In Screencasts: So what?, Kristi Leach tells an engaging story about a turnaround screencast. She explains how one good screencast can change users’ attitudes about software. Here’s an excerpt:
I rarely watch video online. Unless it’s a funny meme I have deliberately searched for, or a show that I missed, or Netflix, I won’t press play. If a blog post is all video, I skip it. I rarely appreciate video instructions, either–they take too long, because I’m pausing, following the step, playing, pausing again. I was having trouble imagining how videos were going to improve our help systems or fit into our schedules.
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I think it’s often helpful to have information available in a number of formats, where practical. People learn in different ways, and since tech writing is becoming more and more learning-oriented, it makes sense to consider different learning styles in our projects.
This screencast inspired another writer on the team to do one for his product presentation. He is planning on 20-25 minutes for the screencast and is working with his brother to get drawings and music into it. I asked him to make a note about tools and about his process. I can’t wait to see where our team is going with this. Thanks for the post, Tom.
I agree, it’s very helpful to have the information available in more then one format.