The Future for Help Authors
    (or "How We'll Learn to Love the Web")

One of the most interesting statistics in our recently published WinWriters Help Author Salary Survey was the impact that Web skills had on salaries. At every experience level, those with Web experience earned an average of 14% higher salaries than those without. This equated to a sizeable $11,000-$15,000 salary advantage. But what is really meant by "Web" experience? The survey didn't explore whether this meant a basic understanding of HTML, or a deep understanding of the design of a Web site, or something else altogether.

While it might be interesting to research this in more depth, I'm not sure it's necessary. The survey data is simply the latest in a series of recent signs that the "technical" in "technical communicator" is increasingly related to the Internet. Microsoft's move to HTML-based Help systems over three years ago might have been the first signal. The purchase by AOL of Time Warner (the country's second largest cable operator) and the imprinting of the dot coms on the public consciousness are more recent indicators. It appears clear that as our personal and professional lives become more entwined with the Internet, web technologies will be the stock in trade for Help authors.

As the Web continues marching into the mainstream, our profession is poised to enjoy a rapidly expanding field of opportunities. For example, financial transactions for banking or stock trading used to require customers to interface with a teller or broker. Now we have sophisticated online applications that provide customers with individual control over those services. In the next several years, a similar transformation will occur in countless other facets of business. This vast pool of new online applications will require robust support information, and we technical communicators will be the ones to provide this support.

It is a common misconception that Web applications are somehow different than those stored on the desktop. On the contrary, software is software and within a very short time it will be transparent to the user as to where an application lives. Today's relatively weak Web applications will become just a footnote in the archives of computing history. Very soon, applications delivered on the Web will be just as powerful as the ones we load on our hard drives. As Web applications evolve in capability, so too will the user assistance designed to support them. While today a Web app might be supported by a single FAQ page, in the future there will be much tougher documentation challenges. Our typical mission is more likely to be developing context-sensitive Help for an eight-module accounting program that lives on an intranet server delivered to thousands of network PCs. Or building online documentation for a full-function digital video home editing suite piped to millions through broadband cable TV.

Regardless of the specific nature of the Web software we are supporting, simply possessing mainstream skills won't be enough. Knowing how to cook is great, but if you're working in a French restaurant you better be an expert with your sauces. Similarly, experience with basic Web technologies is an excellent foundation for technical writers, but understanding how the vast range of Web technologies can be best leveraged to provide effective software user assistance will be the key to success. Technologies such as DHTML, XML, CSS, voice recognition, and agents will provide us with raw building material, but our skills as technical communicators position us as the best resource for framing them into solutions that truly support the needs of our users.

I think it is a very exciting time to be in our profession. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.

WEB TECHNOLOGY TRACK

The WinWriters Online Help Conference is more relevant than ever as the "Online" in "Online Help" becomes more literal with the emergence of Web applications. Our upcoming March event features a track of fifteen sessions carefully selected to provide you with Web skills that are particularly valuable to technical writers. You can get all the details from the Session Info page. Select "Web Technology" under Interest Area to access descriptions and speaker bios for the following sessions:

• Building Intuit's QuickenMortgage.Com
• Creating Your Own Help API for Web Applications
• Cutting Edge Cascading Style Sheets
• Cutting Edge XML
• Dynamic HTML In Depth
• From Information Types to XML-based Publishing
• JavaScript for Help Developers
• Navigation and Competing Metaphors for Web Use
• Optimizing Graphics for HTML Help, Intranets, and the Web
• Optimizing Your HTML Output for Web-based Information
• Web Building Blocks
• Web Design Workshop
• Working with Cascading Style Sheets
• XML: What Do Authors Need to Know?
• ECommerce Customer Assistance