A Writer's Thoughts about Technical Writing, Part 2

I have recorded episodes with two of the writers on the Microsoft VSTO UE team (McLean and Norm), and here is the third writer, Brett Samblanet. We talked about the writing process, how Brett became a writer, how school prepared him for his work, and the importance of being able to communicate well and to take criticism.

Miller, Harry. Microsoft (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Audio

Year II and Growing: A Report from the STC Special Needs Committee: The Nature of Deafness  

Deaf persons are not a monolithic group. Persons born deaf or who become deaf before learning the language of their environment (prelingual deafness) have a significant educational challenge as well as a communication challenge. Other deaf persons have a communication challenge. Deaf persons may be divided into five categories. For the purposes of this paper the categories are prelingual deafness, prelingual hard-of-hearing, postlingual deafness, postlingual hard-of-hearing, and presbyacusis. (oldage deafness) Each of these categories are discussed in detail including the characteristics of persons within the categories, and the nature of the problems they encounter.

Malcolm, Andrew. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Audio

Information Architecture for Audio: Doing It Right

Audio content is becoming increasingly prevalent. But do you know how to design it effectively? Jens Jacobsen combines information architecture, journalism, usability engineering and interface design to resolve some of the issues that arise from introducing audio.

Jacobsen, Jens. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>Audio>Podcasting

Recontextualizing Writing    

What roles does writing play in larger communications also involving physically discrete but related texts of other media? How may the properties of what we normally consider writing be modified in such communications? The intermedial context of much workplace writing has been largely overlooked. This study of an insurance company's communication department describes how (a) three written products served as parts of larger messages in multiple media campaigns, (b) an attempt to combine composing processes for print and video failed, and (c) conflicting generic and stylistic properties of other media caused an intermedial graft to fail. The author's study shows that in the right circumstances, a multiple media "overtext" can override some of the rules that govern what and how one communicates in an individual medium. When a written text is involved, its nature may change as it forms symbiotic relationships with texts of other media.

Cross, Geoffrey A. JBC (1994). Articles>Communication>Video>Audio

Authorship, Appropriation, and the Fluid Text: Versions of the Law

A fluid text is any work that exists in multiple versions. What are the ethics and legality in the creation, sharing, and ownership of textual versions? What are the boundaries of textual appropriation? How does technology abet appropriation; how might it assist in the useful designation of boundaries? Is the law keeping up?

Bryant, John and Wendy Seltzer. MIT (2009). Articles>Intellectual Property>Audio>Podcasts

The Ears Have It (Notes)

Some people call it blogging out loud. Podcasting is a fairly easy and fairly inexpensive way of presenting your ideas and opinions. But podcasting is more than a platform for reviews or polemic. It's also a powerful tool within the enterprise for training, for marketing, and for documentation. Imagine being able to carry product information or supplementary material with you and not have to worry about stacks of paper? You can do that with a podcast.

Davis, Aaron and Scott Nesbitt. SlideShare (2008). Presentations>Multimedia>Audio>Podcasting

Copywriting Tip: Have the Computer Read Your Writing Back To You

You don’t have an office mate willing to read your work aloud? Don’t want to bug someone to read your two paragraph blog post? Have your computer read it to you!

ChirpUp (2009). Articles>Writing>Editing>Audio

Editing Audio Using Audacity

TechSmith asked me to create a video on using Audacity to edit narrations. Since the use of Audacity will be useful to many I've uploaded it here too. The screencast covers removing background noise, breathing and lip smacks, dynamic range compression, volume normalisation, fades and de-essing using the volume control.

Ozsvald, Ian. ShowMeDo (2009). Presentations>Multimedia>Audio>Screencasts

How to Implement Single Sourcing: Interview with Neil Perlin

Neil Perlin, a renowned trainer, consulter, and developer, talks about how to implement single sourcing. He includes a discussion of tools, pitfalls to avoid, and practical steps to take.

Johnson, Tom H. and Neil E. Perlin. I'd Rather Be Writing (2006). Articles>Interviewing>Single Sourcing>Audio

Understanding the Value of Modular Content Reuse by Examining User-Generated Music Mashups

In the field of technical communication, practitioners are being challenged to adapt to a completely new approach to creating documentation and user-assistance materials. In this rapidly-changing arena, traditional content production practices are being replaced with modular, topic-based content production practices that allow organizations to recombine content elements—often automatically or on-demand—into new, derivative products.

Content Wrangler, The (2009). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Audio

Recording the Spoken Word: Expert Tips on Producing Voice-Overs 

Opportunities for voice-over (v/o) production have increased dramatically for project studios, mimicking the DIY paradigm shift that continues to rock the music industry. Increasingly, clients needing v/o talent and related audio services are bypassing bigger studios to hire more cost-efficient producers for everything from commercials to interactive voice response (IVR) systems.

Norton, Perry Anne. Electronic Musician (2007). Articles>Multimedia>Audio

How to Build a Personal Recording Studio on Any Budget 

Recommendations for gear for building audio recording studios on a wide range of budgets.

Electronic Musician (2002). Articles>Multimedia>Audio

How to Build a Laptop Studio on Any Budget 

Although there are many reasons for choosing a laptop for music making, we've focused on three common scenarios: the software-only, all-in-the-box setup for the composer-performer; the songwriter's studio, which will need mics for recording voices and instruments; and the multitrack live-recording rig. Even if what you do doesn't fit neatly into one of these areas, our reasons for choosing particular pieces of gear may help you with your own buying decisions.

Electronic Musician (2009). Articles>Multimedia>Audio