Tech Writer This Week for August 9, 2012 – TechWhirl
TechWhirl’s Weekly Roundup of the best technical communication and technical writing posts on the web.
Storified by · Thu, Aug 09 2012 06:02:29
Pinterest
Our look at Technical Communication this week starts with a double-shot of two posts from Mark Baker (everypageispageone.com). In the first, Mark tells us why a task is not a procedure. In the second post, Mark discusses what topics are and what “standalone” means. Gordon Meyer (g2meyer.com) shares one of his tips for keeping documentation usable and maintainable, and Colin Jenson (colinjenson.com) ponders grammar, creativity and technical writing.
In Content strategy, Justine Hyde (justinehyde.tumblr.com) fills us in on content curation for beginners, and a post from Val Swisher (contentrules.com) explains going global with your content strategy. In User Experience, Net Magazine interviews Andy Budd, co-founder of Clearleft, on the rise of User Experience. Then, UX Magazine uncovers why Pinterest offers users a superior experience, and UX Booth offers guidance on running a successful user workshop (the focus group evolved). Ben Gremillion (webdesignerdepot.com) discusses navigation and how to guide users with a linear presentation. We wrap with two Career and Life posts: five Gmail filters offered by Lifehack.org to zero out your inbox, and five ways to write your way out of a lousy economy, shared by Carol Tice (freelanceswitch.com).
Technical Communication
A Task is Not a Procedure | Every Page is Page OneIn The Tyranny of the Terrible Troika, I complained that the now almost universal trio of concept, task, and reference did not properly r…
What is a topic? What does standalone mean? | Every Page is Page …Jun 8, 2011 … Everyone agree that a topic is a standalone piece of content. Unfortunately, no one agrees on what “standalone” means. …
Usable Help – A tech writer defense mechanismA tech writer defense mechanism Experienced instructional designers have little tricks and stratagems that help ensure their documentatio…
Man is Meant to Act and Not be Acted Upon " Does grammar hinder creativity in technical writing? Why or why not? If so, how?I used to always tell my students "I’m teaching you the rules so people will notice when you break them." It’s the law of contrast. If yo…
Content Strategy
Send in the humans – content curation for beginnersWith so much content proliferating on the web and in social media platforms, it can be hard to find good quality information. Search engi…
Content Strategy Goes Global | Content Rules, Inc.Content Strategy Goes Global Content. Our world revolves around content. These days, buying decisions are often made based solely on cont…
User Experience
Andy Budd on the rise of user experience | Interview | .net magazineIf you want to know about the state of the user experience profession today, Andy Budd is the man to ask. Clearleft’s MD talks to Tom May…
Pinterest UX Strikes Social Commerce Gold | UX Magazine2 days ago … Pinterest has skyrocketed to the number three position among all social networks in terms of traffic, and although the s…
Running a Successful User Workshop – UX Booth | UX BoothFor UX professionals, talking to real users is undoubtedly an important part of the process. Our clients are experts in their industries …
Guiding users with linear presentation | Webdesigner DepotBy nature, the web is a chaotic place where people hop from page to page at will. Unfortunately, this freedom can work against those webs…
Career and Life
5 Gmail Filters to Get You to Inbox Zero – Lifehack.org1 day ago … Getting to Inbox Zero doesn't have to be impossible. Use these 5 Gmail filters to automate the process and get out of…
5 Ways to Write Your Way Out of the Lousy EconomyRemember the good old days before 2008, when freelance writing gigs seemed to just fall out of the trees at you? It’s been a long slog th…
