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Santa Claus arrived, did his gift-giving thing, and split back to the North Pole. Much like tidings of comfort and joy, tech comm news and commentary continue to arrive in great abundance. Mark Baker (everypageispageone.com) urges us to get out ahead of our users’ needs and be more proactive in tech comm. Nabarun Paul at Techritesolutions shares his tips on how to improve sentences without being verbose. Adaptability and flexibility, to no one’s surprise, are becoming necessary skills for technical writers to have, according to Gurpreet Singh (technicalwritingtoolbox.com). And Angel Candelario (angelcandelario1.wordpress.com) posts his interview with Jack Hardy, the author of “Procedure Writing Tools and Practices.”

In Content Strategy. Erica Ayotte discusses the difference between content curation and link spraying (with an apropos quote by Mandy Patinkin from “The Princess Bride”). Miriam Lottner (tech-tav.com) has begun compiling the Golden Rules of Content for 2013, and includes rules offered by tech writers from around the world including Danielle Villegas, and TechWhirlers Erika Yanovich, and  Yehoshua Paul. And speaking of gold, Nathan Yerian (business2community.com) discusses five golden aspects of your content strategy.

No frankincense or myrrh anywhere in sight, but still great gifts of insight abound in User Experience. Patrick Neeman (usabilitycounts.com) suggests using your UX portfolio to tell your very own story of “UXMas.” Hunter Whitney describes how his childhood obsession with model-building informs his work as a user experience designer, and Janet M. Six (uxmatters.com) discusses trends in user experience.

We wrap this Christmas edition in Career and Life, where Ben Waxman shares a humorous pictorial description of technical writing. Writing Assistance gives us tips on how writers can make their deadlines every time. We get exercises for desk-bound individuals (like me!) from creativebloq.com. And NiCarla Friend (uahtechcomm.com) talks about journalism, tech comm, and the skills they share.

Technical Communications

Proactive Tech CommTraditionally tech comm ended when the product was released to manufacturing. We are slowly moving away from that outdated approach and t…

How to improve sentences without being verboseI have this from one of my subscriptions, and wanted to share the information. Every developer is a writer but one Technical Writer can h…

Adaptability and Flexibility for Technical WritersAdaptability and Flexibility skills are now becoming a necessity, and not just a desired quality, to get hired as a technical writer. Emp…

Interview with Jack Hardy; Author of Procedure Writing Tools and PracticesAngel Candelario Rodriguez, founder and manager of the LinkedIn group "Technical Writer in Action," interviewed Jack Hardy on December 3,…

Content Strategy

The Difference Between Content Curation and Link Spraying | Social Media Today"Content curation" is one of those phrases that gets repeated ad nauseam without much thought into what it actually means or what role it…

Golden rules of content for 2013! | Tech-TavLooking for the "Golden Rules" of content for 2013? Look no further! We have gathered them all for you in one convenient place. Many than…

5 Golden Aspects to Your Content Marketing Strategy | Business 2 CommunityYou are probably well aware that content marketing is a cost-effective way to reach more prospects and grow your customer base. According…

User Experience

UXMas: The UX Portfolio – Telling Your StoryPosted by Patrick Neeman | December 18, 2012 I was happy enough to contribute my festive cheer over at UXMas. The story, The UX Portfolio…

Tinkering in the Model Shop | UX MagazineAs a child, I loved building and playing with scale models of all kinds: planes, trains, and automobiles. These replicas taught me about …

Trends in User Experience :: UXmatters"As a UX specialty, UX strategy is now getting traction in both the UX community and the organizations for whom UX professionals work. In…

Career and Life

How Writers Can Make Deadlines – Every Time | Writing Assistance, Inc.Writers are notorious for having troubles meeting deadlines. No matter how organized you are, and no matter how little work you have to d…

Desk exercises: 10 easy routines for designers to do today! | Design | Creative BloqAdvertisement As designers and artists, we often spend long hours sat at a desk and staring intently at a monitor screen. You know about …

Journalism, Tech Comm, and the Skills in BetweenAs a broadcast news major in undergrad, I never thought I’d be in a technical communication program. But if there’s one thing you learn a…