Appendix: A Special Note to Communicators

A special note for technical communication, communication, graphic design, and other communication-focused individuals, especially those targeting high-tech industries:

We must be adaptable by the very nature of our fields. Take a moment to think about what we do. We take ideas, often technical ideas, and somehow disseminate them to the appropriate audience. We might be creating help files, a training program, marketing materials, or some other form of communication. We might be usability testing or working on a user’s experience. Whatever job we might have, communication requires that we be comfortable with publication technologies and, often, technologies we document. These technologies often move quickly since communication technologies fall in and out of fashion. As for the technologies we document, technological innovation is moving exponentially at this point. Many high-tech communicators work on the bleeding edge of technological innovation. To keep up with these technological changes means we must be technologically adaptable.