- By Michele Marques, Lead Information Developer, ITSM

• Video - showing the product in use
• Interactivity - using Flash or other technologies to add tutorial    elements
• Wikis and discussion forums - enabling customers to collaborate and    share information
• Proactive assistance - offering information for the current task,    without the need for the user to click a help link
• New devices to display information, such as PDAs and mobile    phones

I'm sure that there are other cool ways to provide information to users. Do   you have any examples of other ways to provide information?

Cool doesn't necessarily mean useful

As our users spend more time on Web 2.0 sites and checking web sites on   their mobile phones, does this change the way that they need to receive   information when getting help on software products? Do people who've grown   up on YouTube read manuals or online   help topics?  If not, perhaps we information developers need to adapt   to the new paradigm.

But to determine what's really useful, we have to look at what our users   need, whether in  manuals, help, or other product information. Where do they get stuck?   How do they process information? How will they find the information that   we're providing?