Mapping Information

Cliif Urr writes \”This interesting article, referred to from the peterme.com web log, seems to invite professional communicators to undertake tasks that seem virtually identical to what librarians do. Also, distinguishes \”maps\” from \”stories\” as a way to organize information, and claims \”maps\” are supplanting stories for this task. Sample text: \”From a postmodernist perspective, we might instead begin to value the idea that technical communicators\’ talents lie not in their skills at taking (and simplifying) dictation but in constructing novel and useful (if contingent) structures in fields of information. In other words, business and technical communicators do not write documentation or author reports, but make maps. What better job than mapmaker in an era when information is portrayed to users as a confusing, jumbled tsunami of data?\”

Read It Here
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