If you're an astronomy buff like I am, you're excited by the news that scientists have found a planet smack in the middle of the "Goldilocks Zone": not too big, not too small; not too hot, not too cold. Named Kepler-22b, the planet has enough earth-like attributes that life could very well exist there.

Here at the SDI observatory, located atop the gleaming 73-story SDI skyscraper, we've had our super telescope trained on Kepler-22b for some time. We've found that life does indeed exist there. Not only that, Kepler-22b is identical in every way to earth with one exception: on Kepler-22b, everyone recognizes the value of technical communication.

What does this mean in a practical sense?

• On Kepler-22b, business leaders understand that well-written, audience-appropriate technical content can be a differentiator in the marketplace.
• Technical communication is an integral part of every project plan.
• Content is treated as a business asset: in the Kepler-22b language it's grammatically impossible for "content strategy" and "Meh" to appear in the same sentence.

As a result of all this, technical communicators on Kepler-22b are treated like rock stars. Rather than the Kardashians, it's technical communicators who have feature articles in the Kepler-22b equivalent of People magazine. They often appear on the Kepler-22b equivalent of Dancing with the Stars¹. And employers don't expect them to list tools on their resumes.

I think I'd enjoy living on Kepler-22b. Too bad it's 600 light years away. Back here on earth, what can we do to make things more like they are on Kepler-22b?

¹You should see some of the dance moves they have on Kepler-22b.

_{Photo source: stock.xchng}