Ellis Pratt wrote this excellent article and primer for writing for chatbots that’s worth the read.
Ellis has pointed out correctly that chatbots and other forms of AI (artificial intelligence) is starting to emerge, and as technical writers, we need to be aware of how to write for these outlets. Having skills in writing manuals and help screens, some of the foundational skills should be easy or somewhat second-nature, but he has several tips in the article on how to frame that thinking for chatbots.
I share this because it’s a reference source that I plan to use if I should get the opportunity to do this kind of writing in the near future. Ellis is very good at what he does, so this resource is a must-read.
Adobe is sponsoring the biggest DITA event ever, and the best things about it are that it’s FREE, it’s VIRTUAL, and the some of the world’s leading technical communicators who are tops when it comes to DITA will be giving keynotes and presentations. How can you pass this up?
Adobe has created some great products that work using DITA practices, especially with FrameMaker, which is one of the biggest industry standard tools to write DITA content. Looking at the line-up of speakers, I know that attendees are going to get some fantastic insights, as I’ve been learning from many of these people myself over the years.
You can register for the event by either choosing the Source link above, or going to www.dita-world.com.
Disclaimer: Adobe is a sponsor of this blog. Even so, I am an equal opportunity blog, and try to allow as many products and viewpoints on here. If I see a great event coming up, I’m going to advertise it, and this one looks particularly good.
Elizabeth Fraley runs Single-Sourcing Solutions in Sunnyvale, Ca. We geek out about the history of structured authoring, how her opinions have changed in 17 years of technical writing, and how many books a year are too many to read. Mentioned in this episode: Single Sourcing social media and public projects TC Camp TC Dojo Liz’s … Continue reading Same mess different tools with Liz Fraley – Content Content episode 19 →
I’m excited about this particular ContentContent podcast. Liz is a friend and mentor of mine. Along with running her company, and TC Camp, she also runs the TC Dojo and a group that I’m in, the TC Conclave. Liz and her business partner, Janice Summers, work with other technical communicators who are consultants and trying to grow their businesses. (In my case, I’ve been trying to get mine up and running.) The members are all at different stages of our business, so we benefit from each other.
Liz is a really smart cookie, and I’m amazed that she can get all this done, plus write books, too! She’s also a fun person, even when talking about tech comm. Take a listen!
Professor McGonagall, I’m not. But, I am an instructor, so that’s a start.
I’m about to start into a new adventure. In a sense, I’m entering the “family business”, as my father implied when I told him the news. It’s certainly going to be a new adventure, for sure.
As of yesterday, I’ve been hired to be an adjunct instructor at my alma mater, the New Jersey Institute of Technology. I’ll be working in the Humanities department, specifically working in the graduate program for the Master of Science in Professional and Technical Communications (MSPTC), which is the program I went through to get my Master’s degree. Ironically enough, I’ll be teaching the course that started TechCommGeekMom, which is the Theory and Practice of Social Media. The official course description reads:
Introduces social media strategies for reading and writing in today’s multi-cultural, screen-oriented, networked culture. Students study relationship between mediated communication and human community and gain hands-on experience with chatting, blogging, tagging, wiki writing, tweeting and social media presentation. Students strategize, plan, design and produce social media projects of their own.
I remember it being an enjoyable class, or at least, I enjoyed it. I’m planning on using the current curriculum as a template, but adding a few extra things to it, like talking about the impact of social media marketing, and how it is impacting current events (that latter part I’ll have to do carefully).
To clarify, I’m not a PhD, nor do I pretend to be one. But this is a great opportunity that NJIT is giving me, with the potential to be teaching more and helping to grow the program. I’m excited, and understandably anxious about this new adventure. But it holds some promise–even as a part-time gig. I’m looking forward to sharing concepts and ideas with my students, and the conversations we’ll have.
But don’t call me professor…I’m an adjunct instructor. Mrs. Villegas or Danielle is fine. 😉
Mindtouch is leaving it to the people this year to vote for the top 100 content experienced strategists for 2017. And I’m on the voting list! Cool! It’s an honor to be included.
If you enjoy the topics that I have brought you over the past years, please vote for me. Also be sure to vote for some of the others on this list! There are a lot of great people included on here!
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