In the process of building iFixit, we spent years thinking about the best way to collaborate to write and publish online manuals. As you can tell from the way things work around here, we did a halfway decent job. And we’ve been pestered with requests to run online documentation sites like iFixit for other companies. We’re always looking for interesting ways to fund our mission of teaching everyone to fix everything, so we decided to make that possible.
Dozuki is reimagining how businesses publish instruction manuals, and today we’re excited to announce the launch of our public Beta. Now, anyone can leverage the platform that powers sites like iFixit.com and MakeProjects.com.
Dozuki is the best way to write manuals. Teach people how to do anything– from maintaining a motorcycle to crafting a wooden table or creating a toy robot. We make it easy for you to teach people how to do amazing things.
It’s time for a documentation revolution.
Look at the example manuals above. Do they seem familiar? Well, unless you were around for the First World War they shouldn’t. Since these manuals were originally written, the world has seen a dramatic acceleration in the manufacturing revolution and the dawn of a digital age.
Even more recently, we’ve undergone a communications transformation: all of those previously printed documents are now distributed online via PDFs downloadable from the manufacturer’s website. Even the production process has changed dramatically. Manuals like these are now authored digitally, often utilizing specialized documentation software.
But very little has really changed since the early 1900s. Companies still churn out static manuals that expire quickly: the documentation is written once and then left to age poorly, unrevised until drastically different product revisions force an update.
The world needs living manuals that improve over time, use rich multimedia to convey technical instruction, and are just as mobile as people are. The world needs Dozuki.
Documentation: Content marketing at its finest.
With Dozuki, technical writers and super users alike will have cause for celebrating. Step-by-step guides really accomplish two important goals: they give users valuable resources for solving problems quickly, and they provide a venue for showcasing products. Dozuki-powered manuals allow organizations to effectively evaluate the financial impact of the individual efforts made by members of their documentation teams and user communities.
For example, take iFixit’s “Installing iPhone 4 Display Assembly” guide. This guide alone has over 1 million views; it’s the first search result in Google for its title; and it’s brought in $39,895.34 of referred sales for iFixit’s iPhone 4 Display Assembly.
Effective documentation drives profits. Engaging passionate customers helps documentation stay relevant and generates additional sales as those users are empowered to create and update the support content.
Manuals have remained unchanged for too long. Dozuki is the next evolution in technical documentation. Learn more about the Dozuki platform or get instant access to the Beta at Dozuki.com.
One more thing…
In honor of our Dozuki Open Beta launch, we’re now selling Dozukis on iFixit!
It is also unique in its design as it only cuts on the pull stroke, as opposed to the European standard (where the saw cuts on the push stroke). Accordingly, the woodworker can use gravity to their advantage when cutting with the saw, but they cannot put their weight into the cut like one could with the European saws.
0 Comments