the coming thing . . . thoughts?

["Brierley, Sean" <Sean -at- Quodata -dot- Com>]

Hallo:

Please bear with me. I'm in a rut.

I have my documents planned through Winter 2000, including the transition
this year to include online help and next year to context sensitivity. Part
of this effort, which will also be ongoing, is moving to PDF online books
for the reason that they are easier to ship and much easier to update than
paper-based docs. Don't get me wrong, my plan includes shipping printed
books with initial orders and, for the short term, updates to printed docs
as they become available. In addition, tools planned into 2001 . . ..

So, what's the coming thing and where do I go to learn about it?

Please excuse me, I've been at this job for one year and my head has been
firmly stuck, and will remain so for the short term, in getting work done,
books out, help online, and so forth. However, I need to investigate coming
trends in help, specifically for the software industry, and trends not only
in online documentation but find out how to improve and provide online
tutorials . . .. I need to gather information and start planning three or so
years out, minimum, rather than the fire fighting I've been doing so far and
that will continue through April 2000. In addition to new directions for the
industry, I need to start thinking about any associated tools, skills, and
predicting personnel needs . . ..

So, as technical writers, where is the industry headed? What new
technologies are we chasing? Where can I go to find out?

I checked into the STC site, but the annual conference in May 2000 is still
not posted. That's a tad disappointing, since I need to plan for that *now*,
if I want to attend . . .. What resources do y'all suggest I look into?

Thanks. I apologize if this seems a tad disjointed . . . I have had a
particularly trying week . . .<g>.

Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com