The new podcasting site is finished. Check it out at ----------------. We have a couple of new interviews up there, including Mike Hamilton and Scott Abel. You can subscribe either via RSS or e-mail, thanks for Feedburner. Let me know what you think. More importantly, if you want to contribute audio content to the site, or just have suggestions for topics, let me know. 12/23/2007 Update: The podcasting site has been merged into this site....
Check out this audiovisual tutorial on using podpress, a plugin that allows you to podcast from your wordpress blog. http://www.mightyseek.com/podpress/podpress-tutorial/ The tutorial uses Camtasia Studio to deliver a video tutorial with audio content. Unlike more elaborate tutorials using tools like Captivate, the Camtasia Studio allows you to put more focus on your voice. There's something that's really nice about hearing someone speak ...
I'm almost ready to announce our new podcast site. This weekend we'll make the final adjustments and then announce it on Tuesday. I'm hoping to launch with 5 solid podcasts. Last weekend I interviewed Scott Abel of Content Management Pros. I tried to integrate music and everything, but realized in listening to the podcast that I didn't keep the microphone far enough away from my mouth during the interview, so while Abel talks you can hear...
Scott Abel with the Content Wrangler has been the one of the advocates behind the mergence of DITA and Structured Blogging, and he promises that it wouldn't be too long before DITA is offered as one of the microformats. This would enable lay people to publish DITA structured posts by merely filling in fields in a blog post. The emergence of DITA as the next-generation help format for technical writers is growing in popularity, but the per...
I think I'm finally getting ready to start recording some phone interviews. This article from hotair.com gives specific instructions for recording phone interviews and turning them into podcasts: http://hotair.com/archives/2006/04/24/how-to-podcast-record-phone-interviews-and-have-your-own-talk-radio-show-for-less-than-fifty-bucks/ Here is roughly how to do it: 1. Get a headphone/mic set from Radio Shack or wherever ($20). 2. Download and...
I recently compiled a list of tech writer bloggers here: http://techwriterblogs.com. I noticed that a lot of people use Blogger and other platforms other than Wordpress. My thoughts: Are you crazy? Just kidding. But really, Wordpress offers some definite advantages: Ability to categorize your posts by topic, not just by date Ability to choose from hundreds of themes/skins Ability to integrate plugins Large user community with help forums...
Just saw this in a survey someone conducted: http://websort.net/ You have a large list of items and then must drag them into what you believe to be the appropriate categories. In this way, it helps you determine the most logical place to put your information -- based on user perspective, rather than your own.
Check this out: http://api.maps.yahoo.com/Maps/V1/annotatedMaps?appid=asdfjkl1&xmlsrc=https://idratherbewriting.com/map.xml. Four addresses of my friends appear there. I can include up to 100 or more, I believe. The address points are stored on an XML file stored on my server. Using a few quick instructions from Yahoo's API kit, I can have those points displayed on the Yahoo Maps. This is what's known as the Yahoo Maps API kit. Instructio...
Have you ever wanted to permanently capture your monthly chapter presentation? You go to all the trouble to coordinate a speaker with knowledge, appeal, and relevance to technical writing. And then only 20% of your members come to the meeting. Why not record the presentation and make it available digitally online? It's rather simple to record the presenter, as long as the presentation is somewhat speech-like and not entirely interactive. ...
I had a restful labor day weekend. I can't say I thought much about technical writing, but I have been thinking more about podcasting. It's something I want to do, but putting together a show requires quite a bit of effort. After a long deliberation about the best way to record a meeting, I decided it's best to get a lapel mic attached to a digital recorder, and then ask the speaker to repeat any questions given by the audience. I could c...
My hard drive finally crashed. I never thought it would really happen, and I didn't have my files backed up. Oh well. I think I'll take it to a data recovery service. It crashed so bad that it clicks now when you try to boot up. The computer is a Gateway -- I don't recommend them. Only 1.5 years old.
The FTCC team launched the advertisement of the Florida Technical Communications Competition today. You can view the site at http://stc-suncoast.org/ftcc. There are more participants on this competition team than any other, and it's pretty exciting. Lots of group involvement. It has definitely got our members buzzing around each other with ideas, and now a couple of them are going to be doing a special podcast on the FTCC. I plan to have ...
I am thinking about starting up an IT Conversations site for Tech Writers. Currently this niche is totally open -- there are no technical writer podcasts. The power of podcasting is in the targeting of the niche market, according to Jason Van Orden of the PodCasting Underground, an awesome site to learn about podcasting. A few writers have done a podcast here and there, but none have sustained a continous podcast show. I'm thinking that t...
This podcast with Barry Schwartz will absolutely change the way you view the options and choices available to you. Schwartz's basic premise is that modernity has opened up a proliferation of choices for us, from choices in the grocery store to choices about career, choices about companions, choices about electronics, and more. Much of the hallmark of technology and science seems to be that it delivers us absolute freedom of choice. You ar...
This is another mind-bending podcast that will change how you perceive others' responses about your work. Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known essayist for the New Yorker, explains that the aeron chair — similar to our modern computer chair that we all love to sit in all day — was originally despised and deemed ugly. It didn't catch on for 2 years, and then it quickly became the most popular chair. Everyone came to love it. Through various expe...
