TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for January 17, 2014

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

Sometimes it appears that TechWhirl.com has been working out… bulking up.
Especially on weeks such as this, with some terrific columns, and
comprehensive reviews of new tech comm tool releases. If you have an
interest in user assistance, content creation, and delivery for a better
experience, we had some thought-provoking and revelatory articles that you
should take a look at.



Edward Smyda-Homa, aka @uselessassist, has some real, practical guidance
and feedback that applies both to creating good technical content, and to
providing a good customer experience—or not—as he explores why user
frustration is Prettier in
Pink<http://techwhirl.com/useless-assistance-frustration-prettier-pink/>—Barbie
Playhouse pink that is. Think that support for toy assembly is a far cry
from the kind of content you produce? Read Useless Assistance this month
and you’ll probably change your mind.



The community forums/email discussion list always has some interesting
debates, including some commentary on the Users’ Advocate column this month
from Mark Baker. Join in the discussion about whether to Write One
Good Page<http://techwhirl.com/users-advocate-write-one-good-page/>.
I have found few things more educational than a good debate between Mark
and Tom Johnson (I’d Rather Be Writing).  Check it out and join in.



Adobe launched a major release of Technical Communication Suite 5 on
Tuesday, and I found myself in heady company as I joined Matt Sullivan (
mattrsullivan.com), Bernard Aschwanden (PublishingSmarter.com) and Jacquie
Samuels (writingwise.biz) in reviewing the major components of the new
release: RoboHelp 11, FrameMaker 12, and FrameMaker XML Author 12.



As always, if you have ideas for topics we should be covering somewhere on
TechWhirl, or if you’re interested in joining our elite team of Special
Writers, drop me a note <connie -at- inktopia -dot- net>.



Have a great weekend!

-Connie and 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 January 16, 2014 | http://bit.ly/1eMZ4Xn
   - Intelligent Content Conference 2014: Breaking Down Barriers, by Jill
   Viers | http://bit.ly/19x0iWW
   - Users’ Advocate: Write One Good Page, by Mark Baker |
   http://bit.ly/1m2E0zu
   - Adobe Technical Communication Suite 5 First Look Review, by Matt
   Sullivan | http://bit.ly/1gF32AV
   - Adobe FrameMaker 12 First Look Review, by Bernard Aschwanden |
   http://bit.ly/1eFaM6u
   - Adobe RoboHelp 11 First Look Review, by Connie Giordano |
   http://bit.ly/1ePR4mE
   - Adobe FrameMaker XML Author 12 First Look Review, by Jacquie Samuels |
   http://bit.ly/1iLLgNx
   - Useless Assistance: Frustration is Prettier in Pink, by Edward
   Smyda-Homa | http://bit.ly/1j1JWsC

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*: Vancouver Island University <http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

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