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: Death knell for quality content? From:"Lauren" <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net> To:<john -at- garisons -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:38:26 -0700
> From: john -at- garisons -dot- com
> Is this really what we are going to start getting? Content is
> king ... but
> if people really believe that crappy content is just as good
> as quality
> content, we are in a heap of trouble.
I think that what is happening is that people want to see articles written
by people like themselves and not articles that seem like they were written
by an expert or an outsider looking in. The average person has average
writing ability and will make grammatical and other writing errors. So,
content that is less than perfect is more palatable and approachable than
content that is polished.
It isn't a looming "heap of trouble"; it is a change audience's perception
of documentation. Writers will need to adjust their writing styles to
appeal to the audience that wants informal, familiar documentation. This
does not mean that the quality of the content must change, but that the tone
of the documentation should change.
Users may accept poor quality now because of its approachability, but when
users become educated in the weaknesses of such documentation, they will
want quality. The compromise between writers and audiences may be that
quality documentation should be approachable to a broad audience, so it
should possess some familiarity for that audience.
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
