Listen here: Forms that Work In this podcast, Caroline Jarret talks about her new book, Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability, which she co-authored with Gerry Gaffney. Forms she discusses go beyond merely the type of IRS forms you fill out at tax time. Every website usually has some online form to collect information from users, from registration information to subscription information to purchasing informa...
Palimpsest: Whither STC? Sarah O'Keefe provides an excellent analysis of the financial meltdown that is troubling the STC right now. Her point about the lack of community struck me as the most critical factor. The STC is operating with a 30-year-old model. They need to come up to speed--and quick. The organization has been more reactive than proactive with regards to web 2.0 technology. It needs a champion that could bridge, create, and f...
Speakers and fees: an insiders view | Speaker Confessions. In a world of online video and online interaction (whether from videocasts, podcasts, or webinars), why do people still go to conferences to watch speakers in person? This writer says there's more energy in the room, which you can't duplicate through virtual mediums. I'm not sure the energy in the room is a sufficient benefit, though. Conferences are often social events more than...
10 Sites That Produce Quality WordPress Content — Nathan Rice. Here Rice provides a great list of WordPress sites that publish useful, important information. If you're into WordPress, you might want to add these sites to your RSS feed. Because the WordPress community is so distributed, so is the information. Also, Rice's site has some excellent information as well, but he was too modest to include his own site on the list.
WordPress Single Post Templates — Nathan Rice. If you're customizing a WordPress theme with different templates, you probably know you can create templates specific to different categories. But when the user clicks the post, the single.php file template loads. By default, you can't use different single.php files in the same way that you can with category templates. The script on this site allows you to add a little snippet of code to func...
Palimpsest: Flare 5 DITA feature review Part 1: Overview and map files. I really enjoyed this thorough testing and analysis of Flare 5's integration of DITA. It's a huge new feature with forward-looking possibilities (namely webhelp output from DITA). Sarah O'Keefe does a nice job looking at all details, quirks, and other issues.
Have you ever tried to find cool graphics for conceptual diagrams but find yourself coming up empty handed? Sure, sites like istockphoto.com make icons available inexpensively. But no matter what the cost, if you work for a company you still have to submit an expense request, get it approved by management, and then subtract the cost from a dwindling budget. It's a pain in the neck, and you're usually in a time crunch, right? Never fear, V...
The winner of this caption contest, the final day of the contest, receives a free copy of Author-it. Good luck. I hope you've enjoyed reading or participating in these captions throughout the last couple of weeks. I'll be compiling all the cartoons with the winning captions below them in an upcoming post. Cartoon 12 Cartoon by Ben Minson. For full details about the giveaway, see this post.
In a career development workshop at the TransAlpine Conference in Vienna, Ellis Pratt, one of the founders of Cherryleaf, argued that technical communicators may eventually become extinct if they keep using the same methods and formats to deliver information. Although there will always be a need for people to explain technical material non-technical people, Ellis said, others may be doing it instead, through the formats users prefer. To s...
I've enjoyed reading through the captions you submit. This is the second to last day. The winner of today's contest will receive a free copy of Snagit. Cartoon 11 Cartoon by Ben Minson. For full details about the giveaway, see this post.
Listen here: This is part II of the Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting presentation that I gave to the TransAlpine conference in Vienna in June 2009. For more details about the podcast, see the first write-up. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, listen to that first (unless you prefer to arrive en media res). Here's the accompanying PowerPoint. If you're wondering why I didn't just combine the two audio files in ...
Listen here: This podcast is a recording of the Blogging, Podcasting, and Screencasting presentation that I gave to the TransAlpine conference in Vienna in June 2009. In the presentation, I explore what well-known bloggers, podcasters, and screencasters do to inspire readers to become devoted followers rather than just casual subscribers. Devoted followers stay updated with each new post, podcast, or screencast, eagerly ...
The giveaway today is for Snagit. Add your captions in the comments below. Cartoon 10 Cartoon by Ben Minson. For full details about the giveaway, see this post.
Quick reference guides 1.0 Quick Reference Guides: The Poetry of Technical Writing 1.1 Quick Reference Guide Formats -- Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts 1.2 STC Presentation this Thursday: "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Technical Documentation" ...
Before I met my Shannon 11 years ago, she spent about seven weeks traveling across Europe. It was a time she trying to answer some questions, and during some point in her walking and train-riding and city exploring, she found answers. She also fell in love with Europe—with the little narrow streets, the bustling plazas, the rich histories, the winding rivers, the chocolates and pastries. Ever since then, for the past 11 years she's been t...
