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Category Archives: Commentary
Ada Lovelace Day
In honor of Ada Lovelace Day (findingada.com), I’d like to honor a woman who is completely unknown in the publishing and software worlds that I normally inhabit. When I knew her, in the late 1970′s, Rosemary Killam was a professor … Continue reading
The Wiki Dilemma
There was a new review by Tony Chung of Alan Porter’s WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit at TechWhirl this week. The review got me thinking about the use of wikis, and more generally, about why wikis are … Continue reading
Monden-san
An appreciation of one of my favorite managers, who left us too soon. Continue reading
Social Media is not an option
If you think you can ignore social media, if you think it is an option you can take or leave, think again. Sooner or later it will find you. This week, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) proved this in … Continue reading
It’s not the tool, it’s the writer
Every musician has heard the old saw, “it’s not the instrument, it’s the musician.” If you give Pat Metheny your beat-up Strat copy and a practice amp, he’ll still sound like Pat Metheny. The same thing holds true in technical … Continue reading
Does a manager need to be an SOB to survive?
In a recent article on BNET, The Real Reason for Bad Bosses, Jeffrey Pfeffer highlights a common, but little noted, paradox. To be a good manager, you need to be positive, supportive, and warm, but to be perceived as strong, … Continue reading
What STC can learn about certification from the FAA
As the STC develops its certification program for technical communicators, there are lessons that can be learned from the way the FAA certifies pilots. Continue reading
Great idea, but…
Users will change their habits when the pain of their current situation is greater than their perceived pain of adopting a possible solution. –Pip Coburn The Change Function Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good … Continue reading
Thoughts on taking a new documentation management job
On LinkedIn, there has been an ongoing conversation about transitioning to a new job as a documentation manager. The conversation has yielded some excellent suggestions, but I’ve noticed that they were all focused inward, on the team. They include suggestions … Continue reading
From dmr to DITA (DocBook, too)
I was sorry to hear of the passing of Unix and C language pioneer Dennis Ritchie. I only met him a couple of times, but found him to be gracious and humble, despite being one of the smartest people I’ve … Continue reading →