We’re cruising into the last full weekend of August noting that most technical communicators must be finished with summer holiday plans. This completely unscientific statement is based on the fact that you could hear crickets around the email discussion list last week, and this week you can find all sorts of conversations, from illegal file name characters, to the future of manuals, to punctuation, CMS graphics links, and use of animation.
Get your weekend started right with a little summer rerun (translation projects) a new poll question (which could use some more votes AND at least one or two comments), the debut of Marcia Riefer Johnston’s new column, Word Wise (a new must read for anyone wanting to polish up their writing), and Tech Writer This Week’s curated gems from around the web.
A little coffee, a few household chores and the tech comm recap make for the perfect weekend … well at least to us.
Have a great weekend!
-Connie and the gang at TechWhirl
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Tech Writer This Week for August 22, 2013In this edition of Tech Writer This Week we’re celebrating the written word. And, the well designed word. And, the beautifully crafted image. And, the art of creating excellent customer experiences. |
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Word Wise: Say One ThingAccording to the bestselling book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, if you want your message to stick, you must first figure out the one thing you want to say. Then, say that one thing. How hard could it be to say just one thing? Hard. Remember your English teacher scribbling in your margin, “Where’s your thesis statement?” Busted! |
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Is the End Near for Printed Books? (poll)When you get to read some really interesting posts and see some good debate from really smart people, it generally means that there’s a really good poll question just waiting to be unearthed and published. So it is with the idea that the time for printed books may be at an end. |
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Ten Steps to Make Your Technical Translation Project a SuccessSummer Rerun: With an increasing number of companies pursuing a presence for their products in other countries, your management team’s global strategy may involve the need to translate technical and support materials into other languages. This article describes ten effective steps technical writers, publishers, or communications managers can take to ensure that translation projects go smoothly and to everyone’s satisfaction. |
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