Can a Technical Writer change their spots?
The slightly “nerdish” element of our job was brought home to me at the recent Technical Communication UK Conference gala dinner. As we were waiting for our starter, certain members of our table proceeded to edit the menu. Once completed, a bizarre sense of satisfaction and fulfillment came over us. As professionals, we just couldn’t let it pass unaltered and proceeded to scribble all over it. Earlier today I had a similar experience at my local gym.
Are you ahead of the game?
Today’s sad but not unexpected news about Apple’s Steve Jobs has yielded many obituaries. In one he was likened to a famous Canadian Ice Hockey player whose success was built on predicting where the puck was going rather than where it was. Read more 
UX is from Mars, Techcomm is from Venus?
About a year ago my wife and I were looking for a new bathroom shower. We found ourselves looking at one with what I felt was a confusing set of controls. Centre of the conversation revolved around which direction you would turn a dial to achieve a desired aim. We just couldn’t agree and it had nothing to do with men being from Mars and women from Venus. Today I found two more examples of how a bad design can lead to a frustrated user.
TCUK11 Day 3: Student, Super Heros & Farewells
First of all apologies for the delay in getting the report of day 3 of the Technical Communications UK Conference out to the masses. After the Gala Dinner last night and three days of talking, my already croaky voice went down a further octave. I’m now ready to do commercial voice over work if you need a deep gravely tone. Act quick before it recovers! OK. So what happened on day 3?
TCUK11 Day 2: Icons, Trench Warfare & Cake
Rumour has it that a bit of drink was imbibed at the welcome reception last night. I wouldn’t know as I managed to completely miss it. Honest! The thing with these conferences is that there are just so many interesting people that it is very easy to get sidetracked. So it was that three of us found spot to discuss “stuff”. We did wonder where everyone had gone to though! Oh well. Just as well as day two of the Technical Communication UK conference was yet another fun packed adventure.
