The Knowledge Revolution

Information OverloadMappers2011

Rob Hanna – STC Associate Fellow

ROB HANNAThe SingleSourceror

Future of Technical Communication

• History of Information Technology• Information is Currency• Convergence

HISTORY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Based on a True Story

Prehistory of IT

• Ancient Cave Drawings• Hieroglyphics• Stone Tablets• Scrolls

Words on a Page

• Codex• Gutenberg• Typewriter

Digital Age

• Electronic Publishing• Hypertext• Structured Authoring• Social Media

Future State

• Visual Language• Semantic Ontologies• The Human Cognome Project

INSPIRATION #1Johnny Mnemonic

INFORMATION IS CURRENCY

Business Will Drive Knowledge Innovation

The Value of Information

• Businesses fail to value information• Information will overwhelm business• Companies struggle to manage

content• Something has to give…

INSPIRATION #2

Saul Carliner and the Society for Technical Communication

Intellectual Capital

• Accounting Methods fall back on Brick and Mortar

• “Goodwill”• Value of

Information• DotCom Bubbles

What is Money Anyway?

• Medium of Exchange• Unit of Account• Store of Value

Convergence

• Intelligent Content• Darwin Information Typing• Information Mapping• STC Technical Communicator

Certification• Enterprise Content Management• Business Valuation• User Evolution