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Archive for 2008
Podcast: Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing
Monday, November 3rd, 2008 Posted in Tech Writer Voices | 3 Comments »
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://idratherbewriting.com/podcasts/byuidaho.mp3] Download MP3 (to download, right-click and select Save Target As) Duration: 55 min. Several weeks ago I wrote about my trip to Brigham Young University-Idaho and the presentation I gave there titled ... Read more..Guest Post: Real Writers in Virtual Worlds
Thursday, October 30th, 2008 Posted in Web 2.0, social networks, video | 3 Comments »
This is a guest post by Ryan Schmid. Ryan has worked as a Senior Technical Writer and Information Developer in St. Louis, Missouri for nine years. He has previously ... Read more..Podcast: Personalities of Technical Communicators — Interview with Deborah (Shapiro) Hemstreet
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 Posted in Tech Writer Voices | 1 Comment »
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://idratherbewriting.com/podcasts/shapiro.mp3] Download MP3 (to download, right-click and select Save Target As) Duration: 32 min. [caption id="attachment_2159" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Deborah (Shapiro) Hemstreet"][/caption] In this podcast, I talk with Deborah (Shapiro) Hemstreet about the personalities of ... Read more..Two-Minute Video to Convince Others of the Value of Technical Documentation
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 2 Comments »
On the Technical Writers of India listserv, someone is trying to get his company to realize the value of technical communication by showing a humorous video on bad documentation that ... Read more..Interview with Scott Abel, Conference Organizer Extraordinaire
Monday, October 27th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 3 Comments »
[caption id="attachment_2145" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Scott Abel, conference organizer extraordinairre"][/caption] Last week I caught up with Scott Abel, a well-known content management guru, for an interview. As you probably know, Scott has ... Read more..10/23 Intermountain STC Meeting: An Informal Discussion of Any Tech Comm Challenges You’re Facing
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 2 Comments »
Date: Thursday, 10/23 Time: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Location: Salt Lake City Downtown Library Room: Conference Room 2, Second Floor Cost: Free [caption id="attachment_2057" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Downtown Salt Lake City Library"][/caption] I'm putting together an STC-Intermountain ... Read more..Seamlessly Integrating a Blog into Your Non-Blog Website
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 Posted in Web Design | 8 Comments »
Last weekend I was asked by someone to set up a WordPress blog that would integrate well with his existing site, familyinnewyork.com. I looked at the site and asked why ... Read more..Caught in the Current of Writer River: Building and Participating in Community-Driven Websites
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 Posted in Web 2.0 | 3 Comments »
A couple of years ago I went through a Digg phase. I listened to the Diggnation podcast and set my home page to the most popular posts of the day ... Read more..10 Ways to Gather Feedback from Users
Friday, October 17th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 5 Comments »
[caption id="attachment_2109" align="alignright" width="331" caption="User Knowledge Empowers You to Drive the Team"][/caption] Ever since I came back from Doc Train West and had my epiphany about the transformative, empowering nature of ... Read more..What We Learn from Help Authoring Tool Surveys
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 4 Comments »
Recently the Hat Matrix Blog (aka, the Mad Hatter) published the results of a tools survey that included 590 participants. The respondents were asked what authoring tools they used ... Read more..Like Father, Like Daughter
Monday, October 13th, 2008 Posted in Blogging | 5 Comments »
[caption id="attachment_2098" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="Lucy on the laptop at age 2."][/caption] Lucy turned 2 today. You may have remembered her cute little smile from a previous picture. Read more..Becoming a Writer — Reflections on a Trip to Idaho
Monday, October 13th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 10 Comments »
[caption id="attachment_2087" align="alignright" width="400" caption="The Boredom Myth: Unlike what a tech comm professor taught me, tech writing is more than just formatting the layout of phone books."][/caption] Last week I drove ... Read more..Results for My 10 Technical Writing Stereotypes Survey
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 6 Comments »
Nearly two weeks ago I posted a survey about 10 technical writing stereotypes. 221 people participated in the survey. The results are below. 1. Technical writing is boring. Generally True: 7% Sometimes True, ... Read more..Answering Reader’s Questions: “My Desire to Write Burns in My Heart Daily”
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 Posted in creativity | 5 Comments »
Hi Tom, My name is Hannah, and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I found your web site when I typed technical writing in google.com. You have a beautiful ... Read more..Ingenious Technique for Helping Your Child Learn to Ride a Bike
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 Posted in usability | 7 Comments »
Last night my oldest daughter (who is seven years old) finally learned to ride a bike. After a few painful crashes learning the traditional way (where you just receive a ... Read more..Free Ticket to DITA Tech/Comm Conference in North Carolina Nov 3-6
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 4 Comments »
Paul Pehrson, a Utah-based technical writer who blogs at Technically Speaking, writes, I've been invited to speak at the DITA Tech/Comm Conference at the beginning of next month. I've got a ... Read more..Ten Technical Writing Stereotypes
Sunday, September 28th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 12 Comments »
As college students contemplate careers in technical writing, they often hesitate because of negative stereotypes about the profession. As with many stereotypes, these aspects of technical writing can describe some ... Read more..Using WordPress as a CMS — Wordcamp Utah
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 Posted in WordPress | 3 Comments »
Richard Miller presented on "Using WordPress as a CMS" at Wordcamp Utah today. Richard works for the More Good Foundation, whose mission is to help LDS church members share their beliefs ... Read more..SEO Tips for Your Blog — Wordcamp Utah
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 Posted in Technical Writing | 6 Comments »
Ash Buckles presented on "SEO tips for Your Blog" at Wordcamp Utah. Here are my notes from Ash's presentation. Strategy and Purpose Ash says, You need a strategy with search engine optimization ... Read more..WordPress and Podcasting — Wordcamp Utah
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 Posted in WordPress | 2 Comments »
Thom Allen presented on WordPress and Podcasting at Wordcamp Utah. Below are my notes, which I mostly took from his slides. See Thom's full presentation here. Preparing Your Podcast Capture extensive metadata ... Read more..