When Andrea Ames asked me to be the guest editor of the Intercom issue on The Future of Technical Communication, my first reaction was, “Sure! Let me look into my crystal ball and give you my best guess!”
Instead, I compiled a list of industry experts who are on the cutting edge of content development and asked them where they thought technical communication as a field was headed, how we (as content professionals) can prepare for it, and what the opportunities are for us to expand our sphere of influence as the industry evolves.
In this issue, we’ll look at the future of tech comm and our role in the greater content development ecosystem.
First, Ari Hoffman, success fanatic at MindTouch, discusses the evolution of tech comm, how we evolve from just technical writing into the broader role of a Director of the Content Experience.
Cruce Saunders, Principal and Founder of [A], discusses how to prepare for the new multi-channel, multi-modal world of content development.
Seth Earley, CEO of Earley Information Science, addresses how artificial intelligence and chat bots will affect content delivery.
Oded Ilan, Chief Marketing Manager at Iridize, will delve into the world of analytics and personalized content: how personalized content opens the door to greater opportunities for technical communicators.
Finally, Annik Stahl, a content manager at Amazon.com, will address the opportunities and challenges of writing for a global audience.
As we move forward as a profession, we must constantly monitor SWOT (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats) and positon ourselves to seize advantages that open before us.
One of my favorite quotes is from the seagulls in the movie Finding Nemo, who when faced with a (feeding) opportunity yell, “Mine! Mine! Mine!Mine!Mine!”
Are you letting opportunities to make fundamental customer experience changes pass idly by, or are you seizing the opportunities and declaring “Mine! Mine! Mine!Mine!Mine!”?
— Jack Molisani
jack@lavacon.org
