RE: Bubble Your Pleasure, Bubble Your Fun

["Mark Baker" <mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com>]

Dick Margulis wrote

> I dunno, Mark. I think that Wal*Mart has really raised the bar
> quite a bit above the level you are describing.

I'm not describing a level. I am saying that the amount of documentation
people feel they need is conditioned by the social context of information.
For any given person holding any given object, the social context of
information is largely a function of two things: their own experience with
objects of this type, and the number of people in their social group with
experience with objects of this type. The stronger the social context of
information, the less the felt need for documentation.

And I am further saying that the social context of information about the
home/office products of the microprocessor is radically different today from
what it was in the 80's and 90's, and that as a consequence there is less
demand overall for home/office technical writers than there was.

Other factors contribute to the decline in demand as well.

* Most product categories have shaken out so there are fewer companies in
each space and less variety in the products they produce.

* Products in most categories are more mature and inherently easier to use
(apart from the ease of use you get from a strong social context of
information).

However, I believe that it is the maturing social context of information
that is the most significant development for technical writers, and the
factor that will determine where jobs come from in the future, as well as
the sort of skills that will be demanded of them.

---
Mark Baker
Senior Technical Writer
Stilo Corporation
1900 City Park Drive, Suite 504 , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1J 1A3
Phone: 613-745-4242, Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com
Web: http://www.stilo.com

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