Let's Tech Communicate

October 2016

This month we traverse the world for advice that works from governments that don’t. We roll the dice and apply Snakes and Ladders logic to content and collaboration. We check out the skills and technologies of fellow TCs in the good old USA. We discover codecs and containers to be far more interesting and comprehensible than first thought. We add animated GIFs to our social media. For the grand finale, we tame the beast – yes, Microsoft Word, cowering, compliant, and contained.

Writers UA Skills and Technology Survey

There is an organisation in the USA called Writers UA. Strangely enough, dear Reader, my mild functional dyslexia meant that for many years I considered this organisation to be for technical communicators in the USA. Actually, it is for Writers of User Assistance. Anyway, they have an annual Skills and Technologies Survey. The results of the latest survey are available here. Please note that videos are now used by 62% of technical communicator respondents, up from 56% last year.

Game Theory and Better Content Management and Collaboration

Who would have thought that Snakes and Ladders could be used to brighten up and improve project planning? Not me. Until I read Nolwenn Kerzreho and Joe Gollner here.

Understanding Video File Types: Codecs, Containers, and Outputs

The TechSmith Blog by Kyle Wilson is the most simple and comprehensible description of video file types I have ever read. You can read it here.

WordTips

Despite the best efforts of technical communicators worldwide to find a replacement, Microsoft Word remains a constant (bother). WordTips is a free newsletter delivered once a week to your email inbox with four tips to help you tame the beast. An example of a tip is here. It demonstrates how to add hyphenated words to the dictionary. If you didn’t sign up to this newsletter last time I mentioned it, you need to do so now. You can sign up on the page here (over on the right-hand side).

Quickies for Everyone

Want to post animated GIFs on your social media? Here you go. The UK Government’s Absolutely Fabulous User Testing? Try this. US Government Content Guide is here. The eminently sensible abbreviations and acronym section is here. What is the user experience of content? Glad you asked. Check it out here. Anne Gentle writes on modernising technical communication here.

Wishing you all the best

Grant