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226. #15141 Suggests ways to get a good job by cutting production time and cost on user manuals while increasing access and usability. Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2000). Careers>Documentation>TC 227. #24189 How to Get Higher Search Engine Rankings In the early days of the Internet, you did not have to do much to drive traffic to your Web site. Simply listing your site with search engines (and all were free back then) could yield a lot of traffic. When I listed one of my sites with Yahoo!, my site hits increased by 10,000 in just one week. Back then, ranking was more a game of optimizing your TITLE and META tags than anything else. But in response to the mammoth growth of the Internet and abuses of META tags by unscrupulous Web designers, search engine spiders have became more sophisticated: The game now focuses on optimizing Web page content. Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization 228. #14615 How to Increase Performance on a Web Site Theresa Wilkinson suggests way to decrease the bandwidth on your Web site, including using an HTML editor and an HTML checking program. She also includes tips on creating liquid pages with tables, and creating faster graphics. A list of suggested readings followings the article. 229. #30116 How to Interview Subject Matter Experts While technical writers may interview subject matter experts on a daily basis to gather information for a project, very few training courses address how to conduct these interviews. Singer's article provides suggestions. Singer, Warren. Intercom (2007). Articles>Interviewing>SMEs 230. #14718 Lazzaro presents a method for conducting thorough user and audience analyses. Lazzaro, Heather. Intercom (2001). Articles>Usability>Audience Analysis 231. #15142 HTML Editing Tools Come of Age Compares and contrasts three HTML editing tools: Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage, and Adobe GoLive. Doyle, Michael J. Intercom (2001). Design>Software>Web Design 232. #24178 For this year's humor contest, Intercomasked readers to write instructions for imaginary devices. The contest was inspired by Stanislaw Lem, a writer of science fiction who also published collections of reviews and introductions to books that don't exist. 233. #14704 Humor, Credibility, and International Online Exchanges St. Amant examines the problematic effects of humor on international online communication. St. Amant, Kirk R. Intercom (2001). Articles>Writing>International 234. #14658 IBM ViaVoice, Millenium Edition Schulter reviews the performance of IBMís latest speech recognition software. Schulter, David. Intercom (2000). Articles>Technology>Software>Voice 235. #14746 The Ideal Resume: Thorough, But User-Friendly Smith, a former resume writer for a professional resume-writing franchise, demonstrates ways to improve the usability of resumes. Smith, Gary M. Intercom (2002). Careers>Resumes 236. #14722 Identifying Additions and Deletions, Part I: Using Compatible Software Hart describes the problems and possibilities of Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature. Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>Software>Word 237. #14736 Identifying Additions and Deletions, Part II: Incompatible Software Hart describes the difficulties of viewing electronic edits when the editor and the author are using incompatible software, and offers tips for working around these difficulties. Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing>Software>Video 238. #14709 Identifying Web Site Requirements The authors emphasize the importance of conducting thorough research on business goals, branding goals, user needs, and technical resources before Web designers undertake a redesign. The article also offers suggestions about how to define, develop, and communicate a client's brand. Summers, Kathryn and Michael Summers. Intercom (2001). Articles>Usability>Specifications 239. #14697 Identity and International Online Communication St.Amant discusses the tendency of online communication to obscure a person's identity and suggests ways people can ensure clear communication with individuals of other cultures. St. Amant, Kirk R. Intercom (2001). Articles>Collaboration>International>Online 240. #20544 Campbell discusses the role technical communicators can play in developing IM (instant messaging) bots--programs that correspond with IM users--for customer support purposes. Campbell, Walter. Intercom (2003). Articles>Information Design>Communication>Instant Messaging 241. #28561 Implementing a CMS: A Game-changing Corporate Initiative The success of a CM project depends not just on process management, but on change management as well. Discover the ways that an organization can help its staff overcome initial resistance to change. Hamer, Emma C. Intercom (2007). Articles>Content Management>Project Management 242. #28559 Implementing a Content Management System Before you begin a pilot project using a CMS, you must understand how it will work. Read on to learn how to define your information model, set up your folder structure, create a metadata scheme, assign roles and responsibilities, define your workflow, and measure results. Hackos, JoAnn T. Intercom (2007). Articles>Content Management>Project Management 243. #24172 Implementing On-Screen Editing On-screen editing offers obvious advantages over paper editing, including greater accuracy, shorter turnaround times, and improved consistency. Because authors don’t have to retype handwritten edits, there’s less risk of misreading or missing corrections. Moreover, the edits have already been typed and spellchecked, so no new typos are introduced. Most editors can also enter corrections faster with a keyboard than with a pen, particularly when complex edits require restructuring of the document or extensive rewording, and eliminating the retyping phase further reduces turnaround times. Last but not least, using the search tools makes it easier to achieve consistency in long or complex documents. Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Editing>Online 244. #14781 Implementing XML: A Writer's Perspective In the cover article for Intercom's special issue on XML and HTML, Conlin discusses how the implementation of XML affects writers of documentation. Conlin, Karen E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Documentation>XML 245. #24167 The Importance of Document Design One definition of communication is 'the transfer of information from one location to another so that meaning is understood.' In other words, communication is what happens when one person connects to another to share information. Quesenbery, Whitney. Intercom (2004). Articles>Document Design>Usability 246. #14708 The Importance of the Quality Culture Cameron discusses the effects of three models of quality cultures in American and European corporations: error detection cultures, error prevention cultures, and creative quality cultures. Smart, Karl L. Intercom (2001). Careers>Workplace>Quality 247. #19685 Improving Your Reader's Content Forms For most organizations, Reader’s Comment Forms serve primarily as Reader’s Complaint Forms. Most of these forms typically ask readers to identify errors in the text, citing location of the error, describing the error, and suggesting a change. What a waste! Carliner, Saul. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Usability 248. #14618 The author calls for a return to public recognition--rather than just a quick e-mail acknowledgment--of people's accomplishments. Legg presents the benefits of public celebration: It opens positive communication, builds self-esteem, inspires others, and shows and gains respect. She also deflates many of the perceived obstacles to public praise, and encourages readers to use their communication skills to acknowledge others. Legg, Kathy A. Intercom (2000). Careers>Workplace>Assessment 249. #14749 In this hypothetical dilemma, a senior technical writer at a pharmaceuticals firm must choose between honoring his company's nondisclosure policy or publishing the results of a usability study that could greatly improve patient compliance with written instructions for prescription drugs, thereby saving lives. Bryan, John G. Intercom (2002). Articles>Workplace>Ethics 250. #14661 A fictional account of an in-house newsletter editor pressured to serve his bosses' interests raises important questions about the ethics of office politics. Bryan, John G. Intercom (2000). Articles>Workplace>Ethics
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