Currently, two main things bother me with my approach to help, and I’m looking for a way to solve these problems.

Problem 1: I Can’t Update Help on the Fly

Like the application code that I document, my materials are checked by the testing team. I don’t have any problem at all with that; in fact, I think it’s a benefit to my deliverables. Some sharp-eyed testers have caught errors, and because they’re also testing the system, they can verify that my descriptions of the system are accurate.

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Got back from Arizona, and what happens? A cold hits, and when I get sick, motivation gets lost along with my ability to breathe. So after being missing in action last week, I had to catch up on RSS feeds again. So here’s a sampler of some good stuff I came across.

Protecting Your Copyrighted Content

Lorelle on WordPress has a post on what to do when your Web content is stolen. Through WordPress tracking pingbacks, I’ve noticed that a few of my posts have been referenced on a hodgepodge site that, while linking back to my site, claims that some person with an inconspicuous handle wrote the post. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to put forth the effort to kick up a ruckus about it. (Note that Lorelle’s post is a couple of years old but ever relevant. I came across it because it was linked to in a Blog Herald post.)

Close, But No Cigar

From the helpstuff blog, a reminder to think about how the little decisions you make in your documentation may cause confusion for the reader. One point of confusion can ruin what would otherwise be a perfect set of instructions.

Wookiees and Technical Writing?

Craig’s HelpScribe post about why Wookiees (from the Star Wars films) would make terrible technical writers was a wacky enough look at our profession that it demanded a read. Aside from the post itself, I think this is a great example of taking a unique look at the profession. (Though if you’re thinking about tech writing while watching Star Wars, you probably need an extended vacation…)

Green Documentation

No, I’m not talking about the color scheme of your help system or quick-start guide. Scott at Communications from DMN talked about trying to use as little paper as possible in your tech comm work. I think printed materials are especially appropriate when a product has absolutely nothing to do with a computer. If I’m putting together a desk, I don’t want a URL for instructions. First, it’s easy to move a booklet or fold-out sheet around if I have to move around, and second, I’m putting the desk together so I have somewhere to set up my computer, so it’s not hooked up yet! It’s going overboard to put everything online and assume that everyone has Internet access. In some cases, the portability and ease of use of printed instructions wins.

That’s it for today. What should I be motivated to do next?

Go to I’d Rather Be Writing to see a guest post about Michael Banks’ Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World’s Top Bloggers. Hope you enjoy.

When I told my brother that I was starting a blog and writing the first post, he asked, “What next?”

“The second post,” I answered.

Deciding whether to start a blog was, for me, similar to wandering through a bookstore while thinking about writing a book. There are so many blogs out there of every conceivable ilk that starting a new one is like letting fall a drop of water into the ocean. What possible difference could my drop make? Why would anyone read what I have to say when there are so many choices?

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A colleague of mine, Tom Johnson, has convinced me of the virtues of blogging, so you have him to thank for this latest expansion to the vastness of the blogosphere. It has been one of those things that I couldn’t put out of my head once he started suggesting it to me.

I asked, “What do I blog about?” The fact that my wife and I just sold our horse, or that our black Lab hops like a rabbit when we bring the food or the leash? You see that kind of thing out there all the time.

A blogger’s subject should be what he or she is passionate about, my friend says.  I can’t say I’m passionate about the horse or the dog. The answer’s pretty easy. I’m passionate about writing.

But a blog about writing? Isn’t that something akin to using a word to define itself? Or running your sprinklers while it’s raining? It smacks of redundancy.

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