Month: July 2017

As companies gear up to hire new talent, and re-examine their benefits, work-from-home (“telecommuting”, “WFH”) falls stage front and center once

Source: Why Work from Home Doesn’t Work? Culture and Cognitive Bias. | Kunal Kerai | Pulse | LinkedIn

I think almost everybody knows I’m a big WFH advocate, because I’ve done it, and done it successfully. I actually work better as WFH employee contractor.  One thing that I think this article misses out on, because once again, the millennials and Gen Z are spoken about most, is Gen X.  We’re at a point where if anyone wants the work-life balance, it’s us! We’re the ones who still have kids in school, but have put in our time as office employees. We still have many years to still work, and yet we’re expected to have the energy and commitments (which are significantly less) than someone half our age.  I definitely feel there’s a cultural and cognitive bias against WFH, and I don’t get it. I really don’t. Some jobs, yes, you need to be there. Scientists, teachers, any kind of laborers, yes. But technical communicators? Not as much.

This is an interesting article that looks at the phenomenon of why, in this age of global digital communication, that we still don’t have more WFH positions or companies that advocate for it.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

 

This summer has been a bit crazy for me already.  I’ve been busy, but not busy, if that makes sense.  Between work-related things and things going on at home, I’ve kept busy. In other words, life is getting in the way, but I manage.

I was wonderfully surprised to receive notification that my proposal was accepted for the TCUK (Technical Communication – UK) Conference hosted by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC).  The conference will be held in Nottingham, UK in late September.  You can check out their conference site for more information.

I’m looking forward to going, as I rarely get to go to conferences outside of the U.S., and enjoy hearing from European perspectives on content and technical communications. Not that it’s all that drastically different from American or Canadian perspectives that I’m used to hearing–at least professionally, but how they come to the similar conclusions can be different since corporate culture can be a little different.  I’m also hoping that I’ll finally meet some of the people that I’ve only known through social media over the years. I see this as a great networking opportunity, too. You can never meet too many technical communicators, especially when you live in an area that have so few! I’m excited to be going to the UK, as I haven’t been there in over twenty years, and it’s one of my most favorite countries.

So, I will be ready and armed with my presentation (and perhaps a spoon), and looking forward to learning some new information, and meeting old and new friends.

Will you be going to TCUK 2017? Let me know in the comments!

Allie Proff discusses emotive analytics, technical storytelling, technology as a tool for good and bad, and a meta podcast moment

Source: Emo analytics with Allie Proff – Content Content episode 17 – Ed Marsh

A new Content Content is out! And I’ve met Allie. She’s really sweet, and quite knowledgeable–and a fellow blogger!  Take a listen!

–TechCommGeekMom

These maps demonstrate how colonization and imperialism shaped cultural identity.

Source: The most popular second language in each country – INSIDER

One of the things that I know is often discussed is the use of languages around the world, and the American preconception that English is the predominant language of the internet because many speak it as a second language.  While the studies continues to change, here’s the latest one to show what the most common second languages are around the world. Fascinating article and images to view! As the subtitle suggests, some of the second languages are not a surprise if you know a country’s former colonial or imperial history. Some just make sense, like Brazil’s second language is Spanish, but that’s mostly because it’s surrounded by countries whose primary language is Spanish.

Take a look and see.  It’s not so neatly organized, as you’d think.

What do you think? Is this another argument for standardized language when writing documentation? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

 

Shelly Davies discusses the death of the formal business voice and the need for conversational content that provides clarity, transparency, and empathy.

Source: The Formal Business Voice is Dead – The Content Wrangler

This is a great guest article from The Content Wrangler.  As the digital age has progressed, the more conversational tone has taken over in order to make communications more user-friendly.  Ms. Davies does a great job talking about the differences between formal business voice and conversational voice in this article.

I would, however, add that I slightly disagree that a formal business tone be abandoned altogether except in highly serious situations.  One of the things that really bothers me in digital communications–or even cold-calls that I receive–is familiar, conversational tones from a stranger. Sometimes, it gets to be TOO informal.  Call me old fashioned, but I think there’s an in-between level whereby you can use a more conversational tone yet keep things sounding (or reading) like a professional. If you sound like a kid trying to hawk goods or get on your good side, that’s a big turn-off for me. If you sound like you mean business without the “fancy” words, then I’ll definitely listen to you or read what you have to say. Finding that middle ground is a little difficult, and it takes practice, but it can be done.  I’d like to think that it’s almost taking a diplomatic tone, if you want to call it that. You speak using words that everyone can understand, but on terms that also been that you are serious and focused on the message at hand.

What do you think about the use of formal business tone versus an informal tone in digital communications, whether it is an email or a webpage? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom