Lightweight DITA: I’ve seen the light
If you’ve taken one of my DITA classes, you’ve heard me extol the power of DITA. One aspect of that power is semantic tagging. In DITA, a piece of content isn’t boldface or italics. It’s a command...
View ArticleAt the 2018 STC Summit
I’m writing live this week from the STC Summit. Are you here too? If so, are you finding the experience worthwhile? Take a moment to answer the following question. Then use the Comments section to tell...
View ArticleThe linchpin of inspiration
Author and storyteller Carla Johnson, in her keynote speech at this week’s STC Summit, described how inspiration comes, not as a bolt from the blue, but from observing other people’s creative work. She...
View ArticleCarrying the earth on our shoulders
At last week’s STC Summit, I attended a couple of presentations that probed the same question. It’s an old question, but it’s still a thorny one. How can we integrate content into a unified...
View ArticleEmbodying the modern elder
Ageism. It’s a subject I’ve tended to hold at arm’s length, for two reasons. First, although I know ageism is a genuine problem in today’s workplace, it fortunately has never affected me directly....
View ArticleOur “Life in Docs”: building and sustaining a community
David Ryan, cofounder of a company called Corilla, has garnered responses from 333 technical communicators for a “Life in Docs 2018” survey. The respondents answered questions about how we do our work...
View ArticleA good teammate: Leading from within
With the Chicago Cubs in 2016, backup catcher David Ross played in only 75 games (out of 179). Yet, when the Cubs won the World Series, the other players carried him off the field on their shoulders....
View ArticleFinding the organization’s voice
It was simpler back in the day. If you were a kid growing up near New York City, your favorite music came with a voice. In the afternoon, after school got out, the voice belonged to the wisecracking...
View ArticleArchitecting value
A month ago, I got a new job title: Information Architect. I maintain my company’s content infrastructure, training and supporting a writing team that has, through mergers and acquisitions, tripled in...
View ArticleOur identity and our future as technical communicators
I like to say, at the beginning of every new year, welcome to the future. 2019, a brand new space with freshly waxed floors and newly painted walls, awaits our arrival. As we enter in, let’s look...
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