What will have the greatest impact on technical communication in the future?

What will have the greatest impact on technical communication in the future? Vista Help, DITA XML, single sourcing perhaps? More likely, it will be the application of Web 2.0 technologies to the task of supporting users – affecting both technical support and user documentation.

Given the nature of these things, we’re likely to see its adoption emerge from start-up software/Web companies rather than existing software houses. Indeed, it could come from Web 2.0 companies themselves. What will Web 2.0 add to user support? Better customer loyalty, certainly greater product differentiation for early adopters, possibly reduced support costs too. See What is Web 2.0?

So will your company be in front of this trend or behind? Will it lead like Google or play catch up like Microsoft? It will be interesting to see which organisations contact us.