Strategies for making doc bugs actionable
Some people dream of reaching inbox zero; I have a similar dream for doc bugs: I want to get my doc bug count to zero, or close to it. To try to achieve this, I've started focusing my energy on analyzing why some doc bugs aren't actionable. Read more »
Escaping the Productivity Trap: Experiments with Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks — guest post by David Kowalsky
The following is a guest post by David Kowalsky exploring some productivity and time management topics based on his reading and experiences with Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks. The book encourages you to escape the efficiency trap and focus on what really matters in your limited time. Read more »
Approaching the college personal essay: Tips as a parent helping your student write a compelling essay
There are common milestones that most parents are familiar with — helping your child learn to ride a bike, drive a car, to get their first job. But there's one not many think of, yet is equally important: helping your child write the personal essay that's part of the college application. As I have two kids already in college, I've helped them complete this last step. Another one is currently a senior in high school, and the last is just starting high school. Helping your child/student with the personal essay is a topic that deserves some consideration and explanation in its own right as a topic. Read more »
NotebookLM podcasts -- the missing piece in the GenAI puzzle?
NotebookLM can automatically generate podcasts about any content you provide. In exploring these podcasts this week, I think they might complete a piece that was missing from the GenAI picture with tech comm: these podcasts can help you understand and learn the content you're working on, even when other AI techniques might shortcut that learning. Read more »
[Podcast] GenAI and Document360: Conversation with Saravana Kumar
This podcast explores GenAI in technical documentation scenarios, highlighting the AI features and capabilities provided in Document360. I talk with Saravana Kumar, CEO of Kovai.co, which makes Document360, about how AI is changing search functionality and reducing support costs in knowledge bases. We discuss practical applications of AI for technical writers, including automated tagging, SEO optimization, glossary creation, and more. Saravana shares about AI agent workflows, conversational search experiences, automating screenshot captures, and much more. Read more »
Using AI to jump-start code samples
In this article, I provide a strategy for one of the most challenging topics in prompt engineering with docs: using AI to help with code samples. At the extreme end, this could mean using AI to generate code samples from documentation; at the other end, it could mean describing code that’s already been written. My approach is more of a hybrid between the two. After describing a typical scenario, I explore the difference between test code and application code and why engineers are reluctant to provide code samples in documentation. Read more »
Unified Knowledge powered by Zoomin -- Q&A with Paul Maass
The following is a Q&A post with Paul Maass of Zoomin about Unified Knowledge. Paul says Unified Knowledge integrates diverse content sources to improve AI-powered service interfaces and customer support. He explains the challenges of content management, the role of AI in technical documentation, and gives insights into preparing for knowledge systems driven by AI. Read more »
Two days in my life as a technical writer, followed by reflection and analysis of fragmenting microtasks
After publishing a day in the life guest post, I've been thinking about what a day in my life might look like. The last time I wrote a post like this must have been a decade ago. But my brain has been thinking about these day-in-the-life details for some reason so I decided to jot some notes down about my day. In this post, I note the main activities of two days of my week (a Wednesday and a Friday). I then follow this up with a detailed analysis of how I spend my time, and why it's so challenging to get AI to accelerate doc work. In looking over my day, it's constantly fragmented with microtasks and unnecessary overhead, rather than an immersive focus on deep work. Read more »
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