Yesterday a couple of people asked me how to embed videos into WordPress posts. Rather than copying the entire embed code that youtube provides, you can actually just insert the link to the video into your post. WordPress will then pull the video in. This is a feature called auto-embed.
This week, after Mindtouch released its top 25 elite blogger list, most of the tech comm blogosphere was taking bows and saying congratulations and writing posts that began I'm-so-honored and wow-what-can-I-say. These posts started to make me feel a little ill, because I suppose I enjoy reading more about suffering than success, but that's beside my point here. Reflecting on my rank, I felt an irony about it all. Apparently the ability to...
Last month I gave a webinar on WordPress to the STC CIC SIG, which is the Independent Contracting and Consulting Special Interest Group of the Society for Technical Communication. I recorded the webinar and am allowed now to make it available for free on my site. The recording plays my voice only, and the whole webinar lasts about 75 minutes. You can view the recording in two sizes. If you want small dimensions (about 1000 pixels in width...
Findability / organizing content 1.0 New Series: Organizing Content [Organizing Content 1] 1.2 Introducing Project Swordfish [Organizing Content 2] 1.3 Things Fall Apart, The Centre Cannot Hold [Organizing Content 3] ...
Sarah O'Keefe's guest post -- The Role of the Gatekeeper is Changing -- on Peg Mulligan's blog is interesting. Sarah writes, The Internet is removing the traditional gatekeepers for content. This may seem obvious, but its implications in my life have been profound. I majored in English and then earned an MFA in creative writing. After graduating, I gathered up my best essays and sent them off to literary journals for publication. After mo...
Findability / organizing content 1.0 New Series: Organizing Content [Organizing Content 1] 1.2 Introducing Project Swordfish [Organizing Content 2] 1.3 Things Fall Apart, The Centre Cannot Hold [Organizing Content 3] ...
Today's WordPress tip is on integrating Constant Contact (an email marketing service) with WordPress.
How to break into technical writing is one of the most common questions readers ask. (If you wrote a book entirely on this subject, I'm sure you'd sell regular copies.) Recently a journalist interviewed me and others (Jack Molisani, Mike Hughes, and Andrea Ames) on this topic. He published his article, called Use Your IT Experience to Move into Technical Writing, in DICE. I have only a small quote at the end. In one of my responses about ...
Wordcamp is a conference dedicated to topics on WordPress. This year WordCamp Utah will be held Saturday, August 28 at the University of Utah. The conference costs $20 and includes lunch. Wordcamp is a conference dedicated to all topics related to WordPress Here are details from Joseph Scott, the organizer: WordCamp Utah 2010 will be held August 28th at University of Utah, in the Skaggs Biology Building. This is a great opportunity to spe...
Findability / organizing content 1.0 New Series: Organizing Content [Organizing Content 1] 1.2 Introducing Project Swordfish [Organizing Content 2] 1.3 Things Fall Apart, The Centre Cannot Hold [Organizing Content 3] ...
About a month ago, I was talking with some of my friends at church when my wife Shannon came into the room crying and asking where Kevin was. I wasn't sure what happened, but I soon found out. Jane had been substituting in Primary, a class for children. During a game where everyone gets to ask a question, she asked if anyone had seen our cat, who had been missing for two days. All the kids became quiet. Apparently they all knew about a d...
I've been exploring Captivate lately because I wanted to translate some screencasts for a project I'm undertaking. It turns out, Captivate doesn't work so well for screencasting. Slide-based eLearning, sure. But when you have a lengthy software simulation, it fails because you can't edit the audio while watching the video play. Really? Yes. Really. You know, like if you wanted to ensure the timing of the video is correct as you're listeni...
At least once a month, I post a few messages from the sponsors. Today we have a message from Madcap Software and Techsmith. From Madcap Software Driven by customer demand and request, MadCap Software is pleased to announce MadCap Consulting, a new service aimed to provide our customers with the resources necessary to perform skilled technical communication projects on both a full-time and part-time basis. Find the Right Consultant. Whethe...
The other day Shannon called and said I should come home because water was bubbling up in the sprinkler box in the yard. I don't know anything about sprinkler systems, so with a sense of dread I drove home. Sure enough, the valve box was a puddle of water. I do know how to shut off the water to the sprinklers, so I did that and then waited for the water to soak down into the ground or evaporate. The next day, when the water was dry, I che...
I'm giving a webinar on WordPress tomorrow, July 13, at 1:00 to 2:30 pm EDT. The webinar is organized through the STC Consulting and Independent Contracting Special Interest Group (CIC SIG). Here's the description: Blogging is no longer a phenomenon. It is a way of life; another layer of communication to understand and utilize. An effective blog site can be critical to establishing a successful presence in the electronic marketplace of th...
