All About Madcap Flare

Madcap Flare is one of the most powerful online help authoring tools on the market today. In this podcast, Paul Pehrson, MVP in the Madcap Software forums, talks about Madcap Flare in depth.

Pehrson, Paul and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Documentation>Software>Madcap Flare

Ann Rockley on the Rockley Group Blog and a New CMS Report

Ann Rockley shares information about an upcoming report on component content management systems her group will be releasing this summer. She also says the Rockley Group is launching a blog to provide quicker information to users in a more interactive way. She talks about the growing presence companies have in the blogosphere, and why they chose WordPress as their blogging tool.

Rockley, Ann and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Content Management>Podcasts

Are you Hurting Your Career By Not Blogging or Podcasting?

Talks about myths, rewards, trends, tips, and issues surrounding blogging and podcasting, especially in terms of how it affects your career.

Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Publishing>Online>Podcasts

Building Online Communities: Interview with Svi Ben-Elya about Elephant.org.il

In this podcast, I talk with Svi Ben-Elya about Elephant.org.il. Elephant is an online community he and others created to empower technical communicators in Israel (originally in the city of Yokneam) with relevant salary information to make them more market savvy when they negotiate jobs.

Ben-Elya, Svi and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Community Building>Online

Caroline Jarrett on User Interface Design

Jarrett is one of the authors of User Interface Design and Evaluation, a beginning text for technical communicators moving into user interface design. Jarrett says this book is a perfect start for users looking to add usability basics to their toolbox. She also talks about forms, and how the best forms are ones you barely notice.

Jarrett, Caroline and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Design>User Interface>Interviews>Forms

Chris Thompson on Searching for a Content Management System

Thompson talks about his search for the right content management system. He talks about the importance of content reuse across an entire system and having a workflow for editing, reviews, and translation. He discusses AuthorIT as a possible CMS solution. He also gives tips for talking with CMS vendors without being suckered in.

Thompson, Chris and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Content Management>Podcasts

The Convergence of Web 2.0 with Help Documentation

This podcast talks about the convergence of web 2.0 with help documentation. It mentions examples of Web 2.0 sites, such as Flickr, Payscale, and Digg, and what help files need to incorporate these same Web 2.0 features.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Design>Web Design>Documentation>Podcasts

Creating Help in the Web 2.0 Age

This is a presentation titled 'Creating Help in the Web 2.0 Age' that Neil Perlin gave to the Suncoast Chapter in Tampa, Florida in February 2007. Neil talks about what Web 2.0 is, and how help can be delivered on the fly according to specific user requests.

Perlin, Neil E. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Presentations>Documentation>Help>Podcasts

Debbie Kennedy on Modular Writing and Reusability

Kennedy's presentation on modular writing and reusability was attended by about 200 people. In her presentation, Debbie explained how to chunk content by first looking at different content types: procedures, processes, facts, principles, and so forth. She also mentions a tool called Content Mapper that writers can use to chunk and reuse information through Microsoft Word.

Kennedy, Debbie. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Writing>Content Management>Podcasts

Geoff Sauer on tc.eserver.org, the Largest Tech Comm Index Online

Geoff Sauer is one of the founders of tc.eserver.org--the largest online index for all works related to technical communication. The library indexes works by technical communicators in dozens of categories, and allows users to add new works, rank them, and get RSS feeds of specific titles. There are over 25,000 RSS feeds generated on the site and 15,000 visitors each day.

Sauer, Geoffrey and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>TC>Podcasts

Harry Miller on Multimedia Documentation

Miller, a technical editor at Microsoft interested in multimedia documentation, talks about why multimedia documentation is a growing trend and how writers can get started. He discusses Microsoft's Channel 9 and the human element with instructional screen demos.

Miller, Harry and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Documentation>Multimedia

How to Create a Site Where Users Can Actually Find Information: Interview with Thom Haller

Thom Haller, information architect and director of the Center for Plain Language, talks about how to create a site where users can actually find the information they're looking for.

Haller, Thom and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Web Design>Minimalism

How to Get Out of a Slump, and Handle Pressure Situations Calmly

It turns out that you can get out of a slump or handle pressure situations comfortably by merely changing your facial expressions. I have been trying this over the past several days and have been completely stunned with what happens.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace

How to Share Everything with Everyone (well, a few things anyway)

We're moving toward a shared network model, where people publish and subscribe. The really appealing sites integrate feeds for a community of users in an invisible, seamless way, making it easy to see what we're all up to.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>RSS

The Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication

In this podcast, I talk with Bill Albing, founder of KeyContent.org, about the impact of social media on technical communication. Bill talks about different ways social media helps audiences interconnect and interact. Good social media technologies enable professionals to collaborate easily, without being encumbered by complicated technology or even burdened by managing and filtering feeds. Bill explains that the web is more than just a venue for publication -- it's a medium that allows people to interconnect and work/collaborate with information. This is the direction we're moving towards, and technical communicators are starting to integrate social media, such as user forums, directly into their help.

Albing, Bill and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>Online

Information Architecture: Organizing Chaos, Metadata, Taxonomy vs. Folksonomy, and the Dublin Core

An interview with Kevin Shoesmith about information architecture and the challenge of organizing complicated websites. Shoesmith explains about the importance of metadata, providing user-driven organization, taxonomy vs. folksonomy, the Dublin core, the usability of web menus.

Shoesmith, Kevin and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Information Design>Metadata>Podcasts

Interview with George Hayhoe, editor of Technical Communication Journal, on Technical Writing in China and Korea

Keith Hoffman, president of the Madison Wisconsin Four Lakes Chapter, talks with George Hayhoe, editor of the Technical Communication Journal, about the emergence of technical communications in China and Korea, and the forces behind the push for technical communicators.

Hayhoe, George F. and Keith Hoffman. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>TC>International>Podcasts

Is Technical Writing Boring? Tech Writers as Information Architects

Is technical writing boring? We discuss a post that spawned a lot of comments and exchanges. We also talk about an article on information architecture in the Tech Comm journal.

Johnson, Tom H. and Heidi Hansen. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Podcasts

Jack Molisani on Trends in Technical Communication

Shares some trends in the technical communication industry, arguing that writers need to become hyphenated to move forward and be successful in the future. Molisani owns a technical writing staffing company and also produces the Lavacon conference, which is in New Orleans this year, but is traditionally in Hawaii. He says users aren't concerned about polished language these days; they just want accurate, relevant content.

Molisani, Jack and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>TC>Planning>Podcasts

John Daigle on RoboHelp 7

Daigle, an Adobe community expert for RoboHelp, shares his reaction to the RoboHelp 7 sneak peak, and also explains the main features RoboHelp 7 will have: drag-and-drop functionality across the topics, double-byte language support for translation, the ability to have multiple topics open at the same time, snippets with graphics, removal of kadov tags, automatic breadcrumbs, and tighter integration with other Adobe products. Daigle speculates on reasons for Adobe's lack of transparency, and comments on the globalization of Adobe's development for RoboHelp.

Daigle, John and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Documentation>Software>RoboHelp

Location is Everything When it Comes to Getting Information from SMEs

A 20 minute monologue about the best way to get information from SMEs--sit by them, permanently if possible. Many IT organizations station the writer remotely from the developers, programmers, and other SMEs, but nothing could be more damaging to getting the information you need. Increasing your proximity also increases the communication you receive.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>TC>Collaboration>SMEs

Making Help More Human, and Other Discussions

Discusses a number of trends in the technical writing world, particularly the need to make help more human by adopting conversational tones and addressing the angry/frantic state of the user.

Johnson, Tom H. and Heidi Hansen. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Help

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools--Interview with the Authors

I talk with Katherine (Kit) Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny about their latest book, Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools.

Brown, Katherine 'Kit', Brenda Huettner, Char James-Tanny and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Content Management>Podcasts

Mike Brazill on Writing for Developers

Brazill gives tips for writers who document APIs or write other information for developers. He says that because developers are busy and want to get started, you have to write less and provide more examples. Developers are more goal-oriented than task oriented. He also explains the different levels of API writing.

Brazill, Mike and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>Documentation>Podcasts

Mike Hamilton Gives Flare Demo to the STC Suncoast Chapter

Mike Hamilton from Madcap Software visited the Suncoast chapter in Tampa, Florida, and presented on Flare. In this presentation, he talks about the story behind RoboHelp and Macromedia/Adobe (this blew my mind). He also provides a lot of inside detail on Flare.

Hamilton, Mike and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Presentations>Documentation>Software>Madcap Flare