Adobe Day at the 2013 STC Summit was really great. It took me a while to digest all my own notes and relive the moments promoting the rock stars of tech comm. But like all good music festivals, the “Coachella” of tech comm had to end, but with great memories of fantastic information that will stay with me for a long time. Hopefully you enjoyed this “magical mystery tour” as well!
There were several people from Adobe that were truly instrumental in making this event a success, but I have to “give it up” for the two Masters of Ceremony of the event, Saibal Bhatacharjee and Maxwell Hoffmann.
Saibal Bhattacharjee
Maxwell Hoffmann
So many people know them from the Adobe TCS webinars, blogs, and other social media outlets. I know they’ve been two of my greatest supporters, so I want to thank them for inviting me to the event, and as always, making me feel welcome both during Adobe Day, as well as during the STC Summit.
If you missed my series for this Adobe Day event, here’s a recap, so you can relive the day yourself:
I hope you’ve enjoyed all the articles. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below!
The next time there is an Adobe Day near you, or if you have the opportunity to go to one, I strongly encourage you to go! I’ve now been to two of them, and both were different. It’s amazing to see how perspectives change on the “hot” issues of tech comm in a mere few months! I was glad to hear from leading experts on the pressing topics of the day. And I have to say, I’ve learned so much from both visits. I can honestly say, as well, that both provided information that were applicable to my job, even as a new technical communicator. Keeping up with current trends in technical communication is important, because technology is changing fast, and technical communicators need to keep up with not only the technology itself, but the needs that new technology presents. Adobe does a nice job of bringing the best thought leadership from around the globe to talk about these issues for free. How can you pass that up?
Thanks again, Adobe, for an amazing opportunity to attend this free event!
“Excuse me, Dr. Corfield, I’m tweeting this event for Adobe today. Would you happen to have a Twitter handle?”
With the apology that he hadn’t one, but that he did have a Facebook page, I had started a too-short yet lovely pre-event chat with Dr. Charles Corfield, the keynote speaker for the 2013 STC Summit’s Adobe Day. In my mind, being the inventor of Adobe Framemaker would easily qualify the tech comm pioneer for the Tech Comm Hall of Fame (if there was such a thing). For me, talking to Dr. Corfield was like talking to the Paul McCartney of tech comm (and that’s super high praise coming from a Macca fan like me!). Just as McCartney is unequivocally deemed as one of the early pioneers who revolutionized how we listen to rock music today, Corfield helped to revolutionize tech comm with his creation of Framemaker, and in the process, created what we know as a software standard for technical communication that still holds up today. I loved listening to Dr. Corfield’s soft-spoken, British accent as he chatted with me briefly about social media and about some of the things he was going to be talking about in his presentation. I was truly having a fangirl moment, and hopefully I kept my cool during the conversation. Awesome!
Dr. Charles Corfield The “Father” of Framemaker
Dr. Corfield started his talk by presenting us with a history of how Framemaker came about. He explained that before Framemaker, computing was still fairly archaic, but workstation computers were starting to become more powerful. As a graduate student at Columbia, he was looking to create software that could take things a step beyond word processing, namely make software that could also create unified pagination and page layouts. Framemaker allowed page layouts and paginatable text to work in a symmetrical flow. The software targeted long documents and other paper output done by humans.
Dr. Corfield pointed out that the first content management problems started to occur as a result, and those issues included the need for internal references, such as footnotes, indexes, cross references, and markers. The power of Framemaker’s ability to create indices to update long documentation was–and still is–more powerful than Microsoft Word even today. He also added the ability to refer to external factors like external references and hypertext.
Framemaker created the ability to manage variants of a single document, leading to what we now think of as single source publishing. Variants would be such objects as variables, conditional text, frozen pagination and change-pages. This yielded a new dilemma. As Corfield posed it, do you send out fully changed documentation or only the pages that were changed, especially with super large documents? The problem would be that with big documents, people would say, “Well, what changed?” Corfield pointed out the Boeing 777 project in 1990s needed IMMENSE documentation, so they needed to use retrievable databases. The Boeing 777 project solution was to use SGML (the predecessor of HTML and XML). This project made it the first “web” delivery of documentation. The Boeing 777 project used Framemaker with SGML, using HTML, XML, DITA as well as “structure.” Framemaker provided a server-based generation of documentation.
Shifting his talk a bit, Dr. Corfield started to talk about Framemaker’s impact today. He pointed out that the original retina display was actually paper! Sophisticated layouts had to be used to maximize the user-experience. The computer came along later to expand on that concept. Displays started out with 72 dpi (dots per inch) displays, which led to crude layouts. Now, retina display is available at 300 dpi, but we need to re-learn what we did on paper yet also include dynamic content from high resolution video and images. Corfield pointed out that there has been a proliferation of platforms. We have desktop, laptops, smartphones, and tablets that use different platforms such as Unix, DOS, and MacOS (for PC and Mac products respectively) that need different outputs. Technical writing, therefore, is directly impacted by all the different displays and platforms in relation to document authoring. It is a requirement to produce structure and rich layouts for the output. Documentation needs to be able to support dynamic content (video, animation, etc.) and it needs to manage content for consumption on multiple platforms. The good news is that Framemaker can do all that! While there are other tools out there that can also deliver different kinds of output, many still struggle to manage and deliver to these needs the same way that Framemaker can now. Dr. Corfield is not part of Adobe anymore, nor is he part of today’s Framemaker product, but he seems happy with where the product has gone since he left it in Adobe’s hands.
(I should note, that while this was a talk sponsored by Adobe, this really wasn’t intended to be a big info-mercial for Framemaker, but rather something that puts the concept of tech comm software into perspective, and it happens to be the product of the sponsor.)
So, where does this tech comm legend think technology is going next? Corfield thinks that going forward, voice is going to have the biggest impact. He felt that screen real estate is full, and that much of the visual is about adding a new widget, then removing a widget. Voice, he continued, eliminates how keyboard shortcuts are remembered. How many keyboard shortcuts does the average user know? Touch screens are a slow way to perform data entry. The impact of voice will be the ability to use visual tips, and have voice act as a virtual keyboard. Voice will be impacting product documentation, allowing it to understand how existing workflows can be modified. Corfield’s prediction is that Framemaker, along with other software out on the market, will “assimilate” voice, just like everything else.
Since leaving Framemaker, Corfield has been working with a product called SayIt, using voice as part of workflow optimization, and emphasized that voice truly is the next big thing (you heard it here, folks!). When asked about the use of voice technology in practical office use, Corfield responded that push-to-talk technology helps prevent cross-talk in an office environment. He also pointed out that with voice, there are no ergonomic issues as there are with carpel tunnel syndrome using a mouse and keyboard. If anything, voice will be more helpful!
On that note, the presentation was over. The long and winding road had ended, but has lead to new doors to be opened. 😉
I really enjoyed listening to the history and the thought process behind Framemaker that Dr. Corfield presented. Everything he mentioned made total sense, and it’s to his credit that he had the foresight to think about the next steps in word processing to create a useful tool like Framemaker to help technical writers meet the needs of documentation in the digital age.
There is a certain aura around creative, imaginative and smart people who make huge differences in our lives, whether it’s in music like McCartney, or tech comm software like Corfield. You can’t help but be awed in their presence, and yet understand that they are generally humble people. When you have a chance to meet an individual like that, you want the opportunity to capture the moment–like have a picture of yourself and that person to prove that it happened. I was much too shy to ask Dr. Corfield for a photo with me to be honest. I felt awkward asking, so I didn’t. Heck, I felt awkward asking about his potential Twitter name! Even so, I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet him and hear him speak. He’s got my vote as a candidate for the Tech Comm Hall of Fame someday.
(And, Dr. Corfield, if you do ever read this, please feel free to correct anything written here or add any clarification or other commentary below!)
To continue with the tech comm rock star theme set forth by Adobe for Adobe Day, I thought carefully about who might represent Rahel Anne Bailie, whose talk was titled, “Content Strategy in a Content Economy– Is Your Content Prepared?” It took me a little while, but it finally came to me. Rahel is the Alanis Morrisette of tech comm. Both ladies are Canadian, and they both have a no-nonsense approach to their craft. Alanis Morrisette became famous with her breakout album, “Jagged Little Pill” not only because the music was good, but she broke her ideas down simply and didn’t mince words. Morrisette looked at the good, the bad, and the ugly, and worked on making sense of what was going on around her.
Rahel Anne Bailie The Alanis Morrisette of Tech Comm
Rahel does the same thing for content strategy. She breaks it down to a level to ensure that anyone who even begins to think about content understands what content is, and how it should be utilized at the most basic level. She tells it like it is, and why we need to employ it.
Rahel began her Adobe Day talk by talking about economic evolution. She started by pointing out that our economies have progressed from an agricultural economy, to an industrial economy, which in turn progressed to a service economy, then evolved to a knowledge-based economy, to an information economy, then to an attention economy, which has resulted in what we have today–a content economy.
Content includes the sub-sets of content that are location-based content and verified content. Location-based content includes geo-locational and geo-fenced information like Yelp, or information that is blocked from outside countries. Verified content deals with endorsed and social relevance; it has the user questioning, “How do I know that the content is true?” Facebook or TripAdvisor “likes” are an example of this. Cultural relevance applies to this as well. Topics such as Canadian versus American, demographics, and interests act as filters.
Rahel stressed that content has value! It’s recognized as a business asset and it deserves to be managed with as much care as other assets. The problem is that we don’t inventory content in most cases–it’s not like managing our finances or physical inventory at a plant. This means that this is a big necessity! In order for this to happen, content has to work well. Like design, it’s only noticed when there’s a problem with it.
Rahel shifted the conversation to explaining how sub-sets relate to content. She explained that new user experiences these days include smaller screens as the first entry point to content, such as m-commerce and m-banking. Tablets are also being used as entertainment devices. We also have to content with multi-screen and multi-dimensional content, which are viewed as
ancillary, such as television plus social media,
sequential, where users use a desktop and mobile device interchangeably, or
simultaneous, in which there is a collaboration requiring instant synchronization between devices.
One also has to think about market maturity, and must look at market differences, social network penetration, the mobile market and growth opportunities. Cross market content involves a single language for many markets. By offering native languages in other markets, cross-border commerce incurs content needs as well.
Using language to meet adaptive needs makes a difference! How do we meet this head-on? Rahel suggests a repeatable system that governs the management of content throughout the entire life cycle creates content strategy. The life cycle consists of continually analyzing content, collecting content, publishing content, and managing content. Rahel reminded us that a tactic is not a strategy, but rather a strategy is the analysis and the prescription. Content touch points occur throughout a customer’s journey, and can include multiple variables and outputs, but also need to include localization.
In a content economy, we need ALL the right factors at the right time using right media. We need to work towards an integrated content strategy.
As this is a topic that can go even deeper, Rahel recommended her book, http://TheContentStrategyBook.com , which talks more at length about content strategy.
As most of my own current work revolves around content strategy these days, I was really happy to listen to Rahel talk about the benefits and necessity of content strategy. It’s something that I try to explain and promote at my own job, because so much of it really involves analyzing and pre-planning the usefulness and necessity of content. Rahel’s talk brought that concept home to me even more, and helped me validate what I’ve been telling others. She reminded me that it doesn’t matter what the medium is–print, web, or some other digital means–but content needs to be clear, concise, and cogent, as my favorite professor used to tell me (who was also, coincidentally, Canadian). Rahel’s talk definitely set a positive tone on content strategy and its place in technical communications. I was glad that Adobe made sure to include her in Adobe Day, because content strategy isn’t going anywhere right now–it’s more important than ever!
Rahel, if I’ve misquoted you, or something that I wrote needs further clarification, or if you’d like to add anything to these notes, please feel free to let me (and the readers) know in the comments below!
Adobe Day at the 2013 STC Summit was really great. It took me a while to digest all my own notes and relive the moments promoting the rock stars of tech comm. But like all good music festivals, the “Coachella” of tech comm had to end, but with great memories of fantastic information that will stay with me for a long time. Hopefully you enjoyed this “magical mystery tour” as well!
TechCommGeekMom 
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