<p>Social business is changing how we document business processes and IT operations. Here's why.</p><p>When I was much younger and bought a new radio, TV, or VCR, the first thing I did was read the manual cover-to-cover so I could understand how the thing worked. This was easy to do because most tools and electronic devices had a single function, which usually equated to a relatively short and simple manual.</p><p>But today, when you buy devices like these, you also get remotes with about 30 or 40 buttons on them that all require manuals. My car comes with multiple thick manuals, too, including one just for the navigation system. And most software documentation is deceiving: You never really see the pages piled up on top of each other; you just get lost in a labyrinth of links as you jump across topics that are supposedly related.</p><p>As products become more feature-rich, their documentation becomes longer and more complex. As a result, it has the perverse effect of conditioning users to skip reading it altogether. When I get a shiny new car, smartphone, or TV, the last thing I want to do is spend a week reading the documentation before I use it. Instead, I just dive right in using the basic features and learn over time about the bells and whistles by trial and error, dipping into the documentation for a specific reference, searching for an answer on the web, or just asking somebody.</p><p><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/messages.asp?piddl_msgthreadid=6670&piddl_msgid=193365&piddl_msgtocontent=yes">Keep reading...</a></p>