“Resource Reviews” has been a column in the STC Rochester Proof Sheet newsletter, and it’s back now as a regular blog post starting with the summer issue. The goal is to capture highlights of developments and trends in technical communication, so we’ll start with summaries of trends predicted for 2018.
A December, 2017, Cherryleaf podcast covered “Trends in Technical Communication in 2018 and beyond.” These include “every page is page one”–the page found by a web search is the starting point for the reader. Blockchain is predicted to be used in content and documentation workflows. Use of artificial intelligence and chatbox technology will expand and services will develop to apply content to platforms which generate machine learning.
In “What technical writing trends will we see in 2018?“, Tom Johnson anticipates trends including an expanded role as generalists for technical writers working across functions in their organizations, and an increased role for technical writers in simplifying complexity. Increased collaboration between practitioners and academia is another prediction.
“Questions from the old year, questions for the new” has reflections by Larry Kunz on augmented reality in technical communication and end-to-end content management systems.
Follow these links to learn more about the predictions. The Rochester Chapter welcomes input for “Resource Reviews.” Send ideas to the editor.