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These terms get thrown around interchangeably but they really have different meanings. Yet we refer to information architecture (IA), content management, and documentation management, often in the …

Source: easyDITA | Information, Content, Documentation- Is There A Difference?

This short but easy-to-read article gives a great description of the differentiation of these tools. I think, sometimes, that technical communicators often somehow know this through osmosis, but when looking for the words to describe the differences to the “outside” world, this article is a good resource.

What do you think? Do you agree with the author’s assessment? Include your comments below.

While walking my dog last night I came upon a mother and her young son standing on the sidewalk. She was holding her smartphone high in front of her, pointing it toward the western sky. As I came n…

Source: Is augmented reality part of technical communication’s future? | Leading Technical Communication

My friend, Larry Kunz, wrote this thoughtful article about the uses of AR, and how they might–or might not–be used in technical communications.  I think he started to see how it might be used, but he didn’t think it all the way through. His main concern, however, was on target for most of us technical communicators–what is an AR app’s value from a business perspective? Is this something customers would pay for?

Larry had his doubts, but I say YES, and it’s already in practice.  In tech comm over the past few years, I think the idea of what content is has definitely broadened from simple words and images to include more multi-media types. I remember being at an Adobe Day event, and I think it was Matt Sullivan (I might be wrong) who showed us how 3-D images could be used in digital documentation in Framemaker, and how that was a big deal–which it is! Video and other animation is also something that’s now embedded into digital documentation as well. So why wouldn’t AR be included in that?

If an engineer is trying to understand how to fix a part, why couldn’t a help “doc” use AR to show where a missing part should be, or to show in a semi-transparent overlay that would align with what machine you are looking at to see how to make a repair?

Right now, there are already marketing apps out there that you can use on your phone to find businesses, like Blippar. It detects where you are located, and as you look through your phone screen around you, it can tell you what businesses are around you. So, say you are in some town, and you want to know if a restaurant is along your walking path downtown. You can hold up your phone, and see that there’s a coffee shop just beyond your sight line, and another cafe.  The technology–and its content–are already out there in AR.

So I think the bigger question is this–how are we, as technical communicators, going to start integrating more of this kind of technology into our content? I will agree that there needs to be a solid basis for it, just like every business does not need a mobile app.  Just like with mobile apps, I think time will tell how far we push this kind of content for our documentation.

What do you think? Include your answers below.

–TechCommGeekMom

What if we regarded code not as a high-stakes, sexy affair, but the equivalent of skilled work at a Chrysler plant?

Source: The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding | WIRED

When I saw the headline of this article, I had to read it. Something that I’ve thought about in recent months is how the economy needs to be turned around, and how a huge swath of the U.S. was decided by blue-collar workers who had difficulty finding work after the Recession of 2008.

Sometimes when I’d watch Star Trek, I’d see the few kids depicted on the show taking physics and basic quantum mechanics classes when they couldn’t have been any more than in the third grade. I can’t do that now. Does that mean that the children of the future are super geniuses? I doubt it. But I imagine that how subjects are taught, and what subjects are taught, will change over time. As the needs of our global economy change, skill sets will change as well.  I’ve often talked about how certain digital apps or abilities have morphed quickly in a few short years, such as being a social media strategist five years ago was more of a communications tool, whereas now social media specialists are now marketing specialists who know how to use social media tools.  Even content strategy has been pushed heavier into marketing, where content marketers are marketers who understand content and content management; they aren’t content managers and strategists who understand marketing. See the difference?

So, this article supports the idea that learning coding is going to be one of those basic, fundamental skills like learning how to spell or read or write a coherent sentence.  I still remember taking my HTML course about 18 years ago. Taking that course has served me very well, even as a non-developer! There have been few positions that I’ve held that didn’t involve some elements of coding or having an understanding of coding in a given project.

So, blue-collar coders? I don’t see why not. The trick will be seeing if bringing basic coding into the American curriculum will happen anytime soon (I doubt it). But I do see the benefits, as outlined in this article.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

I was recently asked by an HR manager if I had a sample of a policy about working from home. My answer was: Do you want something more than “Get your

Source: Scrap Your Work From Home Policy | Pam Ross | Pulse | LinkedIn

I love, love, LOVE this article. This has been my position on working from home and doing remote work all along. I know there will be arguments about “team building” and “It’s easier when I can ask the person right next to me a question, and that can start an instant conversation.” Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before.  But you know what? As the author said, we should be more about results oriented work, not the amount of hours my rear end was sitting in a chair at an office.

I have two arguments that further support those made in this article. First, as technical communicators, most of us–not all, but most–can do our work from home. We might need to be in the office now and then, but writing is a solitary job. Content management is a solitary job. Creating instructional design is a solitary job. Sure, you may have others who provide you with the information or content that drives what you do, but ultimately, it’s all on you. Second, we live in a globalized world, which means in the 21st century, we have conference calls, conferencing software like Skype, WebEx, Adobe Connect, etc. that allows us to share our work with others in real time around the world. We have instant messaging for those quick questions. We can share and work on content together in the cloud or through a CMS.  But there’s very little to hold us tethered to the office every day.

So, this article just backs what I keep saying. Companies need to update their work from home policies, and get with the times. They’ll find that more people will be happier workers, which usually means they’ll be more productive workers if they can work from home more often–or all the time.

What do you think of what this article’s author has to say? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom