IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW MEDIA

IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW MEDIA

As technical communicators our core skill of taking complex technical information and presenting it in a format comprehensible to the end user has not changed over time. What has changed is the increasing variety of media on which to present the information. Our challenge is to keep pace with these changing media.

Whether we are part of a large corporation or a personal service company, the need to be aware of both the advantages and, equally importantly, the disadvantages of new media should be of great importance to us. It is in all our interests to increase the recognition of our industry by continually improving the way we deliver our information to our end users.

Once you have decided that a particular new media is the right one for your company then you should be committed to implementing it. Some media may need a long time to implement, meaning that during the implementation stage another new media may appear on the market that can do the job equally as well or better. When you make your choice ensure that you have reviewed it fully and go with it. If we all waited for that next new media ‘just around the corner’ then we would never change, and remember change is an integral part of our business function and means we stay competitive.

To implement new media efficiently you need to define a plan of action that addresses responsibilities and rollout timescales for the new media to be in place. Training requirements defined in the review should be carefully planned to ensure that staff are able to work with the new media effectively. Do not forget any training requirements for your end users.

The challenges of new media are rooted in the availability of time to review and implement them. Many people see it as a burdensome task fraught with unknowns. The reality is a lot less daunting if we have a plan of action and a method of meeting the challenge.

In the implementation of new media, the organization should strive to be proactive in meeting the challenges of new media, whatever role we play in the business. We should put into place mechanisms to continually evaluate the way we produce and distribute information to our end users. The question to ask ourselves is: ‘is there a better way to do this’, to reduce our effort to produce and distribute the information and to provide a better product for our end users.

In conclusion, the organization should adopt an attitude of willingness to review new media. Any decision that the media is right for our requirement will be made easier and confidence will be gained to implement it. Care should be taken to carry out reviews professionally. Bear in mind all the elements that must be addressed to ensure that the new media is right for our company, and our end users, and do not just accept the next release of the media as the magic solution we have been looking for.

By:  ULAYA SIJALI A. (BAPRM 42681)