Recording of "Video Tutorials for User Assistance" (UA Europe Presentation)
Listen here:
- Download MP3 (right-click, then Save Link As)
- PowerPoint Slides
- PDF version
This is an audio recording of a presentation I gave at UA Europe in June 2013. Here's the description:
Next to Google, YouTube is the second most popular search engine on the web. The popularity of video, especially for how-to scenarios, suggests that it should play a more prominent role in user assistance. However, creating videos poses a number of challenges. Writing a conversational script, recording professional sound, showing crisp screen images, and integrating video into your online help can be tricky. Additionally, in agile environments, video tutorials often have a short shelf-life — remaining current only until the next release. When you create videos, therefore, you have to create them inexpensively and quickly. At the same time, you must maintain a high quality for the visual display and sound.
(Just a note: The recording is audio only. There isn't a version of the slides synced to the audio.)
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About Tom Johnson
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, agent skills, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my AI courses for more on the latest in AI and tech comm. If you're looking for info about documenting APIs, see my API documentation course.
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Finally, I want to note a couple of things. I usually write the first drafts of my posts myself and then use AI to improve accuracy, clarity, and detail in places, so my writing is a mix of human and AI. (Hopefully that's not too off-putting.) Also, the opinions I express on my blog are my own perspectives, not those of my employer.


