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First Cohost Podcast — A Natural Conversation about Technical Writing
February 14th, 2007 | Posted in Tech Writer Voices |
Download the MP3 file
Duration: 29 min.
This podcast takes a different direction than the previous podcasts, which were more interview-driven. This time the podcast consists of Heidi Hansen (co-host) and me talking about various topics in technical communication. The flow is more conversational and spontaneous.
Topics covered include an introduction to the new co-host, competition entries, an interesting entry from Microsoft, audio in instructions, screen demos, the STC annual conference, other technical communication tools, wikis, blogs, NetVibes, Get me the Geeks video, David Pogue, Walt Mossberg, and more.
Links Mentioned in the Podcast
- Get Me the Geeks video
- Netvibes | Newsgator |Feeddemon
- Tom’s blog | Heidi’s blog
- Walt Mossberg| David Pogue
- Puget Sound STC Chapter | Suncoast Chapter
- Char James-Tanny’s blog
- Scott Abel’s Blog
- Holly Harkness’ blog /
- STC Annual Conf. | Vancouver Doc. Training Conf.
- Char et al.’s book on wikis and blogs
- Murray’s First Look Book on Office 2007
Announcements
Held in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, the theme of the 8th Annual Documentation and Training Conference is The User Experience. The conference features sessions and workshops that help technical communication professionals improve the usefulness of the information products they create. I’ll be speaking the usability of blogs, including an in-depth tutorial on WordPress. Learn more about the conference.
About Tech Writer Voices
Tech Writer Voices is a weekly podcast covering topics related to technical writing, featuring interviews, presentations, and other tips for technical communicators. To stay updated with the latest podcasts on technical writing, be sure to subscribe to Tech Writer Voices using the e-mail subscription feature in the top-right corner of the site.
Do you like the new cohost format? If so, let us know by adding a comment to this post or by emailing me at tom@idratherbewriting.com.
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February 15th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I’ve listened to them.
They are pretty good.
February 16th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
[...] this topic just a short while ago. A great example of how to switch your podcast format can be found here: Tech Writer Voices: Podcasts on Technical Writing. Read the show notes and listen to the first few [...]
February 17th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Tom,
This was my favorite of all your Podcasts. It was fun and interesting. Almost like I am eavesdropping on a conversation. Not so “professional interview” sounding.
Both your voices were especially clear. How was this one done? Some of your others that were done over the phone didn’t sound nearly as clear.
By the way, I am doing my first podcast of our Atlanta SCT chapter’s presention next week. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
February 18th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Michelle,
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you liked it because we plan on doing more podcasts like this. We recorded it differently from the previous as well. Rather than using Pamela for Skype or Hot Recorder to record the conversation, we each recorded our voices on Audacity on our own computers, and then I layered the two audio tracks. I learned about this technique from a book called Podcasting Hacks.
I am excited that Atlanta is starting to record its meetings. Will they be freely accessible or limited to members only? And when can we expect to hear the first one?
I am hoping that you guys will start a trend. When Mike Hamilton spoke at our chapter, he said that it’s starting to be the norm that people record him while he speaks. I certainly hope that’s the case.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:35 am
Very nice. I think any kind of dialog is nice for a podcast. It provides a kind of intimacy as though you are among friends. Intimacy is a good thing as described in “Design for Communities” by Derek Powazek, only available online at, for example, http://safari.oreilly.com nowadays.
When recording in larger groups where there is a Q&A, DO remember to either have the questioner speak directly into the microphone, or teach the speaker to ALWAYS repeat the question before answering. That is a big problem not well dealt with in podcasts that are recordings of gatherings. You cannot hear the question, and if the speaker just says “Yes, you can do that”, or some such simple answer, you have no clue as to what was asked and don’t learn anything - ruining a bit of the fun of learning in this fashion.
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:22 am
I agree that getting the Q&A properly recorded is one of the biggest challenges in recording a meeting. We tried having an audience mic, but it ruined the rhythm of the meeting such that after the first question, we dropped the idea. I always tell the presenter to repeat the question, but sometimes the presenter forgets, and it’s awkward to interrupt the presenter and remind him or her. Still, it’s something we need to really get a handle on.
December 24th, 2007 at 3:21 am
[...] just posted a first cohost podcast with Heidi Hansen, a technical writer in Seattle and my new co-host. If you listen to the podcast, let me know what [...]