January 2021
Measuring documentation quality -- a rubric for developer docs 12 Jan 2021
December 2020
Cherryleaf collects tech writer goals for 2021 27 Dec 2020
Moving to Seattle and making housing decisions using virtual tools 11 Dec 2020
Job transition: from Amazon to Google 03 Dec 2020
Content Strategy Insights podcast with Larry Swanson about API documentation 02 Dec 2020
November 2020
The most perfect 20-mile biking loop in Santa Clara 28 Nov 2020
Finished up the section on documentation processes (for now) 26 Nov 2020
New API course article: Processes for changing internal doc culture 26 Nov 2020
New API course article: Processes for external contributors 26 Nov 2020
Documentation templates and The Good Docs Project -- guest post by Ankita Tripathi 17 Nov 2020
The story behind Document360 -- podcast with founder Saravana Kumar 17 Nov 2020
Process for collecting feedback post-release (new article in API doc course) 16 Nov 2020
How does Document360 handle challenges with API documentation? 10 Nov 2020
Write the Docs Podcast episode 32: Self-publishing and AsciiDoc, with Mehmed Pasic 02 Nov 2020
October 2020
Processes for maintaining existing documentation (new article in API doc course) 30 Oct 2020
Developer experience (DevX) usability (new article in API doc course) 12 Oct 2020
Does working outside with the world as your office actually work? 08 Oct 2020
Coffee and Content webinar recording: Treat Code Like Code; Treat Prose Like Prose 02 Oct 2020
September 2020
New article in API course: Processes for reviewing documentation 23 Sep 2020
On cultivating a garden while the world is crumbling around you 18 Sep 2020
WTD Podcast Episode 31: Site search, with Peter Levan 09 Sep 2020
Redocly tutorial added to API course 08 Sep 2020
New article in API course -- Questions to ask during a documentation kickoff and demo 02 Sep 2020
Inexpensive media hosting and CLI uploading with Wasabi? 01 Sep 2020
August 2020
ISTC article on developer documentation trends 31 Aug 2020
Playing a product design role as a content designer -- podcast with Jonathon Colman 24 Aug 2020
When 10X translates into -10X: debunking the myth of the 10X technical coder/writer 20 Aug 2020
SDK release process article added to API doc course 19 Aug 2020
DX content strategy article added to API doc course 19 Aug 2020
Processes for managing large documentation projects and small documentation requests 13 Aug 2020
Webinar -- Optimizing Content Development: Grow Your Content Faster Than You Grow Your Team 13 Aug 2020
July 2020
Part VI: Results from the survey correlating org models and tech writer value 26 Jul 2020
A tip for doc reviews -- bring a list of questions 24 Jul 2020
Write the Docs Episode 30: Documentation templates, with Juan Lara 20 Jul 2020
Writing productivity tip: Focus sessions 12 Jul 2020
Part VI: Conclusion, analysis, and feedback 01 Jul 2020
Part V: On being strategic, interpersonal, and sponsored 01 Jul 2020
Part IV: Engaging deep enough to blur the lines between content and product design 01 Jul 2020
Part III: Correlating organization models with low value estimations 01 Jul 2020
Part II: Personal layoff stories and reasons 01 Jul 2020
Part I: Introduction and background 01 Jul 2020
June 2020
Developer portal strategies for complex landscapes -- conversation with Kristof van Tomme 24 Jun 2020
What makes a good covid sign? 18 Jun 2020
Treat code like code and prose like prose 16 Jun 2020
Diversity in tech comm -- Conversation with John Paz 12 Jun 2020
What's the point of site search? 12 Jun 2020
Making a comfortable office environment when working from home is harder than it seems 04 Jun 2020
API the Docs recording: How Trends in API Documentation Differ from other Tech Comm Trends 04 Jun 2020
May 2020
WTD Australia event recording — 'Remote discussion: Techcomm in the times of pandemic' 31 May 2020
Guest post: Why are technical writers often treated as such an unimportant part of a company? 31 May 2020
Results of Pandemic Impact on Tech Comm survey 26 May 2020
"Building Great Documentation" -- WAPI FM radio hour 07 May 2020
Short survey about quarantine/pandemic impact on tech comm 07 May 2020
April 2020
A user manual for your death? 28 Apr 2020
My Knowledgebase Ninjas podcast episode -- "Metrics don't work" 15 Apr 2020
API The Docs Virtual Series 2020 -- Upcoming presentations and thoughts on the virtual format 14 Apr 2020
WTD Episode 29: Salary Survey results and WFH tips, with Eric Holscher 13 Apr 2020
March 2020
Staying updated about what developers are changing -- my techniques for information sleuthing 26 Mar 2020
UX writing processes and considerations -- WTD podcast episode 28 24 Mar 2020
Tech comm podcasts are growing -- here's a list 24 Mar 2020
Life on reset -- new dynamics emerging 23 Mar 2020
Working from home — things I've bought 22 Mar 2020
How life has changed with the pandemic 16 Mar 2020
Webinar recording: How Trends in API Documentation Differ from other Tech Comm Trends 12 Mar 2020
Introduction to API documentation - Recording from Los Angeles API documentation workshop 11 Mar 2020
Is there a place for exploratory writing in the workplace? 10 Mar 2020
Podcast: How Paligo is filling a niche in the CCMS market for complex documentation, with Anders Svensson 09 Mar 2020
The Manuscript Podcast, with Breno Barreto -- Episode 2, How technical should a tech writer be? 08 Mar 2020
February 2020
Checklist of different types of API docs 25 Feb 2020
Podcast with Andrew Davis: Hiring API doc writers -- an inside look at fixing broken processes 23 Feb 2020
WTD Podcast episode 27: Starting a doc group/process when you're the first 21 Feb 2020
New podcast: Unifying Technical Content Sets into a Broader Ecosystem, with Cruce Sanders at [A] 14 Feb 2020
Tools FAQ for API doc site 13 Feb 2020
Autonomous Agile Teams and Enterprise Content Strategy: An Impossible Combination? 13 Feb 2020
From API docs to developer portals 09 Feb 2020
January 2020
Site update: Switched from Disqus to Commento 30 Jan 2020
What is a DITA Content Management System (CMS)? guest post by John Baker 27 Jan 2020
Learning about event planning -- life pro tips from Jack Molisani 24 Jan 2020
Updated Intro to API documentation topic 09 Jan 2020
Reflections on my 2019 site analytics 08 Jan 2020
December 2019
WTD Podcast episode 26: Technical writing and Reddit, with Alan Bowman 31 Dec 2019
2020 Developer documentation survey 31 Dec 2019
Podcast: API Design and Usability with Arnaud Lauret (API Handyman) 07 Dec 2019
Upcoming API Documentation Workshop in Los Angeles, Calif., on January 23, 2020 02 Dec 2019
Reflecting on my latest SF API doc workshop 02 Dec 2019
November 2019
Follow-up to 4 Technical Writing Tests Post 12 Nov 2019
4 Technical Writing Tests to Screen Candidates 04 Nov 2019
October 2019
WTD Episode 25: Researching how developers use API docs, with Andrew Head 27 Oct 2019
Long-term strategies for project productivity 22 Oct 2019
Matching documentation review practices to company culture 17 Oct 2019
Podcast with Jacob Moses on the Not-Boring Tech Writer: Skill #26: Getting Started with API Documentation 03 Oct 2019
Podcast: Dealing with Project Overload -- Strategies to Manage Overflowing Documentation Tasks 02 Oct 2019
September 2019
Podcast: 10 myths about API documentation 29 Sep 2019
Expanding embedded Swagger UI instances in your docs 29 Sep 2019
WTD Episode 24: Conference chatter and the Australian scene, with Swapnil Ogaler 25 Sep 2019
WTD Episode 23: How to write inclusive tech documentation, by Lucie Le Naour 10 Sep 2019
An inside look at DeveloperHub -- hosted documentation portals for API docs 10 Sep 2019
Upcoming API Documentation Workshop in San Francisco, Calif., on November 19, 2019 09 Sep 2019
What I learned from organizing and running my first API documentation workshop from end to end 08 Sep 2019
August 2019
New topic in API course: Following agile scrum with documentation projects 23 Aug 2019
Can you collaborate on doc projects in Git with other writers? 08 Aug 2019
New topic in API course: Five strategies for documenting code 08 Aug 2019
July 2019
New topic in API course: Research on documenting code 29 Jul 2019
New topic in API course: Why documenting code is so difficult 29 Jul 2019
WTD Episode 22: Managing multiple doc projects across Git repositories, with Giles Gaskell 28 Jul 2019
Single-sourcing data into table templates in Jekyll 09 Jul 2019
Upcoming API Documentation Workshop in Mountain View, Calif., on August 30, 2019 08 Jul 2019
Every project is a monster you battle and slay 03 Jul 2019
June 2019
Recording of Tech Comm Trends Presentation (STC Puget Sound chapter) 08 Jun 2019
ClickHelp -- a flexible online platform for authoring and publishing technical documentation 08 Jun 2019
My documentation project plan template 07 Jun 2019
How to avoid inefficiencies even with context switching 06 Jun 2019
May 2019
Reader question: Am I specializing too much by limiting my focus to docs only? 22 May 2019
Crash course in API documentation -- a one-hour video 16 May 2019
Reader question: Recommended setup for docs-as-code tooling? 15 May 2019
Upcoming conference: The Tech Comm Roundup, by The Content Wrangler 13 May 2019
Technical writer position for Amazon Appstore team in Seattle or Irvine 12 May 2019
My slide links and presentation descriptions at the 2019 STC Summit 04 May 2019
April 2019
The essence of technical writing, and my five stages of review for documentation 22 Apr 2019
First look at Document360 -- an authoring/publishing tool that satisfies both KB and tech pubs needs 22 Apr 2019
New video recordings of Raleigh API documentation workshop now available 21 Apr 2019
Flare adds micro content feature, taking steps toward content management for AI scenarios 12 Apr 2019
When you're in the business of complexification 11 Apr 2019
A hypothesis on how to exert more influence and visibility inside the corporation 08 Apr 2019
Upcoming API workshops in Raleigh (April 6) and Denver (May 5) 01 Apr 2019
Recognizing Research Realities Across Technical Communication -- guest post by Kirk St. Amant 01 Apr 2019
March 2019
WTD Episode 21: On career growth, leadership, and mentoring in Tech Writing 31 Mar 2019
Master's in technical writing at Mercer — FAQ 26 Mar 2019
Results from survey about engineers who write documentation 21 Mar 2019
My documentation takeaways from the Boeing disaster -- two essential doc questions to ask for any project 20 Mar 2019
Biking at Alviso County Park (Santa Clara) 17 Mar 2019
Should you get a degree in a tech comm program? Two considerations to keep in mind 13 Mar 2019
How to encourage risk-taking and idealism without falling prey to cynical attitudes born from experience 12 Mar 2019
How to design API documentation for opportunistic (active, experiential) learning styles 07 Mar 2019
Confronting the fear of growing older when you're surrounded by young programmers 07 Mar 2019
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 20: Minimum requirements for good tech docs, with Matt Reiner 03 Mar 2019
Corporate exodus narratives: A close look at the tension between the corporation and academia 01 Mar 2019
February 2019
Asserting your expertise as a SME in the workplace: Q&A with Jennifer Mallette and Megan Gehrke 15 Feb 2019
How to become a 10X technical writer in the workplace 07 Feb 2019
How to motivate users to provide feedback: Show that you're listening to their input 01 Feb 2019
January 2019
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 19: Static site generators, with Jessica Parsons 31 Jan 2019
Recording of Trends presentation on The Content Wrangler BrightTALK channel 17 Jan 2019
Site analytics from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2018 -- are more engineers writing docs now? 14 Jan 2019
Employment and salary outlook for technical writers based on the 2017-2018 STC Salary Database 08 Jan 2019
December 2018
Is Premium Grammarly worth it for identifying style and grammar issues in tech docs? 28 Dec 2018
Obituary for my dad - David Tait Johnson, 1935 - 2018 26 Dec 2018
Research on code documentation -- when not to comment on code 20 Dec 2018
Top 10 holiday gifts for technical writers 18 Dec 2018
My podcast about writing with Ellis Pratt on Cherryleaf 13 Dec 2018
November 2018
My upcoming presentation and workshop at the 2019 STC Summit in Denver 29 Nov 2018
Upcoming BrightTALK webinar on trends -- January 15, 2019 29 Nov 2018
Recap and thoughts on the WTD Australia 2018 conference (Write the Docs podcast episode 18) 25 Nov 2018
Bibliography of API documentation articles 25 Nov 2018
How to avoid being a secretary for engineers 19 Nov 2018
I'd Rather Be Writing is now an Alexa Flash Briefing skill 05 Nov 2018
October 2018
Upcoming full-day API documentation workshop in Menlo Park 31 Oct 2018
The Tell-Tale Project — Guest Post by Edgar Allan Poe, Technical Writer 31 Oct 2018
Preferring technical acuity over specialized knowledge 24 Oct 2018
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 17: Structured Writing -- reasons and approaches, with Mark Baker 23 Oct 2018
Brainstorming by transposing patterns from one category to another 19 Oct 2018
The ideal number of slides for an hour-long presentation, and other thoughts on preparing slides 15 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends -- why tech writers will be collaborating more with engineers 09 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part I) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part II) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part III) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part IV) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part V) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VI) 02 Oct 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VII) 02 Oct 2018
September 2018
Tech comm podcasts roundup and survey 15 Sep 2018
Pages at a glance -- the importance of the first two sentences of any topic 15 Sep 2018
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 16: An open-source Grammarly for tech docs? 06 Sep 2018
August 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity series -- Iterate and increment on content following an agile approach 31 Aug 2018
Getting a job in API documentation -- new topics and expansions in my API doc course 22 Aug 2018
Strategies for learning technology -- podcast recommendation and a poll 10 Aug 2018
If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is? 09 Aug 2018
The right story for tech writers to tell in a corporate blog post 02 Aug 2018
July 2018
Articulating stories that influence product adoption (new article in Simplifying Complexity series) 31 Jul 2018
Reciprocal knowledge networks and the iFixit Technical Writing Project -- Conversation with Guiseppe Getto 25 Jul 2018
Looking at the theoretical foundations for tech comm -- Conversation with Lisa Melonçon 24 Jul 2018
Adventures of a Techie Academic with Lightweight DITA (LwDITA): Conversation with Carlos Evia 23 Jul 2018
WTD Episode 15: User research, tech writer stereotypes, and conversations 22 Jul 2018
Teaching Technological Adaptability to Bridge the Gap (Guest post by Melonie McMichael) 18 Jul 2018
Results from my Academic/Practitioner Attitudes surveys now available 17 Jul 2018
The relationship between academics and practitioners -- Podcast with Kirk St. Amant 11 Jul 2018
Reducing the complexity of technical language (new article in Simplifying Complexity series) 11 Jul 2018
Random reflections on the throwaway mentality in our culture 03 Jul 2018
Thoughts on docs-as-code after 3 years -- it works! 03 Jul 2018
A short survey to measure academic/practitioner attitudes 02 Jul 2018
June 2018
10 ways technical writing is just like the World Cup 19 Jun 2018
MadCap Flare 2018 and MadCap Central Review for the May 2018 Release -- Guest post 19 Jun 2018
Evaluating the user experience of documentation -- Podcast with Bob Watson 18 Jun 2018
Non-Reference Content section updated in API course 12 Jun 2018
Hiding Complexity -- A new Simplifying Complexity article 12 Jun 2018
May 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity: Reconstructing the absent user 31 May 2018
The reason I always find time to write on this blog 18 May 2018
Stoplight -- creating a single source of truth to drive the API lifecycle 11 May 2018
My site now has Algolia search integrated 02 May 2018
April 2018
Replaced the previous weather API example in my API course to now use OpenWeatherAPI 28 Apr 2018
Do you have to relocate to an urban tech hub to find a technical writing job? 27 Apr 2018
New Simplifying Complexity article on shaping information into familiar schemas, especially story 18 Apr 2018
A Review of the MadWorld Conference -- guest post by Jayna Locke 18 Apr 2018
March 2018
New article on Simplifying Complexity: Reduction, layering, and distillation as a strategy for simplicity 28 Mar 2018
The math game my daughter and her friend created with Codesters 28 Mar 2018
What can we learn from the homogenous profiles in the Stack Overflow 2018 survey? 27 Mar 2018
WTD podcast episode 14: Humanizing your documentation 23 Mar 2018
Recording of API documentation workshop in Denver 12 Mar 2018
Guest post: The story behind DocToolHub, a site for finding tech comm tools 09 Mar 2018
Recording of Docs-as-code tools and workflows presentation 09 Mar 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity -- Ensuring information harmony in the larger documentation landscape 07 Mar 2018
February 2018
Perspectives on tech comm from the VP Candidates — Q&A with Pam Brewer 20 Feb 2018
Perspectives on tech comm from the VP Candidates — Q&A with Ben Woelk 20 Feb 2018
Recording of OpenAPI and Swagger presentation (for STC and WTD San Diego) 14 Feb 2018
Two open-ended surveys to gauge practitioner/academic attitudes 06 Feb 2018
New Simplifying complexity tutorial: Discoverability through metadata 05 Feb 2018
January 2018
New section on my site: Simplifying complexity 24 Jan 2018
WTD Episode 13: Postman for API development and docs — Interview with Postman Founder 22 Jan 2018
Recording of WTD South Bay presentation: Publishing tools for API documentation 19 Jan 2018
Unexpected realizations after a comprehensive review of my 2017 site metrics 11 Jan 2018
New STC Intercom article: How to Research What You Need to Learn to Be Successful as a Technical Writer 03 Jan 2018
What technical writing trends will we see in 2018? 02 Jan 2018
December 2017
Part VIII: Conclusion 28 Dec 2017
Part VI: Deepening documentation's value by simplifying complexity 28 Dec 2017
Part V: Influencing the content experience 28 Dec 2017
Part IV: Enabling information flow 28 Dec 2017
Part III: Determining value through usage 28 Dec 2017
Part II: Reviewing past research 28 Dec 2017
Part I: Introduction to the series 28 Dec 2017
Why is TC Camp's unconference format so popular? Interview with Liz Fraley, TC Camp Founder 22 Dec 2017
WTD Episode 12: Founding ideas behind Write the Docs 14 Dec 2017
Biking down Coyote Creek Trail 10 Dec 2017
How to become a voracious reader 01 Dec 2017
November 2017
WTD Podcast Episode 11: Exploring the Mozilla Developer Network's Web Docs project 28 Nov 2017
How do you communicate user progress in a course without a Learning Management System (LMS)? 28 Nov 2017
Case study: Switching tools to docs-as-code 21 Nov 2017
Intro to API Documentation -- recording of presentation to STC Silicon Valley chapter on 11/20/2017 19 Nov 2017
Balancing writing, editing, and learning in equal measures 18 Nov 2017
New OpenAPI 3.0 specification tutorial in my API Course 07 Nov 2017
October 2017
Question: Which software tools should I use if my goal is to write API docs? 12 Oct 2017
WTD Episode 10: What's going on in our lives as documentarians and product owners 10 Oct 2017
SwaggerHub: A collaborative platform for working on OpenAPI/Swagger specification files, and more 05 Oct 2017
September 2017
Convert Google Docs content to Markdown or HTML using the gd2md-html add-on 22 Sep 2017
Has plain language deepened or ruined our delight in language? 20 Sep 2017
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 9: Chatbots in Documentation 19 Sep 2017
August 2017
Discoveries and realizations while walking down the Docs-as-Code path 23 Aug 2017
Why Stack Overflow's Documentation effort failed -- a few thoughts from a technical writer's perspective 05 Aug 2017
Tech docs and Agile: Alternatives to integrating into engineering Scrums (Part 2) 04 Aug 2017
Tech docs and Agile: Problems with integrating tech writers into engineering Scrums (Part 1) 04 Aug 2017
July 2017
Why simple language isn't so simple: the struggle to create plain language in documentation 27 Jul 2017
When the pain of ignorance exceeds the pain of learning 23 Jul 2017
Transparency in documentation: dealing with limits about what you can and cannot say 13 Jul 2017
Write the Docs Podcast Episode #7: Let The Robots Do The Work 06 Jul 2017
June 2017
Circle review -- How to manage your kids' access to Internet devices 30 Jun 2017
My second-chance points strategy with documentation 25 Jun 2017
The problem with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in documentation 23 Jun 2017
Recording of my WTD Portland 2017 presentation on Building navigation for your doc site -- 5 best practices 08 Jun 2017
Write the Docs Podcast Episode #6: Metadata and UI copy 08 Jun 2017
Limits to the idea of treating docs as code 02 Jun 2017
May 2017
How big should your documentation repo be? 26 May 2017
Slides for Write the Docs Portland presentation on doc navigation best practices 14 May 2017
Testing your documentation -- updates in API doc course 04 May 2017
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 5 -- Where do we belong? 01 May 2017
April 2017
My Calm Meditation app -- another experiment to test my docs 27 Apr 2017
Tutorial on converting an HTML site into a Jekyll theme 13 Apr 2017
Following instructions involves learning a new language -- adventures with Tinker Crate projects 13 Apr 2017
Write the Docs Podcast app now on Fire TV, and the importance of testing your docs with sample apps 09 Apr 2017
Amazon begins pilot with voice-interactive user manuals 01 Apr 2017
March 2017
Tutorials versus docs -- why you need both 30 Mar 2017
Moved my API doc site into separate repo 30 Mar 2017
Simplifying my life and writing 15 Mar 2017
Guest post -- The effects of terminology consistency on the reader's comprehension and attitude 10 Mar 2017
Crowdsourcing docs with docs-as-code tools -- same result as with wikis? 08 Mar 2017
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 4 -- Continuous Integration and Docs as Code 06 Mar 2017
Adobe FrameMaker 2017 -- time, tools, and the tech writer’s focus on content 06 Mar 2017
Upcoming 2017 Write the Docs Conference in Portland 03 Mar 2017
Guest Post -- MadCap Central: A Review for Companies Delivering Technical Communication Services 02 Mar 2017
February 2017
How do you learn what you need to learn to be successful as a technical writer? 24 Feb 2017
Guest post: Design choices for organizing API reference content with other documentation 21 Feb 2017
Recording of User-Centered Design Principles for Organizing Documentation 18 Feb 2017
Write the Docs Podcast #3 - Trends for 2017 03 Feb 2017
January 2017
Technical Writing Trends and Predictions for 2017 28 Jan 2017
Simplified Technical English and HyperSTE 25 Jan 2017
Recording: Modern Technical Writing, by Andrew Etter (STC Silicon Valley chapter) 24 Jan 2017
Recording: Writing tech docs like a hacker with Jekyll 18 Jan 2017
My top 3 posts of 2016 are all Swagger-related -- lessons learned from 2016 analytics 17 Jan 2017
Swagger presentation recording -- Harnessing the Chi of Swagger in your REST API documentation 17 Jan 2017
FrameMaker and the mobile web: Evaluating Adobe FrameMaker's responsive HTML5 output 16 Jan 2017
MadCap Central -- a first look at MadCap’s new cloud-based collaboration and publishing solution 16 Jan 2017
How much code do you need to know to create API developer documentation? 06 Jan 2017
Attend my upcoming TC Dojo presentation on Swagger on Jan 9, 2017 06 Jan 2017
TC Camp in Santa Clara to be held Jan 21, 2017 06 Jan 2017
December 2016
Generalist versus specialist: What should you focus on with knowledge building in your tech writing role? 20 Dec 2016
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 2 (which Focuses on Findability) Now Available 18 Dec 2016
Updating a single page versus updating the documentation as a whole 14 Dec 2016
November 2016
New podcast from the Write the Docs community 23 Nov 2016
Recording of Open Authoring -- Collaboration Across Disciplines presentation, by Ralph Squillace 15 Nov 2016
Review of Coding for Writers course by Peter Gruenbaum on Udemy 13 Nov 2016
How to avoid becoming extinct in your technical writing career 06 Nov 2016
October 2016
Markdown or reStructuredText or DITA? Choosing the right format for tech docs 28 Oct 2016
How to tell if you're a content strategist 26 Oct 2016
How to deliver newsletters for your Jekyll site 23 Oct 2016
Coding the sidebar navigation element for documentation websites 23 Oct 2016
From podcasts to audio books and now back to podcasts -- experimenting with a new angle 22 Oct 2016
Saving Your Sanity Through Better Client Relations -- with Alisa Bonsignore 18 Oct 2016
My gravity towards tools 17 Oct 2016
September 2016
Zooming out and in with navigation 25 Sep 2016
Kanban may be a better fit than scrum when you support large numbers of engineers 23 Sep 2016
How can technical writers thrive in agile environments? Event recording and details 20 Sep 2016
Implementing Swagger in your API documentation -- My ISTC article 08 Sep 2016
Balancing the never-ending list of documentation to write with your natural interests and passions 02 Sep 2016
August 2016
The variety of tools tech comm professionals use 21 Aug 2016
The complexities of translation and the need for dynamic variables in the build process 15 Aug 2016
Will the docs-as-code approach scale? Responding to comments on my Review of Modern Technical Writing 01 Aug 2016
The Story of Paligo: A new browser-based CCMS with all the features you'd ever want 01 Aug 2016
July 2016
Review of Andrew Etter's ebook on Modern Technical Writing 26 Jul 2016
Applying Tim Ferriss' 4-hour work week rules to tech comm projects 20 Jul 2016
Context switching and efficiency -- Kanban to the rescue? 13 Jul 2016
Why Programming Sucks and the fallacy of documentation in the context of code chaos 12 Jul 2016
Thoughts on Documentation Avoidance for Programmers 09 Jul 2016
June 2016
How the Solve This! meetup format turned out -- plus some unachieved parallels with the Dead Poet Society 30 Jun 2016
The difference between marketing writing and technical writing in one small sign 28 Jun 2016
A jump in Google traffic due to content quality? 23 Jun 2016
Attend the "Solve This!" Write the Docs Meetup tomorrow (June 23, 2016) 22 Jun 2016
Examples of visual communication in developer documentation with the Android Vocabulary Glossary 21 Jun 2016
My technical communication contribution to the UX Careers Handbook 21 Jun 2016
Advanced formatting with Markdown using Jekyll and Includes 06 Jun 2016
More complex user process maps in documentation systems 03 Jun 2016
Interested in working as a technical writer at Amazon? 03 Jun 2016
May 2016
Examples of linear workflow user maps built with JS and CSS 30 May 2016
8 image translation issues for tech doc — guest post by Jeanine Shepstone 26 May 2016
11 images issues for tech doc systems — guest post by Jeanine Shepstone 26 May 2016
Recent Write the Docs presentation recordings 22 May 2016
Some post-STC Summit thoughts 20 May 2016
Slides for Writing Tech Docs Like a Hacker with Jekyll presentation 17 May 2016
Slides for Documenting REST APIs Workshop — 2016 STC Summit Anaheim, Calif. 14 May 2016
How do you establish more context in a topic-based writing model? 11 May 2016
Getting sharp, clear text in screen captures — and making sense of Retina displays 10 May 2016
Jekyll Conf 2016 slides and video: Overcoming Challenges in Using Jekyll for Tech Docs 07 May 2016
Creating professional looking graphics in the easiest, simplest way possible 05 May 2016
Visual communication overview 01 May 2016
April 2016
Three types of knowledge every technical writer needs to be successful 27 Apr 2016
Recording of WTD presentation on Video Documentation, by Alicia Avrach 24 Apr 2016
Seeing things from the perspective of a learner 20 Apr 2016
Eight reasons why documentation fails for users, and what to do about it 12 Apr 2016
API documentation workshop opportunity at the STC Summit 07 Apr 2016
Lightning talks from San Francisco Write the Docs meetup 03 Apr 2016
March 2016
Xeditor, a CMS editor for XML content 30 Mar 2016
REST API documentation workshop recording (STC Sacramento) 27 Mar 2016
Version 5.0 of my Documentation Theme for Jekyll now available 23 Mar 2016
Hi there – Let’s get casual… Guest post by Lavanya Krishnamurthy 21 Mar 2016
Shannon got into Stanford's MA Liberal Arts program 13 Mar 2016
Selling Girl Scout cookies 13 Mar 2016
Starting a new series on visual communication 12 Mar 2016
10 minute podcast on API technical writing with Ryan Weber on Stitcher 12 Mar 2016
February 2016
Retrospective — Looking back at the good and bad of previous experiences 27 Feb 2016
So People Don't RTFM? Write a FM That's Worth R'ing — Guest post by Marcia Riefer Johnston 24 Feb 2016
Lightweight DITA article in Technical Communication Journal 23 Feb 2016
I'm starting a new job at Amazon Lab126 21 Feb 2016
Answering questions in James Gill's upcoming book, How to Get Started as a Technical Writer 21 Feb 2016
What is the ideal tool for developer documentation environments? 21 Feb 2016
Updating from redcarpet and Pygments to Kramdown and Rouge on Github Pages 21 Feb 2016
Why didn't WordPress take off with tech docs? 16 Feb 2016
Two upcoming API documentation events this Thursday 16 Feb 2016
Is the only way to plug into a documentation CCMS through DITA/XML? 12 Feb 2016
Three models for single source publishing — and challenges with each 11 Feb 2016
My YAML tutorial in the context of Jekyll 08 Feb 2016
The third API course from Peter Gruenbaum on Udemy 08 Feb 2016
Upcoming REST API documentation workshop in Sacramento 08 Feb 2016
New section in API documentation course: The Job Market for API technical Writers 08 Feb 2016
January 2016
Challenges in documenting long JSON objects 21 Jan 2016
How to apply agile processes to manage your life's projects 21 Jan 2016
The problem with adopting bleeding-edge tools 10 Jan 2016
Spec-driven Development with RAML — presentation by Michael Stowe to STC Silicon Valley chapter 09 Jan 2016
First video for API documentation course -- your feedback? 07 Jan 2016
Are technical writing blogs growing or dying? 05 Jan 2016
What is the technical writer's role in content marketing? 04 Jan 2016
Analyzing top posts on my blog during 2015 — Deciding between brand versus readership 01 Jan 2016
December 2015
My 2016 technical writing trends and predictions, or the ripple effects of API growth on technical writers 29 Dec 2015
Recording of Creating Documentation for Startups: Panel Discussion — Write the Docs San Francisco 22 Dec 2015
My upcoming 2016 STC Summit workshop and presentation 22 Dec 2015
How do you stay updated with changes developers are silently making? 20 Dec 2015
Those pesky authoring tool questions, and an update on my adventures with Jekyll 19 Dec 2015
Recording of Version Control, Writers, and Worfklows by Richard Mateosian 17 Dec 2015
Question: How long does it take to ramp up on your Jekyll theme? 14 Dec 2015
Swagger UI probably the coolest thing I've done in API docs 13 Dec 2015
10 realizations as I was creating my Swagger spec and Swagger UI 10 Dec 2015
Guest Post: Could Software Perform Technical Writing? by Robert Desprez 04 Dec 2015
Single sourcing the Swagger spec and main documentation using Jekyll 03 Dec 2015
Version 4.0 released for the Jekyll Documentation Theme 03 Dec 2015
November 2015
Planning my API doc course 29 Nov 2015
Upcoming Write the Docs Meetup 17 Nov 2015
My pros and cons of using Jekyll for documentation 17 Nov 2015
Can you replace a CCMS with version control such as Git or Mercurial? 06 Nov 2015
Tell me about your career as a technical writer... 04 Nov 2015
Why incremental regeneration in Jekyll 3.0 is such a big deal 04 Nov 2015
October 2015
Increase efficiency 24 times faster when fixing errors — implications for technical writers on agile teams 27 Oct 2015
Podcast: Spec-driven Development of REST APIs, with a focus on RAML -- interview with Michael Stowe 12 Oct 2015
Udemy podcast (with me) and infographic on technical writing 06 Oct 2015
5 REST API resources to add to your reading list 03 Oct 2015
Tutorial for creating interactive consoles with RAML 03 Oct 2015
Question: If you weren't a technical writer, what would you be? 02 Oct 2015
September 2015
Why so little focus on API doc at tech comm conferences? 30 Sep 2015
Question: Can I earn a living blogging? 30 Sep 2015
Question: How long has your API doc course been available? 29 Sep 2015
Question: How are you publishing and delivering your docs? 29 Sep 2015
Question: How do I tell what platform people are using for API docs? 28 Sep 2015
Experimenting with a shorter post style 26 Sep 2015
Added native library API section to API doc course 26 Sep 2015
Upcoming "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session 14 Sep 2015
Swagger tutorial for REST API documentation 14 Sep 2015
Survey analyzing skill requirements in job postings 12 Sep 2015
How to avoid broken links when single sourcing 11 Sep 2015
Editing workflows and reviews through Github's pull requests 10 Sep 2015
Comparing object-oriented design to content reuse 10 Sep 2015
How authorization works with APIs 04 Sep 2015
August 2015
What is a REST API? 28 Aug 2015
Proposals for 2016 *STC Silicon Valley Chapter* presentations now accepted 27 Aug 2015
My process for creating vector diagrams with Illustrator 23 Aug 2015
Version 3.0 of my Documentation theme for Jekyll released 13 Aug 2015
Question: What qualities should technical writers have to work at startups? 12 Aug 2015
Podcast: The divide between academics and practitioners -- Interview with Lisa Meloncon 10 Aug 2015
Why is there a divide between academics and practitioners in tech comm? 05 Aug 2015
July 2015
When are wikis ever successful? 30 Jul 2015
An easy way to support my site: Sign up for technical writing job alerts 30 Jul 2015
LearningDITA.com: A new online learning resource for DITA by Scriptorium 28 Jul 2015
How do you test content that's beyond your skill level? 28 Jul 2015
Should you add your testing scenarios into your documentation? 27 Jul 2015
Peter Gruenbaum has released part 2 of his Udemy course on API technical writing 24 Jul 2015
Survey results about the possible REST API workshop 24 Jul 2015
Is it inefficient to frequently switch contexts among multiple projects? 23 Jul 2015
Survey about possible REST API workshop — your feedback would be helpful 20 Jul 2015
Getting mobile friendly display and responsive design just right, especially with ads 17 Jul 2015
Reader question: How do I move forward out of a stagnant tech writing career? 15 Jul 2015
Should technical writers care about more than documentation? 14 Jul 2015
Build a technical writing portfolio by writing documentation for startups 10 Jul 2015
Communicating feedback from testing documentation 10 Jul 2015
Guest post: 10 New Things to Love and Hate About Flare 09 Jul 2015
Should QA test documentation? 09 Jul 2015
Listen to Ed Marsh's Content Content podcast with me as a guest 08 Jul 2015
The key to writing good documentation: Testing your instructions 07 Jul 2015
Pingdom reports with WordPress on Bluehost/MaxCDN versus with Jekyll on Github 07 Jul 2015
Three questions people ask me each week 01 Jul 2015
June 2015
Slides, notes, and lessons learned at the STC Summit 2015 in Columbus, Ohio 29 Jun 2015
My upcoming workshop and presentation at the STC Summit 2015 in Columbus, Ohio 18 Jun 2015
How to avoid early death from sitting down all day 18 Jun 2015
How do you authenticate your documentation? 17 Jun 2015
My daughter published a real video game through "Girls Make Games" camp 17 Jun 2015
Check out my conversation on ContentHug 17 Jun 2015
How can technical writers cut through engineering jargon and decode complex information? 08 Jun 2015
May 2015
Why no one stopped by my technical writing booth at career fair day 31 May 2015
Moved my blog from WordPress to Jekyll 29 May 2015
Integrating Documentation into engineering code and workflows 26 May 2015
API technical writing course on Udemy from Peter Gruenbaum, and some thoughts on documenting JSON 22 May 2015
Switched commenting systems to Disqus 17 May 2015
Introduction to technical writing -- slides and audio recording 16 May 2015
API Documentation presentation to East Bay STC chapter -- slides and recording 16 May 2015
How to design documentation for non-linear reading behavior 15 May 2015
Recording and slides from "Jekyll vs. DITA: Bridging the Gap Between Tech Comm and the Web" presentation 14 May 2015
User-centered documentation slides 14 May 2015
Upcoming presentation: Jekyll versus DITA: Bridging the Gap between Tech Comm and the Web 10 May 2015
April 2015
New series: User-centered documentation 23 Apr 2015
Final analysis between DITA and Jekyll 15 Apr 2015
Producing PDFs in DITA versus Jekyll 14 Apr 2015
Reviewing content in DITA versus Jekyll 13 Apr 2015
Creating links in DITA versus Jekyll 06 Apr 2015
Newbie to Technical Writer in 4 Easy Steps 03 Apr 2015
Building a table of contents with DITA versus Jekyll 02 Apr 2015
Creating re-usable chunks (conref) in Jekyll versus DITA 01 Apr 2015
March 2015
Variables and conditional processing in Jekyll versus DITA 26 Mar 2015
Authoring with Markdown in Jekyll versus Authoring with DITA in OxygenXML 26 Mar 2015
Check out Ed Marsh's podcast, and also My New series: Jekyll versus DITA 23 Mar 2015
Some thoughts on attending tcworld India 2015 22 Mar 2015
PDF still trumps browser-based help? 19 Mar 2015
Recording of API documentation workshop (REST and Javadoc) at tcworld India 2015 19 Mar 2015
Recording of Innovation in Technical Communication keynote at tcworld India 2015 18 Mar 2015
Slides for tcworld India 2015 presentations 11 Mar 2015
Reveal JS: An HTML5 alternative to PowerPoint, with support for SVG graphics 11 Mar 2015
Pushing content into any format with Jekyll 06 Mar 2015
How to create a help API 04 Mar 2015
February 2015
Static site generators start to replace web publishing platforms like WordPress 27 Feb 2015
Some web tools worth using in help solutions 26 Feb 2015
Piggybacking onto the innovation of the web 24 Feb 2015
Microsoft and the last 5 great technological innovations 20 Feb 2015
Interactive video workshop in San Jose this Saturday, 1-5pm 19 Feb 2015
The genius of Github and how it can transform tech comm 18 Feb 2015
XML and the web: drifting farther apart? 13 Feb 2015
The only significant innovation for tech comm 13 Feb 2015
A long list of technical innovations semi-relevant to technical writers 12 Feb 2015
Sustaining and disruptive innovations 10 Feb 2015
Podcast: The upcoming tcworld India conference on March 12-13, with Akash Dubey 09 Feb 2015
Why do we need PDFs? 05 Feb 2015
Upcoming workshop: Creating Interactive Video Tutorials, with Bernard Aschwanden on Feb 21 05 Feb 2015
Best practices for API documentation -- podcast with Andrya Feinberg 04 Feb 2015
Survival strategies for API documentation -- slides and recording 03 Feb 2015
Creating context-sensitive help by converting your help into a JSON API with Jekyll 01 Feb 2015
January 2015
Writing is like sorting laundry -- practical advice for tackling documentation projects 29 Jan 2015
10 reasons for moving away from DITA 28 Jan 2015
API workshop video + audio + slides + workshop files from TC Camp 27 Jan 2015
Reinventing the table of contents 26 Jan 2015
Implementing ScrollSpy with Jekyll to auto-build a table of contents 20 Jan 2015
Most important factor in APIs is complete and accurate documentation 15 Jan 2015
API doc survey: Do engineers write API doc in the source code? 15 Jan 2015
API doc survey: How much of your doc process is automated? 15 Jan 2015
Several REST API tutorials using the EventBrite, Klout, and Flickr APIs 14 Jan 2015
Experimenting with Jekyll for tech comm 14 Jan 2015
API doc survey: Most challenging aspect of API documentation 12 Jan 2015
Jan 12 Silicon Valley STC meeting: Passive vs. reactive doc + readme.com 11 Jan 2015
Question: How do I add my DITA content in Confluence for SME review? 09 Jan 2015
Podcast: Unifying the API doc publishing toolchain, with Mark Baker 08 Jan 2015
API doc survey result: How to learn what you need to know? 07 Jan 2015
API doc survey result: How do you get the source files that contain code comments? 06 Jan 2015
API doc survey result: Automating REST API documentation 06 Jan 2015
Podcast: Automating REST API documentation, with Peter Gruenbaum 05 Jan 2015
New cost-per-click feature for advertising on I'd Rather Be Writing During 2015 05 Jan 2015
My *real* top 10 technical writing trend predictions for 2015 05 Jan 2015
Top 10 posts, podcasts, tweets of 2014 -- and what it all means 05 Jan 2015
API doc survey: Do you create API doc by looking at source code? 02 Jan 2015
API doc survey: What IDE do you use? 02 Jan 2015
API doc survey: Do you test out the API calls used in your doc yourself? 02 Jan 2015
Predictions for Top 10 Technical Writing Trends for 2015 01 Jan 2015
December 2014
Various Site updates: Added third column with dynamic sidebar, and more 29 Dec 2014
Question: Where are API documentation jobs for technical writers located? 24 Dec 2014
API doc survey: Authoring tools preferred by API documentation writers 24 Dec 2014
Learning how developers think, and other API doc insights: Podcast with Joe Malin 22 Dec 2014
API doc survey: The most common programming languages tech writers know 22 Dec 2014
API doc survey: The most popular type of APIs that technical writers document 17 Dec 2014
Getting a job in API documentation: Podcast with Andrew Davis 17 Dec 2014
I need your responses to my API Documentation Survey 12 Dec 2014
Authoring tools for startups -- Guest post by Vinish Garg 11 Dec 2014
Podcast download stats kind of mind-blowing 09 Dec 2014
DITA: Glossary terms and acronyms 04 Dec 2014
Free from limitations and imaginary lines 04 Dec 2014
Convert Markdown Content to DITA in 20 seconds 03 Dec 2014
November 2014
The Upcoming TC Camp Unconference and my morning API workshop 28 Nov 2014
Upcoming API Workshop with Sarah Maddox 28 Nov 2014
Dynamic content filtering with OxygenXML's webhelp output 19 Nov 2014
Add a mini-TOC to your OxygenXML webhelp topics 13 Nov 2014
Crystal Springs Reservoir ride, and other details 09 Nov 2014
Impressions from my first Write the Docs meetup 08 Nov 2014
The Evolution of Technical Writing 07 Nov 2014
Flat file systems versus database models for help 05 Nov 2014
The Author Experience -- Interview with Rick Yagodich 05 Nov 2014
October 2014
Simplifying DITA authoring by using a Markdown to HTML to DITA workflow 29 Oct 2014
Celebrating Lucy and her timeline 28 Oct 2014
Santa Clara to San Carlos bike ride 26 Oct 2014
API and SDK documentation: Notes from Ed Marshall's Workshop at Information Development World 25 Oct 2014
Slides and recording for "Perfecting the audio narration in instructional video" at Info Dev World 23 Oct 2014
Upcoming presentation at #InfoDevWorld: "Perfecting the Audio Narration in Instructional Videos" 21 Oct 2014
DocOps: Interview with Jim Turcotte 21 Oct 2014
San Francisco city-to-ferry loop bicycle ride 19 Oct 2014
Biking trip to Yosemite 16 Oct 2014
API Doc presentation slides and recording (San Francisco STC chapter) 16 Oct 2014
Import DITA's XHTML Output into WordPress 14 Oct 2014
Outside the tech comm tool bubble, there is a wide, wide world 09 Oct 2014
September 2014
Why developers will never adopt DITA 30 Sep 2014
Natural Bridges 28 Sep 2014
Maisie's peak and more 28 Sep 2014
Two major Confluence problems: poor content re-use and lack of wiki markup 24 Sep 2014
Using collapsible sections to bring tasks and concepts together (DITA) 22 Sep 2014
Foreword to Developing User Assistance for Mobile Apps, 2nd Edition 19 Sep 2014
Adding code comments through a sliding jQuery Sidr panel (DITA) 16 Sep 2014
STC Intercom Issue Entirely Dedicated to API Documentation 10 Sep 2014
Using WordPress natively for single source publishing and conditional content 08 Sep 2014
Upcoming presentation in downtown San Francisco: Publishing strategies for API documentation 02 Sep 2014
Challenges in using WordPress for publishing DITA content 02 Sep 2014
Thirteen life hacks 01 Sep 2014
August 2014
Author in DITA, publish with WordPress 19 Aug 2014
Woes of conditional text and topichead elements (DITA best practices) 10 Aug 2014
Benefits of tool diversity, part II 07 Aug 2014
Is tool fragmentation in tech comm a good thing? 05 Aug 2014
July 2014
Reviewing draft DITA content with subject matter experts: 6 essential points 31 Jul 2014
My DITA quick reference guide (QRG) 30 Jul 2014
Book Review: The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt 27 Jul 2014
Writing documentation in an interactive world: Some thoughts on using easyDITA and OxygenXML 25 Jul 2014
The part of the brain you should listen to when writing 16 Jul 2014
June 2014
Content Re-use is so much better with DITA (and esp. with OxygenXML) 29 Jun 2014
Strategies for content re-use in Confluence 24 Jun 2014
10 technical writing principles to live by 20 Jun 2014
Information Development World and the Customer Experience -- A Podcast with Scott Abel and Val Swisher 18 Jun 2014
Introduction to API documentation: Interview with Scot Marvin 16 Jun 2014
Started a new job 12 Jun 2014
Lessons learned as a novice API technical writer -- Interview with Mary Linderman (podcast) 08 Jun 2014
The future of tech comm is developer doc 03 Jun 2014
May 2014
Creating code samples for API/SDK documentation (webinar recording, slides, and audio) 30 May 2014
How to embed looping videos on your web page 18 May 2014
My Intercom article on gamification and user engagement 18 May 2014
Recording of my STC Sacramento presentation -- Why users can't find answers in help material 18 May 2014
What does DITA-structured help look like? 15 May 2014
Complex tools versus simple tools 10 May 2014
Upcoming webinar: Creating code samples for API/SDK documentation 09 May 2014
DITA: Nested subheadings and the concept element 08 May 2014
DITA: Limitations with the chunk="to-content" attribute in relationship tables 02 May 2014
DITA hierarchical links, related links, short descriptions, and one-folder organization 01 May 2014
April 2014
DITA: Why DITA, metadata, working in code and author views, and relationship tables 25 Apr 2014
DITA: Folder hierarchy, conref, mapref, and more 22 Apr 2014
My DITA journey begins 16 Apr 2014
The need for robust tech comm authoring tools 13 Apr 2014
Strategies for using links with DITA 08 Apr 2014
STC Chapter provides lavish "all expenses paid" outing to San Diego zoo for members 01 Apr 2014
Now that debts are paid off, plan to travel the world for a year, documenting things 01 Apr 2014
Dita Von Teese to give keynote at DITA North America 2014 Conference 01 Apr 2014
New hot coals event to be highlight at Lavacon conference 01 Apr 2014
The Content Wrangler Announces New 52 Mini-Conference Model 01 Apr 2014
March 2014
Using metadata to control online navigation through portlets 27 Mar 2014
Writing skills versus technical skills, or, What I realized in solving a Sudoku puzzle 19 Mar 2014
soap! A new conference for technical writers in Poland 18 Mar 2014
Two months after leaving the church -- an update 16 Mar 2014
Do I need to take courses in technical writing? Guest post by Laura Palmer 07 Mar 2014
Videos and reflections from the 2014 Intelligent Content Conference 03 Mar 2014
Tobi Crabtree on Virtual Agents (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Val Swisher on Translation Without Borders at Intelligent Content 2014 03 Mar 2014
Noz Urbina on The Biological Imperative for Intelligent Content (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Mark Baker on Every Page Is Page One (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Rahel Bailie on the Language of Content Strategy (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Don Day on Connecting Intelligent Content with Micropublishing (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Theresa Putkey on Diagnosing and Solving Content Problems (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Kyle Wiens on gamification and iFixit / Dozuki at Intelligent Content 2014 03 Mar 2014
Sarah O'Keefe on The Many Facets of Content Strategy (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Marcia Riefer Johnston on Writing (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
Tom Johnson on Blogging (Intelligent Content 2014) 03 Mar 2014
February 2014
Writers needed for Intercom issue on API documentation 26 Feb 2014
A simple way to write, edit, and publish documentation online using Google Docs and Markdown 25 Feb 2014
How can we know something that is totally unfamiliar to us? 20 Feb 2014
An argument for complexity rather than simplicity in technical communication 07 Feb 2014
Gamification and user engagement in e-learning and documentation 04 Feb 2014
January 2014
Will structure and style make documentation processes less costly? 26 Jan 2014
Growing trends for APIs and my favorite resources to learn technical information 20 Jan 2014
Upcoming interviews at the Intelligent Content Conference 16 Jan 2014
Why I left the Mormon church 16 Jan 2014
Single-page docs versus "Click Insanity" 12 Jan 2014
Upcoming presentation to Sacramento STC Chapter on Jan 16 12 Jan 2014
Tips for writing code comments in developer documentation 11 Jan 2014
Recording of STC Berkeley presentation on why users can't find answers in help 08 Jan 2014
DITA's output does not require separation of tasks from concepts 05 Jan 2014
The appeal of DITA 04 Jan 2014
Upcoming API Workshop in San Jose on Feb 8, 2014 01 Jan 2014
December 2013
How to lose weight without starving yourself 31 Dec 2013
WordPress tip: Create a series of posts 29 Dec 2013
Researching the right keywords (search engine optimization) 23 Dec 2013
Get a technical writing internship or on-the-job experience without having much time for it 18 Dec 2013
My Christmas wishlist on Techwhirl 18 Dec 2013
Single sourcing and duplicate content (search engine optimization) 16 Dec 2013
Introduction, frames, iframes, and tech comm tools (search engine optimization) 13 Dec 2013
Collapsible header sections -- more problematic than helpful 11 Dec 2013
TC Camp Unconference in San Jose, Calif. on January 25, 2014 10 Dec 2013
Making website banner ads more visible 05 Dec 2013
Is Atlassian Marginalizing Confluence Power Users? Guest Post by Steve Goldberg 03 Dec 2013
November 2013
A bucket list for a career in tech comm? 26 Nov 2013
Questions from readers: How to organize reviews, and whether a dedicated editor is worthwhile 21 Nov 2013
The Bug Badge 17 Nov 2013
Balancing new and familiar: Avoiding the Groundhog day syndrome 07 Nov 2013
Imperfect content and the difficulty of writing video scripts 04 Nov 2013
October 2013
Everything I needed to know about technical writing I learned in preschool... 30 Oct 2013
Recording and slides for "Why users can't find answers in help" presentation to STC Silicon Valley 23 Oct 2013
What to do with old manuals from products you own 08 Oct 2013
Learning How to Communicate Visually in Documentation 03 Oct 2013
September 2013
How to Search Engine Optimize (SEO) Your Help Documentation 22 Sep 2013
Narrative Workflow Topics: Helping Users Connect the Dots Among Topics 12 Sep 2013
Reader Question: How do I create online help, how to guides, quick start tutorials, or video tutorials? 11 Sep 2013
Recommended Article: APIs are delivering on their promise (SD Times: Software Development News) 10 Sep 2013
Creating Good Content Requires Cross-Department Collaboration 06 Sep 2013
Sticking with Obvious Information Versus Creating Information that Users Need 04 Sep 2013
August 2013
Subheadings: Perhaps the Most Useful Technique in Technical Writing 23 Aug 2013
Examples Are a Primary Way That Complicated Concepts Become Clear 20 Aug 2013
Interactive Poll: Why Can't Users Find Answers to Their Questions in Help? 15 Aug 2013
Why I Test Nearly Everything 08 Aug 2013
When Organizing Big Data Content, It's Okay To Be Messy 07 Aug 2013
7 Ways to Learn Difficult Subjects in Order to Write Useful Content 01 Aug 2013
July 2013
Turning Around the Disdain for Help by Focusing on Content 18 Jul 2013
Messages from Sponsors -- July 2013 16 Jul 2013
Sample Chapter from Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs, by Marcia Riefer Johnston 12 Jul 2013
Finding a Starting Point: Answering Questions or Addressing Purpose? 10 Jul 2013
June 2013
Abandoning the Social Network and Q&A Idea 29 Jun 2013
How do you answer every user's question? 28 Jun 2013
What Have Been My Most Successful Experiences in Connecting Help Material with Users? 26 Jun 2013
Notes from Future of Technical Communication Webinar 25 Jun 2013
Recording of "Video Tutorials for User Assistance" (UA Europe Presentation) 24 Jun 2013
Recording of "Making Content More Findable When Users Browse and Search" (UA Europe Presentation) 24 Jun 2013
Do We Need a New Approach to Help? Why Are Users So Apathetic Towards Help after 50 Years of Innovation? 18 Jun 2013
How Things Will Be in Tech Comm … After the Singularity? 15 Jun 2013
Version 2.0 of I'd Rather Be Writing -- More Community Driven 10 Jun 2013
Structured Authoring By For And Or Nor With In the Web 08 Jun 2013
Reader Question: How Do I Restrict Content by Role in the Same Output? 06 Jun 2013
Exploring Markdown in Collaborative Authoring to Publishing Workflows 04 Jun 2013
May 2013
Can Help Content Have Recognizable Facets? 29 May 2013
Faceted Search and Query Reformulation 28 May 2013
On Metadata and Help Content 27 May 2013
Moving Beyond the TOC in Organizing Help Content -- Illustrated Edition 22 May 2013
What Does Content Re-Use Look Like in a Web CMS? 17 May 2013
Is Structured Authoring (like DITA) a Good Fit for Publishing on a Website? 14 May 2013
Why Long Topics Are Better for the User 06 May 2013
Do Short Topics Make Information More Findable? 05 May 2013
Does Merging Support Content with Documentation Increase Findability? 01 May 2013
What makes Basketball Fun? Gamifying Exercise 01 May 2013
April 2013
Does DITA Encourage Authors to Fragment Information into a Million Little Pieces? 22 Apr 2013
How Do You Teach New Users Programming? 19 Apr 2013
How Can a Technical Writer Develop a Love of Programming Code? 18 Apr 2013
How Do You Gamify Writing? 17 Apr 2013
Why Do People Rank High on the MindTouch #Techcomm Influencer Report? 11 Apr 2013
Why Does Content Become Disorganized? 09 Apr 2013
Adding Syntax Highlighting to Code Examples Online and in Microsoft Word 04 Apr 2013
March 2013
Sample Expand and Collapse Code with Twisting Buttons 31 Mar 2013
Evaluating the Usability of Collapsible Sections (or jQuery's Content Toggle) 25 Mar 2013
Avoiding Quadrant Four 24 Mar 2013
How to Organize Page-Level Content 16 Mar 2013
Gamifying Chores 11 Mar 2013
What I Learned in Searching for a Job 03 Mar 2013
February 2013
Moving to California and Starting a New Job 15 Feb 2013
Two Competing Help Models: One-Stop Shopping or Specialized Stores? 13 Feb 2013
Single Sourcing and Redundancy 02 Feb 2013
January 2013
How to Get Programmers to Change User Interfaces 26 Jan 2013
Four Less Common Types of Technical Writers Companies Are Looking For 24 Jan 2013
Import DITA Webhelp Output into WordPress 21 Jan 2013
Single Sourcing Screen Captures to Print, Online, and Mobile Using Flare and Capture 20 Jan 2013
Looking at Search Analytics to Improve Help Content 19 Jan 2013
Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Technical Writing 17 Jan 2013
Connection Points with the Tech Comm Role 14 Jan 2013
Girl Scouts Painting and Comic Art Badges 13 Jan 2013
Discovering Girl Scouts 13 Jan 2013
Create a Child Theme to Customize a WordPress Theme 10 Jan 2013
Message from Sponsors — January 2013 07 Jan 2013
December 2012
Reader Question: "My Wish List for Technical Writing Tools" 31 Dec 2012
Moving Between the Agora and the Desert 16 Dec 2012
7 Ways to Increase Flare's Search Engine Optimization in Google's Results 15 Dec 2012
Knowledge Has a New Shape, and It's Not the Book 12 Dec 2012
Podcast: Include It All, Filter It Afterwards -- Interview with Mark Baker 11 Dec 2012
The Rebirth of My Podcast 11 Dec 2012
My Upcoming Presentations at User Assistance Europe in Manchester, England 08 Dec 2012
A Few Notes from Too Big To Know 06 Dec 2012
What Does "Every Page Is Page One" and "Include It All, Filter It Afterward" Mean? 04 Dec 2012
November 2012
Five Ways to Avoid the "Congratulations" Cliche as You Start a User's Guide 29 Nov 2012
Book Review: Your Brain at Work, by David Rock 27 Nov 2012
Incorporating Learning into Tech Comm Deliverables 26 Nov 2012
Implementing Highlighting in Madcap Flare's HTML5 Output 25 Nov 2012
Creating Video Tutorials for Android and iPhone Mobile Apps 20 Nov 2012
Exploring Flare's Mobile Webhelp Format in Depth 11 Nov 2012
Retina Display and Screen Capture Sizes in Online Help 10 Nov 2012
10 Realizations While Writing Documentation for a Mobile App 08 Nov 2012
October 2012
Staying Out of Maintenance Mode 29 Oct 2012
Writing in the Trenches Versus Writing on the Sidelines 27 Oct 2012
Upcoming STC Editing SIG Webinar: Writing and Editing Scripts for Video Tutorials 27 Oct 2012
Halloween Human Organ Donation Station 27 Oct 2012
Company Strategies for Blog Content That Avoids Controversy 22 Oct 2012
PowerPoint Slides from Lavacon Presentation on Producing Professional Sounding Audio in Video Tutorials 17 Oct 2012
The Double-Edged Sword of Hiding Controversial Information 16 Oct 2012
Podcast on Technical Writing 15 Oct 2012
Professional Technical Writing Careers -- Answers to Questions, by Cheryl Landes 15 Oct 2012
Book Review: No Easy Day 12 Oct 2012
Specializing in the Next Big Thing: A Few Lingering Thoughts from Lavacon 11 Oct 2012
Professional Technical Writing Careers -- Questions and Answers, by Steve Goldberg 07 Oct 2012
Exploring the Tech Comm Paradox 01 Oct 2012
September 2012
How to Create Video Tutorials -- A Five Step Process 27 Sep 2012
How to Change the World 24 Sep 2012
Incorporating Elements of Speech into Writing 18 Sep 2012
Keeping Scripts Fluid When Recording Video Tutorials 17 Sep 2012
Why Isn't Spoken Language Easier for Writers? 15 Sep 2012
Bringing the Scientific Mind to Tech Comm 11 Sep 2012
Quick Reference Guide Gallery 09 Sep 2012
Comparing Zumba to Technical Writing 05 Sep 2012
First Day of School 02 Sep 2012
August 2012
The Blame Game of RTFM 30 Aug 2012
Blending Tech Comm with Support 26 Aug 2012
Messages from Sponsors -- August 2012 22 Aug 2012
Summer Is Over, School Begins Again 20 Aug 2012
Guest Post: Core Skills for Technical Writers Often Overlooked 16 Aug 2012
Using the Proximity Principle to Design Online Help Navigation 13 Aug 2012
Why Glossaries Help Users Find Information 09 Aug 2012
This Theme Is Now Responsive 09 Aug 2012
Applying Progressive Information Disclosure to Online Help Navigation 09 Aug 2012
July 2012
Misconceptions about Topic-Based Authoring 31 Jul 2012
The Importance of Contextual Navigation, or Cross References in Topics 23 Jul 2012
Unconscious Meaning Suggested from the Structure and Shape of Help 18 Jul 2012
Why Do We Need Navigation At All? 12 Jul 2012
Writing as a Holy Calling 09 Jul 2012
June 2012
Taxonomy, Metadata, and Search: Notes from Seth Earley's Confab Workshop 25 Jun 2012
Returning to Findability 25 Jun 2012
How Can Newbies Learn Tech Comm Tools Given Their Cost? 21 Jun 2012
Writing User-Centered Documentation, or, My Best Days as a Technical Writer 21 Jun 2012
Turning Point (Wikis) 17 Jun 2012
Writing Is Harder Than Most Think (Wikis) 16 Jun 2012
A Guiding Metaphor (Wikis) 15 Jun 2012
Community and Collaboration (Wikis) 14 Jun 2012
Some Wiki Basics (Wikis) 13 Jun 2012
Is Collaborative Authoring Over-Hyped? 12 Jun 2012
The Need for Constant Updates (Wikis) 12 Jun 2012
My Journey To and From Wikis: Why I Adopted Wikis, Why I Veered Away, and a New Model 11 Jun 2012
Upcoming STC Webinar: Creating Help in a Wiki Environment 05 Jun 2012
An Ingenious Way to Solicit Community Contributions, or, How to Replace the Screen for an Asus Laptop UL50AG 01 Jun 2012
May 2012
Content Strategy Workshops: Interview with Rahel Bailie 25 May 2012
When Wikis Succeed and Fail 23 May 2012
Confab 2012: Thoughts and Reactions 19 May 2012
15 Tips for a Successful Conference Experience 18 May 2012
How Character Drives Story -- Book Review of Ann Patchett's State of Wonder 14 May 2012
Q&A: What should my major be for a career in technical writing? 12 May 2012
Trying New Things, Changing Interests 09 May 2012
Book Review: Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson 08 May 2012
Stuck in a system 07 May 2012
April 2012
Asking questions is more important than finding answers -- why? 27 Apr 2012
Differences between blogs and wikis, and why you might need both 19 Apr 2012
Leveraging the wisdom of the 80/20 rule: Focusing on content that matters 17 Apr 2012
A Love Affair with Grapefruit 15 Apr 2012
Guest Post: Why I Love Wikis 14 Apr 2012
Finally Biking to Work 11 Apr 2012
March 2012
Subpage Titles on Wikis -- Challenges, Conventions, and Compromises 22 Mar 2012
Guest Post: Wikis Are the Future of Technical Documentation 20 Mar 2012
Guest Post: A Week in My Life as a Technical Writer (with some humor) 17 Mar 2012
Guest Post: Is Technical Writing Creative? 14 Mar 2012
Thinking About a Social Media Strategy: A Few Elements to Consider 08 Mar 2012
Technical Communication Metrics: What Should You Track? 02 Mar 2012
February 2012
Conferences I'm Attending This Year 28 Feb 2012
Why don't technical writers use wikis — or do they? 24 Feb 2012
Incensed at "Laid-back" Categorization of Technical Writing Career 24 Feb 2012
Why I Love Audible 21 Feb 2012
My New Email Strategy: The Email Game and ActiveInbox 20 Feb 2012
Webinar Recording: Designing Quick Reference Guides 18 Feb 2012
Webinar Recording -- Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-Based Hierarchies 18 Feb 2012
Looking at The Peter Principle, Dilbert Principle, and Parkinson's Law 15 Feb 2012
On Being an Individual Contributor 10 Feb 2012
A Life of Its Own: An Essay About an Article That Was Never Published 08 Feb 2012
A Reverse Approach to Help Authoring: Writing Documentation Post-Release 02 Feb 2012
Brainstorming Solutions to Volunteer Management/Engagement 01 Feb 2012
January 2012
Messages from Sponsors -- January 2012 30 Jan 2012
STC Certification: An In-Depth Interview with Steve Jong 26 Jan 2012
Interview with Ugur Akinci about Technical Communication 23 Jan 2012
Upcoming Webinar: Designing Quick Reference Guides 23 Jan 2012
Graduate Research Findings about Technical Communication and Blogs in the Workplace 22 Jan 2012
Using JIRA to Track Writing Assignments 18 Jan 2012
A Lifetime of Reading Versus a Lifetime of Writing 13 Jan 2012
The "Home Depot Model" of Findability, or, Social Search 10 Jan 2012
Looking at Breadcrumbs in a New Way 05 Jan 2012
December 2011
What I Learned About Tech Comm During 2011 28 Dec 2011
The Urge to Correct: Frustrations with Language Translation and Misuse 27 Dec 2011
Using Tags to Increase Findability 26 Dec 2011
What Tools Do Technical Writers Use 19 Dec 2011
Kanban and Limiting the Scope of Work 18 Dec 2011
Matrix Foretells Future of Learning 15 Dec 2011
What I Like About Grandpa 14 Dec 2011
Grandpa Reading Runaway Bunny 14 Dec 2011
Buffalo on Antelope Island 14 Dec 2011
Hanging Out at Home 14 Dec 2011
Sitting Around at Home 14 Dec 2011
Kids Singing 14 Dec 2011
Misleading Documentation Metrics 14 Dec 2011
Writing My Last Chapter 13 Dec 2011
Counting Calories 11 Dec 2011
How Avery Got Earrings 11 Dec 2011
Grandma Nana Comes to Visit 11 Dec 2011
We Moved Downstairs 11 Dec 2011
King Size Bed Fits Four 11 Dec 2011
Some Thoughts on Technical Writing in the Cloud 09 Dec 2011
Slides from STC Webinar on Organizing Content (Findability) 05 Dec 2011
November 2011
My STC Webinar on Organizing Content -- This Thursday at 4pm EST 30 Nov 2011
Regret Over a Missed Career in Astronomy 27 Nov 2011
Discovering Antelope Island 27 Nov 2011
Reading Mistborn 27 Nov 2011
Cooking Tamales 27 Nov 2011
Wiki Culture, Reader/Writer Distinctions, and Divergence from Structured Authoring 19 Nov 2011
Should Technical Writing Be Taught in High School? (Collaborative Post) 19 Nov 2011
Why I Returned to Wikis for Help Authoring 14 Nov 2011
Messages from My Tech Comm Sponsors -- November 2011 11 Nov 2011
Survey about Technical Writers and Blogging Activities 11 Nov 2011
Senior Technical Writer Job Opening at the LDS Church 08 Nov 2011
Moving Towards the "Dark Side": From Technical Writing to Content Marketing 07 Nov 2011
Managing 60 + Volunteer Writers 06 Nov 2011
Using Treejack as a Method for Evaluating Your Help's Navigation 02 Nov 2011
The Importance of a Personal Face -- On Halloween 01 Nov 2011
October 2011
Blog Versus Web Log: Back to Origins 31 Oct 2011
Adding Captions to Youtube Videos 24 Oct 2011
Building Trust in a Corporate Blog 21 Oct 2011
The Conference Proposal I Didn't Submit 19 Oct 2011
Customizing the "No Results Found" Page with Helpful Wayfinding Tips 17 Oct 2011
Appearing on The Forge Show from TechSmith Today at 2pm EST 13 Oct 2011
Visual Storytelling Guides: A New Deliverable in Technical Communication? 12 Oct 2011
Visually Appealing Documents Combine Text with Images 10 Oct 2011
Why Rubrics Fail as a Means of Measuring Documentation Quality 05 Oct 2011
September 2011
What I've Learned from Lunchtime Creative Writing Workshops 30 Sep 2011
How I Took Back My E-mail Inbox 29 Sep 2011
Recordings of Fathers Blessings 27 Sep 2011
The Proximity Problem for Technical Writers 23 Sep 2011
Book Review: The Hunger Games, and a Possible Parallel for Technical Writers 21 Sep 2011
Should You Get a Graduate Degree in Technical Writing? 19 Sep 2011
Collaborative Post: Why Is the "Technical" More Important Than the "Writing" 18 Sep 2011
What Does It Mean to Know How to Write? 09 Sep 2011
My Review of the New Testament 08 Sep 2011
Three Solutions to the Corporate Blogging Paradox 02 Sep 2011
August 2011
Book Review: The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall 31 Aug 2011
Interview with Kevin Cuddihy, Editor of the STC Notebook Blog 23 Aug 2011
Stewart Falls: One Last Outing Before Summer Ends 21 Aug 2011
How Swimming Has Changed 19 Aug 2011
Blown Away by Author-it Aspect 18 Aug 2011
Storm Returns Home 18 Aug 2011
The Big Hill 17 Aug 2011
Book Review: A Practical Guide to Designing with Data, by Brian Suda 16 Aug 2011
Windy Night and a Stray Cat 14 Aug 2011
Messages from Sponsors -- August 2011 12 Aug 2011
My Problem with Fiction, and How I Tried to Resolve It 11 Aug 2011
Sidewalk Chalk at Thanksgiving Point Gardens 09 Aug 2011
Familiarity Affects Preferences for Text or Video 08 Aug 2011
Guest Post: CMS UX Woes. It Shouldn't Be This Hard. 04 Aug 2011
Book Review: Developing User Assistance for Mobile Apps, by Joe Welinske 02 Aug 2011
July 2011
Swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center 31 Jul 2011
Thanksgiving Point Gardens Outing 26 Jul 2011
Thinking More About Family 25 Jul 2011
Our Spring View Farms Trail Adventure 24 Jul 2011
Up and Down Directions 24 Jul 2011
A Few Notes from Usability Testing: Video Tutorials Get Watched, Text Gets Skipped 22 Jul 2011
Google Plus as a Professional Communication Tool 18 Jul 2011
Collaborative Post: Giving Guidance to a Masters Student about Technical Writing Careers 14 Jul 2011
Building on Past Successes for Future Directions 13 Jul 2011
Groupon's Copywriting Style 10 Jul 2011
On Content Strategy and Identity 01 Jul 2011
June 2011
"One Day I'm Going to Figure Out the Solution to Help..." 28 Jun 2011
I want to be a spy .... 26 Jun 2011
The Most Important Stories ... Aren't the Ones I'm Writing 25 Jun 2011
The Value of Content 24 Jun 2011
On Prayer 22 Jun 2011
Why Is Corporate Blogging So Hard? 21 Jun 2011
On telling real stories 21 Jun 2011
Presentations Versus Conversations 17 Jun 2011
Technical Writing in China 15 Jun 2011
MindTouch Webinar — Organizing Help Content: The Problem of Findability 09 Jun 2011
Diverging Directions for Tech Comm: Social Media or Structured Authoring 09 Jun 2011
Does Translation Mean You Should Omit Illustrations? 07 Jun 2011
Message from Sponsors -- June 3, 2011 03 Jun 2011
Join the LDSTech Blog Project and Write Articles for Your Portfolio 02 Jun 2011
May 2011
Making Up Stories 30 May 2011
The Moment 30 May 2011
Where Topic-Based Authoring Fails: End-to-End Scenarios 25 May 2011
What Does It Mean to Be Innovative? 24 May 2011
Moving from Google Reader to Twitter Hashtags 21 May 2011
Podcast: Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-based Hierarchies 18 May 2011
Every Page Is Page One 16 May 2011
WordPress Workshop Outline for the STC Summit 15 May 2011
Examples of Help Systems that Provide Users with Multiple Entry Points? 13 May 2011
Will We Still Know Us, Tomorrow? 10 May 2011
Mooer's Law and Findability 09 May 2011
Avoiding Burnout as a Technical Writer [Collaborative Post] 06 May 2011
Messages from Sponsors -- May 4, 2011 04 May 2011
Collaborative Posts Q&A 04 May 2011
A Paradox of Navigation Metaphors for the Web 02 May 2011
The Butterfly Paths 02 May 2011
Saratoga Hot Springs 01 May 2011
April 2011
Content Strategy for Content Agility 30 Apr 2011
Predicting Tech Comm's Future for Mobile 29 Apr 2011
Cedar Fort cemetery 28 Apr 2011
Introducing Technical Writing World, a New Social Network for Technical Writers 28 Apr 2011
Topic Chunking and The Broken Alarm Clock 27 Apr 2011
The Importance of Chunking for Sorting 18 Apr 2011
Guest Post: To each their own 16 Apr 2011
Book Review: Everything is Miscellaneous, by David Weinberger 15 Apr 2011
Book Review: Letting Go of the Words, by Ginny Redish 08 Apr 2011
Getting Others to Work for You -- The First Step Toward Scalability 07 Apr 2011
Messages from My Sponsors -- April 6, 2011 06 Apr 2011
Podcast: Content Strategy and Agility, with Noz Urbina 05 Apr 2011
How to Become a Content Strategist [Collaborative Post] 01 Apr 2011
March 2011
Book Review: Elements of Content Strategy, by Erin Kissane 29 Mar 2011
Book Review: Search Patterns, by Peter Morville and Jeffrey Callender 28 Mar 2011
New Content Strategy Podcast and Other Good Resources 25 Mar 2011
Seven Methods of Classification in a Hymnbook 24 Mar 2011
Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-Based Hierarchies 21 Mar 2011
Podcast: A Practical Guide to Information Architecture, with Donna Spencer 18 Mar 2011
Arguments for and Against Tripane Help 17 Mar 2011
Podcast -- Visual Composing: Document Design for Print and Digital Media, with Jo Mackiewicz 14 Mar 2011
The Real Source of Findability 10 Mar 2011
Update on the Search for Enterprise Authoring 08 Mar 2011
Podcast with Alan Houser -- Candidate for STC Vice President 07 Mar 2011
Podcast with Victoria Koster-Lenhardt -- Candidate for STC Vice President 07 Mar 2011
Lots of Conferences Taking Place 04 Mar 2011
February 2011
Trends in Search Engine Optimization -- Shifting from Search to Social? 28 Feb 2011
Post-Publishing Word Count Can Be Three Times as Long 25 Feb 2011
I am perhaps finishing my basement, someday 23 Feb 2011
WordPress Tips: Alternatives to Akismet, Design Software, and Dummy Content 22 Feb 2011
The Enterprise Help Authoring Problem 16 Feb 2011
"Powerful as a consumer, lame as an employee" 15 Feb 2011
Formalizing My Help Strategy 08 Feb 2011
The Problem of Free and the Long Tail of Content Production 07 Feb 2011
From DITA to VITA: Tracing Origins and Projecting the Future 02 Feb 2011
January 2011
Making Help Content Enjoyable to Read -- Impossible Quest? 25 Jan 2011
Free Ticket to Intelligent Content 2011 Conference 24 Jan 2011
Less Text, Please: Contemporary Reading Behaviors and Short Formats 21 Jan 2011
Minimalistic Callouts Heighten Visual Appeal 17 Jan 2011
WordPress Tip: Add a Calendar to Your WordPress Site 14 Jan 2011
Findability and The Information Paradox 12 Jan 2011
*Don't know how you do it all*: Some Thoughts on Productivity 11 Jan 2011
Structured Authoring Survey from Scriptorium 10 Jan 2011
Are Certificate Programs Helpful for Transitioning into Technical Writing? [Collaborative Post] 06 Jan 2011
My Review of the Old Testament (really) 05 Jan 2011
December 2010
Martin Luther and Technical Communication 29 Dec 2010
Technical Writing – Making Resolutions for the New Year 27 Dec 2010
When Your WordPress Upgrade Fails 26 Dec 2010
Screencasting Tip: Self-Dub the Audio 26 Dec 2010
Participatory Economics: Are Companies Budgeting for Social Media? 23 Dec 2010
Why I'm So Visible 22 Dec 2010
Content Curation versus Content Creation 22 Dec 2010
Does Tech Comm Fit into Mobile Trends? 21 Dec 2010
Give the Perfect Gift this Season: A Laminated Quick Reference Guide 20 Dec 2010
"Known Limitations": Making the Negative Space of Help Content a Little More Explicit 16 Dec 2010
Do community efforts work? 14 Dec 2010
My Comments on "Best Careers 2011: Technical Writer - US News and World Report" 10 Dec 2010
Simplicity in a 550 page manual? 09 Dec 2010
WordPress Tip: Integrating a WordPress Blog into your Website 09 Dec 2010
The Perfect Voice -- Professional or Authentic? 07 Dec 2010
Doc Plan Pains and Empowerment 03 Dec 2010
Adobe Illustrator and InDesign Integration with Layered Images [Visual Imagination #3] 02 Dec 2010
November 2010
Technology vs. Content, or Why Teaching WordPress Is Frustrating 29 Nov 2010
Review of Alan Porter's Wiki: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit 25 Nov 2010
Forum → Wiki → Blog Workflow 24 Nov 2010
Podcast: Educational Programs and Workplace Practices 23 Nov 2010
My Brand Is ... 18 Nov 2010
Diverse Content and the Long Tail of Search Engine Metrics 16 Nov 2010
10 Quick Tips for Project Managers about Help Content 11 Nov 2010
When Help Content Is Forgotten 10 Nov 2010
Text Matters 05 Nov 2010
"I need your help with some documentation" (Xtranormal Movies) 04 Nov 2010
What Is Chartjunk? [Visual Imagination #2] 01 Nov 2010
October 2010
Being Contrarian 29 Oct 2010
What's the Statistical ROI of Technical Documentation? [Collaborative Post] 27 Oct 2010
Strategy Versus Tactics and the Ongoing Debate about Roles 26 Oct 2010
Why Help Content Fails and #contentstrategy 22 Oct 2010
Technical Writing Is More Than "Click This, Select That" [Podcast] 21 Oct 2010
Why Tech Comm Is a Career Path of Last Resort for Students 19 Oct 2010
Are Academics Just Talking to Themselves? 18 Oct 2010
Technical Communication Careers: Getting Started and Finding Your Niche (BYU Idaho Presentation) 13 Oct 2010
Guest Post on Firehead Blog -- "Finding a Content Strategy for Your Blog" 11 Oct 2010
Paper.li as an Alternative to Google Reader [Screencast] 08 Oct 2010
Podcast: Finding and Creating Relevant Content -- Strategies for Social Media 08 Oct 2010
Podcast: Developing a Personal Voice in Audio (Intermountain-STC event) 06 Oct 2010
Seeing Before Reading: Messages Encoded in the Design of Information [Visual Imagination #2] 05 Oct 2010
The Increasing Momentum of Content Strategy 04 Oct 2010
Eight Defining Questions that Shape Content Organization [Organizing Content #29] 01 Oct 2010
September 2010
Students Contemplate Whether a Technical Writing Career Will Be Fulfilling 30 Sep 2010
Visuals Engage Users -- Why Aren't There More Illustrations in Help Content? [Visual Imagination #1] 28 Sep 2010
Organizing Content for Constructivist Learning [Organizing Content #28] 27 Sep 2010
Substandard Wages for Technical Writers: A Growing Trend? 23 Sep 2010
Is Rhetoric Relevant? Considering the "Message in Context" [Organizing Content #27] 22 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: The Concept of Inheritance with CSS 19 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Change Your Post Title Color 18 Sep 2010
Downloading Audio from the STC Summit 17 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Changing the Styles on Your WordPres Blog 16 Sep 2010
Instructional Design Versus Technical Communication 16 Sep 2010
Searching STC Resources for Information 15 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Making Your WP-CONFIG File Secure 14 Sep 2010
You learn more from users in 5 minutes than you do from 2 weeks of project meetings 14 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Editing Posts in Bulk 13 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Inserting a Gallery of Images into a Post 12 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Adding Custom Fields in Posts 11 Sep 2010
40 Foundational Books for Technical Writing 10 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Implementing Photo Galleries 09 Sep 2010
Why Learning Software Is So Hard, and Organizing Content into Levels [Organizing Content #26] 09 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Moving Images with Site Migrations 08 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Adding an Edit Link for Each Post 07 Sep 2010
More Students Questions about Technical Writing 07 Sep 2010
The Importance of Visual Communication, or How to Build a Dirt Sifter 06 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Showing Ads in Your Sidebar 06 Sep 2010
Answers About the Field of Technical Writing for Students 06 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Making Elements Overlap on Your Site 05 Sep 2010
WordPress Tip: Eliminating Spam 04 Sep 2010
New Baby Molly 03 Sep 2010
Organizing for Learnability [Organizing Content #25] 01 Sep 2010
August 2010
WordPress Tip: Showing the Full Content Versus the Excerpt 31 Aug 2010
WordPress Tip: Improve Your Blog's Loading Speed 30 Aug 2010
Perspectives on a Career in Technical Writing: Responses from 16 Tech Comm Professionals 30 Aug 2010
I miss working with my hands 25 Aug 2010
100 Rejected Summit Proposals 24 Aug 2010
Best Practices for Writing Interface Text [Organizing Content #24] 13 Aug 2010
The Interface Is Text [Organizing Content #23] 11 Aug 2010
WordPress Tip: When you Forget your WordPress Username and Password 10 Aug 2010
The Technical Writer as an Outsider: How Ambitious Are You? [Organizing Content #22] 06 Aug 2010
WordPress Tip: Embed a Video into a Post Using WordPress's Auto-Embed Feature 04 Aug 2010
Editorial Strategies and Mind Games 03 Aug 2010
Introduction to WordPress -- Recording of WordPress Webinar 02 Aug 2010
July 2010
Principles for Organizing Print Material [Organizing Content #21] 30 Jul 2010
The Role of the Gatekeeper 28 Jul 2010
Relying on the Wisdom of the Crowds with Help Authoring [Organizing Content #20] 27 Jul 2010
WordPress Tip: Integrate Constant Contact with WordPress 27 Jul 2010
Moving into Technical Writing -- A DICE Article and More Links 22 Jul 2010
WordCamp Utah is August 28 22 Jul 2010
Emergence [Organizing Content #19] 20 Jul 2010
Replaceability 19 Jul 2010
Captivate Versus Camtasia Studio 18 Jul 2010
Message from the Sponsors, July 16 16 Jul 2010
Problem Solving and Sprinkler Repair 15 Jul 2010
WordPress Webinar July 13 with the STC Consulting and Independent Contracting SIG 12 Jul 2010
Add WordPress 3.0 Navigation System to Your Site 12 Jul 2010
Free Copy of Camtasia Studio 7 and Snagit 10 12 Jul 2010
24 Hours of Screencasts with Camtasia Studio 12 Jul 2010
Showing Youtube Captions by Default in Another Language 08 Jul 2010
Separating Basic from Advanced Topics: How Twitter Organizes Their Help [Organizing Content #18] 08 Jul 2010
Do Some Project Managers Suffer from the Dunning-Kruger Effect? 07 Jul 2010
"Load config.xml failed" message with Notepad++ 06 Jul 2010
Does a Technical Writer Need to Understand Web Design? 06 Jul 2010
Save $50 on Registration to Lavacon Conference in San Diego 04 Jul 2010
Breaking Things as a Form of Creativity 01 Jul 2010
June 2010
Organizing Content as Story [Organizing Content #17] 29 Jun 2010
Tiny Tasks and Content Dilution 29 Jun 2010
With Blog Usability, Provide Context and Avoid Mystery Puzzles 28 Jun 2010
Experimenting with a New STC Chapter Meeting Model 28 Jun 2010
Designing from the Content/Story Out 28 Jun 2010
Can Blogs Work as a Web Platform for Help? [Organizing Content 16] 23 Jun 2010
Madcap Software Launches MadNewz Newsletter 22 Jun 2010
Removing Inline Links to Increase Readability 19 Jun 2010
Lavacon's Web 2.0 Conference Website 18 Jun 2010
Dr.Explain is a Gold Sponsor of the European User Assistance Conference 2010 17 Jun 2010
e-Learning Event Coming Up This Friday (Utah location) 17 Jun 2010
Faulty Assumptions About the Scope of Help Content? [Organizing Content 15] 11 Jun 2010
The Semantic Web and Content Findability: Interview with Patrick Warren [Organizing Content 14] 10 Jun 2010
Using Mediawiki Templates to Organize Content [Organizing Content 13] 09 Jun 2010
New Menu Navigation System in WordPress 3.0 09 Jun 2010
Help Authoring Tool Comparison from Sarah Maddox 09 Jun 2010
From Help Authoring Tools to Web Tools, Especially Wikis [Organizing Content 12] 03 Jun 2010
May 2010
WordPress Tip: There's a Plugin for That 30 May 2010
Search Engine Optimizing Your Help Content for Google [Organizing Content 11] 28 May 2010
Figuring Out Search Algorithms [Organizing Content 10] 27 May 2010
Browse Versus Search: Stumbling into the Unknown Unknown [Organizing Content 9] 26 May 2010
Second-Level Faceted Navigation [Organizing Content 8] 25 May 2010
WordPress Tip: Backing Up Your Database 24 May 2010
Implementing Faceted Classification/Search with a Help Authoring Tool [Organizing Content 7] 21 May 2010
Faceted Classification, Faceted Search [Organizing Content 6] 20 May 2010
Topic-Based, Hierarchical Navigation [Organizing Content 5] 19 May 2010
Imposing Order Versus Observing Order [Organizing Content 4] 18 May 2010
Things Fall Apart, The Centre Cannot Hold [Organizing Content 3] 17 May 2010
Introducing Project Swordfish [Organizing Content 2] 17 May 2010
New Series: Organizing Content [Organizing Content 1] 17 May 2010
25 Facets for Navigation [Organizing Content 5] 17 May 2010
Changing Your Career to Technical Writing [Guest Responses from Bill Albing and Alyssa Fox] 16 May 2010
"Tom Johnson: A Modern Day Technical Writer" -- NIU Article 16 May 2010
WordPress Tip: Creating WordPress Themes to Match Existing Sites 15 May 2010
A Few Ways to Make the Next STC Summit Better, #stc10 11 May 2010
Videocast Gallery from the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
Finding Time to Draw: Ben Minson at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
New Variables for Technical Writing Project Managers: Larry Kunz at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
Tough Situations for Technical Communication Managers: Saul Carliner at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
The Do-It-Yourself Philosophy: Saul Carliner at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
SXSW Conference Versus STC Summit: Anne Gentle and Janet Swisher at the STC Summit, #stc10 09 May 2010
Simple Tips for Website Accessibility: Brenda Huettner at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
Old Guard Versus New Guard: Whitney Hess at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 09 May 2010
Pay-per-Content Versus Free: Char James-Tanny and Bill Swallow at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 07 May 2010
Upcoming Books from XML Press: Richard Hamilton at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 07 May 2010
Embedded Links and Online Reading Accessibility: Whitney Quesenbery and Caroline Jarrett, #stc10 07 May 2010
Breaking into the Mobile Market: Joe Welinski at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 07 May 2010
The Art of Questioning: Rich Maggiani at the STC Summit, #stc10 06 May 2010
Storytelling for User Experience: Whitney Quesenbery at the STC Summit #stc10 06 May 2010
Trending Towards Mobile: Neil Perlin at the STC Summit #stc10 04 May 2010
Trust and Transparency: Leadership Day at the STC Summit #stc10 03 May 2010
What I'm presenting on at the STC Summit in Dallas, #stc10 01 May 2010
April 2010
The Compulsion to Figure Things Out 30 Apr 2010
Quoted in Technical Writing Careers Blurb in U.S. News & World Report 29 Apr 2010
“Blogs are Still Where Substantive Conversations are Happening.” 29 Apr 2010
Typography for Lawyers 29 Apr 2010
Podcast: From Overlooked to Center Stage (Overlooked) 28 Apr 2010
Message from the Sponsors -- April 27, 2010 27 Apr 2010
Why Tech Comm Professors Don't Teach Video 27 Apr 2010
Story (Overlooked) 26 Apr 2010
Why Usability is Praised and Tech Comm is Ignored 26 Apr 2010
Podcast: “Anyone Can Write”: Changing Roles for Technical Communicators 26 Apr 2010
Podcast: Trends in Technical Communication 25 Apr 2010
Epiphany: Cross Pollination (Overlooked) 25 Apr 2010
Crisis Point: Problems with Multiple Roles (Overlooked) 24 Apr 2010
Catalyst 4: Wiki Manager (Overlooked) 23 Apr 2010
Catalyst 6: QA Testing (Overlooked) 22 Apr 2010
Catalyst 2: User Experience (Overlooked) 21 Apr 2010
Catalyst 1: Audiovisual Role (Overlooked) 20 Apr 2010
The Long Tail Applied to Writing 20 Apr 2010
The Yearning: Career Trajectory (Overlooked) 19 Apr 2010
WordPress Tip: Quick Tip for Reducing Spam 18 Apr 2010
The Problem: "Just a Writer" (Overlooked) 18 Apr 2010
Intro to From Overlooked to Center Stage (Overlooked) 17 Apr 2010
Presenting at the Atlanta Currents Conference (Overlooked) 11 Apr 2010
Podcast: Ten Voiceover Techniques (PodcampSLC) 11 Apr 2010
Why "This American Life" Is My Favorite Podcast 07 Apr 2010
My STC Summit Proceedings paper on voiceover techniques (Voiceover) 07 Apr 2010
Feasibility, Believability, and Fixability: Three Reasons Not to Use a Professional Voiceover Actor 02 Apr 2010
Comparing Creative Writing with Technical Writing (2 min Videocast) 01 Apr 2010
March 2010
Message from the Sponsors — March 30, 2010 Dr. Explain, Madcap Software, & more 30 Mar 2010
When Social Media Becomes Hollow 29 Mar 2010
Breathing correctly (Voiceover) 26 Mar 2010
Recording with the right microphone (Voiceover techniques) 25 Mar 2010
Adding inflection (Voiceover) 23 Mar 2010
Fixing Fumbled Sentences 17 Mar 2010
WordPress Tip: Integrate Google Calendar into WordPress 16 Mar 2010
Avoiding phlegm in your throat with voiceovers (Voiceover) 12 Mar 2010
Smiling while you narrate (Voiceover) 11 Mar 2010
Avoiding plosives and breathing noises (Voiceover) 10 Mar 2010
Avoiding a sense of rambling (Voiceover) 09 Mar 2010
Sounding natural (Voiceover) 08 Mar 2010
Finding an acoustic environment (Voiceover) 04 Mar 2010
Message from the Sponsors 03 Mar 2010
Podcast: What's New in Flare 6 — Interview with Mike Hamilton 02 Mar 2010
Podcast: Documentation in the Cloud 01 Mar 2010
February 2010
WordPress Tip: Avoid Getting Hacked through Bluehost's cPanel 27 Feb 2010
Finding Space to Breathe: Managing Overwhelming End-of-Project Tasks 26 Feb 2010
Together or Apart: Collaboration Models for Technical Writing 22 Feb 2010
The Art of Asking Questions 17 Feb 2010
Praise: The Worst Feedback You Can Give Developers? 15 Feb 2010
"I never really understood that feature, so I left it alone..." 12 Feb 2010
The Common Language Everyone Speaks 10 Feb 2010
Cures for the Information Exclusion Complex 08 Feb 2010
WordPress Tip: Add More Widget Areas to Your WordPress Theme 07 Feb 2010
What Would a WordPress Template for Chapter Sites Look Like? 02 Feb 2010
Fragmented Communities and the Chapter/SIG Web Site Problem 01 Feb 2010
January 2010
Madcap Flare's Extensibility: Adding jQuery to Flare 26 Jan 2010
Web Site Critique and WordPress Q&A Webinar This Thursday 26 Jan 2010
Podcast: Riding the Tide of Technical Communications Consulting 21 Jan 2010
Intermountain STC Chapter Meeting This Wednesday at 7 pm 19 Jan 2010
The Turnaround Screencast 19 Jan 2010
DITA Features in Madcap Flare Webcast Tuesday at 11 a.m. EST from Scriptorium 19 Jan 2010
How to Embed Video on a Web Page 16 Jan 2010
Trying to Find a Theater Stage/Voice for an Impossible Situation 14 Jan 2010
Notes on My Latest Screencasts 12 Jan 2010
Implementing Google Custom Search on WordPress 08 Jan 2010
The Case of the Stolen Documentation 06 Jan 2010
Directions I'm Going in 2010 04 Jan 2010
Aligning Yourself with a Cause 02 Jan 2010
December 2009
A Creative Way to Become a Technical Writer 30 Dec 2009
If No One Reads the Manual, That's Okay 27 Dec 2009
Podcast on getting a job in technical writing (TW Job) 26 Dec 2009
Volunteer for a position in the STC or other organization (TW Job) 25 Dec 2009
Move to a tech hub city to find a job in technical writing (TW Job) 24 Dec 2009
What You Cannot Do Sitting Down 24 Dec 2009
Start a blog (TW Job) 23 Dec 2009
Top Trends in Technical Communication 23 Dec 2009
Podcast: The Myth of Single Sourcing 21 Dec 2009
Put together a portfolio (TW Job) 21 Dec 2009
Learn some tools (TW Job) 20 Dec 2009
WordPress 2.9 Released 20 Dec 2009
Get real experience doing technical writing (TW Job) 19 Dec 2009
Removing ice from a driveway is like .... everything 19 Dec 2009
Learn the basics of technical writing (TW Job) 18 Dec 2009
Trying Out Picture in Picture in Screencasts 17 Dec 2009
PowerPoint from Screencasting Webinar 17 Dec 2009
Upcoming Webinar on Screencasting 14 Dec 2009
WordPress Tip: How to Transfer WordPress to a New Web Host 14 Dec 2009
Design Fixations with Mediawiki Skins 14 Dec 2009
Collaborative Authoring Trends and Costs 11 Dec 2009
Adding the Human Element in Screencasts 08 Dec 2009
Ramping Up on Mediawiki 06 Dec 2009
About My New Site Redesign 06 Dec 2009
Site Critiques and WordPress Q&A -- Community Leaders Webinar Jan 28 05 Dec 2009
What's the Best Microphone for Screencasting? 02 Dec 2009
November 2009
My Upcoming STC Webinar on Screencasting 30 Nov 2009
Play Chess Online with ChessJam 29 Nov 2009
A Microcosm of Technical Writing in the Kitchen While Cooking a Banana Cream Pie 27 Nov 2009
Why Help Authoring Tools Will Fade 25 Nov 2009
Contingent Senior Technical Writer Opening at LDS Church's ICS Department in Riverton, Utah 21 Nov 2009
What I'm Presenting on at the Dallas Summit 20 Nov 2009
Embedding Videos into Madcap Flare 19 Nov 2009
Podcast about the Podcast Poll 18 Nov 2009
Combining Cinema with Screencasting 16 Nov 2009
How to Incorporate Twitter into Your Presentation 15 Nov 2009
What I've Been Learning in Flare 14 Nov 2009
Why Is It Important for Video Tutorials to Be User-Led? 13 Nov 2009
Minimizing Documentation 11 Nov 2009
21% of Intermountain Chapter Members Planning to Renew STC Membership 09 Nov 2009
Design Reviews and Posting Without Answers 08 Nov 2009
How Microsoft Visual Studio Is Doing Help 07 Nov 2009
Podcast Roundtable for PodcampSLC Series 06 Nov 2009
Theme Parks and External and Internal Input 05 Nov 2009
Podcast on the seven deadly sins of blogging 05 Nov 2009
The Long Tail of Online Profitability 03 Nov 2009
Wikis and the Holy Grail of Content Independence 02 Nov 2009
Reinventing Yourself Through Your Blog 01 Nov 2009
NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo Start Nov 1 01 Nov 2009
October 2009
WordPress Tip: Install WordPress Locally 31 Oct 2009
Being inattentive (Sins of blogging) 31 Oct 2009
A Few Surprises in Using a Wiki for Documentation 29 Oct 2009
Being unfindable (Sins of blogging) 18 Oct 2009
Being irresponsible (Sins of blogging) 17 Oct 2009
Being unreadable (Sins of blogging) 17 Oct 2009
Forms of Play 16 Oct 2009
Survey about Framemaker and EMC Documentum Integration 15 Oct 2009
Podcast from BYU Idaho Professional Writing Panel 15 Oct 2009
Being boring (Sins of blogging) 13 Oct 2009
Technical Writer Ranks #5 in Least Stressful Jobs; Also, CNN Money Total Jobs Count Screwy 11 Oct 2009
Choosing Between Academic and Corporate Life: Did I Make the Wrong Choice? 10 Oct 2009
An Interview About Technical Writing 09 Oct 2009
Being irrelevant (Sins of blogging) 04 Oct 2009
My STC Summit Blogging Presentation Is Free 01 Oct 2009
September 2009
Chrysler Drops Long Car Manuals in Favor of Short Guides + Video 30 Sep 2009
WordPress Tip: Section Widget and Advanced XML Export -- wordpress Plugin Winner and Runner Up 30 Sep 2009
Google Releases Sidewiki and Adds to the Growing Trend of Conversation 29 Sep 2009
Duct Tape Technical Writers 28 Sep 2009
Smashing Magazine Lists 10 Web Usability Guidelines 27 Sep 2009
Dallas STC Summit Proposals Due Oct 5 27 Sep 2009
New Content Strategy SIG 27 Sep 2009
STC 2008 Salary Database -- See Salaries for Technical Writers in Your State 27 Sep 2009
Tips to Get Around Age Discrimination 26 Sep 2009
Information Overload -- Conversation with Ricardo Amigo 23 Sep 2009
Introduction to getting a job in technical writing (TW Job) 22 Sep 2009
"Tell me a story" -- Advice from Writers 17 Sep 2009
Being fake (Sins of blogging) 15 Sep 2009
The Appeal of Adobe InDesign 11 Sep 2009
STC: Quo Vadis? Mike Hughes gets introspective about the STC situation 11 Sep 2009
The Content Wrangler Moves to WordPress 10 Sep 2009
How Do Blogs and Wikis Fit Together? 08 Sep 2009
NY Times criticized for letting Pogue maintain Apple bias 07 Sep 2009
WordPress Tip: WordPress Worm Requires Upgrade to 2.8.4 07 Sep 2009
Writing as Conversation -- Brainsparks Podcast with Ginny Redish 05 Sep 2009
The best time to publish your blog posts 01 Sep 2009
Creativity in the Workplace 01 Sep 2009
August 2009
Avoiding the Shut Down Mode 30 Aug 2009
STC's Online Certificate Courses 29 Aug 2009
Clive Thompson on the New Literacy 28 Aug 2009
An argument for slowing down in an age of rapid online exchanges 28 Aug 2009
Why teens don't use Twitter 28 Aug 2009
Podcast with Anne Gentle about her Conversation and Community book 26 Aug 2009
Review of Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation 24 Aug 2009
Converting Lurkers into Contributors in Online Communities -- Nielsen's 90-9-1 Rule 20 Aug 2009
A Refreshing Angle on the Name of our Profession 19 Aug 2009
Making Spaces in Cluttered Houses and Cluttered Lives 19 Aug 2009
A Few Software Tips to Make Technical Writing Easier 18 Aug 2009
Humor essay about a car manual's diction 16 Aug 2009
"Social Documentation" -- Cool but Problematic 16 Aug 2009
The Importance of LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook in Job Searches 16 Aug 2009
Students Engaged by Discussion, Not Smart Classrooms 15 Aug 2009
Three Books on DITA 15 Aug 2009
Convert RSS Feeds into a Magazine Format with Zinepal 15 Aug 2009
The Link Between Creativity and Organization 15 Aug 2009
Productivity Tip: Paper Number Piles 15 Aug 2009
Carcast: Friday Thoughts on Reading, Publish2, and Writer River 14 Aug 2009
Applying Strunk and White's "Omit Needless Words" to Life 14 Aug 2009
New Intermountain-STC Chapter Site 13 Aug 2009
All About Technical Writing -- The Writing Show 12 Aug 2009
Every piece of content matters - an interview with Gerry McGovern | Information & Design 12 Aug 2009
Apple blogger makes living from blog 11 Aug 2009
Writing Style Guides and Your Parenting Style 11 Aug 2009
Exporting Documentation to Wikis 10 Aug 2009
Write When Inspired, Rest When Tired 10 Aug 2009
Finding Business Models in the Economics of Free 09 Aug 2009
Why Free Is the Future of Business 08 Aug 2009
Stephen Fry iTunes Festival Keynote on Copyright and Music Piracy 05 Aug 2009
Exactly How Much Does a Wordcamp Cost? 05 Aug 2009
Tech Comm Lobotomies 04 Aug 2009
Discovering Relationship Tables 03 Aug 2009
July 2009
Blogging as an Outlet for Technical Writers 31 Jul 2009
Perks About Working in an Office Instead of Working from Home 31 Jul 2009
Lying in a Hammock, or, Having a Single Goal without a Purpose 31 Jul 2009
Are You Irrelevant? Engaging, Provocative Video 30 Jul 2009
Screen Captures May Not Make Sense 30 Jul 2009
Tip for Usability in Context-Sensitive Help 30 Jul 2009
UAX (User Assistance Experience): Online vs. on-line 30 Jul 2009
Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule 30 Jul 2009
Read This If You Hate Meetings - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com 30 Jul 2009
Daring Fireball: Charging for Access to News Sites 30 Jul 2009
My STC Live Webinar on Blogging This Wednesday at 1pm 28 Jul 2009
Podcast on Content Strategy: Interview with Rahel Bailie 27 Jul 2009
Moving Towards a Manifesto About Online Versus Print Formats 27 Jul 2009
Become a Link Journalist for Writer River 24 Jul 2009
What can Technical Authors learn from celebrity chefs and musicians? Cherryleaf Technical Authors Blog 22 Jul 2009
Toward Content Quality :: UXmatters 22 Jul 2009
Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data - Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design 22 Jul 2009
My Guest Post on Unstoppability for DMN Communications 22 Jul 2009
Three Questions to Start Thinking Like a Content Strategist 21 Jul 2009
Insight into the theory of mind 19 Jul 2009
New York Times Starts a “What We're Reading” Section 17 Jul 2009
A List Apart: Articles: Content-tious Strategy 17 Jul 2009
Content Strategy - a knol by Jeffrey MacIntyre 16 Jul 2009
Best Practices For Effective Design Of "About me"-Pages | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine 16 Jul 2009
Is This Meeting Really Necessary? 15 Jul 2009
The Paris Review - Gay Talese: The Art of Nonfiction No. 2 15 Jul 2009
InDesignSecrets » Learn InDesign One Feature at a Time 15 Jul 2009
Keys to Being a Trusted Source of Information: Gryphon Mountain Journals 15 Jul 2009
If You're a Writer, Write 13 Jul 2009
STC's wiki is also scheduled for demolition :: TechCommDood 12 Jul 2009
What Users Don't Care About 11 Jul 2009
Get Set Up 10 Jul 2009
Content Theory: Sheep and Chaos — MK Anderson 08 Jul 2009
A Mile Wide and 30 Seconds Deep: A Metaphor for Help from Mike Hughes 08 Jul 2009
Two New Tools I'm Learning 07 Jul 2009
Biking to Work – A Good Idea, But … 06 Jul 2009
How the Web and the Weblog have changed Writing 05 Jul 2009
Interactive Google Map of Where I Work 05 Jul 2009
Feedburner Add Customizable Subject Lines to Email Subscriptions 02 Jul 2009
June 2009
Mind Hacks: In our wildest dreams 30 Jun 2009
Implementing a Department Wiki? A Writer Shares Some Dos and Don'ts (Guest Post) 30 Jun 2009
Palimpsest: This is the future of technical communication 29 Jun 2009
I Need Your Human Aggregated Content 29 Jun 2009
Secrecy versus openness in communication 28 Jun 2009
Write Articles, Not Blog Postings (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) 28 Jun 2009
PDF Manuals: The Wrong Paradigm for an Online Experience 28 Jun 2009
Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com 28 Jun 2009
50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Writing Skills | Developers Toolbox | Smashing Magazine 28 Jun 2009
How Google Does Help 27 Jun 2009
Real Projects for Entry-Level Writers Trying to Build Their Portfolios 26 Jun 2009
Page Layout and Design Tips from Jean-luc Doumont's Trees, maps, and theorems 25 Jun 2009
"What I'm Reading": A New Feature on My Site and a Tweak of Writer River 24 Jun 2009
Core Dump: STC Floundering? 24 Jun 2009
Technically Speaking » The STC Crisis: the take of a “young” writer 24 Jun 2009
Generation B - Mr. Mom, Father's Day Edition - NYTimes.com 22 Jun 2009
Identity and Authority. Why the Foundation of Documentation is Changing. | The LugIron Software Blog 22 Jun 2009
4J's Group - THE CONTENT POOL: It's STC not STW 22 Jun 2009
Seeing the World in Clearer, Simpler Ways 22 Jun 2009
It's Time to Shoot Your Blog | Copyblogger 21 Jun 2009
Fictitious Documentation 21 Jun 2009
Inkscape: the free alternative to Adobe Illustrator 21 Jun 2009
The Blockhead Blog: Does the STC deserve to survive? 21 Jun 2009
In Which I Comment on the STC Issue — MK Anderson 20 Jun 2009
Lifelines to the STC 20 Jun 2009
Forms that Work – Interview with Caroline Jarrett (podcast) 20 Jun 2009
Palimpsest: Whither STC? 19 Jun 2009
Speakers and fees: an insiders view | Speaker Confessions 19 Jun 2009
10 Sites That Produce Quality WordPress Content — Nathan Rice 19 Jun 2009
WordPress Single Post Templates — Nathan Rice 19 Jun 2009
Palimpsest: Flare 5 DITA feature review Part 1: Overview and map files 19 Jun 2009
Extracting Images from Visio and Inserting Them in Indesign 17 Jun 2009
Cartoon 12 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway] 16 Jun 2009
How to Avoid Extinction as a Technical Communicator 15 Jun 2009
Cartoon 11 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway] 15 Jun 2009
Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting: Eight Characteristics to Attract Devoted Followers [Part 2] 14 Jun 2009
Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting: Eight Characteristics to Attract Devoted Followers [Part I] 14 Jun 2009
Cartoon 10 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway] 14 Jun 2009
Quick reference guide slides from the Transalpine Conference 13 Jun 2009
Social Networks and the TransAlpine Conference 13 Jun 2009
Cartoon 9 [The Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway] 13 Jun 2009
Day 8 Cartoon [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway] 10 Jun 2009
Add Links Using the Publish2 Bookmarklet 10 Jun 2009
Day 7 Cartoon [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway] 10 Jun 2009
Day 6 Cartoon [The 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway] 09 Jun 2009
Day 5 Cartoon [Christmas in June Giveaway] 08 Jun 2009
Thinking About Vienna and the Legacy of Mozart 07 Jun 2009
Day 4 Cartoon [Christmas in June Giveaway] 07 Jun 2009
WordPress Tip: “Crunching” and “Burning” 06 Jun 2009
Day 3 Cartoon [12 Days of Christmas in June Giveaway] 06 Jun 2009
Day 2 Cartoon [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway] 05 Jun 2009
Day 1 Cartoon -- [The Twelve Days of Christmas in June Giveaway] 04 Jun 2009
12 Days of Christmas in June Giveaway 03 Jun 2009
Free video soft: video converter, ipod converter, mp4 converter 03 Jun 2009
Having Fun with Snagit 03 Jun 2009
May 2009
WordPress Tip: Implement WordPress's Threaded Comments 31 May 2009
WordPress Tip: 10 Reasons Why I Like WordPress 31 May 2009
Anne Gentle on her Forthcoming Book, Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation 27 May 2009
Following the NBA Can Make You a Better Technical Writer 26 May 2009
Your WordPress Site Can Get Hacked If You Don't Have This 26 May 2009
STC Toronto's New Five-and-Five Chapter Model 25 May 2009
Richard Hamilton's XML Press Imprint 25 May 2009
Converting Readers from Casual Subscribers to Devoted Followers 21 May 2009
Sailboats and Cruise Ships, or, How My Work Podcast Was Dwarfed by a Mega Work Podcast 20 May 2009
Madcap's Flare-DITA Solution (podcast) 20 May 2009
The State of Structured Authoring in Technical Communication (podcast) 19 May 2009
Drawing as a Tool for Thinking: The Back of the Napkin 19 May 2009
The Best Thing I Did This Week 17 May 2009
John Hedtke on Disaster Preparedness and Book Publishing 16 May 2009
Starting Points with Quick Reference Guides: Gathering Before Designing 14 May 2009
GUI Magnets -- Prototyping User Interfaces with Simple Magnets 13 May 2009
Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and the Real Reason You Are a Successful Writer 13 May 2009
James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 (Podcast with Alan Porter) 11 May 2009
Mother-in-Law Tip for Reading Manuals 11 May 2009
STC Summit Atlanta Adventures: The Agony and Ecstasy of Presenting 08 May 2009
Ginny Redish -- Letting Go of the Words (Podcast Interview at STC Summit) 05 May 2009
Personal Branding: You Are What You Write About 03 May 2009
Two Stories About How to Write Help 02 May 2009
April 2009
Going to Atlanta, #stc09 30 Apr 2009
Documentation Usability: A Few Things I've Learned from Watching Users 28 Apr 2009
WordPress Tip: Recording of WordPress Webinar 27 Apr 2009
Can Others Do Your Job? 23 Apr 2009
Making Money from Blogging 22 Apr 2009
The Wind and A Lot of Thoughts About Pessimism and Optimism 21 Apr 2009
Telecommuting into Nonexistent Worlds 16 Apr 2009
Anne Gentle to Give Virtual Presentation on Wikis on Thursday, April 23 15 Apr 2009
What to Blog/Write About 15 Apr 2009
Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Documentation 10 Apr 2009
Quick Reference Guides Right Where You Need Them 09 Apr 2009
Blogging: A New Role for Technical Communicators 08 Apr 2009
Why Most Designers Will Be Freelancers Within 20 Years | Freelance Folder 03 Apr 2009
How Video Can Turn Your Career Around 02 Apr 2009
The Corporate Blogger Story 01 Apr 2009
AP Article Leads to "Helping Husbands and Fathers" Photo Project 01 Apr 2009
Site Name Change 01 Apr 2009
March 2009
Adobe InDesign and Transparent Images on Color Backgrounds 30 Mar 2009
Have Notebook Will Travel 29 Mar 2009
Some Notes from Podcamp 28 Mar 2009
Interviews that Shaped My Podcasting Style and Approach 27 Mar 2009
InDesignSecrets » Blog Archive » Eliminating YDB (Yucky Discolored Box) Syndrome 26 Mar 2009
Check Your Site's Loading Time 25 Mar 2009
Survey About Technical Writers' Training Needs for 2009 25 Mar 2009
Introduction to Technical Writing (podcast) 24 Mar 2009
Managing Writers: Interview with Richard Hamilton (podcast) 23 Mar 2009
What To Do When You're Not Picked to Be America's Next Top Tech Writer 20 Mar 2009
New Feature: Regular Guest Posts 19 Mar 2009
Why I Don't Take Freelance Writing Jobs Anymore 19 Mar 2009
WordPress Tip: Introduction to WordPress -- Webinar, April 14 18 Mar 2009
Jane's Presentation, Twitter for Business (podcast) 15 Mar 2009
Examples of Perfect Screencasts 10 Mar 2009
"Like My Own Personal Brand of Heroin" 10 Mar 2009
HD Screencast Example 08 Mar 2009
Managing Your Social Media Profiles and Badges 08 Mar 2009
The Importance of Validation (video) 07 Mar 2009
Notes Watching Senior Users at the Computer 06 Mar 2009
Podcamp Salt Lake City, March 27 -- "Interviewing Remote and Local Guests for Podcasts" 04 Mar 2009
Podcast -- Blogging for Technical Communicators Webinar (Part 2) 04 Mar 2009
Podcast -- Blogging for Technical Communicators Webinar (Part 1) 03 Mar 2009
STC Speaker's Registry | Find experts fast 02 Mar 2009
Emotional States of Computer Users in Times of Frustration 02 Mar 2009
February 2009
Lessons Learned with Quick Reference Guides: Timing and Truth 26 Feb 2009
STC Presentation this Thursday: "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Technical Documentation" 25 Feb 2009
Translating with the New Madcap Lingo V2 24 Feb 2009
CSS-Tricks #1: Converting a Photoshop Mockup (part 1 of 3) 23 Feb 2009
InDesignSecrets 20 Feb 2009
Trends in Web Design Involving WordPress 20 Feb 2009
WordPress Tip: Rotating Flash Tag Clouds 19 Feb 2009
Blogging Webinar Thursday Evening 18 Feb 2009
WordPress Tip: Podcasts on WordPress: WordPress Weekly from the WordPress Tavern 16 Feb 2009
Communication Preferences and Jane's Voicemail Message 15 Feb 2009
"You know what .chms need? More bling-bling. More flash..." 14 Feb 2009
robfelty.com :: Blog :: Collapsing Pages 13 Feb 2009
Tip: Automatically Push Your Latest Blog Posts Across Twitter 13 Feb 2009
Can SharePoint 2007 Be Used as a Help Authoring Tool? 11 Feb 2009
Embedding HD Quality Screencasts in Your Blog 09 Feb 2009
WordPress Tip: Merging Worlds: DITA and WordPress 08 Feb 2009
Free Screen Sharing Software: Adobe Connect 06 Feb 2009
Documentation Review Techniques (videocast) 05 Feb 2009
TiltViewer - About 04 Feb 2009
Structured Authoring Survey from Scriptorium 02 Feb 2009
10 Things I Learned from My Last Podcast 02 Feb 2009
January 2009
Podcast: Make Your Help Indispensable, Safeguard Your Job 31 Jan 2009
A Five-Click Solution to Publishing and Uploading Screen Videos to SharePoint 31 Jan 2009
Customizing a SharePoint Site 28 Jan 2009
Added a Blog Wall to my site 26 Jan 2009
DITA Topics Tutorial 26 Jan 2009
Embracing Opportunity 25 Jan 2009
Premium WordPress Themes, WordPress 2.5 Premium Themes, Premium Wordpress Blog Templates | Blog Oh Blog 25 Jan 2009
Web Design WordPress function list 24 Jan 2009
Where I Stand on DITA 23 Jan 2009
Styling Category Levels in WordPress (video) 23 Jan 2009
Below the Line: Podcasters report their top 3 podcasting tips - part 1 22 Jan 2009
Coding Horror: The Two Types of Browser Zoom 22 Jan 2009
Great Books by Writers Who Aren't Dead Yet 21 Jan 2009
Upcoming Presentations, or, Blogging and Increased Visibility 21 Jan 2009
Thoughts on Troubleshooting and Problem Solving 19 Jan 2009
WordPress TV Launches -- The Appeal of Video Continues to Expand 18 Jan 2009
Screencasting -- Workflow and Presentation, by Collin Turner (Podcast) 17 Jan 2009
Twittering Tips for Beginners - Pogue's Posts Blog - NYTimes.com 15 Jan 2009
A Technical Writer with Extra Privileges? Responding to a Question about Roles (Videocast) 15 Jan 2009
Poll: What blogging software is available for use at your work? 12 Jan 2009
Top Technical Communication News for January 2009 11 Jan 2009
WritersUA Salary Survey, Tools Survey, and Upcoming Conference 10 Jan 2009
My STC Intercom Article about Writer River and Community-Driven Websites 10 Jan 2009
Tech Comm Toolbox: a Directory of Tools, Consultants, and Conferences 10 Jan 2009
Dilbert animated shorts from your favorite comic strips 09 Jan 2009
Flare Context Sensitive Help – Focusing the Minimized Help Window Back on Top 08 Jan 2009
WordPress Tip: Questions I'm Often Asked About WordPress and Blogging 08 Jan 2009
Wrapping up 2008 – Successes, Failures, and Goals for the Next Year 06 Jan 2009
Tech Comm Toolbox 06 Jan 2009
Podcast: Help Authoring with Doc-To-Help 2009, Interview with Nicky Bleiel 05 Jan 2009
Good Designs Have Strong Contrast 03 Jan 2009
The Pleasure of Language -- Essential Listening for Hyper-corrective Grammarians 02 Jan 2009
How to Create Columns with CSS Float | eHow.com 01 Jan 2009
December 2008
Quick Reference Guide Formats -- Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts 31 Dec 2008
Generational tech guilt? 30 Dec 2008
WordPress Tip: Integrate WordPress into an Existing Website 28 Dec 2008
A Tech Writer's World: A Killer Manual 26 Dec 2008
Podcast: Technical Writing in Agile Environments -- Interview with Alyssa Fox 23 Dec 2008
Documentation Honesty and Poor User Interfaces -- An Ethical Dilemma? 21 Dec 2008
What I See -- James Hall's Essays and Florida 21 Dec 2008
The Podfading Roller Coaster 15 Dec 2008
Podcast: What Is the Technical Writer's Role in Interface Design? Interview with Bogo Vatovec 14 Dec 2008
WordPress 2.7 Released - XML-RPC and AtomPub Changes || Joseph Scott 12 Dec 2008
When Trust Becomes a Characteristic Flaw in a Project 11 Dec 2008
Twitter Hashtags and Virtual Gatherings 10 Dec 2008
Generations Change, But Help Formats Remain the Same? 09 Dec 2008
Helpful Little Tips for Life 07 Dec 2008
Writers See Stories Where Others Don't 07 Dec 2008
Twitter Part II –- One Step Deeper 05 Dec 2008
The Name of Your Department Does Matter 04 Dec 2008
EServer TC Library: The Most Popular Technical Communication Website in the World 02 Dec 2008
Does Twitter Fit into Your Branding Strategy? 01 Dec 2008
November 2008
Top 10 Gag Christmas Gifts for Technical Writers 30 Nov 2008
Guy Kawasaki's Alltop Site Now Includes Technical Writing 29 Nov 2008
Snippets Toward a Philosophy of Life 28 Nov 2008
The Problem with Speaking Conversationally in Video Tutorials 27 Nov 2008
What Constitutes "Intelligent Content"? Interview with Ann Rockley 24 Nov 2008
Transitioning from Literary Studies to Technical Communication 20 Nov 2008
User Assistance: Will Write for Metamucil 19 Nov 2008
My Tip for Productivity: Tear Up the To-Do List 18 Nov 2008
Usability Newsletter Interview – I'd Rather Be Writing – The Man Behind the Words 17 Nov 2008
Does Design Matter in Comparison to Content? 16 Nov 2008
Finding a Conversational Voice in Video Tutorials 14 Nov 2008
Details About the STC Summit Recording -- Interview with Lloyd Tucker 13 Nov 2008
Dawn or Dusk -- Considering the Advantages of Early Morning 12 Nov 2008
You Can Now Advertise on My Blog 10 Nov 2008
Author-it Launches a Blog -- An Interview About the Who, Why, and How 09 Nov 2008
'Lost the Fire – How to Rekindle It' – A Second Response 07 Nov 2008
My Recommended Training for Corporate Bloggers: Live with a Mommy Blogger 05 Nov 2008
Guest Post: Tech Writing Careers -- The Raw, Unvarnished Truth 04 Nov 2008
Podcast: Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing 03 Nov 2008
October 2008
Guest Post: Real Writers in Virtual Worlds 30 Oct 2008
Podcast: Personalities of Technical Communicators -- Interview with Deborah (Shapiro) Hemstreet 29 Oct 2008
Two-Minute Video to Convince Others of the Value of Technical Documentation 29 Oct 2008
Interview with Scott Abel, Conference Organizer Extraordinaire 27 Oct 2008
10/23 Intermountain STC Meeting: An Informal Discussion of Any Tech Comm Challenges You're Facing 23 Oct 2008
Seamlessly Integrating a Blog into Your Non-Blog Website 23 Oct 2008
Caught in the Current of Writer River: Building and Participating in Community-Driven Websites 21 Oct 2008
10 Ways to Gather Feedback from Users 17 Oct 2008
What We Learn from Help Authoring Tool Surveys 15 Oct 2008
Like Father, Like Daughter 13 Oct 2008
Becoming a Writer -- Reflections on a Trip to Idaho 13 Oct 2008
Results for My 10 Technical Writing Stereotypes Survey 08 Oct 2008
Answering Reader's Questions: 'My Desire to Write Burns in My Heart Daily' 07 Oct 2008
HelpScribe: Why software is the best technical writing field 06 Oct 2008
Ingenious Technique for Helping Your Child Learn to Ride a Bike 03 Oct 2008
Free Ticket to DITA Tech/Comm Conference in North Carolina Nov 3-6 02 Oct 2008
September 2008
Ten Technical Writing Stereotypes 28 Sep 2008
WordPress Tip: Using WordPress as a CMS -- Wordcamp Utah 27 Sep 2008
SEO Tips for Your Blog -- Wordcamp Utah 27 Sep 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress and Podcasting — Wordcamp Utah 27 Sep 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress 2.7 and Beyond – Keynote by Matt Mullenweg at Wordcamp Utah 2008 27 Sep 2008
Free Doc Train East Ticket 25 Sep 2008
Leaning Towards Longer Topics and Shorter TOCs 22 Sep 2008
Recommended Podcast: "The Enforcers" from This American Life 19 Sep 2008
Podcast: Repurposing Content for Multichannel Publishing (Single Sourcing) 19 Sep 2008
Users Read Help Manuals Like an Encyclopedia, Not a Novel 19 Sep 2008
Tip: Search Engine Optimize Your Blog Posts to Increase Your Readership 18 Sep 2008
WordPress Tip: Limau-Orange Theme with Navigation Bar from Contempt 18 Sep 2008
STC-Intermountain Meeting Tonight 17 Sep 2008
Watch What Happens When You Copy from Word into a Blog Post 17 Sep 2008
Thinking About an STC Proposal to Submit 17 Sep 2008
What's Convenient Gets Used -- a General Principle That Applies to Nearly Everything 17 Sep 2008
Wordcamp Utah -- Sept 27 in Provo, Utah 17 Sep 2008
How I Create Video Tutorials 11 Sep 2008
Prove My Help Authoring Tools Survey Wrong 10 Sep 2008
Help Authoring Tool Survey: Who, What, and How 10 Sep 2008
How Much Should You Document? Everything? Strategies for an Agile Environment 09 Sep 2008
Podcast: Flare 4 -- Ten New Features, Interview with Sharon Burton 08 Sep 2008
FLOSSmanuals.net: A New Wiki Help Authoring/Publishing Tool Hybrid 05 Sep 2008
Podcast: What's New in the Field of Technical Communication? 05 Sep 2008
Why I Hate Camping -- And Then an Epiphany 04 Sep 2008
Flare 4 Giveway — Enter to Win a Free Copy by Commenting on This Post | I'd Rather Be Writing - Tom Johnson 03 Sep 2008
Explain what you feel is an important feature for a help authoring tool and why (Flare Giveaway) 03 Sep 2008
Everything That Happened Today, or, The Busy Lives We Lead 03 Sep 2008
Utah Technical Writers Group -- Finding the Technical Writing Community in Utah 01 Sep 2008
Resources for Single Sourcing Projects 01 Sep 2008
Comprehensive Podcast Index -- A List of All My Podcasts 01 Sep 2008
On Podcasts -- Reasons for the Break and Plans for the Future 01 Sep 2008
August 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Application 30 Aug 2008
Corporate Migration to the Blogosphere 27 Aug 2008
Another Collaborative Site: Read Scriptures Together 27 Aug 2008
How to Listen to Podcasts 21 Aug 2008
Too Connected – Utopias and Dystopias of Communication 18 Aug 2008
With All This Fuss About Tools, Three Best Practice Attitudes 13 Aug 2008
User Assistance: Why I Hate PDFs 13 Aug 2008
WordCamp Utah Registration Is Now Open - Joseph Scott's Blog 10 Aug 2008
Word Macro for Resizing Images that Have a Specific Style 09 Aug 2008
Tapping your creative juices Interesting ... 08 Aug 2008
An Article That Changed My Approach to Help 07 Aug 2008
Instructional Text in the User Interface: Some Counterintuitive Implications of User Behaviors :: UXmatters 07 Aug 2008
Trends in Technical Communication: a review [TechScribe software documentation] 06 Aug 2008
Free PDF Alternatives -- Save Yourself $700 and a Headache 05 Aug 2008
A History of Tech Comm Tools. This is a ... 05 Aug 2008
Echoes from the past: DITA, Help, Single-Sourcing tools -- Looking from the 60s to today 04 Aug 2008
Get Training in Technical Writing 03 Aug 2008
A Career in Technical Writing: End of Part One : PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center 03 Aug 2008
Thank You Silahsiz Kuvvetler for Showing Me the Light 03 Aug 2008
Personal Essays on a Technical Writing Career -- by John Hewitt 01 Aug 2008
The Myth of Simplicity and Complexity in Help Authoring 01 Aug 2008
July 2008
WordPress Tip: Show the Latest Post in Full, Then Summaries of the Other Posts 31 Jul 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress' Biggest Mistake 29 Jul 2008
Reader Question: Creating Online Help for Touch-Screen Applications? 27 Jul 2008
New Site Policy About How I Respond to Questions 27 Jul 2008
Organizing Large Photo Collections Online -- Use the NextGen Gallery WordPress Plugin 27 Jul 2008
When you don't feel like blogging, is it time to blog? 27 Jul 2008
Tips for Distributing the Workload Among Your Team -- Answering a Reader's Question 23 Jul 2008
Venn Diagram of What a Blog Should Be About 22 Jul 2008
When can I say "janky" in my on-screen text? 18 Jul 2008
WordPress Training This Saturday 9 am to Noon 14 Jul 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress Image Galleries — Give Your Photo Galleries a Lightbox/Slideshowesque Display 10 Jul 2008
WordPress Tip: Woopra — Enough Live Site Stats to Write a Dissertation 08 Jul 2008
Quick Reference Guides: The Poetry of Technical Writing 06 Jul 2008
Approaching Help as Solutions to Problems — An Interesting Format from the CSS Cookbook 01 Jul 2008
Interview with Me in TechCraft 01 Jul 2008
June 2008
"What's Next?" -- A Nice Way to End Help Topics 28 Jun 2008
14 Widespread Myths about Technical Writing 26 Jun 2008
My Compromise with SharePoint -- What Works and What Doesn't 23 Jun 2008
My WordPress Site Was Hacked 22 Jun 2008
Customizing Your SharePoint Site? Read These 10 Concepts/Gotchas First 21 Jun 2008
Podcast: Five Books to Add to Your Technical Communication Library 16 Jun 2008
The Kind of Documentation Users Really Want 15 Jun 2008
"How can I become a successful TECHNICAL WRITER?" 15 Jun 2008
Systems that Get Better the More People Use Them 12 Jun 2008
Announcing WriterRiver.com, a Digg-like Social News Site for Technical Communicators 10 Jun 2008
Technical Writer as Conversation Stopper, and Other Notes from the STC Summit in Philadelphia 07 Jun 2008
My First Guest Post -- And Best Writing Tip 05 Jun 2008
Playing with Sound -- Adding Downbeat Tempo to a Discourse on Shakespeare 02 Jun 2008
Follow the STC Conference Twitterers at http://twemes.com/stc2008 02 Jun 2008
Marketing Yourself and Your Experience to Others in a Web 2.0 World 02 Jun 2008
May 2008
Podcast: Using Video in Training and Documentation, Interview with Todd O'Neill 31 May 2008
Podcast: Analyzing Your Users and Needs Before Creating the Help Deliverables; Interview with Nicky Bleiel 31 May 2008
My STC Summit Presentation and Panel -- "The Art of the Podcast" and Marketing Yourself in a Web 2.0 World 30 May 2008
Podcast: How to Create User-Centered Documentation, Interview with Joe Sokohl 30 May 2008
Exploring Web 2.0 Possibilities in a SharePoint-Endorsed Environment 28 May 2008
Integrating All Library Content into One 27 May 2008
Thinking About a More Personal Style of Podcasting 27 May 2008
Podcast: Workspaces, Collaboration, and Information Sharing -- Interview with Emma Hamer 25 May 2008
Podcast: Why Content Management Projects Fail, Interview with Rahel Bailie 25 May 2008
Podcast: How XML Enables Information Sharing and Reuse -- Interview with Joe Gollner 25 May 2008
Feedback on the Podcast From a German Listener 20 May 2008
Poewar Giving Away $250 to the Guest Blogger Who Brings in the Most Traffic 20 May 2008
Scott Nesbitt Interview with Stewart Mader on Wikis 20 May 2008
Musings of a Tech Writer Podcast -- Mark in Canada Reflects on The Content Wrangler Versus the STC 19 May 2008
Podcast: XSL, Flash, and Live Blogging -- Interview with Sarah O'Keefe 17 May 2008
Podcast: Document Engineering, Interview with Robert Glushko 17 May 2008
SharePoint Wikis: Both Liberating and Frustrating 17 May 2008
Giving a Virtual Presentation to STC-Phoenix on Tuesday, May 13 12 May 2008
Post Doc-Train Thoughts While Sitting in the Vancouver Airport 12 May 2008
Podcast: Living Multiple Lives -- The New Technical Communicator, Interview with Noz Urbina 11 May 2008
Podcast: Embracing Wikis -- Interview with Stewart Mader 10 May 2008
Changing the Rules of the Game for the Benefit of the User 08 May 2008
Social Media 101: Now Everyone's a Technical Writer 08 May 2008
Podcast: Moving 50,000 Pages of Unstructured Content to DITA 06 May 2008
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint That I Wish Everyone Followed 06 May 2008
Podcast: Leading Your Company into the Wikis, Blogs, and Social Networks of Web 2.0 06 May 2008
WordPress Tip: Using WordPress to Build Websites Instead of Blogs 05 May 2008
April 2008
WordPress Tip: My WordPress Quick Start Guide — Now Available on the WordPress Codex 29 Apr 2008
WordPress for Beginners Course 27 Apr 2008
The Broken STC Model -- and What's Replacing It 24 Apr 2008
Updated Date and Time for WordPress Course -- Wednesday Evening, April 30 24 Apr 2008
Madcap Blaze's Topic Review Feature: A First-of-a Kind Feature with an Interesting Workflow 24 Apr 2008
Podcast -- DITA: From the Perspective of Someone Actually Using It 21 Apr 2008
WordPress for Beginners Course -- Wednesday Evening, April 30 20 Apr 2008
Why Software Applications Need Product Blogs, and Why They Don't Get Them 16 Apr 2008
How Much Time Do You Spend in Web 2.0 -- Interesting Article from the Read/Write Web 16 Apr 2008
Find a Way to Have Fun in Your Writing 14 Apr 2008
Looking for Corporate Examples of Web 2.0 Engagement 13 Apr 2008
Podcast -- Social Networking and the Value of User Communities for Technical Communicators 12 Apr 2008
Guest Post -- From Blogging Veterans: Three Keys to Successful Blogging 11 Apr 2008
Podcaster Meetup at Doc Train West Conference in Vancouver 10 Apr 2008
Keep an Open Mind: Detention Without Amanda Jones Isn't Necessarily Bad 08 Apr 2008
A Recipe for More Engaging Software Demos 03 Apr 2008
Podcast -- Transitioning from Technical Writing into Usability 02 Apr 2008
My Podcast in iTunes -- The iTunes Gods Have Granted Me Mercy 02 Apr 2008
The Question No One Asked Me at the Career Advice Panel, Thank Goodness 01 Apr 2008
March 2008
The Best and Worst of Times with a Hard Headed Woman 31 Mar 2008
Twitter Tools and Uses: The Most Comprehensive Listing of Twitter Resources I've Seen 30 Mar 2008
A Creepy Widget I Absolutely Had to Add to My Blog 30 Mar 2008
I Enjoy a Good Alien Podcast Now and Then 29 Mar 2008
How to Get Everyone and Their Dog/Family/Friends Reading and Subscribing to Your Blog -- 10 Tips 28 Mar 2008
What's the Best Thing You've Done to Grow Your Career? 27 Mar 2008
I'm Planning to Offer WordPress Training -- Are You Interested? 26 Mar 2008
Four Simple Ways to Avoid Totally Botching an Interview 26 Mar 2008
Podcast -- Tackling Godzilla: A Writer/Usability Consultant Reflects on the Largest Project of her Career 26 Mar 2008
Virtual Meetings: A Lofty Yet Impractical and Unwanted Ideal? or Exactly What We Need? 26 Mar 2008
Seven Reasons Why I'm Twittering -- Especially During Conference Time 17 Mar 2008
Are You One of the 824 Technical Communicators on Ning Yet? 15 Mar 2008
Uncooperative Subjects: A Comparison of Two Failed Interviews and How to Turn Them Around 14 Mar 2008
Body Hacks and Optimization 14 Mar 2008
10 Alternate Tests for Evaluating Technical Writing Job Candidates -- A List for Hiring Managers 13 Mar 2008
Six Ways I'm Using the H4 Zoom Recorder to Do Technical-Writing Related Things 12 Mar 2008
Lots of 2008 SXSW Podcasts Now Available 10 Mar 2008
My 5 Pet Peeves with Reading Blogs (mostly surrounding comments and feeds) 09 Mar 2008
Deciding When to Speak Up and When to Shut Up 08 Mar 2008
Two Types of Posts in the Blogosphere: Knowledge Posts and Creative Posts 07 Mar 2008
Recording SME Demos -- It's Easier Than You Think 04 Mar 2008
How to Record Live Presentations with the Zoom H4 Digital Recorder 02 Mar 2008
My Blogging and Podcasting Presentation -- the MP3 and Video Recording 02 Mar 2008
February 2008
Stoking the Creative Muse: How Finding Ideas to Write About Is Similar to Remembering Your Dreams 29 Feb 2008
How My BlackBerry May Benefit You 27 Feb 2008
A blogging family 25 Feb 2008
Eight stitches for Susan 25 Feb 2008
CNN Producer Fired for His Blog -- A Growing Discontent for Mainstream Media 24 Feb 2008
10 Ways to Bomb Your Presentation 23 Feb 2008
My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends 21 Feb 2008
Have a Blog? a Podcast? Want one? Come learn everything you need to know 20 Feb 2008
Why You Should Send Me (and Other Bloggers) Your Products for Free 20 Feb 2008
A Glimpse into the World of Agile Technical Writing, a.k.a. Extreme Technical Writing (XTW) 19 Feb 2008
Welcoming Camtasia Studio as a New Blog Sponsor 18 Feb 2008
Two New Blogs to Add to Your Reader: Craig Haiss' Helpscribe and Sharon Burton's Madcap Blog 17 Feb 2008
"Selection Beats Damping": A Compelling Argument About Why Blogs Trump Print Media 17 Feb 2008
Technical Writing Careers -- Answering 13 Questions about Technical Writing Jobs 16 Feb 2008
Top 10 Workspace Configurations for Technical Writers 15 Feb 2008
Free Doc Train Ticket ($899) for Your Response to a Question About Innovation 14 Feb 2008
Survey Results: How I'm Changing My Blog Based on Your Responses 13 Feb 2008
Jing Screencast: Getting Up and Running with Jing 12 Feb 2008
Are Gerunds in Topic Titles Problematic in Search Results? 11 Feb 2008
How Jing Can Benefit Technical Writers 11 Feb 2008
Will you take my short survey? 07 Feb 2008
Answering Questions on the "Practicalities of Blogging" 06 Feb 2008
A Web 2.0 Documentation Idea Gone Wrong 06 Feb 2008
I wish all companies provided tech support like this 06 Feb 2008
Blogger Compiles Extensive Examples of Unnecessary Quotation Marks 06 Feb 2008
Interview with STC President Linda Oestreich: Directions the STC Is Heading 05 Feb 2008
Notes from My First WordPress Meetup 04 Feb 2008
Camtasia Versus Captivate: Thinking About Screen Real Estate Problems in Video Captures 02 Feb 2008
January 2008
Madcap Flare Review: 45 Things I Love About Flare, 31 Things I Hate About It 31 Jan 2008
2008 WritersUA Salary Survey Published: $76K Is Average 30 Jan 2008
Blogging Jobs for Technical How-to Articles 28 Jan 2008
PodcastFAQs.com: A New Information Resource for Podcasters 28 Jan 2008
President Hinckley Passes 28 Jan 2008
Clearplay: An Ingenious DVD Player That Filters Movies Without Altering Them 28 Jan 2008
WordPress Meetup in Salt Lake City with Matt Mullenweg 28 Jan 2008
Upcoming PodCamp in Salt Lake City on March 15 28 Jan 2008
The Art of Interviewing — 10 Tips for Perfecting the Most Important Element of Podcasting 25 Jan 2008
Innovation in Technology -- During Research, Unexpected Findings Lead You Down New Paths 21 Jan 2008
All About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software Forums 19 Jan 2008
How to Share Everything with Everyone (well, a few things anyway) 18 Jan 2008
How to Get Out of a Slump, and Handle Pressure Situations Calmly 15 Jan 2008
The Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication -- Podcast Interview with Bill Albing 14 Jan 2008
"Regular Sloggers Trying to Make a Living" 10 Jan 2008
Three Notable Characteristics of Top 10 Posts: Lists, Headings, Images 09 Jan 2008
Malcolmn Gladwell's Blink: Your First Impression Is Usually Correct in Complex Situations 07 Jan 2008
Why Some Leaders Don't Blog: The Untold Story 04 Jan 2008
The #1 Reason Why People Fail at Their Goals 02 Jan 2008
December 2007
"The great new tool for writing a book today is a blog ..." 31 Dec 2007
My Blog and Podcast Site Are Now Merged into One -- Steps on How I Did It 29 Dec 2007
Jeter Interviews Mike Hamilton at Former Blue Sky Software Office in La Jolla, Calif. 29 Dec 2007
"Could you please tell me what the job of a technical writer is like?" 21 Dec 2007
Adventures with the New Technical Communication Suite from Adobe (mostly RoboHelp 7 and Captivate) 19 Dec 2007
The Hardest Part About Blogging: Coming Up With Something Interesting to Say 19 Dec 2007
Why People Think Help Is Useless, and How To Change This Thought 19 Dec 2007
Myths of Innovation: Brilliant Ideas Come From Constant Reflection, Not Random Chance 15 Dec 2007
Interesting Technique for Discovering Software Changes and Building Rapport with developers 15 Dec 2007
Reading this post made me want to be a workaholic 12 Dec 2007
A Good Response to "No One Reads the Help Anyway" 11 Dec 2007
Goodbye Podpress, it's time for a new mp3 player 10 Dec 2007
Technical Communication Suite from Adobe -- Interview with RJ Jacquez 10 Dec 2007
Adding a Send Feedback link to Your Online Help / RoboHelp Project 07 Dec 2007
99% of people who buy iPods don't realize several simple things ... 06 Dec 2007
Show Me Demos and Captivate -- Interview with Kevin Siegel 05 Dec 2007
November 2007
Sample Integration of Captivate Screen Demos in RoboHelp Hotspots 28 Nov 2007
Free Copies of SnagIt 7 and Camtasia 3 28 Nov 2007
Musicophillia -- The Brain's Unexplainable Affinity for Music 27 Nov 2007
Thoughts on Adobe's New Technical Communication Suite 24 Nov 2007
Embracing the New Vernacular Instead of Pursuing the Holy Grail of Single Sourcing 22 Nov 2007
Top 10 Worst Things SMEs Say or Do -- Interview with Brenda Huettner 12 Nov 2007
Online Anonymous Rating Sites: Empowering Individual Voices 07 Nov 2007
Building Online Communities: Interview with Svi Ben-Elya about Elephant.org.il 06 Nov 2007
Is Podcasting Dead? Jason Van Orden Versus Read/Write Web 06 Nov 2007
MadCap Software Sponsors the Tech Writer Voices Podcast 05 Nov 2007
Brain Waves and the Stimulation of Motivation/Creativity 01 Nov 2007
October 2007
Three Excellent Podcasts on Networking, Outsourcing, and DITA 29 Oct 2007
Tech Writer: "Someone who writes as opposed to someone who rides something" 28 Oct 2007
WordPress Automatic Upgrade -- Recommended WordPress Plugin 27 Oct 2007
Innovation, Imagination, Creativity -- Google VP of Search Products Tells Story of Gmail 26 Oct 2007
"A self-forgetful, perfectly useless concentration" 25 Oct 2007
Reflections on Allison Reynold's Talk on Job Skills for the Workplace 23 Oct 2007
Getting Excited About the Upcoming STC Summit in Pennsylvania 19 Oct 2007
WordPress Tip: Recommended Plugin: Better Comments Manager 17 Oct 2007
Answering Tough Questions About Wikis -- Interview with Anne Gentle 16 Oct 2007
The Rockley Group Blog Is Here! I have a couple of DITA questions 15 Oct 2007
My TechCraft Article: Should You Sit Near SMEs? 15 Oct 2007
Implementing WordPress 2.3's New Tagging Feature 07 Oct 2007
Counterpoints to "7 Blogging Beginner Mistakes" 06 Oct 2007
LunarPages Sponsors the Tech Writer Voices Podcast 05 Oct 2007
Usability Research Behind Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard 05 Oct 2007
New WordPress Plugin Enables One-Click Installation of Plugins and Themes 05 Oct 2007
September 2007
News Posts versus Thought Posts 27 Sep 2007
Five Skills Every Technical Writer Needs 26 Sep 2007
My STC Intercom article: "Top 5 Podcasts for Technical Communicators" 21 Sep 2007
Why you shouldn't be afraid of offending others and racking up a few penalties 21 Sep 2007
Location is everything when it comes to getting information from SMEs — Carcast 20 Sep 2007
A blog worth adding to your feeds -- and reasons why 19 Sep 2007
My Shared Items from Google Reader 18 Sep 2007
Virtual Ways of Communicating — Char James-Tanny 17 Sep 2007
A Quick Way to Unsubscribe from Feeds in Google Reader 16 Sep 2007
Cool Example of AJAX in a Blog -- Increases Usability 15 Sep 2007
Is technical writing a calling or a job? Recommended DMN Communications podcast 11 Sep 2007
Extracting information from SMEs 09 Sep 2007
Three new resources to check out 08 Sep 2007
My online absence isn't a permanent vacation 08 Sep 2007
August 2007
Thoughts on the Accumulation of Stuff [Junk] 20 Aug 2007
Closing One Chapter, Opening a New One 14 Aug 2007
Rethinking the Importance of Screenshots, Diagrams, and Other Visuals 10 Aug 2007
Tom is moving to Utah 07 Aug 2007
Gigzig: Shows Where You Were 5 Years Ago and Where You're Headed 5 Years From Now 04 Aug 2007
A Perfect Model for Online Tutorials -- MS Visio Shapes Course 04 Aug 2007
Survey for New USF Tech. Comm. Program -- Would These Courses Create Highly Qualified Tech Writers? 02 Aug 2007
Best Tech Writing Tip Ever: Watch a User Try to Follow Your Instructions 01 Aug 2007
July 2007
Grasshoppers that Look Like Aliens 31 Jul 2007
Small and Simple Things -- The Best Kind of Goals 30 Jul 2007
Rethinking the Term "Users" 27 Jul 2007
Three Simple Mistakes Non-Technical Writers Make 27 Jul 2007
Thoughts on the Rapidly Changing Pace of Technology 24 Jul 2007
Tips for Avoiding a Sedentary Lifestyle in the Workplace 21 Jul 2007
Four-Wheeling in the Wasatch Front 21 Jul 2007
Resolving Browser Display Discrepancies Between IE and Firefox 17 Jul 2007
If I Had Ten Days to Live ... 10 Jul 2007
The Paradox of White Space: Some Research and Examples of White Space in Web Design 09 Jul 2007
Making Special, Hidden Categories Separate From Your Home Page and Feed 07 Jul 2007
Evening Fishing at the North Pier 07 Jul 2007
Counterargument to the Importance of Categories in Blogs 04 Jul 2007
Switching from Desktop to Online Tools 03 Jul 2007
Accessibility for Blogs? New Audio Feature: Listen to Posts 02 Jul 2007
Nicely Designed WordPress Blog — Simple, Lots of White Space 02 Jul 2007
Converting Your WordPress Blog into a CMS (Content Management System) 01 Jul 2007
June 2007
David Pogue's Review of the iPhone -- Engaging Videocast Worth Watching 27 Jun 2007
Search Engine Optimization for Your Blog: Three Easy Techniques, and also Drawbacks to SEO 26 Jun 2007
Wikis in Documentation: Ann Gentle Asks, Can Wikis Stand Alone, or Must They Be Supplements? 26 Jun 2007
Information Architecture: Organizing Chaos, Metadata, Taxonomy vs. Folksonomy, and the Dublin Core 21 Jun 2007
Lucy Smiles for the Camera -- Funny Photo 21 Jun 2007
Context-Sensitive Help -- An Easy Method Using Javascript 20 Jun 2007
Special Father's Day Post: Description of My Dad 18 Jun 2007
Google Reader's Shared Items Feature -- Allows You to Easily Share Selected Posts from Your Feeds 18 Jun 2007
PostSecret -- a Postcard Confession Site, Fathers Theme 17 Jun 2007
Survey Results of My Blog's Readership and My Accompanying Analysis 16 Jun 2007
TechCrunch Founder Interview on iinnovate -- Arrington Talks About How Blogging Is a Treadmill 16 Jun 2007
Intro to Information Architecture -- Reflections on the Different Roles We Can Play 16 Jun 2007
My Podcast Picks 14 Jun 2007
Madcap Flare Spotlight -- "Six Persistent Flare Problems" Post by Paul Pehrson 14 Jun 2007
A New Approach: Tech Comm News 14 Jun 2007
Google Master Plan Video -- Speculations on the Hidden Purposes Behind Google's Information Collection 13 Jun 2007
Everything Is Miscellaneous -- The Problem with Classifying Information 11 Jun 2007
Writing Style to Keep in Mind for Blog Posts -- Be Clearer Than Usual, State Main Point Up Front 11 Jun 2007
Punishing by Rewards -- Motivational Techniques That Don't Work 11 Jun 2007
Leadership Lesson: After Building Some Trust, Make Direct Invitations 07 Jun 2007
How Information Travels in the Blogosphere -- a funny anecdote 07 Jun 2007
Making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- Recommended Podcast 06 Jun 2007
How to Record Conference Calls -- Answering Reader's Question 06 Jun 2007
Lip Dub Video Clip Captures Essence of the Web -- Spontaneity, Authenticity, Participation, Fun 05 Jun 2007
Vista Help Emphasizes Concepts in Effort to Create Power Users 04 Jun 2007
Who are you? A one-question survey to identify my readers 04 Jun 2007
How Scoble Reads 622 RSS Feeds -- Thoughts and Reactions 04 Jun 2007
May 2007
Vista and Office 2007: Presentation by David McNamee from Microsoft 31 May 2007
Google Maps Offers Mind-Blowing Street View -- It's Like Walking Around Virtually in a City 31 May 2007
Alan Houser Starts a Blog -- Check Out the Group Wellesley Wire 30 May 2007
The Return of the Newsletter — How to Keep the Newsletter Concept Without the Work 30 May 2007
How to Break into Technical Writing 27 May 2007
The Death of Associations -- Declining STC Statistics Prompt Innovation, Realigning of Value 24 May 2007
Usability Tip from Ricecooker Critiques Podcast -- Print the Documentation on the Product 23 May 2007
Former HP CEO Talks About Corporate America and Why Constant Innovation Drives Success 22 May 2007
WordPress 2.2 -- Here's Why It's Worth the Upgrade 22 May 2007
My Podcasting Method for Face-to-Face Interviews 20 May 2007
Podcasting at the STC Conference: Reasons, Methods, and Reflections 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Jack Molisani on Trends in Technical Communication 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Geoff Sauer on tc.eserver.org, the Largest Tech Comm Index Online 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Rob Houser on Creating Nontraditional E-Learning 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Scott Abel on Web 2.0 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Ann Rockley on the Rockley Group Blog and a New CMS Report 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Chris Thompson on Searching for a Content Management System 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Caroline Jarrett on User Interface Design 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Whitney Quesenbery on the Five E's of Usability 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Harry Miller on Multimedia Documentation 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Stephanie Bryant on Videoblogging 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Mike Brazill on Writing for Developers 19 May 2007
STC Conference: John Daigle on RoboHelp 7 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Debbie Kennedy on Modular Writing and Reusability 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Joan Lasselle on Adopting Content Management 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Cindy Skawinski on Activity Diagrams (Uniform Modeling Language Artifacts) 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Adrienne Escoe on Recruiting 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Teresa Lipus, Snake River chapter, Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Deanne Levander, Twin Cities, Minnesota Chapter, and John Garison, Vermont 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Laurel Bowen, Oakridge Tennessee Chapter 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Brad Simmons, Ames, Iowa 19 May 2007
STC Conference: Michael Gernes, Central Iowa STC Community 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Jackie Damrau, Dallas, Texas, and Rachel Houghton, Willamette Valley, Oregon 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Jeanette Rogers, Seattle, Instructional Design & Learning SIG 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Lorrie Corbett, Philadelphia Metro Chapter 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Hillary Hart, Austin Chapter 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Todd Race, Toronto chapter, Canadian Issues Group 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Dan Dornbrook, Chicago Chapter 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Melanie G. Flanders, China; Beau Cain, Director 8 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Paul Sinasohn, Berkeley Chapter, California 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Holly Harkness, Al Hood, and Howard Speck — Atlanta Chapter 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Rhevati Sampath and Wendy Tung, Berkeley Chapter, California 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Kelly Schrank & Lou Martindale — Mid-South Chapter in Memphis and Suncoast Chapter in Tampa 19 May 2007
Leadership Day: Sue Kloster, Willamette Valley Chapter, Oregon 19 May 2007
Three Things to Avoid When Doing Face-to-Face Podcast Interviews 15 May 2007
Blog Carnivals and my 'Makes-Me-Smile Monday' Post 14 May 2007
On My Way to the STC conference in Minneapolis 12 May 2007
Graduating Kindergartener Asks Difficult Interview Questions 12 May 2007
Creating Help in the Web 2.0 Age — Presentation by Neil Perlin 10 May 2007
STC Atlanta Launches Podcast — Michelle Schoen Is Atlanta's Resident Podcaster 08 May 2007
Wikis in Action — The Top 57 Wikis by Rank 08 May 2007
Special Announcements: Add your blog to techwriterblogs.com wiki, and also support Tech Writer Voices 08 May 2007
Presentation on Writing and Web 2.0 by Keith Hoffman — Given at the University of Wisconsin 08 May 2007
Setting Up a Wiki in a Few Minutes — Installing Dokuwiki 06 May 2007
Help Support Tech Writer Voices — Consider this Our Spring Membership Campaign 05 May 2007
Calling All Tech Writing Bloggers: List Your Blog in the New Tech Writing Blog Directory Wiki 05 May 2007
Neil Perlin Enters Blogosphere and Gives Away Free Flare Stylesheets 04 May 2007
Advertise on the Podcast 03 May 2007
Google 411 -- Free Information Listings via Phone 02 May 2007
Perfect Explanation of RSS -- Engaging Video Tutorial 02 May 2007
A Few Conversations at Doc Train — User Personas, Data Conversion, and Simplified Technical English 01 May 2007
April 2007
My First Carcast: Driving Home from Vancouver After the Doc Train Conference 30 Apr 2007
Free Conference Call Recording/Podcasting Service at FreeConferencing.LiveOffice.com 29 Apr 2007
How Blogs Dominate Google — One Highly-Linked-To Blog Can Rule the World 28 Apr 2007
Jott—a Free Voicemail to Transcribed Text Memo Service 28 Apr 2007
Podcast Downloads Report -- About 8,500 downloads so far 25 Apr 2007
Podcast Site Redesign -- I'm Now Using the Leia Theme 25 Apr 2007
If you missed my presentation, here it is online (delivered through WordPress) 20 Apr 2007
Where I'm Going, My Aspirations -- Everything Seems to Align with Web 2.0 20 Apr 2007
More Topics 19 Apr 2007
Basic Tutorial 19 Apr 2007
WordPress as a CMS 18 Apr 2007
Different Uses of WordPress 18 Apr 2007
Why Blog? 18 Apr 2007
Twenty Ways to Make Your Blog More Usable: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at WordPress 18 Apr 2007
Blog Usability Checklist 17 Apr 2007
Glamorous Careers Turn Out to Be Boring--This American Life Podcast 17 Apr 2007
WordPress Plugins: Take Your Blog's Functionality To a New Level 17 Apr 2007
Going to Vancouver on Tuesday for Doc Train Conference! 16 Apr 2007
New Theme Viewer: 39 WordPress Themes I Like 15 Apr 2007
WordPress Themes Crash Course: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started with Themes 15 Apr 2007
Unraveling the Geologic Stratum of the Blogosphere: Why We Blog 14 Apr 2007
RockYou—Create Dynamic Slideshows with Music for Your Site 13 Apr 2007
On Writing Better: Tips from a South by Southwest Panel 11 Apr 2007
Twenty Usability Tips for Your Blog — Condensed from Dozens of Bloggers' Experiences 09 Apr 2007
Defining Experiences: Five STC Candidates Share Influential Stories from the Tech Comm Field 08 Apr 2007
Making Help More Human, and other discussions 07 Apr 2007
Former MySpace Exec. Explains How Experience Can Be an Impediment to Success 05 Apr 2007
STC Candidates: Submit a Story about a Defining Moment in Your Career 04 Apr 2007
Susan Burton Provides an Inside, In-Depth Look at STC's Most Pressing Issues 02 Apr 2007
March 2007
Google CEO's Advice for People Entering a Technology Career: Stay Engaged, Keep Learning and Trying Things 31 Mar 2007
How to Subscribe to RSS Feeds with Internet Explorer 7 30 Mar 2007
Single Sourcing Wiki Tools for the Enterprise — Traction TeamPage5? 29 Mar 2007
MySQL CEO Says, "It is dangerous to hire someobody who has too much experience." 28 Mar 2007
WordPress vs. Movable Type: The Advantages of Open Source and What It Means for Technical Writers 27 Mar 2007
Special STC Elections Podcast: Interview with Nicky Bleiel, Candidate for Director 25 Mar 2007
Broken Days and Perfect Days 25 Mar 2007
Yahoo Pipes and the Mashed Up World of Aggregated, Filtered, Blended Information 24 Mar 2007
Three New Features for this Blog: a Post Index, Inbound Links Display, and Public Web Stats 22 Mar 2007
Finding Work You Love Vs. Loving the Work You Find 21 Mar 2007
Florida Competition Winner Explains Principle of Success: Brevity 20 Mar 2007
Corporate Blogging: Five Rules for Success in the Blogosophere 19 Mar 2007
Answering Reader's Questions: How To Keep Up with Work/Family Balance, and Which Tools to Use 18 Mar 2007
WritersUA Publishes 2007 Salary Survey; 73k Is Average 18 Mar 2007
Sierra Says Help Needs to Be Human, Conversational, and Geared Towards Panicky Users 18 Mar 2007
Special STC Election podcast: Call for Participants 16 Mar 2007
Dan Rather Podcast from South by Southwest: "Journalism needs a spine transplant; it has lost its guts" 16 Mar 2007
Is Technical Writing Boring? Tech Writers as Information Architects 14 Mar 2007
TECHWR-L and Technical Editing SIG Implement Drupal and WordPress 14 Mar 2007
The Evolutionary Strategy of Web 2.0 — It's Like Having 100 Personal Researchers Working For You 13 Mar 2007
Embedding an Audio Player into Your Site Without WordPress 13 Mar 2007
Nine Lessons for Would-be Bloggers -- Great Advice from Josh Porter on Overcoming Blogging Hangups 12 Mar 2007
Microformats and the Semantic Web 11 Mar 2007
Second Life: A 3-D Space for Virtual Meetups and Instruction? 09 Mar 2007
Wikinomics: Combining Wikis with Economics; the More You Share, the More You Win 08 Mar 2007
Librivox: Open Source Audio Books; You Contribute Your Own Readings 07 Mar 2007
Online Communities, Member Maps, Virtual Chats, Sparkpeople, Intercom, and More 07 Mar 2007
Plagiarism and Cannibalism Both Natural and Necessary, say Writers and Musicians 07 Mar 2007
Creating Passionate Users Explains How to Make the Best User Manual Ever 05 Mar 2007
Starting Your Own Blog: Tips for Non-profits 04 Mar 2007
Free Podcasts at Open Culture: Informational Podcasts on Almost Everything 03 Mar 2007
Looking at the Past; Exploring Directions for the Future 03 Mar 2007
Number One Issue for Technical Writers Today: Keeping Pace with Rapidly Evolving Technology 01 Mar 2007
Chapter Chat Results: It Went Well, But Only 4 Participated 01 Mar 2007
OPML Files — What Feeds Are You Following? 01 Mar 2007
Design good websites by following principles of technical writing style 01 Mar 2007
February 2007
Examples of companies integrating podcasts into their mix of technical communication deliverables? 28 Feb 2007
37 Signals, To Do Lists — Printable To Do Lists To Get Organized 27 Feb 2007
My First Virtual Administrative Meeting 27 Feb 2007
"I don't have time to listen to podcasts..." 27 Feb 2007
Review of Word 2007, Tool vs. Industry Experience, the Slow Movement, E-mail Tips, and More 27 Feb 2007
Grammar Girl Podcast — Some Thoughts on Grammar as a Topic for a Podcast 26 Feb 2007
Spinvox: The Next Killer App. for Cell Phones 24 Feb 2007
Integrating Google Adsense into this Blog 24 Feb 2007
Never Listen to Voicemail via Cell Phone Again — Callwave.com & Spinvox Deliver Voicemail to Email for Free 22 Feb 2007
Suncoast Member Map Finished 22 Feb 2007
Guy Kawasaki's Impossible Burden: After Blog and E-mail, There's No Time to Write the Book 22 Feb 2007
Matt Mullenweg Explains Genius of Akismet and Appeal of Fast Development Cycles 22 Feb 2007
Eric Schwartzman Talks About Integrating Podcasts into the Marketing Mix 21 Feb 2007
Virtual Meetings? Chat Feature 20 Feb 2007
Blogging for Your Future Employer 20 Feb 2007
Are Newsletters Dead? 17 Feb 2007
WordPress Easter Egg Defies Logic by Removing Styles 16 Feb 2007
Boagworld Shares Advice on Podcasting 16 Feb 2007
Ze Frank's Show — STC Speaker in Minneapolis Conference 15 Feb 2007
Doug Davis on the Job Side of Technical Writing — Location, Industry Experience, and Salary 15 Feb 2007
Two more surveys — Innovations and WritersUSA 15 Feb 2007
Podcast Revenue Idea: Provide 20 second Job Listing Spots in Place of Ads 14 Feb 2007
Reflections on the First Cohost Podcast 14 Feb 2007
First Cohost Podcast — A Natural Conversation about Technical Writing 14 Feb 2007
Is technical writing boring? 13 Feb 2007
DMN Comm. Podcast Gives Thumbs Down on RoboHelp; But More Interesting Is Shift in Style 12 Feb 2007
10 Ways to Make Your Blog More Appealing 12 Feb 2007
Take Clyde's Blogging Survey 12 Feb 2007
Tech Writer Voices Switching to Co-Host Style 09 Feb 2007
Writing Blog Posts by E-mail 09 Feb 2007
Forrester Podcast Recommended — Web 2.0 Is About Building Relationships 08 Feb 2007
Making a Chapter Member Map Mashup with Google Maps 08 Feb 2007
10 Reasons Not to Upgrade to Robohelp 6 07 Feb 2007
Podcasting Reader's Comments — The Pilotless Drone 07 Feb 2007
Video on SharePoint 2007 Wiki, Blog, and RSS Functionality from Microsoft's Channel 9 07 Feb 2007
Getting Started with WordPress — Video Tutorial on Installation 07 Feb 2007
RoboHelp to Wiki Conversion Tool 05 Feb 2007
Installing WordPress -- a Quick Video Tutorial 04 Feb 2007
Discussion about RoboHelp 6 — Interview with Rick Stone 03 Feb 2007
Using Wikis as Project Documentation Tools 03 Feb 2007
Recommended Podcast: 43 Folders on Kung Fu, Meditation, and Sex 02 Feb 2007
Blogs that Lose Direction and Go from Blog to Blah? 02 Feb 2007
January 2007
Survey Gizmo: The best tool/thing I have used/done 31 Jan 2007
Are We Moving Toward GooOS, the Google Operating System? 30 Jan 2007
User Paradox with Not Reading User Manuals 30 Jan 2007
Using Ajax Shelf to Help Users Find Pages on Suncoast Site 29 Jan 2007
10 pet peeves of technical writing 27 Jan 2007
Tips from the Frederator: Pursue Life's Passion Online, and Blog Often, Short, and with Pics 26 Jan 2007
Adobe Enters Blogosphere 26 Jan 2007
Adobe Seminar -- Nice Connection and Demo, But Questions Seemed Filtered 25 Jan 2007
Wordpress 2.1 Review 25 Jan 2007
Allure of New Media Requires Strict Bedtime Control or Else Sleep Deprivation Will Set In 24 Jan 2007
The Curse of Knowledge -- The More You Know, the Worse You Become At Communicating That Knowledge 24 Jan 2007
Recommended Podcast: Boagworld > Community Websites, by Paul Boag 23 Jan 2007
How to Create a Site Where Users Can Actually Find Information — Interview with Thom Haller 23 Jan 2007
Latest Podcast Is Posted on Tech Writer Voices 23 Jan 2007
WordPress 2.1 Released -- This is a major release 23 Jan 2007
Survey on Blogging -- Darren Barefoot 22 Jan 2007
Applying Web 2.0 to Podcasting 21 Jan 2007
Trying to Create Tech Writer Voices Logo 20 Jan 2007
Technorati Blogosphere Report -- 1.3 million new posts per day, so what are people writing about? 19 Jan 2007
Reading Blogs versus Reading Traditional Print Media 19 Jan 2007
RoboHelp 6 Not Compatible with Word 2007 18 Jan 2007
Preview Images of Link Destinations with Snap 17 Jan 2007
Create RSS Feeds From Any Site With Ponyfish 17 Jan 2007
Ten Tips for Problem Solving and Troubleshooting 17 Jan 2007
WordPress = Bliss: The Joy of Customization 16 Jan 2007
RoboHelp 6 launched — List of New Features 16 Jan 2007
Web Developer Firefox Extension Makes CSS Editing Easy 13 Jan 2007
Ten Lessons Learned as a Technical Communicator — Interview with Rahul Prabhakar 13 Jan 2007
Patience Thresholds for Technology 13 Jan 2007
Listening to Podcasts Without Dedicating Any Time for Them 13 Jan 2007
Why Software Sucks, by David Platt 13 Jan 2007
Read a Book by E-mail, a Little Each Day with Daily Lit 11 Jan 2007
Recording your chapter presentations 10 Jan 2007
Dynamic Help in Visual Studio .NET 09 Jan 2007
Podcasting article in STC Intercom magazine 09 Jan 2007
Inexpensive Screencast Software: Blueberry Flashback Express Recorder 07 Jan 2007
Talkr service converts text-only blogs into podcasts 07 Jan 2007
Google Talk 05 Jan 2007
Mike Hamilton Gives Flare Demo to the Suncoast Chapter 05 Jan 2007
WIFM and Blogging 05 Jan 2007
The Concept of Trackbacks 05 Jan 2007
Year in Review -- "You" Chosen as Most Important Person 03 Jan 2007
The Convergence of Web 2.0 with Help Documentation — Tom Johnson 03 Jan 2007
Help 2.0: The Convergence of Help with Web 2.0 02 Jan 2007
Rating Feature Now Available 02 Jan 2007
WordPress Shopping Carts 02 Jan 2007
Understanding Principles of Usability, Part 2 — Karen Bachmann 01 Jan 2007
New Look and New Approach to Blog/Podcast 01 Jan 2007
December 2006
Wikipedia -- indisputable Web 2.0 triumph 31 Dec 2006
The Challenge of Web 2.0 Documentation: WordPress's Immense Codex 29 Dec 2006
Payscale: a Web 2.0 salary comparison tool 28 Dec 2006
How many of these Web 2.0 sites do you know? 28 Dec 2006
Make your computer run faster by disabling all the auto-startup programs 27 Dec 2006
Reading Tech News: Digg 27 Dec 2006
Google Groups Rocks — Find Answers to Almost Everything 27 Dec 2006
Web 2.0 dieting and nutrition site: Sparkpeople.com 27 Dec 2006
WordPress as Budgeting Software: Mo.neytrack.in 26 Dec 2006
Why Blogger is more popular than WordPress: Ease of Use 25 Dec 2006
Using Gmail to read Threaded Conversations from Listservs 21 Dec 2006
Designing for "Web 2.0" audiences 21 Dec 2006
Understanding Principles of Usability, Part 1 — Karen Bachmann 18 Dec 2006
Skype Firefox Exention Changes Phone Numbers into Buttons 15 Dec 2006
First Blog Post Using Word 2007 13 Dec 2006
Open Source Folder Compression Utility -- 7 Zip 11 Dec 2006
Word 2007 Features and Demo -- offers style sets to quickly transform documents 08 Dec 2006
Creating Word templates with customized help delivered by Clippy 08 Dec 2006
Posting Youtube Videos — A Required Tone for Internet Audiences? 07 Dec 2006
Creating your own RSS Feed 05 Dec 2006
Keith Hoffman Interviews Susan Burton, Exec. Director of the STC 01 Dec 2006
November 2006
Looking up IP addresses 30 Nov 2006
Web 2.0, CMS, and DITA — Interview with Ann Rockley 27 Nov 2006
New Podcast on Web 2.0, DITA, CMS 27 Nov 2006
Podcasting article and my 15 favorite podcasts 21 Nov 2006
Wordpress to offer Enterprise Edition 21 Nov 2006
How to Increase Collaboration and Performance — Interview with Emma Hamer 13 Nov 2006
Open Source Software and Wikis 09 Nov 2006
Checking out Youtube: A Few Fun Videos to Watch 08 Nov 2006
Firefox and Deepest Sender are superior to IE7 07 Nov 2006
The coolest thing ever -- Total Tech Writer Blog Aggregation 07 Nov 2006
First survey results with Survey Gizmo 06 Nov 2006
Recommended podcast: Facilitating Collaboration 06 Nov 2006
Top 100 blogs and top 100 podcasts 06 Nov 2006
Two useful tools for surveys and webinars 06 Nov 2006
Getting Ideas for Your Blog: Oneword.com 05 Nov 2006
Podcast metrics analysis for Tech Writer Voices 01 Nov 2006
October 2006
Technical Writing in India — Interview with Sandeep Balakrishna 30 Oct 2006
Corporate Blogging 27 Oct 2006
Wordpress releases first official Wordpress Multi-User Edition 27 Oct 2006
Another Perspective on Single-Sourcing — Interview with Sarah O'Keefe 23 Oct 2006
Recommended Podcast: Alistair Christie's IT Author Podcast 23 Oct 2006
Calling all potential podcasters... 20 Oct 2006
How To Create a Usable Index — Interview with John McGhie 20 Oct 2006
Being Interviewed Is Fun 17 Oct 2006
Podcasting 101 — by Tom Johnson 17 Oct 2006
How to Implement Single Sourcing — Interview with Neil Perlin 09 Oct 2006
Figuring out Audio 09 Oct 2006
Podcasting FAQs 09 Oct 2006
Tech Writer Voices Podcast 09 Oct 2006
Joomla, an Open-Source Content Management System Solution — Interview with Sean Wheller about Joomla 09 Oct 2006
Knowledge Management and Technical Writing — Janet Foley 09 Oct 2006
Flare 2.0 and MadCap Software — Interview with Mike Hamilton 09 Oct 2006
Content Management Professionals — Interview with Scott Abel 09 Oct 2006
Writing for the Web — Ian Koss, Founder of Ink19.com 09 Oct 2006
September 2006
The popularity of how-to podcasts 28 Sep 2006
Online SIG links to TechWriterVoices 28 Sep 2006
Podcasting site is finished 26 Sep 2006
Combining Podcasting with Technical Writing 21 Sep 2006
Podcast site almost ready 19 Sep 2006
DITA Structured Blogging and Online Help 14 Sep 2006
Recording Phone Interviews 13 Sep 2006
Advantages of using Wordpress for blogging 12 Sep 2006
Websort -- Testing out the Logical Taxonomy of your Site 11 Sep 2006
Using the Yahoo Maps API 10 Sep 2006
Recording STC Chapter Presentations 08 Sep 2006
A restful Labor Day weekend; thoughts on podcasting 04 Sep 2006
Hard Drive Totally Crashed 01 Sep 2006
August 2006
FTCC launches its site and call for entries today 23 Aug 2006
We need an IT Conversations for Tech Writers 14 Aug 2006
June 2006
Barry Schwartz — Less is More — Why Too Many Options Leads to Dissatisfaction 16 Jun 2006
Malcolm Gladwell — Why People Can't Express What They Really Mean and Feel 16 Jun 2006
Motivations for Hackers [and Technical Writers?] -- Paul Graham speech 16 Jun 2006
Teddy Roosevelt's River of Doubt 16 Jun 2006
Why this blog, separate from the Suncoast Blog? 01 Jun 2006