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Writing for the Internet of Things
Paweł KowalukUA Conference 2016
Paweł Kowaluk
Contact me:[email protected]
tech comms since 20083di Polandsoap! technical communicationtechwriter.plITCQFISTC
WHAT IS
INTERNET OF THINGS?
BASICALLY
INTERNET OF THINGS
IS A BUNCH OF THINGSON THE
INTERNETLIKE, DEVICES AND SUCH…
FOLLOW ALONG, I’LL EXPLAIN WITH EXAMPLES
http://thecontentwrangler.com/2016/03/24/home-automation-start/
HOME AUTOMATION
See the things listed?
Home automation has a chance of becoming popular if people are given the opportunity to innovate, and nothing helps
innovation like standards: they allow newcomers to contribute more easily. Read more on The Content Wrangler.You control them from your smartphone
https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/top-startups-iiot/
All of these fields touch upon IoT somehow
HELP ORGANISE LIFE
IoT solutions are a great way to make our high-tech lives even better organised. Some examples in the city could be:• Smart bus stops that tell your app what buses are
coming, notify you about delays, or let you look up where a given one is right now
• Smart parking lots announce to everyone how many open spots they have, so you can plan your errands around them
• Smart crowd control systems can warn you about busy areas or perhaps even danger
BOOST RETAIL
Imagine walking into a shoe store and your phone vibrating gently to guide to the thing you’re looking for – it’s there, the room on the left, third aisle. Alternatively, it could take you to where you’re friends are sitting at the restaurant (level two in the corner).
Your phone could also pick up on deals in the area.
Then there is augmented reality – point your phone at a product to see price, specs, and more.
REJUVENATE SETUPS
Even very old machines can get an IoT component between them and the power grid and be turned on/off from your smartphone. A whole shop with old timey hydraulic presses could send info to your central server, so you instantly know when one of them breaks down.
Alternatively, they could just let you know that they called a repair man, and all you need to worry about is the bill.
USE EXISTING HARDWARE
No need for fancy gadgets – most IoT devices can be designed so they interact with even the crudest of electronics. Or things which are not electornics at all, like clothing or your internal organs.
The idea is to add a layer of control on top of them.
INTEGRATE SEAMLESSLY
So the future with IoT is likely to be less glass and chrome and more organic, with stylish items that hark back to the Golden Age, but still have the intelligence worthy of the Information Age.
Intelligence in your leather bag, your shoes, your record player, and your light switch.
INTERNET OF THINGS
Online
Context-aware
Invisible
To summarise what we saw up to now, IoT items need to follow these three rules.
But this presentation is about writing for the Internet of Things, so let’s get to it.
IoT
CONTENT
http://estimote.com/
Here’s an example
Estimote sell beacons, tiny devices that broadcast one message: Hello, here I am.
The Estimote website is an example of writing for IoT which blends technical content with marketing copy. It opens with a video presentation that plays in the background, and gives you the option to watch a couple more videos to get a feel for the product.
http://estimote.com/
The next thing you see are three simple paragraphs which explain the context of the product. Likely written by someone between a technical writer and a copywriter.
http://estimote.com/
Next, a technical explanation. This is the type of things technical writers are usually pretty good at.
http://estimote.com/
Next: a code sample, for people like me who love to imagine a thing in action.
http://estimote.com/
And then a piece of animation which gives you a particular use scenario. It is really simple, but uses some of those storytelling principles that are popular while I’m making these slides. (If you are reading this in the future, greetings from the past. I hope you guys are using your jetpacks wisely!)
http://estimote.com/
This part is your typical information directory – it gives you three knowledge path to explore depending on your interest.
A fine piece of technical writing.
http://estimote.com/
Then, there’s the community portal. You should try that with your product. A community portal empowers the users to do the job of documenting for you.
Well, you should still curate the content.
http://estimote.com/
And here’s an example of your typical help topic – the lowest layer of the Estimote information cake. This is what technical writers love creating the most.
http://estimote.com/
And each help topic gives you option to interact with the author, even if it is just by clicking that thumbs up or thumbs down.
IS EVERYONE ONLINE?
Okay, that was the example from Estimote. Based on that, I would like to build a hypothetical knowledge system and show you my train of thought.
But before we delve into that, let’s ask this fundamental question about our audience
I mean, think about it. The thing itself communicates wirelessly, but that does not mean your user can go online to read about it.
IoT CONTENT
Right format
Blend marketing and technical
Context-awareSo to summarise this section briefly, we should expect the following three things from IoT content.
And when I talk about right format, I also mean the question about being online – sometimes a book might be better than a website.
HOW TO WRITE
for IoT
SEPARTE CONENT FROM PRESENTATION
Everyone has been saying this since the beginning of the Internet and it holds true especially for IoT. Not only do you have to support people reading it on a big screen, a small one, a tiny one, and from a book.
You also have to consider that you don’t know where else the content will be used:• Will machines need to read it?• Will it be read aloud by a text-to-speech thing?• Will it go onto a retina display, a smart wall, or
smell-o-vision?
https://karenmcgrane.com/2014/10/15/content-in-a-zombie-apocalypse/
A good example comes from Karen MacGrane’s iconic talk. She says the folks who maintain TV Guide were able to reuse show descriptions written in the old days to display on smartphones and TVs. All because they separated content from presentation.
Let’s now shift focus to my hypothetical scenario of a smart lock. Let’s call the product SmartLock for example.
The device recognizes your smartphone as you approach the door and unlocks it for you. It also locks it behind you when you leave.
Why not get yourself a SmartLock?
How does it work?
Customer-ready solutions
You Begin your SmarLock journey on the website where you want to learn as much as you can.
Copy writing blends with technical writing to give you a good introduction to the subject.
clearly copy
some technical writing, but nothing hard core
a bit more copy, for good measure
SMARTLOCK HELP CENTRE
Setting Up
Installation Prerequisites
After you’ve bought your lock, someone has to install it. They can read about it on the website…
SMARTLOCK HELP CENTRE
Setting Up
Installation Prerequisites
If they’re on the go, they might prefer the smartphone.
SMARTLOCK INSTRUCTIONS
Setting Up
Installation Prerequisites
Or if they’re not online at the time, they will want a book.
Okay, so you’ve been using your SmartLock for a while now and it’s fine.
Next, you’re planning a holiday in Spain (for readers in Spain, the holiday is somewhere else).
You’re psyched and ready to go. You even have the holiday set in your online calendar…
SMARTLOCK ADMIN
Share your key with a friend
And now you know why SmartLock wanted access to your calendar. It pops up a useful topic about sharing a temporary key with a friend so they can water your plants.
The SmartLock online help that we’re building will have to be aware of events and react to them.
IMPLEMENT INTELLIGENCE
WHO should see it?
WHEN is it important?
WHAT should this content be
attached to?
Share your key with a friend
Share your key with a friendSHORT INTRO:BODY:EXAMPLE:
type: conceptcontext: absence.Before
Creating temporary keys1234NOTE:5
type: proceduretutorial: true
You make it happen through • metada on your content • and intelligence in your content
management system.
Tip: Use computer magic to achieve it.
OUTPUT
Use a system where knowledge is compiled from components on the fly.
HOW TO WRITE
Separate content
Think user scenarios
Implement intelligence
So, to summarise this section – there are three principles you need to follow when writing for IoT.
By the way, it’s always three, isn’t it. This Universe of ours is a mysterious place…
IoT
WRITING TEAM
THINK LIKE A USER
THINK LIKE A MARKETER
WRITERYour first team member is the
…who needs to wear two hats:
What are the common problems and how do I solve them? What do I do to sell more units?
MANAGE CONTENT
IMPLEMENT INTELLIGENCE
TECHNICIANNext is your code guru, your computer magician. Who are they? Someone called a…
…who needs to think about the following:
Assemble help topics on the fly and present them in the right format.
Make sure content reacts to events, places, people, and who knows what else.
MAKE YOUR TEAM WORK TOGETHER
MANAGERFinally, if you are the
…focus all your skills to
They need to set aside their squabbles and inter-professional feuds. Unlike storing grain, writing for IoT does not work in silos.
TEAM
Be user-oriented
Don’t fear high tech
There is no I
So, to summarise the team portion, we have three lessons to take away.
Three. Again. I wonder.
WHAT IS IoT
TYPES OF IoT CONTENT
HOW TO WRITE FOR IoT
YOUR IoT TEAM
If you followed the slides, you should now know:
That’s it from me. Just make sure you check out these… three… things.
Contact me:[email protected]
