2013 archives
How to lose weight without starving yourself | Dec 31, 2013
WordPress tip: Create a series of posts | Dec 29, 2013
Researching the right keywords (search engine optimization) | Dec 23, 2013
Get a technical writing internship or on-the-job experience without having much time for it | Dec 18, 2013
My Christmas wishlist on Techwhirl | Dec 18, 2013
Single sourcing and duplicate content (search engine optimization) | Dec 16, 2013
Introduction, frames, iframes, and tech comm tools (search engine optimization) | Dec 13, 2013
Collapsible header sections -- more problematic than helpful | Dec 11, 2013
TC Camp Unconference in San Jose, Calif. on January 25, 2014 | Dec 10, 2013
Making website banner ads more visible | Dec 5, 2013
Is Atlassian Marginalizing Confluence Power Users? Guest Post by Steve Goldberg | Dec 3, 2013
A bucket list for a career in tech comm? | Nov 26, 2013
Questions from readers: How to organize reviews, and whether a dedicated editor is worthwhile | Nov 21, 2013
A few things tech writers frequently say: Videos tedious, topics best when short, people just use Google, and more | Nov 19, 2013
The Bug Badge | Nov 17, 2013
Balancing new and familiar: Avoiding the Groundhog day syndrome | Nov 7, 2013
Imperfect content and the difficulty of writing video scripts | Nov 4, 2013
Everything I needed to know about technical writing I learned in preschool... | Oct 30, 2013
Recording and slides for "Why users can't find answers in help" presentation to STC Silicon Valley | Oct 23, 2013
What to do with old manuals from products you own | Oct 8, 2013
My Upcoming Presentation at the STC Silicon Valley Chapter -- "Why Users Can't Find Answers to Their Questions in Help Content" | Oct 5, 2013
Learning How to Communicate Visually in Documentation | Oct 3, 2013
How to Search Engine Optimize (SEO) Your Help Documentation | Sep 22, 2013
Narrative Workflow Topics: Helping Users Connect the Dots Among Topics | Sep 12, 2013
Reader Question: How do I create online help, how to guides, quick start tutorials, or video tutorials? | Sep 11, 2013
Recommended Article: APIs are delivering on their promise (SD Times: Software Development News) | Sep 10, 2013
Creating Good Content Requires Cross-Department Collaboration | Sep 6, 2013
Sticking with Obvious Information Versus Creating Information that Users Need | Sep 4, 2013
Subheadings: Perhaps the Most Useful Technique in Technical Writing | Aug 23, 2013
Examples Are a Primary Way That Complicated Concepts Become Clear | Aug 20, 2013
Interactive Poll: Why Can't Users Find Answers to Their Questions in Help? | Aug 15, 2013
Why I Test Nearly Everything | Aug 8, 2013
When Organizing Big Data Content, It's Okay To Be Messy | Aug 7, 2013
7 Ways to Learn Difficult Subjects in Order to Write Useful Content | Aug 1, 2013
Turning Around the Disdain for Help by Focusing on Content | Jul 18, 2013
Messages from Sponsors -- July 2013 | Jul 16, 2013
Sample Chapter from Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs, by Marcia Riefer Johnston | Jul 12, 2013
Finding a Starting Point: Answering Questions or Addressing Purpose? | Jul 10, 2013
Abandoning the Social Network and Q&A Idea | Jun 29, 2013
How do you answer every user's question? | Jun 28, 2013
What Have Been My Most Successful Experiences in Connecting Help Material with Users? | Jun 26, 2013
Notes from Future of Technical Communication Webinar | Jun 25, 2013
Recording of "Video Tutorials for User Assistance" (UA Europe Presentation) | Jun 24, 2013
Recording of "Making Content More Findable When Users Browse and Search" (UA Europe Presentation) | Jun 24, 2013
Do We Need a New Approach to Help? Why Are Users So Apathetic Towards Help after 50 Years of Innovation? | Jun 18, 2013
How Things Will Be in Tech Comm … After the Singularity? | Jun 15, 2013
Version 2.0 of I'd Rather Be Writing -- More Community Driven | Jun 10, 2013
Structured Authoring By For And Or Nor With In the Web | Jun 8, 2013
Reader Question: How Do I Restrict Content by Role in the Same Output? | Jun 6, 2013
Exploring Markdown in Collaborative Authoring to Publishing Workflows | Jun 4, 2013
Can Help Content Have Recognizable Facets? | May 29, 2013
Faceted Search and Query Reformulation | May 28, 2013
On Metadata and Help Content | May 27, 2013
Moving Beyond the TOC in Organizing Help Content -- Illustrated Edition | May 22, 2013
What Does Content Re-Use Look Like in a Web CMS? | May 17, 2013
Is Structured Authoring (like DITA) a Good Fit for Publishing on a Website? | May 14, 2013
Why Long Topics Are Better for the User | May 6, 2013
Do Short Topics Make Information More Findable? | May 5, 2013
Does Merging Support Content with Documentation Increase Findability? | May 1, 2013
What makes Basketball Fun? Gamifying Exercise | May 1, 2013
Does DITA Encourage Authors to Fragment Information into a Million Little Pieces? | Apr 22, 2013
How Do You Teach New Users Programming? | Apr 19, 2013
How Can a Technical Writer Develop a Love of Programming Code? | Apr 18, 2013
How Do You Gamify Writing? | Apr 17, 2013
Why Do People Rank High on the MindTouch #Techcomm Influencer Report? | Apr 11, 2013
Why Does Content Become Disorganized? | Apr 9, 2013
Adding Syntax Highlighting to Code Examples Online and in Microsoft Word | Apr 4, 2013
Sample Expand and Collapse Code with Twisting Buttons | Mar 31, 2013
Evaluating the Usability of Collapsible Sections (or jQuery's Content Toggle) | Mar 25, 2013
Avoiding Quadrant Four | Mar 24, 2013
How to Organize Page-Level Content | Mar 16, 2013
Gamifying Chores | Mar 11, 2013
What I Learned in Searching for a Job | Mar 3, 2013
Moving to California and Starting a New Job | Feb 15, 2013
Two Competing Help Models: One-Stop Shopping or Specialized Stores? | Feb 13, 2013
Single Sourcing and Redundancy | Feb 2, 2013
How to Get Programmers to Change User Interfaces | Jan 26, 2013
Four Less Common Types of Technical Writers Companies Are Looking For | Jan 24, 2013
Import DITA Webhelp Output into WordPress | Jan 21, 2013
Single Sourcing Screen Captures to Print, Online, and Mobile Using Flare and Capture | Jan 20, 2013
Looking at Search Analytics to Improve Help Content | Jan 19, 2013
Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Technical Writing | Jan 17, 2013
Connection Points with the Tech Comm Role | Jan 14, 2013
Girl Scouts Painting and Comic Art Badges | Jan 13, 2013
Discovering Girl Scouts | Jan 13, 2013
Create a Child Theme to Customize a WordPress Theme | Jan 10, 2013
Message from Sponsors — January 2013 | Jan 7, 2013
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.