In my half century as a technical communicator, I have seen many changes. The profession has evolved from one that supported the work of engineers and programers to one that stands on its own, providing important tools and capabilities to audiences. I too have evolved within the profession—from someone who had little idea what technical communication was, to a practitioner, to an educator. The changing nature of the profession and my participation in it has made for an exciting time—our profession is anything but dull.

Hypermedia, the facility for presenting information as a combination of text, pictures, animation, sound, and full‐motion video, provides exciting new opportunities for presenting information to our audiences. It may also, however, place additional cognitive load on them and may change the way they process the information presented to them. Those who write for hypermedia applications may need to change the way they look at the writing process, and those who teach writing may need to reconsider what they teach and what they choose to emphasize. Additionally, teachers who use hypermedia materials may need to be sensitive to students’ ways of approaching and using the material.