5 Revolutionary Technologies Technical Communicators Can’t Afford To Ignore

#cmworld

The Technical Communication

Futurist

5Revolutionary TechnologiesTechnical CommunicatorsCan’t Afford To Ignore

aka Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler

Sunday, October 20, 13

@scottabel #AdobeDay @LavaCon

scott abel

@scottabel [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]



about mecontent strategistconference organizerfaculty at Berkeley iSchoolcolumnist EContent Magazinefrequent presenter at industry events







www.intelligentcontentconference.com


http://www.intelligentcontentconference.com



out this January from XML Press





before we starta caveat all of these topics deserve their own presentationthis is just the tip of the iceberg



the problemtechnical communicators are overwhelmedand unprepared



the problemmany of us treatthe world wide weblike the Ohio webor the American English web



that needs to change

we need to change



the problem

technologyis acceleratingfaster than we are



the problem

new devices and new marketsand new demands



the problemoutdated notionsof success



the solutionnew approaches new responsibilitiesnew roles and new tools



the solution

precisionfueled by math and science


#cmworld


Futurist





what is

technology?



technology is the purposefulapplication of scientificknowledge in the design, production,and utilization of goods and services



what technologiescan we not afford to ignore ?

I’ll provide a basic overview of each and some key points for pondering



#1automatedtranslation



akamachinetranslation



some know it asgoogle translate



but it’s much more

than thatSunday, October 20, 13


what is

automatedtranslation

?



automated translation isa process that usessoftware to translatecontent from onelanguage to another


#cmworld

why?do we need to know thisSunday, October 20, 13


the world wide web[not the American English web]is the land of opportunity



in a global marketreaching customerspreviously viewed asout of scope is the goal



96%of the consumers on Earthdo not live in the US

Source: US Small Business Administration



but they allspeak English, right ?



wrong!Sunday, October 20, 13


less than 6%of the world’s populationspeak English well enough

Source: Nationalencyklopedin

to understand your proseand techcomm mumbo-jumbo



many people whounderstand spoken Englishcannot read English

Source: Wikipedia

in fact, many cannot read at all



human translationcan be time-consuming and

expensivemany languages aren’t supported due to lack of resources



there are over 6,000languages spokenby the people of Earth

Source: Ethnologue

especially when you consider that


#cmworld

how?do we get startedSunday, October 20, 13


for both humansand machinesrecognize that today you write

our content must be both human- and machine-processable to have maximum ROI



first for machinesthen for humans

recognize that today you write

if content is not findable (by machine) or accessible (by machine) it doesn’t exist



is destined for humans

but machines are

of course the content you create

gatekeepers to success



were developed long before technology

recognize that writing rules

made instant globalcommunication possible





you learned in grade schoolLanguage Arts classes

recognize that writing rules

are no longer sufficientfor a world in whichLanguage Science is needed



the vantage point of arules processing engine

examine your content from

and ensure it is optimizedfor machine translationsome do this today by making content conform to XML specifications



#2

automatedtranscription



automatedtranscriptionwhat is

?



automated transcription isa process that usessoftware to translatespeech to text


#cmworld



for many of the samereasons automated translationis needed AND the fact that videocontent is not keyword searchablewithout a transcription



the content locked insideof video is hidden from view• CRM• integration• personalize




#cmworld



use one of severalsoftware providersto create transcriptionsfor your videos and post themalong with your videos

check out: koemei.com



transcription filescan also be translatedand the translations usedas sub-titles in other languages



#3terminologymanagement



terminologymanagementwhat is

?



terminology managementis the process of controllingthe words you use by organizingthem in a central repositorythat contains a list of approvedterms and rules for their usage



the goal of terminologymanagement is to ensure thatthe words that are mostclosely associated with yourproducts, services, and brandingare used consistently



terminology managementefforts result in a controlledvocabulary that is madeaccessible to all who need itacross your organizationas well as partners and service providers


#cmworld



terminology managementhelps ensure consistencythroughout your content assetsin both your sourceand you translated content



terminology managementcan help ensure legal and regulatory compliance, brandconsistency, enhanced content quality


#cmworld



seek guidance from aglobal content strategistto help you craft a terminology management strategy

and look for opportunitiesto standardize your content creation processes



adopt a terminologymanagement system

check out: acrolinx.com



#4

adaptivecontent



adaptivecontentwhat is

?Sunday, October 20, 13


adaptive content iscontent that is structuredand designed adapt tothe needs of your customer



adaptive content changesnot just cosmetically,but also in substanceand in capability



adaptive content also adaptsto the capabilities of thedevice it is viewed on

if a GPS is available on a handheld device, the content will be ableto take advantage of “location aware” features of the device

automatically, on-demand



for example, an instructionlike ‘click’ on a laptopwould be automaticallyadapted to ‘touch’ on asmartphone and ‘say’ inan automobile GPS


#cmworld



customers demandexceptional experiences;their expectations have changedand they expect you tochange and adapt to their needs



responsive designis insufficient



responsive designersare the new webmasters(and we all know what happened to them)



adaptive contentmakes it possible for you topublish to multiple-platformsand to multiple-devices̶ often, automatically



adaptive contentis consistently structured,providing a predictablecustomer experience



adaptive contentis content separated fromformatting information;allowing authors to focuson what they do best



adaptive contentmakes your contentfindable and reusableby others who need it


#cmworld



adaptive contentinvolves rethinkinghow you create, manageand deliver content; it’s bestto seek advice from an experienced pro



there is no EASY button;moving to adaptivecontent involves work,but the pay-off (ROI) canoften be realized in months, not years



#5componentcontent management



componentcontent management

what is

?



component content managementis the creation, administration, organization and governanceof small, discrete, re-usablecomponents of contentxml structured content is key



component content managementfocuses on the storing ofcontent components thatare used to assemble documents

component content management systems are designed for this purpose



components of contentcome in various sizes andtypes and can be as smallas a single word or as large asmany paragraphs

they can be recombined/remixed to create new deliverables



components of contentcan take the form ofgraphics, hyperlinks orother repurposable content

your company logo, product description, value proposition, benefits



component content managementis about managing contentnot about managing files

content versus filesSunday, October 20, 13


contentdate(s)time(s)topic(s)/title(s)description(s)keywordspresenter name(s)presenter bio(s)sponsor name(s)sponsorship level(s)directionsprice(s)link

filesemail inviteprinted inviteregistration micrositeprinted programat-event signagevoicemail scripttelephone scriptadvertisingcontracttweet/updateblog postmobile app



contentdate(s)time(s)topic(s)/title(s)description(s)keywordspresenter name(s)presenter bio(s)sponsor name(s)sponsorship level(s)directionsprice(s)link

usagesamesamesamesamesamen/an/asamevaries (gold, silver, bronze)varies (deliveries)varies (gold, silver, bronze)same


#cmworld



structured contentcombined with CCMSsupports personalizedcontent and targeted marketing,increasing response rates



structured contentcombined with CCMSputs you in control ofyour content and can help yousave BIG $ on translation



because not all prospectsor customersare the same



you need componentcontent managementif you need to...



provide different typesof content to differenttypes of prospects and customers



re-use content acrossdocuments withoutcopying and pastingthe copy>paste reuse method is the most costly and error-prone



ensure content isconsistent across alltouch points, channels, and devices

single-sourcing: write it once, use it often is a best practice



translate contentonce and have itautomatically reflectedwherever it is reusedtranslation savings alone can often provide return on investment



publish to multipleoutput formatswithout the need formanual interventionformatting content for multi-channel output occurs automatically



involve a variety ofpeople in the creation,management and deliveryof content to those who need itcomponent content management systems are designed for this task


#cmworld



seek guidance from acontent strategistwho understands both content and technology



implement a componentmanagement system

check out: astoriasoftware.com



wait, there’smuch more!



wirelesselectricity

look out for...



flexiblesurfaces

look out for...



wearablecomputing

look out for...



augmentedrealitylook out for...



finalthoughts



we need content craftspeople,content designers and to mature as a discipline

content engineers to help us shape, refineand grow digital content



compelling contentexperiences, we’ll have

in order to create

to leverage bothcontent AND code



start thinking morelike engineers and less

and, we’ll have to

like writers and editors



scott abel

@scottabel [email protected]




#cmworld


Futurist




Technology

5 Revolutionary Technologies Technical Communicators Can’t Afford To Ignore