valid anymore Re: ghost town From:Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> To:"Janoff, Steven" <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- ga -dot- com> Date:Mon, 24 Feb 2014 10:16:13 -0800
That's the reason I think "end user documentation" as we know it for UIs is
on a downward slide toward extinction. The next big evolutionary step from
desktop is some kind of hands-free interface, and each step in that process
will require less "end user documentation" as the interfaces become
increasingly smarter.
Touch screen is just another variation on the mouse.
Gene Kim-Eng
On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 9:09 AM, Janoff, Steven <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- ga -dot- com>wrote:
>
>
> So until devices and their interfaces go beyond the desktop metaphor that
> we're still using (and again, I don't think touch screen goes beyond that),
> we're basically writing the same instructions over and over again, with
> mild variation. You could put the whole thing in a big CMS and probably
> cover most of our jobs.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help: new website, content widgets, and an output that works on any screen.