I am constantly reflecting on the answer to this question: How can I draw upon the enthusiasm, intelligence, and skill of willing volunteers all around me to take our organization’s site to the next level? This goal mostly relates to my involvement in my organization’s technology blog, which has about 80 volunteer writers. In my post about what I learned during 2011 as a technical … more »

At a department Christmas social the other week, we had a special meeting following lunch. During the meeting, people spontaneously shared their feelings about working for the Church or other thoughts they had. More than a dozen people stood up. Although it wasn’t called such, the meeting was similar to a “testimony meeting,” which is something that Mormons do once a month for their church … more »

Although many people put blogs and wikis in the same social media category, blogs and wikis are actually quite different. Blogs are individually authored mini-magazines or journals where one author (or sometimes a small authoring group) crank out article after article (or entry after entry) usually with a common theme. After each article is published, the article is considered done and the author moves on … more »

I wrote a guest post on Unstoppability for my friends Scott Nesbitt and Aaron Davis at DMN Communications. Scott and Aaron are two technical communicators based in Toronto who have an engaging blog I regularly follow. By the way, I rarely write guest posts. In my 3+ years of blogging, this is only the second guest post I have ever written. I hope you enjoy … more »

Many of you—at least a third, I’m guessing—are writers by nature. You majored in English, dabbled in creative writing, probably immerse yourself in literary novels at lunch. You love the written word. You revel in your expertise in grammar, your fine tastes in sentence structure and semantics. You proudly display your Chicago Manual of Style on your bookshelf. Maybe you even secretly want to be … more »

[Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download MP3 (to download, right-click and select Save Target As) Length: 35 min. Richard Hamilton is the author of Managing Writers: A Real World Guide to Managing Technical Documentation. His book, published in 2009, is one of the few books written specifically for managers that addresses the diversity of issues that managers face today – everything from hiring … more »

The other night Jane and I saw Twilight. It wasn’t my first choice, but it’s not bad, especially for a vampire movie. Actually, Edward Cullen’s phrase, “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin,” which he uses to describe Bella (who isn’t a vampire), stuck in my mind. Here’s the scene:

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to Chad Hymas, an inspirational speaker (not the Chris Farley type), who related several powerful stories that changed him. A quadriplegic after a tractor-hay bale incident, Hymas shared how one can live a happier, more fulfilled, more productive life even without the use of one’s limbs. We all sat mesmerized while Hymas related story after story. His … more »

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 »