Why eLearning should be your next skill set.

Just a few short months ago I had a podcast interview where I explained my interest in eLearning as a shift of my Technical Communication focus. Today I’ve been able to continue some of my research threads leading up to the Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) analysis, and it points towards further conclusive evidence that moving into Rapid eLearning was a well-timed and strategic move.

Having started years before with documentation and procedures in the military, I’m a firm believer in well structured TechComm. Working with the early RoboDemo / Captivate product team really showed me where instructional design and eLearning could go, and eLearning products now available like Articulate’s Studio 09 are one step beyond amazing.

I have felt for some time that continuing an eLearning track in my TechComm career would become more important in the years to come. Evidently Michael Hanley saw similar influences in the market when he wrote his post a few months ago: The Half-Life of the Knowledge Worker.

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Never let it be said that MadCap Software is out of touch with the Technical Communication world in these tough times. Sharon Burton posts about MadCap’s soup kitchen for Technical Communicators. This menu’s got it going on with all the trimmings and none of the cost.

If anyone has an ounce of sense and thinks they remotely might have to swat around theories, buzzwords, or best practices across the desk from a hiring manager within the next eighteen months, you really need to hit up these free webinars.That means just about everyone, including freelancers.

Come in out of the cold, pull up a chair, and listen to industry experts like Sarah O’Keefe talk about killer concepts like DITA. And listen to Neil Perlin talk about HATs to do CMS.

For FREE.

By the way, all but one are technology agnostic. For those of you not already using MadCap Flare you won’t be left out in the cold. I promise people won’t point and snicker.

Categories, times and dates below the fold. Seats are limited I’m sure, so register early.

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Theories about where MSFT wants to go? Check this out for a bit of convergence…

Could Microsoft out-Apple Adobe?

Let’s examine a few trends and remember that Apple beat its competitors in the education market twenty years ago by having a rabid fan base along with compelling intuitive software.  Microsoft Live’s community had 60 million users last time I checked. Working within the existing Live framework will be critical for any Learning Management Systems (LMS) play that Microsoft chooses to do in the future.

The eLearning potential with Microsoft’s (NASD: MSFT) current portfolio of hardware and software, part of which is the XBox brand, is gaining momentum. I’ve been discussing current instructional design trends with instructional designers, consumer media analysts, military training officers, and gamers. We’ve reached current consensus:

There are a lot of benefits to using the XBox 360 as a training / eLearning platform, primarily because of the XBox Live community.

Having solid revenue generating Intellectual Property (IP) in both hardware and software gives a strong advantage to MSFT in this space. Windows Live Mesh is self descriptive; it meshes all the services together.

How Does Live Mesh Work?

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No Jedi Mind Tricks Necessary

Whether there are corporate profits or not the Grinch, it seems, has struck twice in one calendar year for Adobe (NASD: ADBE). You heard my forecast about Adobe’s 2008 earnings here in last year’s posts and who can forget my venting in 2007 regarding Adobe’s negative user support strategy.

Now they have to cut 8% of their global workforce. Looks like the San Diego office will be shut down from the tweets I’ve read and MDowney, the Flex evangelist I was following in my Flex vs. Silverlight series is moving on as well… Good luck to everyone.

From the San Francisco Chronicle: Adobe laying off 600 employees

Adobe Systems in San Jose is laying off 600 employees and will restructure its business, the company announced Wednesday after the stock market closed.

Bottom line analysis for 2009: Adobe will survive in one form or another however all their software programs may not.

No Compelling Reason To Upgrade

Without the Vista mandatory upgrade upswing working in Adobe’s favor, I stated that this year’s sales were going to be significantly lower. I said sell short because there was no compelling reason to upgrade and people would figure they could get by just fine with last year’s model of CS3.

Panic in the streets of Bangalore… MadCap Flare Emerges

Well, ‘panic’ is not entirely fair to state about the Mumbai area after their recent security fiasco. 

Gorillas in the Mists

MadCap Software is currently pounding Adobe on the Technical Communication workflow front. According to the MadCap October press release two independent blogging polls showed MadCap Flare to be the new Gorilla in the Game, promoted up from Chimpanzee:

Flare was identified as the authoring application of choice by more than 39 percent of respondents to the surveys conducted on behalf of the HAT-Matrix.com and I’d Rather Be Writing technical communications blogs.

The surveys represent the first time that Flare, which debuted in March 2006, has seen higher customer use than any other competing solution–including legacy applications that have been on the market for more than a decade.

Add to this the 2008 recession stone skipping across the water and it means sobering trends for ADBE, losing ground on several fronts. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

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