Technical Writing Success

Welcome to episode 135 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a new article by senior technical writer Curt Robbins entitled "AI: Not Taking Over the World Anytime Soon."Hosts Daphne and Fred unpack the Robbins article and describe an episode where he became frustrated with the AI image generator Ideogram, which repeatedly misspelled the brand name "Midjourney" (even after repeated prompting). Robbins argues that artificial intelligence is currently limited and serves only as a supplement or assistant. He suggests that those who claim AI is on the verge of world domination should be dismissed, emphasizing that the technology still has significant shortcomings, such as spelling errors and Gemini's inability to produce a correct aspect ratio. _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original article: "AI: Not Taking Over the World Anytime Soon": https://tinyurl.com/ye29v3yc>> Read the Robbins article "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 134 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a presentation by technical writer Jodi Zolli entitled "Balancing the Equation: Doing More than Documentation." Zolli is a content developer and project manager from Boston. Hosts Daphne and Fred unpack Zolli's informative presentation, covering QA testing, project management, and training (among other topics). The presentation recommends that technical writers expand their roles beyond traditional documentation to increase their organizational value. The material emphasizes that technical writers possess skills crucial for improving usability and user experience, assisting with process definition, creating visual content, and supporting functions like quality assurance testing, and project management. The presentation aims to shift the perception of technical writers from being solely dependent on engineers to being proactive, versatile contributors (sometimes humorously referred to as the "Swiss Army knife of technical writers"). _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original presentation "Balancing the Equation: Doing More than Documentation": https://tinyurl.com/ycxmf4fd>> Read the Robbins article "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 133 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a new article from Robbins that explores the topic of perfection in documentation and technical writing. Hosts Daphne and Fred unpack the article, analyzing how a quest for perfection in enterprise documentation and communications may cost too much time, money, and energy. Robbins supports his point by discussing the evolution of modern communication and the acceptance of previously contested grammatical rules, like ending sentences with prepositions, as well as his experience using the AI image generator Ideogram, which forced him to prioritize efficiency over absolute perfection. Ultimately, the article advocates for clear, accurate messaging that elicits action over adherence to rigid, potentially inefficient standards, emphasizing that the target audience often does not care about minute perfection._________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original article "Don't Allow Perfect to Be the Enemy of the Good": https://tinyurl.com/3p3ken2s>> Read the Robbins article "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 132 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode provides a list of 10 inspiring technical writers, editors, and documentation specialists from around the world. If you're a tech writer or documentation person, each is worthy of following. The article includes brief profiles of ten active technical writers from different countries, highlighting their specialties, contributions to the technical writing community, and professional experience shared on platforms such as LinkedIn._________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original article "10 Inspiring Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/2uvvf39b>> Read the Robbins article "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 131 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode provides a personal message and update from this show's producer, senior technical writer Curt Robbins. He describes how he has rebooted both this podcast and his other podcast, AI for Technical Writers, as weekly shows. He also explains how he has rebooted his LinkedIn newsletter, Tech Writing Success, making it shorter and easier to consume. In addition, Robbins explains some of the feedback he has been receiving from followers, including how one reader criticized his January article "10 Famous Technical Writers" for not including, well, himself. Another case was how some followers took offense to the Robbins article about how he resigned from a tech writing project involving a Chinese-owned end client and how he refuses to support communist regimes that oppose the United States and capitalism. _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the Robbins article "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 130 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a new article this show's producer, senior technical writer Curt Robbins. In this piece, Robbins reviews the popular documentation tool Adobe FrameMaker.The Robbins article highlights the software's strengths in structured authoring, handling complex documents, and multi-channel publishing. These characteristics make FrameMaker ideal for large enterprises in regulated industries. In addition, the Robbins review addresses the cons of FrameMaker, including a steep learning curve, high cost, and limited real-time collaboration features. Ultimately, the article helps readers determine if FrameMaker is a suitable choice based on their specific needs as a large organization, small business, or individual consultant.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Robbins, going even deeper into the pros and cons of this pinnacle documentation application that is so popular with enterprise organizations. _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Tool Review: Adobe FrameMaker" article by Robbins: https://tinyurl.com/5dj3b8tp>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 129 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a new article this show's producer, senior technical writer Curt Robbins. In this piece, he explains why disgraced actor Will Smith's recent comeback attempt is backfiring due to his use of AI to make his audiences appear larger than they truly are.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Robbins. The IT professional argues that Smith's actions demonstrate a poor understanding of AI ethics, which ultimately led to a further decline in his public trust and reputation. The article serves as a cautionary tale for all professionals, including technical writers, to carefully consider the ethical implications and potential negative consequences of employing AI in their work, emphasizing the paramount importance of maintaining audience trust. _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Will Smith: How Not to Use AI" article by Robbins: https://tinyurl.com/2v24nfwk>> Read the Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 128 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s bonus episode reviews a new article this show's producer, senior technical writer Curt Robbins. In what he calls his most controversial article to date, he explains why he resigned from a project involving a Chinese end client. Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Robbins that explores the nuanced complexities of living up to one's core values and respecting one's conscience in the realm of their career._________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Technical Writers: Respect Your Core Values" article by Robbins: https://tinyurl.com/34s2bw3d>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 127 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a new article about the powerful Component Content Management System (CCMS) tool called Author-it. The article highlights the core functionalities of Author-it, including component-based authoring, single-sourcing, and content reuse, all of which are crucial for managing large volumes of enterprise documentation. It further examines Author-it's strengths in collaboration and multi-channel publishing, including its ability to efficiently handle localization. While acknowledging benefits, the review also discusses potential drawbacks such as the learning curve, initial setup complexity, and its significant financial investment. Author-it is a powerful solution for medium to large organizations seeking to enhance documentation efficiency and consistency.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Robbins that explores the pros and cons of Author-it._________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Tool Review: Author-it" article by Robbins: https://tinyurl.com/3t2tsbny>> Ohio's Best Wildlife Videos YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/2bdbm444>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 126 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews an article from programmer and lead API documentation writer Robert Delwood that was published on Medium.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Delwood that explores his insights into API documentation and, in this case, the important differences between null and empty in software code. _________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Thinking Like a Programmer: Understanding Null" article by Robert Delwood: https://tinyurl.com/y6pdrh9b>> Ohio's Best Wildlife Videos YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/2bdbm444>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 125 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews an article from senior technical editor Tanja Lorber in Germany that was published on LinkedIn.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this informative article from Lorber that explores her belief that, for technical writers, a lack of feedback, or "crickets," often indicates successful documentation. They explore how this silence signifies that users are finding what they need and completing tasks without issues, in contrast to the immediate complaints that arise from poor documentation. Lorber suggests that technical writers should view this absence of negative feedback as a positive sign, representing "quiet wins." The article defines what constitutes positive feedback for content creators in a technical field._________________________I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original "Why Hearing Crickets as a Technical Writer Can Be a Good Thing" article by Tanja Lorber: https://tinyurl.com/4c87mjrr>> Ohio's Best Wildlife Videos YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/2bdbm444>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 124 (bonus) of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a article from Curt Robbins that he published on LinkedIn in July that describes how a $100 trail camera helped him overcome the grief of losing his wife to cancer. Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this unique article from Robbins, citing how he brought out his inner nerd with the stunning tech featured in affordable modern trail cams while simultaneously creating his own therapy sessions when he examined the videos he captured. Modern social media allows Robbins to share these amazing videos via social media. Subscribers to his YouTube channel, Ohio's Best Wildlife Videos (link below), get a new video every day. I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original Work-Life Balance: Trail Cam Therapy article: https://tinyurl.com/yess5uby>> Ohio's Best Wildlife Videos YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/2bdbm444>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 123 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from Curt Robbins. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews a video from July 22 that was published on the LiveNOW from FOX YouTube channel entitled "Destroy the Web": Sam Altman on AI Concerns for Economy and Finance." Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this video interview with one of the world's most respected names in artificial intelligence (AI), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Altman discusses the current and future role of AI in society, including the downside of fraud and exploitation. I'm currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> View the original Destroy the Web video interview with OpenAI's Sam Altman: https://tinyurl.com/y67k662v>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 122 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews an article from Politico that was published on July 23 regarding the new AI regulatory structure that has been proposed by the Trump Administration. During a press conference, Trump signed three executive orders intended to boost American AI infrastructure, including an embrace of nuclear power.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this article from Politico regarding how Donald Trump wants to regulate AI at the federal level and do away with state-level AI regs. The hosts also share some criticisms of the Trump plan and industry feedback, exploring where things could go wrong. The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Politico article: https://tinyurl.com/5n8j6v3v>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 121 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode reviews an article from The Old Tech Writer (Steve Arrants) that is entitled "When the Docs Are an Afterthought" and was published on Medium on August 22, 2024.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this educational article from Arrants and his seven signs that you're working in an environment where documentation is an afterthought. These signs include a lack of standards, no collaboration, and no planning or project management. Writes Arrants: " Documentation has changed since I started in the 1980s. From print to online to interactive aids, the delivery has changed, but the need hasn't. Good documentation is critical to make your product successful, no matter how intuitive and friendly the software, hardware, or service is."Working for a company that treats documentation as an integral, crucial part of the product is great. But I’ve also worked at big and small companies that treated documentation as an afterthought. How do you tell you're in that environment? Here are some signs."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Arrants article: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ke5d6>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Join the Technical Writing Success group on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td>> Subscribe to the weekly Tech Writing Success newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yc7dbfy3>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 120 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from professor Ethan Mollick at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania entitled "15 Times to Use AI, and 5 Not To" that was published on December 9, 2024. Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of this educational article from AI expert Mollick and what it teaches technical writers and documentation specialists about the pros and cons of using AI in their work. Writes Mollick: "Knowing when to use AI turns out to be a form of wisdom, not just technical knowledge. Like most wisdom, it's somewhat paradoxical: AI is often most useful where we're already expert enough to spot its mistakes, yet least helpful in the deep work that made us experts in the first place. It works best for tasks we could do ourselves but shouldn't waste time on, yet can actively harm our learning when we use it to skip necessary struggles. And perhaps most importantly, wisdom means knowing that these patterns will keep shifting as AI capabilities evolve, and as more research comes in, requiring us to keep questioning our assumptions about where it helps and where it hinders."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Mollick article: https://tinyurl.com/mvwrj6w8>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 119 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from writer and editor Diana Wolf Torres entitled "When Logic Meets Language: Can OpenAI's Reasoning Engine Make You a Better Writer?" that was published on LinkedIn on February 8.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Torres' educational article and her exploration of the differences between OpenAI's o3-mini and GPT-4 in terms of how they can help writers do their job.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Torres article: https://tinyurl.com/3u6xxy72>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 118 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency. This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article entitled "Visualizing the Turing Machine" from programming visualization guru Sam Rose. The article includes the history of the Turing machine concept and its profound influence on modern computing and everyday life.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Rose's article and thorough exploration of the Turing machine concept (it is a theory, not a physical machine) introduced by mathematician Alan Turing in 1936. They explain what a Turing machine can do, what it can't, and what it means to be "Turing complete."The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Rose article: https://tinyurl.com/mr2hn9tb>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 117 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from Aiver Ilaya entitled "How to Succeed as a Technical Writer in a Collaborative Environment" that was published at Aliso Digital on February 10.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Ilaya's article and his investigation into what works and what doesn't work in the world of collaborative technical writing and documentation. They discuss the best approach for success and some of the tools and services that embrace collaboration and allow technical writing teams to create quality documentation.Topics discussed include the importance of research, the role of clarity, why feedback can contribute to success, and the skills that are most important for technical writers to possess.The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Ilaya article: https://tinyurl.com/4tken589>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn

Welcome to episode 116 of the Technical Writing Success podcast from the Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency.This podcast is targeted at IT professionals, technical writers, and documentation specialists. Subscribe today to never miss a single daily episode!Today’s episode explores an article from information engineer and content strategist Sachin Shenoy entitled "Three Superpowers of Exceptional Technical Writers" that was published on LinkedIn on December 19, 2024.Hosts Daphne and Fred share their spirited unpacking of Shenoy's article and his definition of exceptional technical writing. They discuss the three critical attributes of an exceptional tech writer, including 1) ability to explain, 2) subject matter knowledge, and 3) mastery of the medium (including writing and tools).The Curt Robbins & Associates Technical Writing Agency is currently taking on new clients. We enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact us to learn about our reasonable rates and fast turnaround.>> Read the original Shenoy article: https://tinyurl.com/y9pneyue>> Read the Curt Robbins article "Helping Junior Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/yc82h4j7>> Read the Robbins article "10 Famous Technical Writers": https://tinyurl.com/5ejznknw>> Read the Robbins article "Tech Writers: Embrace Structured Content": https://tinyurl.com/32ysxm3v>> Read the Robbins article "Role of User Experience in Tech Writing": https://tinyurl.com/mrdtenbb>> Subscribe to the AI for Technical Writers podcast: https://tinyurl.com/mppehxtn