TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for August 24, 2012

[TechWhirl Admin <admin -at- techwhirl -dot- com>]

*This week’s update on technical communication and the TechWhirl community
is supported by Platinum sponsor Madcap & their Ultimate Communications
Suite, MadPak <http://goo.gl/eO3ls> | http://bit.ly/zBI0Uj*



In many places around the US, the new school year is starting or just about
to start, and those with kids are either joyful at the prospect of no
longer hearing “I’m bored,” and other summertime complaints, or frazzled
with all the preparations, from shopping for supplies to confirming school
bus routes.  Back-to-school season often brings a focus on back-to-basics,
which could partially explain the underlying theme of this week’s technical
communication feature articles on Tech Writer Today.



We started out with a piece on taking up marketing writing duties.  Craig
Cardimon provided a positive story about breaking out of technical
communication and into
marketing<http://techwhirl.com/ecosystem/marketing/breaking-out-of-the-technical-communication-mold-and-into-marketing/>(without
ever leaving the tech comm part behind).  Andrea Altenburg asked
the question that faces many technical writers who work on a product for
any length of time—how close is too close to end users to write
effectively<http://techwhirl.com/ecosystem/technical-writing-overview/technical-writers-and-end-users-how-close-is-too-close/>?
And Jacquie Samuels offered up some practical ways to deal with technical
editors<http://techwhirl.com/editing/working-with-a-technical-editor-got-my-edits-back-now-what/>and
get that final draft done.



All three of these features provide good, practical and relevant guidance
for writers at all stages of their technical communication careers.
Writing (technical communications or marketing), editing, and audience
analysis are three core skills for which we can all welcome skills
refreshers and fresh perspectives.  Find some time to pause from the
back-to-school rush and enjoy. As always, we invite you to take a minute to
vote in our weekly technical communication
poll<http://techwhirl.com/business/polls/technical-communication-poll-content-consumption-preferences/>on
technical content consumption preferences,
which we’re holding over for this week.  Then post a comment or head back
over the email discussion
list<http://www.techwr-l.com/about-technical-writing-discussion-groups.html>and
start a new thread.



Make plans to attend the TechWhirl Fast 5 Live Interview with Jack
Molisani<http://bit.ly/TWFast5_LavaCon>of the LavaCon Conference next
Wednesday, August 29 at noon (EST).  We’ll
have a live chat via Google+ Hangouts with this industry leader about
what’s in store for the conference in October, and tips for making the
business case to attend. If you can’t make the live chat, fear not.  We’ll
be recording the event, and posting it to YouTube.



Have a great weekend

-The gang at TechWhirl
In Case You Missed it: This Week @ TechWhirl

*New features and articles on http://TechWhirl.com <http://techwhirl.com/>**
:*


   - Tech Writer This Week for August 23, by Craig Cardimon |
   http://bit.ly/TGYvmi
   - Technical Communication Poll: Content Consumption Preferences |
   http://bit.ly/P2PCQO
   - Working with a Technical Editor: Got My Edits Back. Now What?  by
   Jacquie Samuels | http://bit.ly/Sny0nC
   - Technical Writers and End Users: How Close Is Too Close? by Andrea
   Altenburg | http://bit.ly/Ry7Kb3
   - Breaking out of the Technical Communication Mold and into Marketing,
   by Craig Cardimon | http://bit.ly/QS955S



*Tech Comm News on http://News.TechWhirl.com <http://news.techwhirl.com/>*


   - Alfresco Records Management 2.0 Enhances Enterprise File Capabilities
   | http://bit.ly/O6ES4z
   - STC Board Approves New Community Funding Model for 2013 |
   http://bit.ly/Snrcq0


Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

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SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their
support.



*Platinum*: Adobe Systems
Incorporated<http://www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite/>

*Gold: *ComponentOne Software <http://bit.ly/doc-to-help>,* *Madcap
Software<http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/overview.aspx#whatsnew>
**

*Silver*: Society for Technical Communication (STC)
<http://www.stc.org/>, Vancouver
Island University <http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

-- 


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