TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for June 20, 2014

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

You may be able to tell that weâre pretty excited about our new
projectâthe Customer
Experience Recognition Awards (CERA) <http://awards.techwhirl.com/>.
Between the company blog
<http://company.techwhirl.com/2014/06/customer-experience-recognition-awards-ceras/>,
the news release
<http://techwhirl.com/customer-experience-recognition-awards-dinner-debuts-information-development-world/>,
and the invitation to the email discussion list
<http://www.techwr-l.com/archives/1406/techwhirl-1406-00076.html#.U6RSivldXIM>,
weâve been working hard to get the word out. CERA 2014 seems to us to be a
great intersection between all the disciplines that we cover, because the
awards recognize the role content plays in customer experience.  Thatâs
technical content, support content, and the product and marketing content
essential to the purchase and use of products or services in a media-rich
world. Whether you camp out in the technical writing world, or hike around
between the knowledge base, the marketing campaigns and the user
communities, your content contributions matter, and we want to recognize
your work.



Anyone who knows me, knows that I love making connections between things
that are important to meâno matter how tenuous.  While we launched the
awards program this week, an interesting discussion thread appeared on the
email list. Kevin McLaughlinâs âWhatâs Not Mandated Is Forbiddenâ thread
<http://www.techwr-l.com/archives/1406/techwhirl-1406-00079.html#.U6RSs_ldXIM>
sparked some debate on whether useful, but not necessarily essential,
information should be included in technical docs. Replies so far have
included some mentions on how such information is more marketing oriented,
and therefore shouldnât be included.  Such distinctions become less clear
every day, as companies recognize the importance of the whole customer
experience. Feel free to add to the discussionâall points of view are
welcome and relevant.



In the meantime, take a look at our articles on DITA and resume building,
and check out whatâs hot across the web in the worlds of tech comm, content
strategy, and customer experience. And donât forget to vote in the current
poll, and add your two cents on tech comm as craft or commodity
<http://techwhirl.com/tech-comm-craft-commodity-poll/>.



I used to say âitâs all Marketingâ when talking about tech comm and its
role in the business. Now I think I must evolve to âItâs all Customer
Experience Management.â Itâs long but it kinda has a ring to itâ



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 June 19, 2014 | http://bit.ly/1pMb0Qj
   - The Help Files: Resume Special, by Craig Cardimon |
   http://bit.ly/1nfNDZ1
   - What Does DITA Look Like?, by Jacquie Samuels | http://bit.ly/1ydrK5h
   - Tech Comm as Craft or Commodity (poll) | http://bit.ly/1ocUQ01

*Technical Communication news on **http://TechWhirl.com/news*
<http://techwhirl.com/news>*:*


   - Customer Experience Recognition Awards & Dinner Debuts at Information
   Development World | http://bit.ly/1n3ZwBl
   - SandSIV Publishes Customer Experience Management Framework |
   http://bit.ly/1pQgFF8
   - SDL Language Cloud Breaks Down Barriers to Effective Global
   Communication | http://ow.ly/2Iyo1h
   - Welocalize Acquires CD Language Solutions | http://ow.ly/2IxT4z

Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

   - Our Google Plus Page â whatâs happening behind the scenes |
   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
   - Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click |
   http://goo.gl/tDrW7
   - Want all this TechWhirl goodness a few characters @ a time |
   http://goo.gl/itjDg
   - Updates from TechWhirl delivered to your email in box |
   http://bit.ly/tjshxU
   - Or, try our RSS feed (great on Flipboard) | http://goo.gl/msLzu

Sponsored Posts

   - Adobe Systems: High Octane Documents: Don Dayâs DITA model webinar
   review
   <http://blogs.adobe.com/techcomm/2014/06/high-octane-documents-june-12-dita-model-webinar.html>
   - EasyDITA: 4 tests to prevent âvendor lock-inâ for DITA CCMS, XML CMS
   or other documentation tools
   <http://easydita.com/4-tests-to-prevent-vendor-lock-in-for-dita-ccms-xml-cms-or-other-documentation-tools/>
   - MadCap: How to Embed a Vimeo Video into Your MadCap Flare Topic
   <http://www.madcapsoftware.com/blog/2014/06/03/how-to-embed-a-vimeo-video-into-your-madcap-flare-topic/>
   - Scriptorium: From soccer balls to content strategy: the kick of change
   resistance
   <http://www.scriptorium.com/2014/06/from-soccer-balls-to-content-strategy-the-kick-of-change-resistance/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-soccer-balls-to-content-strategy-the-kick-of-change-resistance>

SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special âthank youâ 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*: easyDITA <http://easydita.com/>


-- 

TechWhirl.com

*Helping the world explore the art of content and communications*
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Twitter:         @TechWriterToday
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Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp enhancements, and more. Read all about it.

Learn more: http://bit.ly/NNcWqS

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