tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80396166935613912902024-03-06T14:02:34.082-06:004J's Group - THE CONTENT POOLThe 4J's Group Blog featuring, thoughts and observations on the many facets of Content Strategy.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-19976040495551880202012-12-28T21:05:00.003-06:002012-12-28T21:05:35.625-06:00On the move...For 2013 and beyond this blog has moved to a new home - Please click over to the new look <br />
<a href="http://thecontentpool.com/" target="_blank">THE CONTENT POOL</a> blog for updates on "One Man's Adventures in Content."<br />
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Thanks - see you there.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-85894652098142940462012-08-03T11:15:00.000-05:002012-08-03T11:15:56.279-05:00A little lesson in Content Packaging thanks to the Fab Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier today I was alerted to this video from Carlton Books giving what they term a "Sneaky Peek" at their upcoming book celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles' first hit record.<br />
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As both a Beatles fan and <a href="http://com/Before-They-Were-Beatles-1956-1960/dp/1413430562/" target="_blank">scholar</a>, I knew that this great looking book was destined to join my Fab Four research library (as I'm working on an idea for another Beatles related book proposal).<br />
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Then I started thinking about this video from a <b>Publishing</b> and <b>Content Strategy </b>perspective.<br />
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Anyone whose heard me speak on digital publishing will know I often repeat the phrase that "<i><b>pixels and print are not mutually exclusive.</b></i>" In other words it isn't an either/or decision between digital and traditional print publishing, in most cases a book can exist equally in both and often help each other. - Which is definitely the case with my own Beatles book where <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Before-They-Were-Beatles-ebook/dp/B002P8MORW/" target="_blank">Kindle sales</a> have driven increases in print sales.<br />
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However there are some things that each medium does better than the other, and I strongly believe that print will flourish for publishers who figure out how and why print is special. In my view there is one advantage that print has over digital - reading a printed book is a tactile experience that engages the senses of feel and smell as well as sight.<br />
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A book like the one in the video above could not be done on a digital platform. Yes the written word and the photos could be reproduced, maybe even the video from the DVD and the sounds included in a multi-media enhanced eBook - But the way it is packaged and presented is as a interactive tactile experience, and that's what will make it special. You can only do that in print.<br />
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The packaging of the book is also a great example of re-purposing existing content to be consumed and experienced new ways. Instead of a photograph of a concert poster or ticket, why not recreate them? Move interaction with the content from a passive one to an interactive one.<br />
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As well as the book itself and its refreshing content packaging, there is also the smart way that the content, and the idea of the book, is being promoted via the use of other media such as video and social networks.<br />
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Smart move Carlton Books - you've got my $$ already - and I just helped you spread awareness a little further.<br />
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<br />Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-31956844717002198652012-05-29T09:13:00.000-05:002012-05-29T09:13:10.297-05:00Color me this...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The following are a few extracts from my latest feature cover article for <b>INTERCOM</b> magazine on <b style="color: black;">Communicating with Color</b>. <br />
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My red shoes went viral on the Internet thanks to a
photograph taken at the Intelligent Content Conference in Palm Springs back in
February. Over the last couple of years I’ve developed a bit of an obsession
with Converse sneakers, and as of today have nine pairs in different colors,
usually worn to match whatever shirt or jacket I’m wearing. The red ones always
seem to draw comments or, it seems, the occasional photograph.</div>
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However my interest in color goes beyond my choice of
sartorial footwear, as I’ve long been interested in the use of color as a
design element in communications and storytelling.</div>
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Color has always been around us, used by both man and nature
as a means to communicate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
bright plumage of a bird, or the striped fur of a Tiger are not an accident,
they are an integral part of the way that the animals interact with each other
and their surroundings. The same goes for the human species. We have long used
color to communicate with each other and as a part of various cultural traditions.
So why not use color as part of our technical communications toolbox as well?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of course adding color to your technical communications deliverables
isn’t as simple as just picking a few crayons from the box and coloring in
between the lines. The use of color takes a lot of thought, and a new set of
skills that need to be considered. In fact the color theory knowledge and
experience of an individual can make a big impact. </span> </div>
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Think about the colors you see around you everyday and how
they are used. Red for Stop or Danger. Green for Go etc. Your company probably
already has some color standards overseen by the marketing group on how the
company colors can be used. Think about how they can be incorporated in to your
technical documentation. Even take a look at the colors used in the product you
are writing about. How can they be used?</div>
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The full article is available in the print edition of the STC INTERCOM magazine, or <a href="http://intercom.stc.org/">on-line here.</a> <br />
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<br /></div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-7066662707050850352012-04-04T14:36:00.000-05:002012-04-04T14:36:16.334-05:00What Do Stories Look Like?Book design guru <b>Chip Kidd</b> discusses how designing books is all about using visual design to convey the story contained within. He also makes some great observations about eBooks.<br />
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<i>"Much is to be gained by eBooks: ease, convenience, portability. But something is definitely lost: tradition, a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness — a little bit of humanity.”</i> (Chip Kidd)
</br />Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-82335123798874269482012-03-20T10:26:00.005-05:002012-03-20T10:46:38.496-05:00A Tale of Two Cities (and Conferences)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzIDj-SeNzXYTV9DGahmu65T10KRrsyQp0LVAG-LqhmzZ7liQ-NDjquc309hUHLPOTHl3K7Tgb_IyXgNxh8toRlTd8qmHOI-ptEcgtSWym7UWzmsUDtSGqo5P0AqTLgQQPzJoOd6R95H3/s1600/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities_06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzIDj-SeNzXYTV9DGahmu65T10KRrsyQp0LVAG-LqhmzZ7liQ-NDjquc309hUHLPOTHl3K7Tgb_IyXgNxh8toRlTd8qmHOI-ptEcgtSWym7UWzmsUDtSGqo5P0AqTLgQQPzJoOd6R95H3/s320/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities_06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722003930865221650" border="0" /></a><br />It is the best of times, it is the worst of times*. Or at least that's the impression about the state of the content development industry that came across during two different publishing conferences I have attended in the last few weeks. Hosted in two cities that couldn't have been more diverse, Palm Springs, CA and Austin, TX, the conferences were opposite reflections of their locations.<br /><br />Palm Springs CA can perhaps be summed up by the fact that the city's greatest attraction appears to be an aging vaudeville theater that boasts that it is home to the World's oldest chorus line! This, the city not the theater chorus line, was the venue for the 2012 <a href="http://www.rockley.com/IC2012/">Intelligent Content Conference</a> (ICC12), a vibrant well programmed exchange of ideas that drew attendees from various aspects of the enterprise content development world, especially from service information, business process, and marketing; along with new technology practitioners, leading consultants, and content strategists. This group understood that the real value of the new publishing model was in the content itself (hence the title of the conference.)<br /><br />The underlying feeling coming away from this conference was that the attendees thought that this was indeed the "best of times" to be in content development. The biggest revolution in content development and delivery since the invention of the printing press is opening up an incalculable number of opportunities to redefine both the business model, and the way we tell our stories and interact with those who consume them.<br /><br />Austin, TX on the opening day of the annual <a href="http://sxsw.com/interactive">SXSW Interactive</a> conference gives off that same vibe of excitement and opportunity as leading thinkers, futurists, innovators, and entrepreneurs descend on the Texas capital to discuss the future of the web. Part of this year's opening day events included a one-day <a href="http://oreilly.com/minitoc-austin.html">mini-conference based on O'Reilly's Tools of Change </a>(TOC) annual publishing industry get together in New York. As expected the majority of attendees where from the worlds of traditional book and magazine publishing. The contrast between this crowd and the attendees at Intelligent Content, and the larger SXSW crowd, couldn't have been more marked. The underlying vibe that I picked up at the TOC day was one of confusion, and even panic.<br /><br />The first speaker, mobile designer Josh Clark, provided one of the best summaries on how to approach the new publishing paradigm when he said that "<span style="font-style: italic;">Your product is called content, everything else is a con</span>tainer." He also went on to say that "<span style="font-style: italic;">Mobile isn't about Apps. An App isn't a strategy.</span>" Yet nearly every other speaker, and question from the audience, ignored this great advice. The focus of most conversations was firmly on the delivery process and medium, not about the thing actually being delivered, the content. And during the sessions I was at I never heard a single word about how to add value to the content by making it intelligent<br /><br />My feeling was that most of the TOC audience this is "the worst of times," as things are changing too fast to understand, and the traditional business model no longer works.<br /><br />And that's where I believe the disconnect between these two groups originates - with the business model.<br /><br />In the corporate world the development of content is a key part of any business process (In fact in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Content-Pool-Leveraging-Companys/dp/193743401X/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330904862&sr=1-28&smid=156561&tag=hydfbook0e-20&ascsubtag=US-DS-19719-156561">THE CONTENT POOL book </a>I put forward that it is THE key component), and that while it may not always be recognized as such, it is generally developed irrespective of the delivery platform. Yes particular platforms may be specified, but they are more a matter of convenience and familiarity than an integral part of the company's overall business model. The value to the organization is implicitly in the content, not the delivery model.<br /><br />In traditional publishing, no matter what lip service is paid to content, it is the delivery mechanism that provides the value. The business model of traditional publishing is built around the infrastructure and process to move pieces of paper from the printer, to the warehouse, to the retail outlet, and eventually into your hands as a consumer. It is only you, as a consumer, who then derives any value from what was on that paper - the content.<br /><br />While the corporate world sees new delivery models as an opportunity to provide more and more intelligent content, traditional publishing sees it as a disruptive event to a centuries old infrastructure.<br /><br />The best of times; the worst of times.<br /><br />=======<br /><br />* <span style="font-style: italic;">With apologies to Charles Dickens for the paraphrasing. - "</span>A Tale of Two Cities<span style="font-style: italic;">" was originally published concurrently in two separate formats - In the weekly magazine </span>All Year Round<span style="font-style: italic;"> without illustrations , and in collected monthly installments with illustrations by regular Dickens artist Halbot Browne (from which the illustration at the top of this post is taken.) Dickens was a master of realizing the value of his content over format often publishing new works in various formats and platforms to reach the widest possible audience, before eventually publishing the full work as a novel.</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">If he were around today, I'm sure he would be one of the pioneers of digital publishing.</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><br />=============Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-68052357156177654382012-03-15T17:22:00.001-05:002012-03-15T17:22:05.313-05:00Silo? What Silo?Information Silos. I often talk about them, and I hear people talk about them all the time. <br />
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"We need to break down the walls between functions and departments. We need other people to share their information and content with us."<br />
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A sentiment I heard expressed at a conference recently by the representative of a large engineering company.<br />
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Yet two days later when it was suggested that the design engineers in her company should be given web based authoring tools so that they could write the basic information needed for a technical procedure, her immediate response was "No way! I'll never let engineers write technical procedures. That's the technical authors' job."<br />
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Sounds like creating silos to me. Don't expect others to share and collaborate if you're not intending to do the same.<br />
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Getting others to break down their information and process silos means you have to do it first.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-35420160187385557352012-02-13T14:15:00.003-06:002012-02-13T14:30:17.182-06:00THE CONTENT POOL book - Just a week away.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuaRi8mzBKh69qR4BGvMJnfW1Rm_9pRe4g0gvc8TvMIhY4JF9X5VKuVSbQjy6Xp3T8elnFxiiPLTTviB1AzHYg26NvADYd1EZy4VIwt7rsNASfnhRQ-il48h3qrYTgYRwLdUvm5kZTc_e/s1600/TCPfrontcvr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuaRi8mzBKh69qR4BGvMJnfW1Rm_9pRe4g0gvc8TvMIhY4JF9X5VKuVSbQjy6Xp3T8elnFxiiPLTTviB1AzHYg26NvADYd1EZy4VIwt7rsNASfnhRQ-il48h3qrYTgYRwLdUvm5kZTc_e/s320/TCPfrontcvr.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708716650815461330" /></a><br /><br />I'm looking forward to the <a href="http://www.rockley.com/IC2012/">Intelligent Content Conference</a> in Palm Springs next week for several reasons.<br /><br />And top of that list is the fact that the conference will be the location for the official launch for my latest book, <span style="font-weight:bold;">THE CONTENT POOL</span>, which in many ways is based on this blog. (Cover above.)<br /><br />Today Scott Abel posted an <a href="http://thecontentwrangler.com/2012/02/13/everyone-into-the-content-pool-an-interview-with-alan-j-porter/">interview with me abut the book</a>, and the ICC12 launch, at his Content Wrangler site.<br /><br />I mention in the interview that we will be publishing a special limited edition of <span style="font-weight:bold;">THE CONTENT POOL</span> for conference attendees. The ICC12 Edition will be limited to just 100 copies and will include an exclusive chapter linked to the <a href="http://www.rockley.com/IC2012/2011/10/08/panel-discussion-business-case-for-innovation/">panel on "Making a Business Case for Innovation"</a> which I will be participating in at the conference.<br /><br />If you are heading to Palm Springs next week for ICC12 I look forward to seeing you.<br /><br />If you can't make the conference the standard edition of THE CONTENT POOL is <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-content-pool-alan-j-porter/1038399422?ean=9781937434014&itm=1&usri=the+content+pool">available for pre-order.</a>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-64817826701154968932012-01-26T07:41:00.011-06:002012-01-26T08:32:35.257-06:00The Man from P.O.S.T. - "The Where to Prioitize a Technology Decision Affair"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirABboPje3smz8sMf6knY8z4_UDPE7awBxpe6V1cZP_AQ3vi1QweAjtyGU4AzLiyzolyZRf0A0Z_j0kOEEBWAtrjKspkjGiIEQ5ruZ5gHnEjPBiKZJ6MGoQP9uiJJ-HkCqgViPJJcfPCmx/s1600/UNCLEbase.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701943056667653266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirABboPje3smz8sMf6knY8z4_UDPE7awBxpe6V1cZP_AQ3vi1QweAjtyGU4AzLiyzolyZRf0A0Z_j0kOEEBWAtrjKspkjGiIEQ5ruZ5gHnEjPBiKZJ6MGoQP9uiJJ-HkCqgViPJJcfPCmx/s320/UNCLEbase.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left">Despite the fact that for over half of my career technology companies have (and continue to) pay my mortgage - I have always been a long standing, and increasing vocal, proponent of the idea that in deciding on any business process change or innovation the technology must come last.<br /><br />A topic I devote a whole chapter to in the upcoming <a href="http://xmlpress.net/publications/the-content-pool/"><strong>THE CONTENT POOL</strong> book </a>(end of shameless plug).<br /><br />At the 2011 LavaCon conference I even ended up getting a quick round of applause during the conference closing panel discussion for the statement that audience members should stop talking about tools and start talking about business need. A sign that I thought that we were making some headway.<br /><br />Then yesterday I was invited on a conference call for a project that has been ticking over for nearly three years now and is not making any apparent progress. The reason quickly became apparent as conversation quickly got into the weeds about the features / functions and development efforts needed around three alternative technology options.<br /><br />When I asked the basic question of what was the project's high level business objective, no-one could actually articulate it. Was this a project for the customer communication,, or was it a project to prove that something could be done using existing technology? Again, no clear response.<br /><br />Over lunch afterwards, a friend reminded me of the acronym POST developed by the Forrester's consulting group. P.O.S.T.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/oliveryng/the-social-technographics-of-business-buyers">Forrester's created the P.O.S.T. approach as part of developing a corporate social network strategy </a>- but I believe it applies equally as well to the world of content strategy (Of which social network content should be a part anyway). </div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><strong>P. = People<br />O. = Objectives<br />S. = Strategy<br />T. = Technology</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Seems obvious doesn't it. Start with those who have a need, figure out the things you need to do to fill that need, develop a strategy to do it, and then think about the tools you can use to do it.<br /><br />You should be thinking along the lines of "<em>We need to decrease the time it takes to get our content changes into the hands of our customers</em>," not "<em>We need to install Wizgadget3.0</em>."<br /><br />Or as my lunch companion neatly summed it up -</div><br /><br /><br /><div><strong>If you put the "T" first, all your are left with is a P.O.S.<br /></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><div><strong></div></strong><br /><br /><br /><div><strong></div></strong><br /><br /><br /><div><strong></div></strong>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-36777774239680202412012-01-19T13:49:00.005-06:002012-01-19T14:28:52.693-06:00Every Presentation, Ever: A Communication Failure?I have spent, and continue to spend, a lot of my professional life either giving, or sitting through presentations. I have seen every one of the communication failures parodied in this video.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3rHFNJnDPYY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />After I'd watched the video and smiled in recognition, and even winced occasionally about things know I've done in the past. I started thinking about the title.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Is every presentation ever given an exercise in communications failure?</span><br /><br />I would submit that the vast majority are - sure there are good ones (see the various <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED talks</a> for instance), but most presentations are simply a dry regurgitation of facts and ideas that could be better expressed in much more entertaining and different ways.<br /><br />How?<br /><br />By focusing on the speaker, not on the PowerPoint.<br /><br />Think about the conference sessions you remember most - I bet it was the ones with the energtic, passionate, articulate speakers, rather than the ones with the prettiest slides. I have seen a growing trend amongst top rated speakers and presenters to just use single image slides acting as a backdrop to a particular point as a way of getting the audience to focus on them and the message they are delivering. I even have spoken to several other regular conference speakers about dropping the use of slides altogether, but conference organizers seem to get scared when you say you don't have any slides.<br /><br />During the course of the year I attend two distinct types of industry events, first there are the technical and business conferences, then as a pop-culture writer there are the the various conventions. For as long as I have been attending science-fiction and comics conventions the default way of communicating with the audience is to have a panel of guests discuss a particular topic in which they have a stated interest, or experience. No PowerPoints, just people discussing what they know and what they are passionate about. The results are invariably both enlightening and entertaining.<br /><br />Yet business conferences are still dominated by the "person in front of a slide deck" model. - Why? Over the last couple of years I've been lucky enough to be invited in a few business conferences that have experimented with the panel approach (usually just one or two in a program dominated by presentations), and in every case they have been well received, and a joy to participate in.<br /><br />But it doesn't necessarily need a panel to get that same effect. I mentioned the TED talks earlier - many of the most viewed videos are of a single person on stage, just talking. Sharing ideas with a passion.<br /><br />Of all the presentations I have ever sat through the most spell-binding was from graphic design guru <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Tufte">Edward Tufte</a> who spoke for a whole day on the subject of graphics, and never once used a PowerPoint slide.<br /><br />Instead of "presenting" information and hiding behind slide decks we should be encouraging expression of ideas, conversations, and discussion. - That's what communication is really about.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-59221358107315107852012-01-06T14:49:00.003-06:002012-01-09T10:16:07.025-06:00That Was The Week That Was ....I'm not sure I could have asked for a better first full week of the New Year. No matter how I look at it 2012 looks like it's going to be a promising, exciting, and busy year in the world of Content Strategy and Business Communications in general, and on a personal level for 4Js Group as well.<br /><br />Let's take a look at what made this week such a perfect start to the year.<br /><br /><ul><li>I kicked off the week by delivering the final manuscript for <span style="font-weight: bold;">"THE CONTENT POOL" </span>book on Content Strategy to the fine team at <a href="http://xmlpress.net/publications/the-content-pool/">XML Press </a>for final copy edits, indexing, and layout. - We are looking at publication in the first half of the year. - As soon as we have nailed down a date I'll post it here and on my <a href="http://twitter.com/alanjporter">twitter</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/4jsgroup">accounts</a>. - I'll also be posting updates here as the book goes through the final stages before publication.</li></ul><ul><li>Then the fine folks at MindTouch issued the list of what they considered the <a href="http://www.mindtouch.com/blog/2012/01/06/techcomm-contentstrategy-400-knowledgebase/">most influential people in the Technical Communications and Content Strategy</a> industries. I was delighted and honored to make the list under both my own name, and as 4Js Group, alongside so many other great industry professionals.</li></ul><ul><li>On the conference front, it looks like I will be speaking at this year's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lavacon</span> in Portland in October. <a href="http://lavacon.org/portland/">Lavacon</a> has rapidly become on of my favorite events of the year, and I always enjoy speaking there.</li></ul><ul><li>I was also invited to join a panel on <a href="http://www.rockley.com/IC2012/2011/10/08/panel-discussion-business-case-for-innovation/">"Delivering the Business Case for Innovation"</a> at the upcoming <span style="font-weight: bold;">Intelligent Content Conference</span> in Palm Springs next month. - The conference has a great line up of speakers and subjects.</li></ul><br />As I mentioned, overall a great week - and a great start to the New Year.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-48538795327930937572011-08-01T15:56:00.003-05:002011-08-01T16:04:53.546-05:00Where have all the posts gone?Wow - I just realized I haven't posted anything here since May. Over two months ago! - That's too long for a blog to go unattended, but I have a good reason.<div><br /></div><div>I am deep into writing the book version of this very blog.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333ff;">THE CONTENT POOL </span></b>will cover, and expand on, many of the subjects I've discussed on this blog over the years. Plus I'll be adding in more from my twenty plus years experience in the Business Communications industry to, hopefully, produce a though provoking book on exactly why content is your company's greatest hidden asset.</div><div><br /></div><div>THE CONTENT POOL is designed to help you:</div><div><ul><li>Identify</li><li>Organize</li><li>Manage, and</li><li>Leverage</li></ul></div><div>your content to reduce costs and increase revenue and profits.</div><div><br /></div><div>Look for it later this year from <b><a href="http://xmlpress.net/">XML Press</a></b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be posting more updates, and maybe a few extracts, as we get closer to publication.</div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-62887479256416701692011-05-09T14:05:00.003-05:002011-05-09T14:19:34.717-05:00Looking forward to the STC Summit<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalhAj9LXiMCDIx_EEzC4E5TmLo-3SKyABDDKoawCC4d8EF3TSm8xqEL-eMeDUN1Jz7qMUu-amPDvlFzYKFihJufV-4UAlDL_Sm6mBblglUtmOG-ERRXqdLCUrwJ9gOSiTYZ493eIIi_pE/s1600/stc11.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 289px; height: 55px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalhAj9LXiMCDIx_EEzC4E5TmLo-3SKyABDDKoawCC4d8EF3TSm8xqEL-eMeDUN1Jz7qMUu-amPDvlFzYKFihJufV-4UAlDL_Sm6mBblglUtmOG-ERRXqdLCUrwJ9gOSiTYZ493eIIi_pE/s320/stc11.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604794642881790818" /></a>Next week I will be in Sacramento, CA for the<b><a href="http://summit.stc.org/"> 2011 STC Summit.</a></b> An event I've been looking forward to for many months.<div><br /></div><div>Although I'm not speaking this year, I've been more involved than ever, as both <b>Deputy Program Manager,</b> and Track Manager for both the <b>Web Technology</b> and <b>Education and Training</b> tracks.<div><br /></div><div>This will also be the first STC Summit since the publication of my book <b><a href="http://xmlpress.net/publications/wiki-how-to-grow/">"WIKI: Grow Your Own For Fun & Profit,"</a></b> which will be available at the conference bookstore and at the <b><a href="http://xmlpress.net/">XML Press</a></b> booth.</div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone would like to meet up for a chat, or get a book signed, then the best places to find me (or leave messages) will be at:</div><div><ul><li>The STC Program booth,</li><li>The XML Press booth,</li><li>The PTC booth.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>I'll also make sure to step into some sessions and visit the expo floor on a regular basis throughout the conference. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll also be posting note on both my Twitter accounts during the conference, so feel free to follow, or contact me, via <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/4jsgroup">@4jsgroup</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/alanjporter">@alanjporter</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm looking forward to meeting up with old friends and colleagues, as well as meeting lots of new people for some interesting discussions on Technical Communications and Content Strategy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think we have put together a great program this year, and if you are attending, I hope you find it both informative and stimulating.</div><div><br /></div><div>See you in Sacramento.</div><div> </div></div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-10584930026610802942011-04-07T12:20:00.005-05:002011-04-07T12:43:38.910-05:00You know what they say about when you assume something...<div><br /><div>...that you "make and <strong>ass</strong> out of <strong>u</strong> and <strong>me</strong>." Well I feel a little like that this morning </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Earlier today I recieved an email from a software vendor (who, keeping to the rules of this blog, will remain nameless) that in order for them to issue me with a license for a new piece of software they needed the "Host ID" of my Windows laptop. - That was is it, a one line request with no further explanation. </div></div><br /><div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Now about 70% of my time is spent on MAC devices of various types, MacBook, iPad, iPhone. I haven't seriously played around with a Windows machine in years - I had forgotten how to find the Host ID. Clicking on the My Computer icon and looking at Properties, which seemed to be the logical thing to do, was no help at all. So I sent off a quick email asking how exactly I was expected to find this elusive "Host ID"</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://images.techtipsgeek.com/post/windows-command-prompt-logo.png" /> <br /><div><em>"Oh, it's easy"</em> came the reply. <em>"Just open a command prompt, run the ipconfig/all command and look for the Phyisical Address it returns - that's the Host ID."</em> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Hang on a minute - so the thing you initially asked me for isn't even called that, and you expected me to know that plus, I needed to go to the OS, and remember a command line I may never have used in my life!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Talk about making assumptions.</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>OK the end process was in fact easy - but then most things are if you know how to do them. Just beacuse you, your engineers and your support personal maybe confortable working in a partcicular environment, don't assume that your customers are just as familar.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Making yourself look like an "ass" and making your customers feel like one (even if it's only for a few seconds) is never a good idea.</div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.itstrulyrandom.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/shrekdonkey.jpg" /> <br /><div></div></div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-51696125152934899592011-03-17T15:41:00.005-05:002011-03-17T16:05:16.214-05:00Technically incompetent or just bad design?Last week I suddenly noticed that the Dell laptop I use for certain contracts was no longer picking up my home office wireless network. In fact it was telling me it was connected to an unrecognized public network without internet access. No matter what I tried I couldn't get it to disconnect from that network and pick up the wireless.<br /><br /><br />On Tuesday afternoon I plugged the laptop directly into my ethernet cable and spent several hours disabling, and enabling network adapters, rebooting modems, and frantically googling various scenarios. Most of which told me the culprit was a well known Windows 7 bug related to a rogue ID file that showed up in the Windows Services menu. Except I couldn't find that file anywhere on my machine. In the end I just reset everything and resigned myself to spending an afternoon on a help desk call.<br /><br /><br />But first I needed to be on-site at a client's facility. Thinking the problem might be my home network, I took the laptop along hoping to connect to the client's wireless - no such luck. I mentioned the problem to several people, and no one had any suggestions.<br /><br /><br />Then about 5 minutes before I decided to call the Help Desk someone who has the same model laptop asked me if the wireless switch was off.<br /><br />What wireless switch?<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585156011066404642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FhpOQYPta8z-pXFRPkXAztJgihLISFAM_POeTtwSXaZru3Nu_zhqJ_7044TuZdbuOmZasUZUAIOvAOsiSiRd7YmnH2t6GFgViXQdJrPbD3LUBUiOKb2Bea5ljNqaRDazpAKxzd-eg2WO/s320/switch.jpg" /><br /><br />Ah that one!!<br /><br /><strong>A switch that in the five month's I've had the laptop have never even noticed.</strong><br /><br /><br />From a communications perspective a couple of things sprung to mind from this incident.<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>How about putting up a warning dialog on screen at boot up when this switch is switched to the off position (maybe with a location diagram) instead of leaving it to Windows to think it has connected to an untrusted network? Would have saved sveral hours of frustration. BTW when the switch is OFF it displays a red background - but let's face it, who looks at the side of their laptop on a regular basis?</li><br /><br /><li>How about making switches a different color, better labeled and slightly more obvious? Most people reading this probably know I'm a big advocate of using symbols to communicate. But make them big enough and clear enough. For a guy of a certain age who wears bifocals, how am I suppose to know what that is?</li></ul><br /><p>Oh and who puts a switch that can disable a major feature in a position where it can slide on and off through the process of picking up the lap top and sliding it into a case? Not exactly a well thought out design there.</p>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-53187005342070857412011-02-03T19:52:00.003-06:002011-02-03T20:12:08.303-06:00The Force is strong in this Content.I, like many of my friends, linked to, and shared, the video below today on our various Social Network accounts. I guess we did it for a few reasons:<br /><ol><li>It's funny.</li><li>The kid is cute.</li><li>It leverages a shared pop-culture reference that we all (well at least my friends) can immediately relate to.</li></ol><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R55e-uHQna0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><div><br /></div><div>But later in the day I started to think about this video in terms of content strategy and marketing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just before I wrote this post I checked some numbers on YouTube.</div><div><br /></div><div>This video was posted on February, 2nd - just one day ago. It has already posted some impressive numbers:</div><div><ul><li>2.3 Million views</li><li>605,000 posts on Facebook</li><li>29,600 links from Twitter</li><li>23,705 "likes"</li><li>over 3,500 user comments.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Partly for the reasons I mentioned above. In short it's great content that people enjoy and want to share. And that's the key to a marketing message like this going viral - you need good content that the community is happy to recommend and share.</div><div><br /></div><div>But also it plays across markets, and across language barriers. Of the 1 minute 2 seconds running time only, 8 seconds uses text that would need translating. There is no voice over to be translated or actors to be dubbed. It's all done through the power of images and music. </div><div><br /></div><div>Using different media types in this way can be (if you will excuse the pun) an effective force for making your content connect with your audience.</div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-78754887551532926972011-01-31T17:07:00.005-06:002011-01-31T17:13:47.318-06:00Webinar: Collaborate Your Way to More Effective Customer Support<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTvOJ7UtoDIimPN75g1sIo6n-K9qR36DsX71HlU98KX_Pzlt4unoe3iy2jpejLfa7RLsl8sUv2ZNUDzC3gVhgiOw_R_qmADvlPyHNi-Y957vW8nHlX8e95t15Y1kdglBQIEMrZcdTGJ_a/s1600/webinar-e1296511581670.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 68px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTvOJ7UtoDIimPN75g1sIo6n-K9qR36DsX71HlU98KX_Pzlt4unoe3iy2jpejLfa7RLsl8sUv2ZNUDzC3gVhgiOw_R_qmADvlPyHNi-Y957vW8nHlX8e95t15Y1kdglBQIEMrZcdTGJ_a/s320/webinar-e1296511581670.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568491278969760322" /></a><br /><br />Join Scott Abel, <a href="http://thecontentwrangler.com/">The Content Wrangler</a>, and myself, <span style="font-weight:bold;">THIS FRIDAY (February 4th) </span>for a lively discussion about the changing face of customer support on the web. You’ll learn how innovative organizations are leveraging the power of collaborative authoring, user-generated content, social currency, feedback and ratings to improve customer service and support.<br /><br />You’ll discover the importance of collaborating with your customers to produce experiences that meet — even exceed — customer expectations. And, you’ll find out how collaborative support communities can help organizations create loyal customers, improve productivity, increase sales, and reduce expenses.<br /><br />Hosts MindTouch will be is giving away a FREE COPY of my book of <i><a href="http://xmlpress.net/publications/wiki-how-to-grow/">“Wiki: Grow Your Own For Fun and Profit” </a></i> to the first 50 attendees to the live event.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.mindtouch.com/Support_and_Services/webinars/2011-02-04">Register Here. Today!</a></b>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-53959487680116786512011-01-06T20:02:00.003-06:002011-01-06T20:37:31.829-06:00The Return of the LP & what it may mean for Content Delivery.I think it was generally agreed among my family that the coolest present I received this Christmas was the one my eldest daughter bought me. She ignored everything of my Amazon wish list, and instead proved that she did in fact listen to her father when he went off on one of his nostalgia trips about the music of his youth. She bought me a turntable. Yep one that actually could play the few remaining vinyl albums we had in the house (most of which now spend their days in frames on the living room wall.)<br /><br />Once we had it set up and were spinning a few of the old records, I had a fairly lengthy discussion with her and her boy-friend about how a record and turntable worked, and just what was so special about the good old LP as opposed to a modern CD, or digital download. (Still seems a little funny to me that two 21 year-olds had never seen a record being played before.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwOhcYiBMa4b7hndZM4KyZ3YDRP97wMX7QLZgJ6PLtcmtgPnie1JUzWmhj7oTKclM1uNDG1xkSMO9nmG3ZtnGgYoIyCZo5RT7gOfK4te1WYWjoUnks5ihuxo7ZjnSRHG8cDpfu3IDpU7y/s1600/turntable.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwOhcYiBMa4b7hndZM4KyZ3YDRP97wMX7QLZgJ6PLtcmtgPnie1JUzWmhj7oTKclM1uNDG1xkSMO9nmG3ZtnGgYoIyCZo5RT7gOfK4te1WYWjoUnks5ihuxo7ZjnSRHG8cDpfu3IDpU7y/s320/turntable.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559266460897289842" /></a><br /><br />That conversation stayed with me over the holiday. Why had the LP had such a cultural impact? Records and record players had been around for decades before the sudden explosive growth of music ownership that started in the mid to late 1950s and early- 1960s. Sure the birth of rock-n-roll had a large part to play, but I thought there must be more to it than that. Then earlier this week I read the following passage by Jonathan Gould in "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Buy-Me-Love-Beatles/dp/0307353389/">Can't Buy Me Love"</a> his excellent social history of The Beatles.<br /><br /><blockquote>"Ultimately the attribute that sealed the success of the LP in the popular market had little to do with its expanded capacity or its improved sound quality. Designated as 'packaged product' by the recording industry LPs were the first records to be sold in foot-square cardboard jackets faced with glossy cover art, which served as an alluring advertisement for the music within. This allowed them to be prominently displayed in racks or bins in virtually any kind of store; it also allowed them to be advertised as recognizable products in newspapers and magazines. (Singles in contrast, were still packaged in plain paper sleeves and sold mainly in specialist record stores.) The LP cover became a companion piece to the listening experience by providing photographs, biographical information and promotional copy."</blockquote><br /><br />As I've been working on my upcoming book, <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://xmlpress.net/publications/the-content-pool/">The Content Pool</a>,</span> I started to equate this great piece of social and economic history to the ideas of Content Delivery.<br /><br />Think about the LP - it was still delivering the same sort of content as earlier record formats (78s and 45 singles), yes it was using new technology to deliver more in the same media, but it didn't find traction with its user base until the packaging and delivery channel was changed.<br /><br />What made it work?<br /><ul><br /><li>When the content was placed in the same location that the users frequented anyway - they no longer had to go searching for it.</li><br /><li>It was clearly labelled and could be browsed - instead of having to read the fine print on a label, or be an expert.</li><br /><li>It was presented along with additional information that gave the content context.</li><br /><li>The new packaging was durable and could be accessed many times without degrading - inviting reuse.</li><br /><li>Social networks and peer recommendation developed around the ease of accessibility and navigation.</li><br /></ul><br /><br />As we all struggle with ways to present our content in new formats and on new media, maybe we can learn a few lessons from the past.<br /><br />Now you will have to excuse me, I have to go turn this copy of <span style="font-style:italic;">"The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl"</span> over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.jugi3.ch/homepage/top_music/beatles/album_77_live_at_the_hollywood_bowl_a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="http://www.jugi3.ch/homepage/top_music/beatles/album_77_live_at_the_hollywood_bowl_a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-54410122583603115322010-12-29T17:11:00.003-06:002010-12-29T17:27:45.923-06:00"Globish"? - It all sounds rather familiarThanks to a recent Twitter post from the always entertaining and informative <a href="http://twitter.com/stephenfry">Stephen Fry</a>, I recently came across the word <span style="font-weight:bold;">"GLOBISH."</span> - Mr. Fry went on to explain that "Globish" was shorthand for "Global English."<br /><br />Now that piqued my interest, and after a quick application of my Google-Fu skills I found myself at the <a href="http://www.globish.com/">Globish website </a>where I found out that it is described as <br /><br /><blockquote>.... a simple, pragmatic form of English. It involves a vocabulary limited to 1,500 words, short sentences, basic syntax, an absence of idiomatic expressions and extensive hand gestures to get the point across.</blockquote><br /><br />And then there was this informative video.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/054zM_ON_z8" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />Now this all sounds very familiar. This approach of using a controlled sub-set of English to reach non-native English speaking customers is something we have been working on in the technical communications community for decades. In fact as an idea it dates back to the 1930s.<br /><br />Yet it seems that this newest incarnation of the concept seems to be getting a lot of mainstream publicity that our efforts have never achieved. Globish has been the subject of stories by, among many others, the BBC and the New York Times. I can never recall any mainstream press being interested in the ideas, concepts and benefits of <a href="http://simplifiedenglish.net/What-Is-Controlled-Language-Simplified-Technical-English">Simplified Technical English</a>, or even the government sponsored <a href="http://www.plainlanguage.gov/">Plain Language </a>initiatives. - I wonder why that is?Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-44540981514701984132010-12-21T11:21:00.008-06:002010-12-21T12:11:58.110-06:00Paying the Ferryman - The cost of putting your content in someone's hands.As part of the research for my next book for <span style="font-weight:bold;">XML Press</span> book (Which like this blog is also entitled <span style="font-weight:bold;">THE CONTENT POOL.</span>) I was having a conversation with a couple of people at a large manufacturing company about the cost of their documentation; at the start of the conversation I was expecting to hear all about the software they used to author, manage and publish their information, or even about the cost of training and retaining skilled technical communicators. But the conversation very quickly turned to one aspect of technical publishing that most of us (and I include myself in that) often completely overlook. - The cost of actually getting the information into our customers hands.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For this company their largest publishing related cost is simply Postage.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0_oTRtnBBM3wpkSKLIWJA9yiWd0MCCrurWhqGjwkRnRw_HD2kekUMDUES4Jsxt53slCVlCQUQRKnf8vbnDfKXr2s8SCKQzUFizsFl3-Lg8kkDEPtyDJBFh461rvhLxhdkR0IL4pPxmr-/s1600/postage.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0_oTRtnBBM3wpkSKLIWJA9yiWd0MCCrurWhqGjwkRnRw_HD2kekUMDUES4Jsxt53slCVlCQUQRKnf8vbnDfKXr2s8SCKQzUFizsFl3-Lg8kkDEPtyDJBFh461rvhLxhdkR0IL4pPxmr-/s320/postage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553197334982371970" /></a><br /><br />When we talk about modern technical communications and publishing systems, processes, and technology, we tend to think about digital creation and delivery. Along with that comes an assumption that most, if not all, our customers are in some way connected to the internet. There is a lot of talk (and again I'm just as guilty as anyone) of web delivery, mobile delivery and the bright digital future we are all marching towards. Yet that is a very Anglo-American centric view of the world. <br /><br />Recently someone at Facebook developed <a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/visualizing-friendships/469716398919">a visualization of all the various Facebook connections</a>, and the image that appeared (below) turned out to be a startlingly accurate rendering of a map of the World. Except that large areas of that map were dark. It reinforced the message that even if we are producing information digitally, we can't assume that if we are operating on a global scale everyone who needs access to our information has a wired connection.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWWno7DriXSlfbNIrlTZfTL-NJWFNrUd-cpzC1bWicW5kUwbloavfqOISn715oYL7XrLHUqt9q1a1g_vhI6NsG7fqA_IqAUKFSPkLUWb-52gbRMiJ32yPQUD5wQ11f7SIKLfhl_XeaFjs/s1600/fbmap.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWWno7DriXSlfbNIrlTZfTL-NJWFNrUd-cpzC1bWicW5kUwbloavfqOISn715oYL7XrLHUqt9q1a1g_vhI6NsG7fqA_IqAUKFSPkLUWb-52gbRMiJ32yPQUD5wQ11f7SIKLfhl_XeaFjs/s320/fbmap.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553195894764014210" /></a><br /><br /><br />So back to my earlier conversation. The company I was talking to uses XML and topic based authoring processes, along with content management tools, to efficiently single-source their documentation into many different deliverables.<br /><br />But their products are literally used all over the world, including in some of the world's most inhospitable and remote locations. Not everyone is wired, so instead they ship sets of DVDs to customers and business partners.<br /><br />Depending on the product being used the DVD sets can consist of anything from 3 to 12 separate DVD discs. And they ship 15,000 such sets every month. While the cost of shipping a set of DVDs within the US may be relatively cheap, the cost of shipping on set of DVDs to to a user working in the African jungle maybe as high at several thousand dollars. As well as the actual postage there is the cost of import duties, time to fill out customs forms and get approvals, as well as the actual delivery cost. I was told of one DVD set that involves the monthly rent of a boat and boatman to delivery it along a jungle river!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctu_zMM0S_91Xt2AUSyuBl9CUh7mLrwFj5vrILB4C0Z1Q9mFN7ZHnPr9tMMTZWSWXee-R4u21-I39F3pr9JOGNtyGMWxQfQm-2io7fhCSLRFt03A11I43r6CFzERE3hfkdOyomc5eNsnp/s1600/boatman.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctu_zMM0S_91Xt2AUSyuBl9CUh7mLrwFj5vrILB4C0Z1Q9mFN7ZHnPr9tMMTZWSWXee-R4u21-I39F3pr9JOGNtyGMWxQfQm-2io7fhCSLRFt03A11I43r6CFzERE3hfkdOyomc5eNsnp/s320/boatman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553196879327801298" /></a><br /><br />The total annual postage and delivery cost of DVDs for this company is in the Millions of dollars range, and recent increases in postage rates have meant a dis-proportianate rise in that overhead.<br /><br />So next time you are considering the cost of your documentation - don't just think about the investment needed to actually create the content - think about what it takes to actually get that information into the hands of all your customers, no matter where they are located.Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-29737533182921130652010-12-06T10:10:00.002-06:002010-12-06T10:13:02.715-06:00The evolution of the book.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><span class="UIStory_Message">Excellent video produced by UK publishers, Hatchette, that reinforces the point that while the technology of the "book" has been, and will continue to be, one of constant evolution, the knowledge and wonder it delivers (i.e. the content) is a constant.</span></h3><div><span class="UIStory_Message"><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PF9Q3LcOAQ8?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PF9Q3LcOAQ8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /></span></div><div><span class="UIStory_Message"><br /></span></div></span>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-58394141142393990122010-11-21T13:30:00.005-06:002010-11-21T13:39:58.701-06:00New WIKI book now available<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span>My latest book <b>"WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun & Profit" </b>was officially launched at the <a href="http://xmlconference.org/" style="color: rgb(106, 151, 24); font-weight: bold; ">2010 XML Conference</a> in Philadelphia on October 13th.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>It is now available to order on-line either through the <a href="http://xmlpress.net/">publisher's website</a>, or via <a href="http://www.amazon.com/WIKI-Grow-Your-Own-Profit/dp/0982219121/">Amazon</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982219121" style="color: rgb(106, 151, 24); font-weight: bold; ">,</a> or <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Wiki/Alan-J-Porter/e/9780982219126/">Barnes & Noble.com</a><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/9780982219126/" style="color: rgb(106, 151, 24); font-weight: bold; ">.</a>- eBook <a href="http://www.amazon.com/WIKI-Grow-Your-Profit-ebook/dp/B004C43IH2/">Kindle version</a> is also available for just $9.99</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswaguxynQX7D4D3CWO12YNLRt60GLpj0UMxOwfsjcEx16qUhtY5-92MUu_KUg2rl07PTosRGNrwwWUO-04JELb50HYKGP_ZGbT8dKB61Yl372JwSll1FjANhC4g4vl9krdhe1EuRWqNEo/s320/WIKIgry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542089791463623442" /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span><strong style="color: rgb(153, 51, 51); ">WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit</strong> introduces the concept of wikis, and show why they are becoming the must-have communications and collaboration technology for businesses of any size.<p></p><p style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; height: 72px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; ">The book will also include several case studies highlighting the ways that various companies are using wikis to solve differing business and communications issues, and the resulting benefits in terms of both efficiency and customer satisfaction.</p><p style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; "></p><p style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; height: 108px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; ">Looking for a way to increase team collaboration, manage your company’s knowledge? Do you need a way to manage projects with customers or suppliers outside your company firewall? Would you like your customers to provide feedback on the information you publish? Then a wiki might be just what you are looking for.</p><p style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; height: 90px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; ">Perhaps you have already decided that you should use a wiki, but are not sure how to go about it. Maybe you have a wiki but would like to encourage more people to use it. Or you would just like to learn more about the practical applications for this fast growing technology.</p><p style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; height: 18px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: block; ">Then this is the book for you.</p></span></b></div></span>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-20981705301049805892010-09-28T18:17:00.004-05:002010-09-28T18:22:55.867-05:00The Global Language - A Preview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://wf360.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452408569e2011571159aa1970b-400wi"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 329px; height: 250px;" src="http://wf360.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452408569e2011571159aa1970b-400wi" border="0" alt="" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps the greatest advantage offered by the Internet and the World Wide Web today is the fact that it is truly “world wide,” and opens up an unprecedented international marketplace for the delivery of goods and services. Small companies can now sell into marketplaces never dreamed of before, while large multinational companies can streamline their internal communications; and cross-border and cross-cultural cooperation has become a reality.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">However the global marketplace also raises a fundamental issue – that of global communications.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Global communication raises the idea of a common language that will easily be understood by all who use the information being delivered. It is still a common misconception that the dominant language on the web is English and is the de-facto language of business. This stems from the fact that the early days of internet growth was primarily from within the United States, but was quickly overtaken by other cultures, especially in Asia and the Pacific Rim.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">While English is still the most popular language on the web<a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8039616693561391290#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character:footnote">[1]</span></span></a> (only just – Chinese is close behind) it represents only 42% of all websites. On a global scale English is also in decline as a spoken language. The spoken language with the largest numbers of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>users is Chinese. As a written language it relies not on abstract symbols (letters), but on ideograms – pictorial representations of ideas. Perhaps this is where the answer to a global language lies. In pictures.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Scott McCloud, a leading theoretician on using graphics to communicate points out<a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8039616693561391290#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character:footnote">[2]</span></span></a> that “pictures are received information (they) need no formal education to ‘get the message.’ – The message is instantaneous. Writing is perceived, it takes time and specialized knowledge to decode the abstract symbols of language.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><b><br /></b></blockquote><blockquote><b>In the 21</b><sup><b>st</b></sup><b> Century it may be that visual iconography will finally help us realize a form of universal communication.</b></blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> ..... The above is the opening to an article on using graphics, symbols and icons in technical communications that I have just completed for the STC's INTERCOM magazine. - Look out for the full article in the December issue.</o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:footnote-list"> <br /><br /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"> <div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8039616693561391290#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote">[1]</span></span></a> http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm</p> </div> <div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a style="mso-footnote-id:ftn" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8039616693561391290#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote">[2]</span></span></a> McCloud, Scott – “Understanding Comics” – Kitchen Sink (1993)</p> </div> </div> <!--EndFragment-->Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-74574367104214518552010-09-20T16:20:00.002-05:002010-09-20T16:25:25.487-05:00New Book now available for Pre-Order<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;">My latest book <b>"WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun & Profit"</b> is written, edited, proofed, designed and off at the printers.<br /><br />It will officially be launched at the 2010 XML Conference in Philadelphia on October 13th. But you can <b><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/9780982219126/">NOW PRE-ORDER your copy at a discount from Barnes & Noble.com.</a></b><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohSSCANekphdTSA2k8iLIPctHHo8oNaKFes2unqj0DhMJviAKnA1BsaDqxOX5D2B75V0PSrVEzNdUBll-NTqeElnFjvQsi8EErsClJQFOPaOoVqcWsoumngVlcCCrq0BBWkxIJYtjFuKp/s1600/WIKIcvr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohSSCANekphdTSA2k8iLIPctHHo8oNaKFes2unqj0DhMJviAKnA1BsaDqxOX5D2B75V0PSrVEzNdUBll-NTqeElnFjvQsi8EErsClJQFOPaOoVqcWsoumngVlcCCrq0BBWkxIJYtjFuKp/s320/WIKIcvr.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519109024155241970" /></a></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><b>WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit</b> introduces the concept of wikis, and shows why they are becoming the must-have communications and collaboration technology for businesses of any size.<br /><br />The book will also include several case studies highlighting the ways that various companies are using wikis to solve differing business and communications issues, and the resulting benefits in terms of both efficiency and customer satisfaction.<br /><br />Looking for a way to increase team collaboration, manage your company’s knowledge? Do you need a way to manage projects with customers or suppliers outside your company firewall? Would you like your customers to provide feedback on the information you publish? Then a wiki might be just what you are looking for.<br /><br />Perhaps you have already decided that you should use a wiki, but are not sure how to go about it. Maybe you have a wiki but would like to encourage more people to use it. Or you would just like to learn more about the practical applications for this fast growing technology.<br /><br />Then this is the book for you.<br /><br />An early reader review has already described the book as <i>"Indispensable for people who want to get a wiki going."</i><br /><br />There is also a dedicated <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wiki-Grow-Your-Own-for-Fun-and-Profit/140826195961964">FaceBook page</a> for the book where you can sign on to get all the latest news and happenings, as well as discuss the ideas and techniques covered.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><br /></span></div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-41192960333112649212010-07-12T16:52:00.003-05:002010-07-12T16:57:09.478-05:00There's More to eBooks Than Words<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thecontentwrangler.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ibook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://thecontentwrangler.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ibook.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-size:14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote>“It’s all about the content.”</blockquote></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:130%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 15px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This simple, yet insightful, comment by leading publishing consultant, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Rockley" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(80, 105, 135); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ann Rockley</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, during a recent webinar on “Exactly What Not to do When Making the Move from Print Publishing to New Media,” (</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">made me think about the many discussions I’ve had, and the many articles I’ve read, about the so-called </span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background- color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">digital publishing revolution</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.<br /><br />I came to the realization that most of us are missing one vital component of this new opportunity. It seems that no matter how much we talk about the changes in process from print to eBooks, we still aren’t giving enough consideration to ways to add value to the content itself. Even when we create and repurpose content, using either traditional serial, or modern modular approaches, we are still, for the most part, delivering content that is not really taking advantage of the fact that the delivery platform (be it Kindle, iPad, or who knows what in the future) is digital.<br /><br /></span></span><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background- color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For all the talk, we are still mainly focused on delivering text.</span></span></strong></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 15px;font-size:small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:130%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 15px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background- color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><a href="http://thecontentwrangler.com/2010/07/12/there%E2%80%99s-more-to-ebooks-than-words/"> - Read the rest in my latest article for THE CONTENT WRANGLER web site - "There's More to eBooks Than Words."</a></b></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 15px;font-size:small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, 'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:130%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 15px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><br /></b></span><br /></span><br /></span></span></span></div>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039616693561391290.post-54605494154468675312010-07-10T16:47:00.004-05:002010-07-10T17:02:41.774-05:00Are you an "Awesome Dude"?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://technofied.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/buy-cheap-nokia-n900.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 336px;" src="http://technofied.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/buy-cheap-nokia-n900.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I just spotted this message posted by one of my nieces to her FaceBook account the other day:<p> </p><blockquote><b>[name] finally has picture messaging on her Nokia N900 thanks to an awesome dude and his step by step youtube video!!</b></blockquote><p></p><p>A seemingly simple message, but one that made me stop and think. I've written, and spoken a lot over the last year of so about the way that the digital generation access and assimilate information (<a href="http://lavacon.org/sessions/is-print-dead-digital-content-for-the-next-generation">a subject I'll be revisiting at this year's LavaCon</a>), and also held forth on my view that as Technical Communicators we should be embracing and working with new media.</p><p>Here is a perfect example of that convergence. Rather than use the manufacturers, instructions, or look for an answer on their web-site, or on-line help, my niece turned to the internet and the wider online community. </p><p>Her answer came not from Nokia, but from some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDQteG_4Njo">"awesome dude" on YouTube.</a></p><p><b>What are you doing to make sure that you as a technical communicator can be the next "awesome dude"?</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Alan J. Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095628136383536314noreply@blogger.com3