2018 archives
Is Premium Grammarly worth it for identifying style and grammar issues in tech docs? | Dec 28, 2018
Obituary for my dad - David Tait Johnson, 1935 - 2018 | Dec 26, 2018
Research on code documentation -- when not to comment on code | Dec 20, 2018
Top 10 holiday gifts for technical writers | Dec 18, 2018
My podcast about writing with Ellis Pratt on Cherryleaf | Dec 13, 2018
Recording for Menlo Park API documentation workshop now available -- and some thoughts on using cardioid versus omnidirectional microphones for recording | Dec 4, 2018
New post in Simplifying Complexity series -- Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time | Nov 30, 2018
My upcoming presentation and workshop at the 2019 STC Summit in Denver | Nov 29, 2018
Upcoming BrightTALK webinar on trends -- January 15, 2019 | Nov 29, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast episode 18: Recap and thoughts on the WTD Australia 2018 conference | Nov 25, 2018
Bibliography of API documentation articles | Nov 25, 2018
How to avoid being a secretary for engineers | Nov 19, 2018
I'd Rather Be Writing is now an Alexa Flash Briefing skill | Nov 5, 2018
Upcoming full-day API documentation workshop in Menlo Park | Oct 31, 2018
The Tell-Tale Project — Guest Post by Edgar Allan Poe, Technical Writer | Oct 31, 2018
Preferring technical acuity over specialized knowledge | Oct 24, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast Episode 17: Structured Writing -- reasons and approaches, with Mark Baker | Oct 23, 2018
Brainstorming by transposing patterns from one category to another | Oct 19, 2018
The ideal number of slides for an hour-long presentation, and other thoughts on preparing slides | Oct 15, 2018
Tech comm trends -- why tech writers will be collaborating more with engineers | Oct 9, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part I) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part II) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part III) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part IV) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part V) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VI) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm trends: Providing value as a generalist in a sea of specialists (Part VII) | Oct 2, 2018
Tech comm podcasts roundup and survey | Sep 15, 2018
Pages at a glance -- the importance of the first two sentences of any topic | Sep 15, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast episode 16: An open-source Grammarly for tech docs? | Sep 6, 2018
How I handled data for about 10 device specifications on the same page -- the advantages of a flexible, customizable web-based framework like Jekyll | Aug 31, 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity series -- Iterate and increment on content following an agile approach | Aug 31, 2018
Getting a job in API documentation -- new topics and expansions in my API doc course | Aug 22, 2018
Strategies for learning technology -- podcast recommendation and a poll | Aug 10, 2018
If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is? | Aug 9, 2018
My conflicted thoughts about the decentralized web (while taking the Census of Technical Communicators survey) | Aug 6, 2018
The right story for tech writers to tell in a corporate blog post | Aug 2, 2018
Articulating stories that influence product adoption (new article in Simplifying Complexity series) | Jul 31, 2018
Reciprocal knowledge networks and the iFixit Technical Writing Project -- Conversation with Guiseppe Getto | Jul 25, 2018
Looking at the theoretical foundations for tech comm -- Conversation with Lisa Melonçon | Jul 24, 2018
Adventures of a Techie Academic with Lightweight DITA (LwDITA): Conversation with Carlos Evia | Jul 23, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast episode 15: User research, tech writer stereotypes, and conversations | Jul 22, 2018
Teaching Technological Adaptability to Bridge the Gap (Guest post by Melonie McMichael) | Jul 18, 2018
Combatting the "Make-It-Pretty" Philosophy: Technical Writers Fight Back (Guest post by Emily January Petersen) | Jul 18, 2018
Results from my Academic/Practitioner Attitudes surveys now available | Jul 17, 2018
The relationship between academics and practitioners -- Podcast with Kirk St. Amant | Jul 11, 2018
Reducing the complexity of technical language (new article in Simplifying Complexity series) | Jul 11, 2018
Random reflections on the throwaway mentality in our culture | Jul 3, 2018
Thoughts on docs-as-code after 3 years -- it works! | Jul 3, 2018
A short survey to measure academic/practitioner attitudes | Jul 2, 2018
10 ways technical writing is just like the World Cup | Jun 19, 2018
MadCap Flare 2018 and MadCap Central Review for the May 2018 Release -- Guest post | Jun 19, 2018
Evaluating the user experience of documentation -- Podcast with Bob Watson | Jun 18, 2018
Non-Reference Content section updated in API course | Jun 12, 2018
Hiding Complexity -- A new Simplifying Complexity article | Jun 12, 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity: Reconstructing the absent user | May 31, 2018
The reason I always find time to write on this blog | May 18, 2018
Stoplight -- creating a single source of truth to drive the API lifecycle | May 11, 2018
My site now has Algolia search integrated | May 2, 2018
Replaced the previous weather API example in my API course to now use OpenWeatherAPI | Apr 28, 2018
Do you have to relocate to an urban tech hub to find a technical writing job? | Apr 27, 2018
Strategies from pickup basketball -- Why you shouldn't guard the worst player or focus too much on the documentation no one reads | Apr 19, 2018
New Simplifying Complexity article on shaping information into familiar schemas, especially story | Apr 18, 2018
A Review of the MadWorld Conference -- guest post by Jayna Locke | Apr 18, 2018
New article on Simplifying Complexity: Reduction, layering, and distillation as a strategy for simplicity | Mar 28, 2018
The math game my daughter and her friend created with Codesters | Mar 28, 2018
What can we learn from the homogenous profiles in the Stack Overflow 2018 survey? | Mar 27, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast episode 14: Humanizing your documentation | Mar 23, 2018
Recording of API documentation workshop in Denver | Mar 12, 2018
Guest post: The story behind DocToolHub, a site for finding tech comm tools | Mar 9, 2018
Recording of Docs-as-code tools and workflows presentation | Mar 9, 2018
Recording of STC San Francisco presentation: Beyond mere endpoint reference — the overlooked content in API documentation | Mar 8, 2018
New article in Simplifying Complexity -- Ensuring information harmony in the larger documentation landscape | Mar 7, 2018
Perspectives on tech comm from the VP Candidates — Q&A with Pam Brewer | Feb 20, 2018
Perspectives on tech comm from the VP Candidates — Q&A with Ben Woelk | Feb 20, 2018
Recording of OpenAPI and Swagger presentation (for STC and WTD San Diego) | Feb 14, 2018
Two open-ended surveys to gauge practitioner/academic attitudes | Feb 6, 2018
New Simplifying complexity tutorial: Discoverability through metadata | Feb 5, 2018
New section on my site: Simplifying complexity | Jan 24, 2018
Write the Docs Podcast episode 13: Postman for API development and docs — Interview with Postman Founder | Jan 22, 2018
Recording of WTD South Bay presentation: Publishing tools for API documentation | Jan 19, 2018
Unexpected realizations after a comprehensive review of my 2017 site metrics | Jan 11, 2018
New STC Intercom article: How to Research What You Need to Learn to Be Successful as a Technical Writer | Jan 3, 2018
What technical writing trends will we see in 2018? | Jan 2, 2018
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.