Re: [BULK] Information 4.0 Is this a "thing"?

["Elisa R. Sawyer" <elisawyer -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I took a quick look at the Information 4.0 site and to me it looks like a
set ideas about automated documentation (these ideas fed the impetus that
led many people to adopt DITA) re-presented as if they are new and exciting.

Which isn't at all bad. Re-presenting old ideas as if they are new and
exciting is exactly what marketing does and is often what technology does.

And, attempting to set standards for devices connecting through IoT to
self-describe--something that it looks like participants in Information 4.0
want to do--is something that I think is worthwhile, but I doubt that I
will have time to get involved.

One of the big downsides of DITA has been the fracturing of information,
aptly described as Frankendoc. If you have a set of facts that are
important for understanding a complex technology, and you present those
facts as isolated ideas, it's unlikely that you are setting the stage for
meaningful learning to take place.

What people need when they are learning something is a path through the
information that helps them make connections. Hence that seemingly
old-fashioned, linear path through the information that a well-written,
tutorial-like document provides.

-E


On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 1:49 PM, John G <john -at- garisons -dot- com> wrote:

> After reading James Gleick's "The Information: A History, A Theory, A
> Flood" I think it's more like Information 43.2.4
>
> On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 2:39 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
> wrote:
>
> > The "traditional linear-document format" survives mostly as one of
> > many delivery formats of topic-based single-sourced docs.
> >
> > HTML5 is yet another delivery format. I think XHTML has already been
> > established as the standard HTML-flavor source format for authoring
> > tools.
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 7, 2017 at 11:25 AM, Wright, Lynne <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- kronos -dot- com>
> > wrote:
> > > From what i could tell by a quick skim of the consortium's home page,
> > what's pertinent to tech comm would be the concept of delivering
> > information in distinct little chunks (ie with DITA), rather than the
> > traditional linear-document format.
> > >
> > > So in that sense, I'd say that, yes, things seem to be headed in that
> > direction, with people switching to writing content in tools based on
> HTML5.
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy
> and
> > content development | http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as vwritert -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
> >
> > To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> > techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> >
> >
> > Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> > http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> > info.
> >
> > Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our
> online
> > magazine at http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
> > email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> >
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and
> content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as elisawyer -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>



-- 
Elisa Rood Sawyer
~~~~~^~~~~~
Technical and Creative Writer
"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." Mark Twain
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and content development | http://techwhirl.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives