Failing to understand

Words of wisdom in the latest newsletter from Internet psychologist Graham Jones: I’ve been an Associate Lecturer and examiner at the OU (Open University) for 12 years now and each year it amazes me how some candidates do brilliantly and other miss the point of the questions entirely. Often it’s nothing to do with ability… Read more »

Workflowy Help by email

Workflowy is a one-list-to-rule-them-all organization tool that takes an unusual approach to providing User Assistance. Like with many other Web applications, the site contains a “how-to” video and a list of keyboard shortcuts. However, it also sends users an email that’s essentially the information you’d expect to find in a user guide or online Help file:… Read more »

New review of “Trends in Technical Communication”

Phil Stokes has written a review of our Trends in Technical Communication ebook in the Autumn 2011 edition of the ISTC’s Communicator magazine: Overall, though, this book does what it promises to do. It provides an overview of trends in technical communication and sets out a vision for the future. If you are wondering what skills… Read more »

Technical authoring tips on Twitter, from Cherryleaf

@cherryleaf_tips is a new Twitter account from Cherryleaf that provides technical writing tips and articles relating to technical communication. When you follow @cherryleaf_tips on Twitter, you’ll see a new tip tweeted at 11am GMT each day, over a period of 31 days. The messages then repeat, starting again from the beginning.

Survey results: Which future trends interest a typical Technical Author?

Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey into trends in technical communication. Below are some graphs illustrating the responses to some of the questions we posed. Which topics do Technical Authors want to know more about? How important is it for you to be aware of the future trends in user assistance and… Read more »