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Ryan Minaker

Ryan Minaker is a professional technical communicator. With over 10 years experience in the field, he has played the role of technical writer, information architect, usability specialist, and content strategist.

He is currently interested in expanding his knowledge of content and workflow analysis, topic-based authoring (XML, DITA), content management, localization strategies, and dynamic single-source publishing.

Ryan is currently working as a technical writer in Toronto, Ontario.

Book Review: Content Strategy Connecting the Dots for an Epic Win

Written by Ryan Minaker on May 13, 2013 · 5 Comments

I have a habit of relating most things in my life to video games and board games (some people call this gamification). I find that this way of thinking is especially relevant on a professional level. My quest—as someone who produces and manages content within a content lifecycle—is to overcome obstacles, to complete these tasks, and to achieve my epic win. Content Strategy: Connecting the Dots is the strategy guide that gets me closer to the epic win. Continue reading ...

Book Review: Content Strategy 101 by Sarah O’Keefe and Alan Pringle

Written by Ryan Minaker on November 12, 2012

Sarah S. O’Keefe and Alan S. Pringle of Scriptorium Publishing tried a fascinating experiment in putting together their latest book, “Content Strategy 101.” They crowd-sourced the development, seeking commentary, feedback on the structure and content, and reviews from a wide range of content and technical communication professionals via the contentstrategy101.com website. Jacquie Samuels, a content strategy veteran, and Roger Renteria, a graduate of tech comm studies read the book at the website and offer their perspectives in this “mini-crowd-sourced” review. Continue reading ...

Technical Writing Basic Conundrum: Can Less Really Be More?

Written by Ryan Minaker on January 24, 2012

Technical writers should provide as much documentation as is required for a user to use a product to its fullest potential; and that documentation should be delivered in way that is usable and easily accessible to the user. This seems pretty straightforward, but why is it that so many companies still fail to do this; still fail to take their documentation seriously; still fail to adequately resource technical writing staff? Continue reading ...

Dear Santa, My Christmas Wish

Written by Ryan Minaker on December 12, 2011

In 1998, you left a [submarine simulation] video game under my tree called 688i Hunter/Killer. I’ve always considered this to be one of the best games I’ve ever played, so thanks Santa for that really great present. One thing that made this game so great was that it came with extremely comprehensive documentation. I know your technical writing elves worked really hard on it... Continue reading ...

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Effective Networking with Twitter

Written by Ryan Minaker on October 10, 2011

What value could Twitter possibly add to your technical communications career? If you are not a Twitter user, you might think that Twitter is not interesting enough for you to bother with. If you are Twitter user, you might think that Twitter is entertaining, but it is basically full of useless information and that it definitely has no value as a professional networking tool. Until recently, as a casual Twitter user, my opinion of Twitter was a mix of the previous two viewpoints; however, this changed Continue reading ...

So Easy a Child Could Do It: Can We Make an Interface Too Usable?

Written by Ryan Minaker on September 19, 2011

When most of us think about usability, we probably think about websites, web applications, computer software, and more recently, tablets and mobile devices. Video game consoles usually do not come to mind, but they should. Continue reading ...