Technical Writere better become Video Editors
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Fettoosh Oct 03, 2015 2:08 PM EDT |
The electronic age is changing every thing, and documentations are no exception. Its no longer a matter of pen and paper or hard copy/electronic manuals. It's a matter of documenting interactions with computer/device applications via a screen using mouse clicks, screen touchs or swipes, and a little of pressing keys on a keyboard or soft key if needed. In my opinion, people are no longer much interested in reading manuals, not even electronic ones. People became very lazy and they prefer watching a video and listing to voice instructions instead. It is much more efficient method for them to learn something new. The old adage used to be "A picture is worth a thousand words", but today the new adage is "A video is worth a thousand pictures". |
| gus3 Oct 03, 2015 3:21 PM EDT |
Straight take: Very true, but the Khan Academy is accomplishing what Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich could only hope for forty years ago. And at a much lower cost, too, even without adjusting for inflation. Silly take: At 30FPS, a 33-second video is a thousand pictures. |
| cybertao Oct 03, 2015 5:57 PM EDT |
Screw that. The popularity of video is dragging society back to oral tradition. There are practical tasks that benefit from visual instruction. But being unsearchable, uncorrectable, and unorganised makes them impractical compared to text for everything else. Documents can often be complimented by images and video when it's relevant. |
| rnturn Oct 03, 2015 6:34 PM EDT |
@cybertao: Nailed it! |
| arm Oct 03, 2015 8:24 PM EDT |
I'm sick of searching for quick instructions on how to do something, and all you find is tutorials on youtube. I would rather scan a page of text quickly for the info I need than watch some clown jibber jabber for 5 minutes before he actually produces the information I require. |
| jdixon Oct 04, 2015 7:56 AM EDT |
> People became very lazy and they prefer watching a video and listing to voice instructions instead. I prefer text "because" I'm lazy. I can find the information I need in a written document a couple of minutes, versus the 15 minutes it takes to view the video and find it.. And the written document is a lot easier to transport to my work location so I can refer to it while I'm working. |
| notbob Oct 04, 2015 11:09 AM EDT |
> versus the 15 minutes it takes to view the video and find it.. Agree. I don't even like e-readers. I can turn a paper page much faster, find a lost page faster, reference the index faster, etc. OTOH, I must admit, my Nook gathers dust faster. ;) |
| mrider Oct 04, 2015 11:15 AM EDT |
IMO, both have their place. Sometimes a video is just the ticket when I just plain don't "get it". Most of the time, I have a fair amount of back knowledge of the subject at hand, but I just haven't encountered the one particular task. In that case, written is better. Also, (again IMO), written is better as general documentation. |
| notbob Oct 04, 2015 12:02 PM EDT |
> written is better as general documentation..... While I tend to agree, I also realize many ppl are left flummoxed by the written word. I was fortunate, as I learned to love reading at an early age and still love it. OTOH, I can see where many folks do not know how to read or just plain do not care to read. In other cases, it's not even a person's choice. I think my late brother was dyslexic, reading having been extremely difficult for him. It's no accident that most folks choose videos or GUI's. Although, it doesn't explain how so many kids can "txt" like a bandit, yet eschew the Linux CLI. 8| |
| gus3 Oct 04, 2015 3:21 PM EDT |
"General documentation [for a general audience]" assumes two things: 1. All the intended audience can Read The Friendly Manual. 2. The author(s) can write worth a d@mn regarding the product. Both assumptions push the boundaries of credulity. |
| cybertao Oct 04, 2015 4:37 PM EDT |
Here's an example, setting up a LAMP platform on Debian. A video (in 1080p) of someone's terminal window as they type in the commands. If you want one with more jabbering and mouse twiddling, a 16 minute video was my first hit in Google. I don't know if it's any good, I gave up shortly after the dubstep intro promoting 'cyberprogrammers'. vs. The Debian wiki article, which you can copy and paste from. A video is a good choice if I want to see how to do a practical task such as quartering a chicken or filleting fish. But it shouldn't be assumed to be a better format - a cr@p writer will probably make equally cr@p videos as they both require similar preproduction efforts to produce an informative result. |
| notbob Oct 04, 2015 5:26 PM EDT |
> Both assumptions push the boundaries of credulity. As a person who once had to write tech docs for both lay assemblers AND mfg engineers, I'd say "thing" number 1) is dependent on "thing" number 2). A good writer must know his audience and be prepared to write at their level. I couldn't very well write over-their-head engineering level docs to lay assemblers, nor would docs aimed at lay workers hold an engineer's attention for very long. All too often, the same document needed to suffice for both. Then there was the time I had to write to placate a test dept mgr. That was the most difficult. ;) |
| Fettoosh Oct 04, 2015 7:34 PM EDT |
Keyboard huggers have your way :), but the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of computer/device applications are GUI based. So Video-Audio documentations are most convenient & appropriate. Server applications and configurations are of a different bread. Even OS & software applications installation are now GUI based on most distributions. So try documenting GUI based applications using text and see how many will read them. There are many text help & online documentations, but not many people use them and consequently, that is why we find many questions asked & video tutorial on the Internet. There is no reason why text and video clips can't be combined to enable indexing & searching. Debian wikis can easily be link to video clips of how to. That would be ideal. And No, I don't consider Youtube documentations, they are tutorials made by users not professional technical writers/video editors. Of course they are of low quality and are not considered as good documentation. |
| notbob Oct 05, 2015 4:06 PM EDT |
> So Video-Audio documentations are most convenient & appropriate. Are they? While I agree, as a teaching tool, visual aids will always be a step up from plain dry text, I gotta wonder why text is now eschewed by the large corporations. Could it be because text is more costly to disseminate? Plus, it's hard to create a new technology to market to the masses if everyone is still using the old technology? It's not like today's kids are unwilling to "txt", so why not create a better text interface. I kinda liked Palm's Graffiti. It found it quicker than using a touchscreen keyboard. Also, it's easy to relocate and/or rename an old feature and call it "new" in the GUI-sphere. Windows has done this since forever, with M$ sheep falling for it jes as long. Text has been our primary recording media since the beginning of recorded history (discounting hieroglyphics). I'm not seeing less text in our great historical storehouses. In fact, have you listened to any audio books, lately? I have. Never again! Am I delivering this article to LXer via video clip, complete with accompanying audio and graphics? I rest my case. ;) |
| Fettoosh Oct 06, 2015 12:27 PM EDT |
Quoting:Could it be because text is more costly to disseminate? IBM used to make quite a bit of money from their volumes of text documentations, and may be they still do because text based documentation is preferred for their ecosystem. The truth is, as pointed out previously, both have their place. Other companies might have done their research & business analysis and determined video-audio is the way to go for mostly GUI based applications. Quoting:It's not like today's kids are unwilling to "txt", so why not create a better text interface I believe kids prefer "txting" because they believe no one can tell who they are “txting” let alone hear what they are saying. Besides, they use abbreviated coded short msgs. They are carrying conversations not documenting. Quoting:so why not create a better text interface Why text interface when there is better technology like voice actuated commands and gestures recognition? Quoting:In fact, have you listened to any audio books, lately? Not really but I watch lots of documentaries and how-to videos. Like laying bathroom tiles and building self watering containers, etc. Quoting:Am I delivering this article to LXer via video clip, complete with accompanying audio and graphics? I rest my case. ;) No, but you could have sent it as a voice msg if Lxer had the feature. And the text symbol “;)” you sent would have been more clear to me if it was graphical. Which I had to look up to see your Twinkle (Wink), without nose. :-) Try memorizing these http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.... And these http://www.internetslang.com/_3A3-meaning-definition.asp And more http://indyhiphop.com/63511/texting-what-the-heck-do-all-of-... Come on nobob, open up to the future. |
| notbob Oct 06, 2015 1:06 PM EDT |
> Come on nobob, open up to the future. You can't make me! ;) Hey, I'm no Luddite. It's jes a case of what am I gaining versus what am I losing. I'm constantly watching U2B for its guitar lessons, but a typed guitar tab is often woefully absent. Also, I've seen too many instructional vids that are painfully inadequate when it comes to viewing or re-viewing a particular section. All too often I hafta start from the beginning, again, whether I want to or not. Not usually a problem with text. As for opening up to the future, ever spend any time in a fast moving IRC chat room? I was reading/writing severely abbreviated words long before there were pocket cell phones and "txt"ing kids. no kdg Besides, why would anyone need a nose to signify a wink and a smile? ;) |
| CFWhitman Oct 06, 2015 3:48 PM EDT |
In my experience, video with audio is useful for going through a task, but cannot replace text with pictures as general documentation, even for a GUI based program. Ideally, you would have text with pictures and embedded video as documentation for a GUI application. However, I would rather have text with pictures and no video than just video. Text with no pictures or just video means not very good documentation. Basically video by itself is a tutorial with no reference material. Useful for a beginner, but unwieldy for anything else. |
| NoDough Oct 06, 2015 4:28 PM EDT |
I feel compelled to respond with this short video... 010101010101110101010000101010101010101010101010101011111010101010101010 101000110101001111100010101000001010110101010101010101010101010101010101 101010101010101010101010111110101010101010101010001101010011111000101010 101011101010100001010101010101010101000101010111110101010101010101010001 101010101010101010101010101011111010111010101010101000110101001111100010 010101011101010100001010101010101010101010101010110111010101010101010101 110101110100011010100111110001010100000101011010101010101010101010101011 ...and I believe that sums it up. |
| penguinist Oct 06, 2015 6:45 PM EDT |
notbob wrote:01010101010111010101000010101010... Some day I may view your short video but for now I will just give you a +1 for getting your point across. |
| mrider Oct 06, 2015 11:36 PM EDT |
Quoting:010101010101110101010000101010101010101010101010101011111010101010101010 101000110101001111100010101000001010110101010101010101010101010101010101 101010101010101010101010111110101010101010101010001101010011111000101010 101011101010100001010101010101010101000101010111110101010101010101010001 101010101010101010101010101011111010111010101010101000110101001111100010 010101011101010100001010101010101010101010101010110111010101010101010101 110101110100011010100111110001010100000101011010101010101010101010101011 Isn't that Bender's address? |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!