In a previous post, Anne Sandstrom pointed out that NOBODY does tech writing as a hobby. Many developers program as a hobby. Engineers tinker around in their garage, building things. Other creative professionals, such as artists, photographers, and writers, paint scenes, take pictures, and write stories in their spare time. But I have yet to meet a single person who sits around writing instructions about … more »

When you click Twitter’s help link, the help content is divided into three categories: Twitter Basics Something’s Not Working Report a Violation This division suggests a mental pattern about how people use help. You have the newbie group. These people are new to Twitter and need a grounding in the basics, such as what an @ reply is versus a dm. The content in this … more »

I’ve decided to write a series of posts about what I consider to be the Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging (because sins always seem more interesting than virtues). Basically, I’m preparing for some presentations on blogging, and I’m hoping to get some scrutiny and feedback on these ideas. I plan to cover each one of the sins in depth with separate posts over the course … more »

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 »