#techcomm

Another day in the life of a documentarian. #writethedocs #techcomm

Since I joined Mastodon in 2022, I haven't taken the time to write an #introduction. With #HelloQuitX and the current shitshow, now is probably a good time !

I'm a linguist & painter who found a calling working on digital information architecture. With age, I'm turning into an ecofeminist witch.

I've been practicing #yoga & #meditation for 20 years, trained as a teacher but I'm weary of new-age bullshit being a cover for capitalism investing our bodies. So I teach #TechComm instead.

1/2

Highlights of the work day:

- Reviewed a big PR with significant content updates + a new guide that should clarify an important concept and help users establish some best practices when using the products

- Great Q&A session with the product manager as part of the kickoff meeting for a new docs project

- Spent some time troubleshooting the GH Action from yesterday; still reconsidering the current approach

#MyMicroBlog #TechnicalWriting #techcomm #documentation

Highlights of the work day:

- Worked on automating the process of creating release notes with GitHub Actions

- Updated the plan and prepared action items for a new documentation project

- Reviewed updates to an OpenAPI document. Figuring out the best approach for using a schema as a base, extensible model

#MyMicroBlog #TechnicalWriting #techcomm #documentation

"Similar to Wood’s conviction that AI’s transformative potential doesn’t come from simple tasks like writing emails, tech writers will likely find conviction when they go beyond fixing simple grammar errors to using AI for developing conceptual articles, generating release notes, or understanding connections across disparate API products.

One of my colleagues compared using AI like learning to play an instrument—it’s one thing to have an intellectual understanding about the instrument and notes, but knowing how to play an instrument well is entirely different. It takes practice, experimentation, learning, diligence, and time. Maybe too many tech writers feel that AI should provide a push-button solution to creating documentation effortlessly (a misguided perception based on too much AI hype). When pushing that button doesn’t magically produce great docs, perhaps they become cynical and dismissive?"

https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/trends-predictions-2025-tech-comm

#AI #GenerativeAI #TechnicalWriting #TechnicalCommunication #APIs #APIDocumentation #PromptEngineering #TechComm

Only a couple of weeks left to get your documentation related talk proposal in for the next Write the Docs conference, held May 4-6 Portland.

https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/portland/2025/cfp/

#writethedocs #techcomm #documentation #cfp

This is your reminder that we're just over two weeks out from the talk proposal deadline for Write the Docs Atlantic, an online conference about documentation.

All the details are here https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/atlantic/2024/cfp/

#techcomm #writethedocs #documentation #cfp #conference

Retweets appreciated.

It seems that Microsoft is forcing Copilot onto users of Microsoft Word. If you subscribe to the paid version of Copilot, you'll start seeing it pop up in Word, whether you want it or not.

https://coredump3.blogspot.com/2024/01/microsoft-is-forcing-copilot-onto-word.html

#MicrosoftWord #Copilot #AI #Techcomm

I had a recipe that I wanted to share with the family, but the original was a scanned PDF of a rather smudgy page that I didn't want to share. I was able to convert it text and edit it in Word, then save it as a much cleaner and smaller PDF.

Details are too long to post here so I put them on my blog.

https://coredump3.blogspot.com/2024/01/converting-image-of-text-into-editable.html

You could probably do this directly in Acrobat Pro or other tools but these are what I had on hand.

#TechComm #MicrosoftWord #PDF

Recordings are up from #WriteTheDocs AU! My blog post has the links, including my talk about "Understanding AI and helping it understand you": https://ffeathers.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/write-the-docs-australia-2023-session-recordings-now-available/ #AI #WriteTheDocs #TechComm

Nice short book about tech writing by @capjamesg https://jamesg.blog/2024/01/03/software-technical-writing/ #TechComm #WriteTheDocs

#Introduction

I'm Paul Goble in Nebraska & Colorado, USA.

#NotMe: Childrens author, Eurasian expert

Values: #LoveGod #LovePeople #truthmatters #CovidIsNotOver

Work: Technical writer #techcomm #scicomm #icpms #spectroscopy #uxdesign #apidoc #instrumentation

Interests: #physics #linguistics #risks #lighting #VisualArts  #nature #ChristianFiction #libraries #meteorology

Play: #violin #recorder

Orgs: #ieee-pcs #acm #sigdoc #stc

Pronouns: Talk to me, not about me.

Mastodon accounts:
@pgcommunication@vis.social for visual and technical communication.
@pgcommunication for everything else.

#Techcomm peeps: what are your predictions for the future of technical communication in 2024 and beyond?

Hey folks, brand new Call for Proposals for docs related talks for WTD Portland, next April, in person. You know what to do! #writethedocs #techcomm

https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/portland/2024/news/announcing-cfp/

The arrival of #AI affects #TechComm as much as any other content field.@sarahokeefe is seeing three immediate impacts on her work: tech docs workflows: #GenerativeAI, and content-delivery implications.

https://contentandai.com/sarah-okeefe/

"Consistency is a tool, not a rule"

\\The tyranny of consistency

https://uxdesign.cc/the-tyranny-of-consistency-b1615222e656

(Robert Stibley via UX Collective)

#ux #design #techcomm

Video No 7 in our #GenerativeAI in #techcomm series: Onboarding in software using generative AI.
It could be used to create a more personalised, efficient, and engaging onboarding.
https://youtu.be/-wlhvGVt4kE

New webinar: Using ChatGPT and #GenerativeAI in #TechComm
9 November 16:00 GMT.
To register: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/9273/597514

Video No 6 in our #GenerativeAI in #techcomm series: Customising ChatGPT to focus on technical writing tasks. https://youtu.be/BWYQsKfqtAo?si=N8X7oxAR-mISDyJ7

I’m inspired by what @RellyAB just shared with us at #TCUK23 - about cultivating stubborn hope as #techwriters or #uxwriters. Her gardening analogies work for me, especially about the ownership, where I see some saying “it’s not mine, mate”. Even owning “an inch” can empower us writers! #techwriting #techcomm #techcomms