Tech Writer Today Magazine - TechWhirl
Technical writing and technical communications news, articles and resources for technical writers and technical communicators.
I love weeks like this on TechWhirl. With lots of varied, and heated threads on the email discussion list (cloud subscriptions, interactive documents, progressive disclosure and layered documents, among other interesting items), you should be able to find something to argue…err… talk about well into the weekend. Continue reading ...
In my job as a technical writer, one of the decisions I wrestle with every day concerns topic length. Is the topic short enough to retain readers but long enough to cover the material? If the topic is too short, should I merge it with another? If the topic is too long, should I break it into two topics? This is a lot of what I think about. So does Tom Johnson (I'd Rather Be Writing). Tech Writer This Week gives you other stuff to think about: research, content strategy, taxonomy, customer journey maps, UX, CXM, and cardboard boats... huh? Continue reading ...
The STC Summit 2013, held in Atlanta, Georgia this year, got off to an excellent start with an entertaining and eye-opening keynote address by New York Times technology columnist David Pogue. Larry Kunz (sdicorp.com) shares his impressions of the summit. The STC posted a ton of photos, tweets, and slideshows on eventifier.co and we also offer our annual Pinterest board for your enjoyment. The slides are great. I've seen a few shows already, and have dogeared more to view. After which, enjoy some great posts on tech comm, content strategy, and user experience. Continue reading ...
TechWhirl is packing up and heading for Atlanta to attend the STC Summit. If you're planning to be there, stop by our booth and say hi. And, if you'd like to contribute to our Pinterest Board or Storify curations, we're always happy to oblige. Continue reading ...
Tech Writer This Week heads into some new territories, with a new topic area, and some controversy in our old standbys. First in the standbys is Technical Communication. I'd venture a guess that most people think of technical writers as the quiet sort (I do my best to fly under the radar). But being quiet doesn't mean we shy away from controversy. Peruse User Experience and then Content Strategy & Curation. Dive into our new area of Customer Experience Management, and finish off with some Career and Life goodies. Continue reading ...
Spring fashion trends rarely have a technology bent to them, but it seems as though this year will be a bit different. We’ve been reading scads of stories on the iWatch, the Pebble, and Google Glass, so wearable computers are the latest happening thing. Which is why we posted a new technical communication poll. And we followed up with a book review and Tech Writer This Week, both from Craig Cardimon. Enjoy the fashion, the news, the knowledge and the entertainment. Continue reading ...
Problem solving, programming, writing, testing, strategy, marketing, and programming of a different sort--We round up all of it on Tech Writer This Week. Let's talk interesting technical content, appreciation for programming, and how to build a list. Folks on the user experience and content strategy fronts will find some great advice for testing, strategy, and curation. We wrap it all up with a new LinkedIn mobile app, writing, and big news from the entertainment world. Continue reading ...
This week’s extraordinary events-especially those in Boston and in Texas--seem to cry for pause in normal activities. It’s hard to concentrate on topic-based writing or CMS trends when carnage is literally occurring before our eyes. But “normalcy” is often the thing that helps steady us and give us perspective. It’s important to get on with work, and play, and living in general, knowing that these events change us, shape us, in ways that demonstrate our common humanity. Continue reading ...
Along with the cliche that "No one reads the manual," it is also cliche that technical writers are often the last to possess knowledge that is critical to their projects. Tech Writer This Week aims to demolish the cliches, by providing some timely and trending information about stuff that matters to technical communicators. Technical writing as art, going beyond the words in communication, user experience and wearable computers, adding value to content curation, and so much more to explore. Continue reading ...