Skip to main content
February 1, 2011

Contemplating the tablet in tech comm

Ebooks and tablets are helping people read more than they did before: in a recent survey, 66 percent of portable device owners said they were reading more.

That statistic should prompt all technical communicators to think about if—and how—ebooks and other tablet-compatible formats (including apps) fit into their content delivery.

Why are people reading more with tablets and portable devices? Survey says…convenience (80 percent) and ease of buying content (66 percent). Technical communicators usually don’t sell their content separately from the product. However, when 66 percent of device users say they like the easy access to content, your solution for delivering information to tablets should mirror what readers experience when purchasing ebooks or apps.

iPad

flickr: anitakhart

We’ve had “Audience, audience, audience!” beaten into our heads (and rightfully so) when it comes to creating content. The same is still true when it comes to delivering that content. If people are reading more because of ebooks and tablets, we need to be sure our content is taking advantage of that trend.

Have you thought about how ebooks, apps, and other tablet-compatible formats fit in with your information delivery? Leave a comment about your plans for tech comm via tablets.