2008 archives
Quick Reference Guide Formats -- Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts | Dec 31, 2008
Generational tech guilt? | Dec 30, 2008
WordPress Tip: Integrate WordPress into an Existing Website | Dec 28, 2008
A Tech Writer's World: A Killer Manual | Dec 26, 2008
Podcast: Technical Writing in Agile Environments -- Interview with Alyssa Fox | Dec 23, 2008
Documentation Honesty and Poor User Interfaces -- An Ethical Dilemma? | Dec 21, 2008
What I See -- James Hall's Essays and Florida | Dec 21, 2008
The Podfading Roller Coaster | Dec 15, 2008
Podcast: What Is the Technical Writer's Role in Interface Design? Interview with Bogo Vatovec | Dec 14, 2008
WordPress 2.7 Released - XML-RPC and AtomPub Changes || Joseph Scott | Dec 12, 2008
When Trust Becomes a Characteristic Flaw in a Project | Dec 11, 2008
Twitter Hashtags and Virtual Gatherings | Dec 10, 2008
Generations Change, But Help Formats Remain the Same? | Dec 9, 2008
Helpful Little Tips for Life | Dec 7, 2008
Writers See Stories Where Others Don't | Dec 7, 2008
Twitter Part II –- One Step Deeper | Dec 5, 2008
The Name of Your Department Does Matter | Dec 4, 2008
EServer TC Library: The Most Popular Technical Communication Website in the World | Dec 2, 2008
Does Twitter Fit into Your Branding Strategy? | Dec 1, 2008
Top 10 Gag Christmas Gifts for Technical Writers | Nov 30, 2008
Guy Kawasaki's Alltop Site Now Includes Technical Writing | Nov 29, 2008
Snippets Toward a Philosophy of Life | Nov 28, 2008
The Problem with Speaking Conversationally in Video Tutorials | Nov 27, 2008
What Constitutes "Intelligent Content"? Interview with Ann Rockley | Nov 24, 2008
Transitioning from Literary Studies to Technical Communication | Nov 20, 2008
User Assistance: Will Write for Metamucil | Nov 19, 2008
My Tip for Productivity: Tear Up the To-Do List | Nov 18, 2008
Usability Newsletter Interview – I'd Rather Be Writing – The Man Behind the Words | Nov 17, 2008
Does Design Matter in Comparison to Content? | Nov 16, 2008
Finding a Conversational Voice in Video Tutorials | Nov 14, 2008
Details About the STC Summit Recording -- Interview with Lloyd Tucker | Nov 13, 2008
Dawn or Dusk -- Considering the Advantages of Early Morning | Nov 12, 2008
You Can Now Advertise on My Blog | Nov 10, 2008
Author-it Launches a Blog -- An Interview About the Who, Why, and How | Nov 9, 2008
'Lost the Fire – How to Rekindle It' – A Second Response | Nov 7, 2008
My Recommended Training for Corporate Bloggers: Live with a Mommy Blogger | Nov 5, 2008
Guest Post: Tech Writing Careers -- The Raw, Unvarnished Truth | Nov 4, 2008
Podcast: Debunking the Boredom Myth of Technical Writing | Nov 3, 2008
Guest Post: Real Writers in Virtual Worlds | Oct 30, 2008
Podcast: Personalities of Technical Communicators -- Interview with Deborah (Shapiro) Hemstreet | Oct 29, 2008
Two-Minute Video to Convince Others of the Value of Technical Documentation | Oct 29, 2008
Interview with Scott Abel, Conference Organizer Extraordinaire | Oct 27, 2008
10/23 Intermountain STC Meeting: An Informal Discussion of Any Tech Comm Challenges You're Facing | Oct 23, 2008
Seamlessly Integrating a Blog into Your Non-Blog Website | Oct 23, 2008
Caught in the Current of Writer River: Building and Participating in Community-Driven Websites | Oct 21, 2008
10 Ways to Gather Feedback from Users | Oct 17, 2008
What We Learn from Help Authoring Tool Surveys | Oct 15, 2008
Like Father, Like Daughter | Oct 13, 2008
Becoming a Writer -- Reflections on a Trip to Idaho | Oct 13, 2008
Results for My 10 Technical Writing Stereotypes Survey | Oct 8, 2008
Answering Reader's Questions: 'My Desire to Write Burns in My Heart Daily' | Oct 7, 2008
HelpScribe: Why software is the best technical writing field | Oct 6, 2008
Ingenious Technique for Helping Your Child Learn to Ride a Bike | Oct 3, 2008
Free Ticket to DITA Tech/Comm Conference in North Carolina Nov 3-6 | Oct 2, 2008
Ten Technical Writing Stereotypes | Sep 28, 2008
WordPress Tip: Using WordPress as a CMS -- Wordcamp Utah | Sep 27, 2008
SEO Tips for Your Blog -- Wordcamp Utah | Sep 27, 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress and Podcasting — Wordcamp Utah | Sep 27, 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress 2.7 and Beyond – Keynote by Matt Mullenweg at Wordcamp Utah 2008 | Sep 27, 2008
Free Doc Train East Ticket | Sep 25, 2008
Leaning Towards Longer Topics and Shorter TOCs | Sep 22, 2008
Recommended Podcast: "The Enforcers" from This American Life | Sep 19, 2008
Podcast: Repurposing Content for Multichannel Publishing (Single Sourcing) | Sep 19, 2008
Users Read Help Manuals Like an Encyclopedia, Not a Novel | Sep 19, 2008
Tip: Search Engine Optimize Your Blog Posts to Increase Your Readership | Sep 18, 2008
WordPress Tip: Limau-Orange Theme with Navigation Bar from Contempt | Sep 18, 2008
STC-Intermountain Meeting Tonight | Sep 17, 2008
Watch What Happens When You Copy from Word into a Blog Post | Sep 17, 2008
Thinking About an STC Proposal to Submit | Sep 17, 2008
What's Convenient Gets Used -- a General Principle That Applies to Nearly Everything | Sep 17, 2008
Wordcamp Utah -- Sept 27 in Provo, Utah | Sep 17, 2008
How I Create Video Tutorials | Sep 11, 2008
Prove My Help Authoring Tools Survey Wrong | Sep 10, 2008
Help Authoring Tool Survey: Who, What, and How | Sep 10, 2008
How Much Should You Document? Everything? Strategies for an Agile Environment | Sep 9, 2008
Podcast: Flare 4 -- Ten New Features, Interview with Sharon Burton | Sep 8, 2008
FLOSSmanuals.net: A New Wiki Help Authoring/Publishing Tool Hybrid | Sep 5, 2008
Podcast: What's New in the Field of Technical Communication? | Sep 5, 2008
Why I Hate Camping -- And Then an Epiphany | Sep 4, 2008
Flare 4 Giveway — Enter to Win a Free Copy by Commenting on This Post | I'd Rather Be Writing - Tom Johnson | Sep 3, 2008
Explain what you feel is an important feature for a help authoring tool and why (Flare Giveaway) | Sep 3, 2008
Everything That Happened Today, or, The Busy Lives We Lead | Sep 3, 2008
Utah Technical Writers Group -- Finding the Technical Writing Community in Utah | Sep 1, 2008
Resources for Single Sourcing Projects | Sep 1, 2008
Comprehensive Podcast Index -- A List of All My Podcasts | Sep 1, 2008
On Podcasts -- Reasons for the Break and Plans for the Future | Sep 1, 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Application | Aug 30, 2008
Corporate Migration to the Blogosphere | Aug 27, 2008
Another Collaborative Site: Read Scriptures Together | Aug 27, 2008
How to Listen to Podcasts | Aug 21, 2008
Too Connected – Utopias and Dystopias of Communication | Aug 18, 2008
With All This Fuss About Tools, Three Best Practice Attitudes | Aug 13, 2008
User Assistance: Why I Hate PDFs | Aug 13, 2008
WordCamp Utah Registration Is Now Open - Joseph Scott's Blog | Aug 10, 2008
Word Macro for Resizing Images that Have a Specific Style | Aug 9, 2008
Tapping your creative juices Interesting ... | Aug 8, 2008
An Article That Changed My Approach to Help | Aug 7, 2008
Instructional Text in the User Interface: Some Counterintuitive Implications of User Behaviors :: UXmatters | Aug 7, 2008
Trends in Technical Communication: a review [TechScribe software documentation] | Aug 6, 2008
Free PDF Alternatives -- Save Yourself $700 and a Headache | Aug 5, 2008
A History of Tech Comm Tools. This is a ... | Aug 5, 2008
Echoes from the past: DITA, Help, Single-Sourcing tools -- Looking from the 60s to today | Aug 4, 2008
Get Training in Technical Writing | Aug 3, 2008
A Career in Technical Writing: End of Part One : PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center | Aug 3, 2008
Thank You Silahsiz Kuvvetler for Showing Me the Light | Aug 3, 2008
Personal Essays on a Technical Writing Career -- by John Hewitt | Aug 1, 2008
The Myth of Simplicity and Complexity in Help Authoring | Aug 1, 2008
WordPress Tip: Show the Latest Post in Full, Then Summaries of the Other Posts | Jul 31, 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress' Biggest Mistake | Jul 29, 2008
Reader Question: Creating Online Help for Touch-Screen Applications? | Jul 27, 2008
New Site Policy About How I Respond to Questions | Jul 27, 2008
Organizing Large Photo Collections Online -- Use the NextGen Gallery WordPress Plugin | Jul 27, 2008
When you don't feel like blogging, is it time to blog? | Jul 27, 2008
Tips for Distributing the Workload Among Your Team -- Answering a Reader's Question | Jul 23, 2008
Venn Diagram of What a Blog Should Be About | Jul 22, 2008
When can I say "janky" in my on-screen text? | Jul 18, 2008
WordPress Training This Saturday 9 am to Noon | Jul 14, 2008
WordPress Tip: WordPress Image Galleries — Give Your Photo Galleries a Lightbox/Slideshowesque Display | Jul 10, 2008
WordPress Tip: Woopra — Enough Live Site Stats to Write a Dissertation | Jul 8, 2008
Quick Reference Guides: The Poetry of Technical Writing | Jul 6, 2008
The Intersection of the Personal and Professional, or, Why My Attempts at Nonfiction Essays in Grad School Bombed | Jul 5, 2008
Approaching Help as Solutions to Problems — An Interesting Format from the CSS Cookbook | Jul 1, 2008
Interview with Me in TechCraft | Jul 1, 2008
"What's Next?" -- A Nice Way to End Help Topics | Jun 28, 2008
14 Widespread Myths about Technical Writing | Jun 26, 2008
My Compromise with SharePoint -- What Works and What Doesn't | Jun 23, 2008
My WordPress Site Was Hacked | Jun 22, 2008
Customizing Your SharePoint Site? Read These 10 Concepts/Gotchas First | Jun 21, 2008
Podcast: Five Books to Add to Your Technical Communication Library | Jun 16, 2008
The Kind of Documentation Users Really Want | Jun 15, 2008
"How can I become a successful TECHNICAL WRITER?" | Jun 15, 2008
Systems that Get Better the More People Use Them | Jun 12, 2008
Announcing WriterRiver.com, a Digg-like Social News Site for Technical Communicators | Jun 10, 2008
Technical Writer as Conversation Stopper, and Other Notes from the STC Summit in Philadelphia | Jun 7, 2008
My First Guest Post -- And Best Writing Tip | Jun 5, 2008
Playing with Sound -- Adding Downbeat Tempo to a Discourse on Shakespeare | Jun 2, 2008
Follow the STC Conference Twitterers at http://twemes.com/stc2008 | Jun 2, 2008
Marketing Yourself and Your Experience to Others in a Web 2.0 World | Jun 2, 2008
Podcast: Using Video in Training and Documentation, Interview with Todd O'Neill | May 31, 2008
Podcast: Analyzing Your Users and Needs Before Creating the Help Deliverables; Interview with Nicky Bleiel | May 31, 2008
My STC Summit Presentation and Panel -- "The Art of the Podcast" and Marketing Yourself in a Web 2.0 World | May 30, 2008
Podcast: How to Create User-Centered Documentation, Interview with Joe Sokohl | May 30, 2008
Exploring Web 2.0 Possibilities in a SharePoint-Endorsed Environment | May 28, 2008
Integrating All Library Content into One | May 27, 2008
Thinking About a More Personal Style of Podcasting | May 27, 2008
Podcast: Workspaces, Collaboration, and Information Sharing -- Interview with Emma Hamer | May 25, 2008
Podcast: Why Content Management Projects Fail, Interview with Rahel Bailie | May 25, 2008
Podcast: How XML Enables Information Sharing and Reuse -- Interview with Joe Gollner | May 25, 2008
Feedback on the Podcast From a German Listener | May 20, 2008
Poewar Giving Away $250 to the Guest Blogger Who Brings in the Most Traffic | May 20, 2008
Scott Nesbitt Interview with Stewart Mader on Wikis | May 20, 2008
Musings of a Tech Writer Podcast -- Mark in Canada Reflects on The Content Wrangler Versus the STC | May 19, 2008
Podcast: XSL, Flash, and Live Blogging -- Interview with Sarah O'Keefe | May 17, 2008
Podcast: Document Engineering, Interview with Robert Glushko | May 17, 2008
SharePoint Wikis: Both Liberating and Frustrating | May 17, 2008
Giving a Virtual Presentation to STC-Phoenix on Tuesday, May 13 | May 12, 2008
Post Doc-Train Thoughts While Sitting in the Vancouver Airport | May 12, 2008
Podcast: Living Multiple Lives -- The New Technical Communicator, Interview with Noz Urbina | May 11, 2008
Podcast: Embracing Wikis -- Interview with Stewart Mader | May 10, 2008
Changing the Rules of the Game for the Benefit of the User | May 8, 2008
Social Media 101: Now Everyone's a Technical Writer | May 8, 2008
Podcast: Moving 50,000 Pages of Unstructured Content to DITA | May 6, 2008
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint That I Wish Everyone Followed | May 6, 2008
Podcast: Leading Your Company into the Wikis, Blogs, and Social Networks of Web 2.0 | May 6, 2008
WordPress Tip: Using WordPress to Build Websites Instead of Blogs | May 5, 2008
WordPress Tip: My WordPress Quick Start Guide — Now Available on the WordPress Codex | Apr 29, 2008
WordPress for Beginners Course | Apr 27, 2008
The Broken STC Model -- and What's Replacing It | Apr 24, 2008
Updated Date and Time for WordPress Course -- Wednesday Evening, April 30 | Apr 24, 2008
Madcap Blaze's Topic Review Feature: A First-of-a Kind Feature with an Interesting Workflow | Apr 24, 2008
Podcast -- DITA: From the Perspective of Someone Actually Using It | Apr 21, 2008
WordPress for Beginners Course -- Wednesday Evening, April 30 | Apr 20, 2008
Why Software Applications Need Product Blogs, and Why They Don't Get Them | Apr 16, 2008
How Much Time Do You Spend in Web 2.0 -- Interesting Article from the Read/Write Web | Apr 16, 2008
Find a Way to Have Fun in Your Writing | Apr 14, 2008
Looking for Corporate Examples of Web 2.0 Engagement | Apr 13, 2008
Podcast -- Social Networking and the Value of User Communities for Technical Communicators | Apr 12, 2008
Guest Post -- From Blogging Veterans: Three Keys to Successful Blogging | Apr 11, 2008
The Right Way and Wrong Way to Teach People WordPress: Notes from a Wordcamp Utah Planning Meeting at Applebees | Apr 11, 2008
Podcaster Meetup at Doc Train West Conference in Vancouver | Apr 10, 2008
Technical Writing -- Worth it? Interesting? Creative? Well-Paid? Hours? Answering a Few Questions from Saudi Arabia | Apr 9, 2008
Keep an Open Mind: Detention Without Amanda Jones Isn't Necessarily Bad | Apr 8, 2008
NY Times Article Suggests Effects of Blogging = Weight Loss/Gain, Sleep Disorder, Exhaustion, Heart Disease, and Nervous Breakdown | Apr 6, 2008
How to Get Your Blog Mentioned in the Society for Technical Communication's Intercom: Include the Word "Technical Communicator" | Apr 4, 2008
A Recipe for More Engaging Software Demos | Apr 3, 2008
Podcast -- Transitioning from Technical Writing into Usability | Apr 2, 2008
My Podcast in iTunes -- The iTunes Gods Have Granted Me Mercy | Apr 2, 2008
The Question No One Asked Me at the Career Advice Panel, Thank Goodness | Apr 1, 2008
The Best and Worst of Times with a Hard Headed Woman | Mar 31, 2008
Twitter Tools and Uses: The Most Comprehensive Listing of Twitter Resources I've Seen | Mar 30, 2008
A Creepy Widget I Absolutely Had to Add to My Blog | Mar 30, 2008
I Enjoy a Good Alien Podcast Now and Then | Mar 29, 2008
How to Get Everyone and Their Dog/Family/Friends Reading and Subscribing to Your Blog -- 10 Tips | Mar 28, 2008
What's the Best Thing You've Done to Grow Your Career? | Mar 27, 2008
I'm Planning to Offer WordPress Training -- Are You Interested? | Mar 26, 2008
Four Simple Ways to Avoid Totally Botching an Interview | Mar 26, 2008
Podcast -- Tackling Godzilla: A Writer/Usability Consultant Reflects on the Largest Project of her Career | Mar 26, 2008
Virtual Meetings: A Lofty Yet Impractical and Unwanted Ideal? or Exactly What We Need? | Mar 26, 2008
Seven Reasons Why I'm Twittering -- Especially During Conference Time | Mar 17, 2008
Are You One of the 824 Technical Communicators on Ning Yet? | Mar 15, 2008
Uncooperative Subjects: A Comparison of Two Failed Interviews and How to Turn Them Around | Mar 14, 2008
Body Hacks and Optimization | Mar 14, 2008
10 Alternate Tests for Evaluating Technical Writing Job Candidates -- A List for Hiring Managers | Mar 13, 2008
Six Ways I'm Using the H4 Zoom Recorder to Do Technical-Writing Related Things | Mar 12, 2008
Lots of 2008 SXSW Podcasts Now Available | Mar 10, 2008
My 5 Pet Peeves with Reading Blogs (mostly surrounding comments and feeds) | Mar 9, 2008
Deciding When to Speak Up and When to Shut Up | Mar 8, 2008
Two Types of Posts in the Blogosphere: Knowledge Posts and Creative Posts | Mar 7, 2008
Recording SME Demos -- It's Easier Than You Think | Mar 4, 2008
How to Record Live Presentations with the Zoom H4 Digital Recorder | Mar 2, 2008
My Blogging and Podcasting Presentation -- the MP3 and Video Recording | Mar 2, 2008
Stoking the Creative Muse: How Finding Ideas to Write About Is Similar to Remembering Your Dreams | Feb 29, 2008
How My BlackBerry May Benefit You | Feb 27, 2008
A blogging family | Feb 25, 2008
Eight stitches for Susan | Feb 25, 2008
CNN Producer Fired for His Blog -- A Growing Discontent for Mainstream Media | Feb 24, 2008
10 Ways to Bomb Your Presentation | Feb 23, 2008
My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends | Feb 21, 2008
Have a Blog? a Podcast? Want one? Come learn everything you need to know | Feb 20, 2008
Why You Should Send Me (and Other Bloggers) Your Products for Free | Feb 20, 2008
A Glimpse into the World of Agile Technical Writing, a.k.a. Extreme Technical Writing (XTW) | Feb 19, 2008
Welcoming Camtasia Studio as a New Blog Sponsor | Feb 18, 2008
Two New Blogs to Add to Your Reader: Craig Haiss' Helpscribe and Sharon Burton's Madcap Blog | Feb 17, 2008
"Selection Beats Damping": A Compelling Argument About Why Blogs Trump Print Media | Feb 17, 2008
Technical Writing Careers -- Answering 13 Questions about Technical Writing Jobs | Feb 16, 2008
Top 10 Workspace Configurations for Technical Writers | Feb 15, 2008
Free Doc Train Ticket ($899) for Your Response to a Question About Innovation | Feb 14, 2008
Survey Results: How I'm Changing My Blog Based on Your Responses | Feb 13, 2008
Jing Screencast: Getting Up and Running with Jing | Feb 12, 2008
Are Gerunds in Topic Titles Problematic in Search Results? | Feb 11, 2008
How Jing Can Benefit Technical Writers | Feb 11, 2008
Will you take my short survey? | Feb 7, 2008
Answering Questions on the "Practicalities of Blogging" | Feb 6, 2008
A Web 2.0 Documentation Idea Gone Wrong | Feb 6, 2008
I wish all companies provided tech support like this | Feb 6, 2008
Blogger Compiles Extensive Examples of Unnecessary Quotation Marks | Feb 6, 2008
Interview with STC President Linda Oestreich: Directions the STC Is Heading | Feb 5, 2008
Notes from My First WordPress Meetup | Feb 4, 2008
Camtasia Versus Captivate: Thinking About Screen Real Estate Problems in Video Captures | Feb 2, 2008
Madcap Flare Review: 45 Things I Love About Flare, 31 Things I Hate About It | Jan 31, 2008
2008 WritersUA Salary Survey Published: $76K Is Average | Jan 30, 2008
Going Beyond Technical Writing: Practical Advice for Diversifying Your Skillset -- Podcast Interview with Mark Hanigan | Jan 29, 2008
Blogging Jobs for Technical How-to Articles | Jan 28, 2008
PodcastFAQs.com: A New Information Resource for Podcasters | Jan 28, 2008
President Hinckley Passes | Jan 28, 2008
Clearplay: An Ingenious DVD Player That Filters Movies Without Altering Them | Jan 28, 2008
WordPress Meetup in Salt Lake City with Matt Mullenweg | Jan 28, 2008
Upcoming PodCamp in Salt Lake City on March 15 | Jan 28, 2008
The Art of Interviewing — 10 Tips for Perfecting the Most Important Element of Podcasting | Jan 25, 2008
Innovation in Technology -- During Research, Unexpected Findings Lead You Down New Paths | Jan 21, 2008
All About Madcap Flare: Podcast Interview with Paul Pehrson, MVP in Madcap Software Forums | Jan 19, 2008
How to Share Everything with Everyone (well, a few things anyway) | Jan 18, 2008
How to Get Out of a Slump, and Handle Pressure Situations Calmly | Jan 15, 2008
The Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication -- Podcast Interview with Bill Albing | Jan 14, 2008
"Regular Sloggers Trying to Make a Living" | Jan 10, 2008
Three Notable Characteristics of Top 10 Posts: Lists, Headings, Images | Jan 9, 2008
Malcolmn Gladwell's Blink: Your First Impression Is Usually Correct in Complex Situations | Jan 7, 2008
Why Some Leaders Don't Blog: The Untold Story | Jan 4, 2008
The #1 Reason Why People Fail at Their Goals | Jan 2, 2008
About Tom Johnson
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.
If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.