Friend or Foe? Web 2.0 in Technical Communication  

The rise of Web 2.0 technology provides a platform for user-generated content. Publishing is no longer restricted to a few technical writers—any user can now contribute information. But the information coming from users tends to be highly specific, whereas technical documentation is comprehensive but less specific. The two types of information can coexist and improve the overall user experience. User-generated content also offers an opportunity for technical writers to participate as “curators”—by evaluating and organizing the information provided by end users.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. Scriptorium (2008). Articles>Web Design>Technical Writing>Social Networking

Twitter and Tech Communication

Twitter can be a great tool, and can help people get answers quickly. However, when you have a question and need an answer, you probably ought to consider your question, and determine what channel is best suited for the type of answer you need. That may or may not be Twitter.

Pehrson, Paul. Technically Speaking (2009). Articles>TC>Technical Writing>Social Networking

Dividing It Up, With Any Crowd

When you think of the crowd, you probably think about a specific mass of people who use the software and hardware that we document every day. The interesting thing about the crowd is that it doesn’t necessarily mean people outside of the enterprise in which you’re working. There are people in your enterprise who can do a lot to help you with the documentation, too. Developer, product managers, QA analysts. They all have knowledge that you can and should tap.

Nesbitt, Scott. DMN Communications (2009). Articles>Documentation>Social Networking>Technical Writing

Twitter as a Medium for Release Notes

I’m going to start with a short introduction to Twitter, mentioning particularly the aspects that I found useful when tweeting release notes. If you’re already a twitterologist, you may want to skip that bit. Then I’ll describe how we’ve used Twitter as a method of communicating the highlights of our release notes.

Maddox, Sarah. ffeathers (2009). Articles>Documentation>Social Networking>Technical Writing

Change is Gonna Come

There's a shift happening in the way in which documentation is produced. We’ve all seen the beginning of it: the growing volume of what’s called (among other things) user generated or crowdsourced documentation. That trend is growing. And while a number of people in our profession are still resistant to the idea, it’s only a matter of time before users are our main partners in creating documentation.

Nesbitt, Scott. DMN Communications (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>Social Networking

Must-Follow Twitter Feeds for Tech Writers

The purpose of my blog is to provide tech writers with information about changes and how said changes may impact documentation. That is also the purpose of my Twitter feed. I gather up as much information as I can and pass it on. I've found some excellent feeds to follow related to the various topics of which tech writers need to be aware.

2moro Docs (2009). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Social Networking

How Google Wave Can Drown Technical Writers

The impending launch of Google Wave is something for every technical writer to watch. Because if they have been doing their job the same way from day one, then Google Wave's undertow is going to pull them down into the surf. However, if they are embracing online collaborations tools, instant messaging, and related technologies then they are going to think Google Wave is game changer for technical communications because it offers a new range of communications and collaborations options.

Kelly, William T. TypePad.com (2009). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Social Networking