All I’ve been thinking about the past week, it seems, is real-time and how it affects docs. Yesterday I wrote a post about it. Today, I tested it out. I wrote a procedure in Twitter. Tech writers – take a look at it and let me know what you think. Tweets are from today, December [...]
Real-time: it’s sooooo last second
December 28, 2009 By 6 Comments
Who has time to think? These days, actions do speak louder than words. The world has changed to an immediate, need-it-now mentality. Real-time is turning into all-the-time, and tech writers need to address it. Can’t ignore this one! The luxury of time is slipping away from us. Time to research. Time to test. Time to [...]
E-Learning Rapid Development = Sticky Learning
December 16, 2009 By 2 Comments
Sticky learning* is the primary goal of any learning initiative, regardless of the method used to create it. Good content and well-defined learning objectives and measurements will result in effective e-learning courses that improve business performance and the bottom line. “Rapid-development” is a hot topic, generating a great amount of discussion about whether it is [...]
Introducing: New e-Learning Category and Contributor Jill Freeman
December 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Tech writers often work closely with e-learning developers. Yes, it’s true that tech writers can (and should) be able to make their own short online tutorials, or make a quick video to show how an app works. However, there are definitely times when a polished, planned tutorial or similar item must be developed – and [...]
Minimal Procedure Content: Reasoning
November 13, 2009 By 3 Comments
The procedure I wrote about creating a Twitter list uses abbreviated content. This post describes the reasoning behind and decisions made in writing the topic. Title Instead of using this: Create a Twitter List I opt for this construction: Twitter List: Create Reasons It puts the topic first. You don’t have to [...]
Twitter List: Create
November 13, 2009 By 2 Comments
Use the Twitter list feature to categorize feeds of those you follow. Like putting files into separate folders, you can put feeds into different lists. You can: – Add a feed to multiple lists – Create lists before adding feeds, or as you add feeds to existing lists – Create public feeds for all to [...]
Open-Source Tech Writing: the Time is Now
October 16, 2009 By 2 Comments
Recently, I started working with WordPress. For those unfamiliar with WP, it’s an open-source platform used for blogging, websites, and the like. Development and maintenance is completed by a world-wide community. There’s an incredible energy and community that is part of it. Last month, I attended a WordCamp event. Along with the information I obtained, [...]
Must-Follow Trends for Tech Writers
October 1, 2009 By 1 Comment
Tech writers have always needed to keep up with current technologies. That is the case today more than ever. I’ve been in the field for over 20 years, starting back before online help, back when you copied manuals to put in binders, back when you wrapped up docs weeks before a release because you had [...]
Must-Follow Twitter Feeds for Tech Writers
September 21, 2009 By 5 Comments
The purpose of my blog is to provide tech writers with information about changes and how said changes may impact documentation. That is also the purpose of my Twitter feed. I gather up as much information as I can and pass it on. I’ve found some excellent feeds to follow related to the various topics [...]
HTML 5: What Tech Writers Need to Consider
September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Wow. I knew that there were many items to consider when writing documentation these days. However, there is much more than I realized. For example, today I started looking at HTML 5 more in-depth. As I read through the information on the W3C site, it became clear that big changes are in store that will [...]
