ITauthor

Here's what I've been saying elsewhere.

My last 10 posts on Writer River

Syndicated from Writer River: Tech Comm Social News.

• The Writer’s Rough Guide to Everything Flare

  A useful tip for Madcap Flare users:

  Why you should not use the ‘print’ medium for printed manuals and other printed deliverables

• Gryphon Mountain Journals » Quick Reference Guide Presentation

  Quick Reference Guides – Short and Sweet Technical Documentation

• Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com

  Happy Birthday, Strunk and White!

  Elements of Style gets another rough ride.

• A Tech Writer’s World

  The Matter of Dark Text

  Dark text refers to the many layers of hidden meaning in any text segment. It ranges from the implied meaning that the author intended, or that the reader infers, to much deeper, more hidden meanings.

  Some nice examples in this post by Andrew Brooke.

• mike’s web log

  Spotted by Mike Pope.
  More instructions we probably didn’t need:
  

  

• MadCap Softwear – from Flare to Flair

  BREAKING NEWS: MadCap Software To Become MadCap Softwear

  Michael Hamilton, MadCap vice president, product management, said “From day one, Flare has been very competitive in the HAT world. There’s no reason to think we won’t do extremely well when it comes to actual hats.”

  (Thanks to Graham Campbell for spotting this great news story!)

• Tech Writer Voices: Managing Writers

  Managing Writers: Interview with Richard Hamilton (podcast)

  Tom Johnson and Richard Hamilton talk about issues that documentation managers commonly encounter. The tone and pace of this podcast makes it less like an interview and more like you’re just listening in on a really interesting conversation.

  I’d already ordered my copy of Richard’s book before listening to this podcast and, having heard the podcast, I’m now hoping the book will arrive soon.

• Kungfuwit: Autotarbat for Flare

  Lessons from shifting perspectives: Technical Writing to Code Development of a simple utility for Flare and Blaze.

• Amy Hoy – How Tech Writing Sucks

  How Tech Writing Sucks: The Five Sins

  1. Losing the reader
  2. Making the reader feel stupid
  3. Failing to stick
  4. Being a total bore
  5. Not providing much-needed context

  Amy Hoy’s witty article provides a useful boot up the backside for any of us who might have been getting a little complacent.

• Getting a Technical Writing Job

  Getting a Technical Writing Job, Even If You Have No Experience

  by Lyndsey Amott

My last 20 tweets

Syndicated from www.twitter.com/itauthor.

1. itauthor: Just heard "How Soon Is Now?" on 6 Music. What a great song that is. Still works after all these years.
   Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:01:06 +0000
2. itauthor: I just blogged: "My home podcasting studio" - http://tinyurl.com/yhkse3w. Yeh, okay, I know: I'm just showing off my new mic. But I love it!
   Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:21:41 +0000
3. itauthor: So that's what happened to Craig Ferguson: he became famous in America. http://bit.ly/vFbCi - not your average standup routine!
   Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:55:30 +0000
4. itauthor: CR Smith in & out of the house in 25 minutes! That must be some sort of record for a double glazing sales call.
   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:40:00 +0000
5. itauthor: The #Banksy film ("Exit Through the Gift Shop") is worth seeing if you get the chance. Leaves you wondering how much of it's true though.
   Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:50:28 +0000
6. itauthor: Save #BBC #6Music - it's quality radio like this that I pay my licence for
   Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:47:21 +0000
7. itauthor: "An Education" - even better 2nd time round.
   Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:21:35 +0000
8. itauthor: Just discovered #Adobe #Acrobat 9 has almost no online help! I'm working on a small screen & trying to hide the "review has ended" message.
   Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:04:55 +0000
9. itauthor: 6 days without tea or coffee: 5 weeks to go. Herbal tea is fine, but it's just not the same. Get thee behind me Satan!
   Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:18:17 +0000
10. itauthor: My new microphone makes it very clear just how LOUD my laptop is. About time someone invented a cold processor that didn't need a fan.
    Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:24:10 +0000
11. itauthor: Isn't it annoying (and REALLY old fashioned) how some sites still require you to log in just to see their product demos?!! :-(
    Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:50:25 +0000
12. itauthor: RT @rjacquez: "PDF-based Reviews via FrameMaker, Acrobat Pro and Acrobat.com" http://bit.ly/4qOYV0 - but you need to log in to view :-(
    Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:29:11 +0000
13. itauthor: Just discovered my podcast has an iTunes Preview page: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/id305716661
    Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:09:37 +0000
14. itauthor: Having a dog is great for getting you outside getting some exercise, but also great for stopping you getting stuff done.
    Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:55:57 +0000
15. itauthor: @tomjohnson I'll tell you how I get on with the mic when it arrives. ETD: 10 days. Thanks for link. I'm still trying to find a good setup!
    Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:25:33 +0000
16. itauthor: Richard Hamilton makes a good point about giving tech writers objectives, rather than telling them what to do http://bit.ly/diRaPU #techcomm
    Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:18:45 +0000
17. itauthor: Don't you love twitter-savvy companies! DV247.com @dveastlondon just let me know my mic should be with me on the 19th. Yayy! thanks guys
    Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:53:18 +0000
18. itauthor: When DV247.com says "usually shipped in 3-12 working days" it means: "out of stock". They can't tell me when my mic will be back in stock.
    Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:06:19 +0000
19. itauthor: @tomjohnson New mic: Rode Procaster with a shock mount and anglepoise arm. Was thinking of getting a PR-40 but that's *so* Leo Laporte :-)
    Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:20:40 +0000
20. itauthor: I just blogged: "TweetDeck creator describes the benefits of Adobe AIR" - http://tinyurl.com/yl8l9dx
    Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:40:06 +0000