I thought I'd share some of my OPML files for different feeds. Podcast OPML Technical Writing OPML WordPress OPML Technology OPML If you'd like to share your OPML file with me, I'd love to see it. For the uninitiated, OPML files are collections of feeds. You can plug them into Bloglines, Google Reader, Newsgator, or sites like Netvibes or Pageflakes. It beats entering one feed at a time. (To download my OPML files above, right-click the...
Designing good websites involves following the same principles of technical writing — be invisible in style. In this Edgework podcast, Joshua Porter explains that good web design is often invisible. Users shouldn't be concentrating on the design. Like Amazon, you focus on the content. You focus on the fact that it works. I strive for the same in my technical writing. I want the user to focus on the content, not my literary style. I rememb...
Someone wrote to me asking if I have examples of companies integrating podcasts into their mix of technical communication deliverables. If you know of any, please let me know in the comments to this post. Here's what come to mind: I know Novell does podcasts. BMC also provides podcasts. Boagworld uses instructional podcasts as a marketing vehicle for their company. I believe DMN Communications also uses podcasts to increase their visibi...
37 Signals' to-do lists, which offer printable to-do lists online to help you get organized, or to simply make lists, is one of the most useful tools I've used lately. Although I didn't write favorably about 37 Signal's Campfire chat product, I really recommend their to-do lists. Mainly, all their products are cool, but the to-do lists have a special place in my heart because they are totally free. I use these to-do lists when I'm online ...
I just spend the last hour and a half using the virtual chat feature on the Suncoast site talking about competition details and issues for the FTCC. Let me tell you, the chat works awesome. I mean, it actually works. This same functionality from 37 Signals' Campfire product costs about $49/month (for 60 simultaneous chatters), but with the shoutbox plugin for Wordpress (actually Pierre's Wordspew, which is a modified version of the Jalene...
If you haven't started listening to podcasts yet because you don't have time, try fitting in podcasts during these hours: While you're driving to work While you're exercising While you lie down at night to fall asleep While you're walking your dog While you're running errands While you're shopping for groceries While you're bicycling around your neighborhood While you're reformatting your computer While you're watching your kids play on ...
Listen here: In this week's Tech Writer Voices podcast, Heidi and I talk about some innovative research from Microsoft, Word 2007, convincing upper management you're not a cost, focusing on information users actually want, tool versus industry experience, the curse of knowledge, the slow movement, and a tip for handling your e-mail inbox. Links mentioned in the Show Tom's blog Heidi's blog Innovative Microsoft Research ...
Grammar Girl is the latest subject of the DMN Communications podcast. The Grammar Girl podcast covers ... you guessed it, grammar. What's surprising is the popularity of this podcast. The popularity prompts a thought-provoking question: in a world of degenerating language, where sentences are massacred in text messages, poorly written blog posts, reader comments, user forums, and other social media, why does anyone care so much about gram...
If you don't enjoy listening to voicemail on your cell phone, check out Spinvox. This service converts your voicemail messages to text and then emails you the message. Right now you can sign up for a year's service for free by e-mailing [email protected] with the request. Two U.S. competitors to Spinvox are Simulscribe and Callwave. But with Spinvox, not only can you have the transcribed voicemail sent to your email or cell phone (althoug...
I never thought blogging could be very profitable, but after listening to a podcast with Guy Kawasaki, who says he could make 25-30K a year blogging, and after reading John Chow's blog, which shows him earning 3K a month, I decided to start integrating Google Adsense into my posts. Google Adsense allows you to integrate Google's ads into your website or blog. The ads displayed match the categories you've set up and the keywords of your po...
Callwave.com is a pretty cool service. When people leave voicemail messages on your cell phone, rather than having to listen to the messages on your phone, Callwave sends the voice message to your email inbox. The following image shows a sample delivery of the message. You click Open and the message plays. Setting up Callwave (which is free) took me all of 2 minutes. You just enter a string of digits in your phone, and voila. To sign up,...
The Suncoast Member mashup map is finished. Several people commented how cool it is. You can create a mashup map in 5 minutes from http://www.batchgeocode.com/, and there are Google plugins for WordPress that also facilitate the map. But I used the Google Map API because I wanted a list of scrollable names on the side. The method was much more arduous (right-click the map file to view the source and see the code for the individual marker...
Brian Oberkirch has interviewed some really cool people over in Silicon Valley. In this podcast from Oberkirch, Guy Kawasaki reveals some thought-provoking dilemmas about his blog habits. Guy is a big name in tech — former evangelist for Apple, now a venture capitalist. During the first 20 minutes they talk about startups, why some succeed and others fail (basically no one knows), they cover Guy's previous books (The Art of the Start, Rul...
I listened to an awesome podcast today. Brian Oberkirch from Edgework talks with Matt Mullenweg about WordPress. Of course I love WordPress so it was great to hear from Matt, the WordPress lead. Matt said a few things about Akismet and accelerated development cycles that were interesting. Akismet, the spam-blocking software packaged with WordPress and produced by Automattic (the company behind the open-source WordPress application), is re...
This podcast from Podcast Academy talks about integrating podcasting into your company's mix of marketing deliverables. Schwartzman talks about how, for an opera site, his company added podcasts that consisted of opera singer interviews. He says the main purpose of a podcast should be to drive listeners to your website—the website should be the center of your activity, not the podcast. A little shocking was the cost. Schwartzman says hi...
