This past year I learned a few things. As I approach 2012, I’d like to note what 2011 taught me: Writing documentation in a wiki suits me for the same reasons I enjoy interacting on the web. The web is interactive, alive, dynamic, collaborative, fresh, and unlimited in potential. A wiki, being online, allows me to partake in the same game-like, community-rich environment that I … more »

The following is a guest post by Larry Kunz, a consultant with Systems Documentation, Inc. (SDI) Global Solutions. Writing a professional blog—whether you do it under your own name as Tom does, or under a company’s banner as I do—is about building a brand. By brand I mean the personality that you want to project. Just as companies have brands in the marketplace, individuals have … more »

Conversation Agent: Write a Corporate Blog That Matters.

I was surprised to read Lars Trieloff’s announcement today that he is quitting his personal blog. He explains, Personal blogging is dead. It has been succeeded by microblogging and lifestreaming on one end and corporate and professional blogging on the other end. …  The world has changed, personal blogging is dead and so is this blog. He’s not quitting blogging altogether, just refocusing his efforts … more »

Author-it launched a blog today. You can view it at http://author-it.com/blog. I had a sneak peek of the blog about a week ago and contacted Kathy Howes for an interview about it. The questions I asked her are below. Why did you decide to start a corporate blog? We see blogging as an essential part of an organization’s content strategy, and a great opportunity to … more »

If you’re starting a corporate blog, you’d be well off with a little mommy blogger training to break you in. After living with a mommy blogger, you’ll more naturally embrace transparency, skip any attempts at censorship, and become accustomed to the occasional distorted portrayal of what you say and do. These are all principles I’ve honestly learned to love from Jane. Jane is the mommy … more »