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    Archive for 2007

    Show Me Demos and Captivate — Interview with Kevin Siegel

    December 5th, 2007 | Posted in Podcasts | 3 Comments »

    [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 Duration: 24 minutes Kevin Siegel, president of IconLogic, talks about show-me demos and Captivate. In this audio-visual age, technical writers need an easy way to deliver Flash-based, dynamic screen demos for their help content. Topics Kevin and I discuss in the podcast include:

    Sample Integration of Captivate Screen Demos in RoboHelp Hotspots

    November 28th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 6 Comments »

    I made a help file showing a sample integration of Captivate with Robohelp, specifically showing screen demos inside hotspots. I like that the screen demos hide so nicely. (The content of the demos is not what I’m showing here, but if you’re totally new to Audacity, you might find them helpful as a basic intro.) Let me know if you have any feedback.

    Free Copies of SnagIt 7 and Camtasia 3

    November 28th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 6 Comments »

    TechSmith is providing free downloads and licenses for copies of SnagIt 7.2 and Camtasia 3.1. The current version of SnagIt is 8.2 and Camtasia is 5. Still, for totally free software, you can’t beat this. Thanks for the tip from Jeff and Digital Inspiration: How to you get them? SnagIt Step One: Download it here. Step Two: Visit the TechSmith website here and request a … more »

    Musicophillia — The Brain’s Unexplainable Affinity for Music

    November 27th, 2007 | Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments »

    I listened to a podcast nearly two weeks ago that I’m still thinking about it. Oliver Sacks, a popular neurologist storyteller, just published a book called Musicophilia that explores the brain’s love/obsession/affinity with music. In this Science Friday podcast, he shares extensive details about the book. Sacks explains that unlike other areas of the brain that are localized in specific regions — for example, memory … more »

    Thoughts on Adobe’s New Technical Communication Suite

    November 24th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 4 Comments »

    I’m excited to welcome Adobe as a new sponsor for Tech Writer Voices. This past week, I’ve been playing around with their new Technical Communications Suite. This Suite includes Framemaker, RoboHelp, Acrobat 3D, and Captivate. I’ve especially been playing with the Captivate-RoboHelp integration. So far I think it’s pretty amazing. You can embed Captivate movies directly in your online help, even in drop-down hotspots. For … more »

    Embracing the New Vernacular Instead of Pursuing the Holy Grail of Single Sourcing

    November 22nd, 2007 | Posted in blog | 6 Comments »

    For a long time, I looked at help authoring tools in terms of their single sourcing ability — creating the source material in the tool, and then outputting to online help, print, and other targets. However, I’ve given up on the ideal, at least for now. I’m convinced that the new vernacular, as a SXSW podcast called it, is audio and video. If faced with … more »

    Special DMN Communications Podcast with Tech Writer Voices (me): Are you Hurting Your Career By Not Blogging or Podcasting?

    November 19th, 2007 | Posted in Podcasts | 3 Comments »

    [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 Duration: 45 min. Last week I had a good conversation with Scott and Aaron from DMN Communications about the value of blogging and podcasting. Although this is a DMN Communications podcast, they allowed me to post the audio on Tech Writer Voices as well. (If you are not already subscribed to DMN Communication feed, see their … more »

    Top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do — Interview with Brenda Huettner

    November 12th, 2007 | Posted in Podcasts | 6 Comments »

    [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 Duration: 25 min In this podcast, I interview Brenda Huettner about strategies for overcoming the top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do. The top 10 list includes the following:

    IT Author Podcast — Two Podcasts on Flare, One on the Making of a Technical Writer, and a Dogcast on User Psychology

    November 12th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 2 Comments »

    I listened to Alistair Christie’s IT Author podcast the other day online and then later driving home from work. Alistair is based in Scotland and has one of the most enjoyable podcasts on technical communication around. If you listen to podcasts, add his podcast to your feed.  His latest episodes are as follows: In Flare: the good stuff, he explains the features of Flare that … more »

    Online Anonymous Rating Sites: Empowering Individual Voices

    November 7th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 9 Comments »

    In looking for an apartment, I found ApartmentRatings.com tremendously helpful. This site allows residents to anonymously rate and comment about their apartment complex. After reading the comments residents wrote about Hunter’s Woods apartments in Murray, I decided that, although the square footage was about 300 more sq. ft than any surrounding apartment, the area’s crime (namely drug dealing) and the poor maintenance responses by the … more »

    Building Online Communities: Interview with Svi Ben-Elya about Elephant.org.il

    November 6th, 2007 | Posted in Podcasts | 3 Comments »

    [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 Duration: 27 min. In this podcast, I talk with Svi Ben-Elya about Elephant.org.il. Elephant is an online community he and others created to empower technical communicators in Israel (originally in the city of Yokneam) with relevant salary information to make them more market savvy when they negotiate jobs.

    Is Podcasting Dead? Jason Van Orden Versus Read/Write Web

    November 6th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 7 Comments »

    I listened to an interesting podcast this morning. Jason Van Orden argues against a post on the Read/Write blog about podcasting being dead. Jason listed several reasons why people claim podcasting is dead: Yahoo pulled their podcasting directory. Google Trends shows fewer searches with podcasting as the keyword. No one is making millions in the podcasting medium. Podcasts don’t offer rich keywords for search engines … more »

    MadCap Software Sponsors the Tech Writer Voices Podcast

    November 5th, 2007 | Posted in blog | 15 Comments »

    I’m proud to welcome another sponsor to the Tech Writer Voices podcast: MadCap Flare. You may be wondering exactly what sponsorship involves. Basically, it’s different for each company, but I’m offering promotion on my podcasts in exchange for a free copy of the company’s product. This is actually something that Heidi Hansen, my co-host, encouraged me to do long ago. So for the past week, … more »

    Brain Waves and the Stimulation of Motivation/Creativity

    November 1st, 2007 | Posted in blog | 13 Comments »

    I listened to virtual rain fall for several hours today, trying to determine whether the pitter-patter of the falling rain is, as the Writer’s Mind CD says, stimulating the Alpha waves of my brain and causing my motivation and creative synapses to fire with extra pep as I write. Honestly, I can’t tell. The Writer’s Mind CD is supposed to stimulate your brain waves to … more »

    Three Excellent Podcasts on Networking, Outsourcing, and DITA

    October 29th, 2007 | Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments »

    I listened to several excellent podcasts this week that I want to recommend to others. Networking for Freelancers, Work-at-Homers, and Other Professionals In this podcast on networking by the STC Washington D.C. chapter, Carolyn Kelley Klinger interviews two experts on the value of networking. Although I’ve never been aggressive in my networking, this podcast made me realize that my blog and podcast are infinitely valuable … more »



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