Most people think it’s difficult start a career as a business consultant. I used to think the same in my early 20s when I started in IT. In retrospect, I should have made more efforts to establish myself as a consultant earlier; the benefits certainly outweigh the downsides. As luck would have it, I was [...]
Entries Tagged as 'How To'
12 Steps To Getting Started as a Consultant
February 24th, 2010 · View Comments · Books I Like, Career, Communications, How To, Linkedin
Tags: Chris Brogan·Consultant·Harvard Business Review·Linkedin·management·Management consulting·Richard Branson·strategy·Tips·Tom Peters
Don’t Feed The Trolls!
February 10th, 2010 · View Comments · Communications, Facebook, Google, How To, Linkedin
I have a troll. Do you? Trolls slither over the internet. They start as lurkers, then get brave, creep out and spit things at you. 10 out of 10 trolls feed on attention. Negative or positive – they don’t care. Attention is the oxygen that keeps them going. Here’s the story of how I found my troll and what we may do next?
How To Write Technical Documentation For APIs
February 1st, 2010 · View Comments · Content Management, How To, Linkedin, Procedures, Software Development, Technical Writing, strategy
One of the threads on LinkedIn is how to write technical documentation for APIs. It’s been many years since I’ve documented an API (Java & Oracle) so if you have any thoughts on the best way to do this, then please jump in. An application programming interface (API) is an interface implemented by a software [...]
Tags: API·Application programming interface·Examples·Google Maps·guidelines·Java·Linkedin·Oracle·Programming·Technical documentation
What’s the Best Font for Web Writing?
January 29th, 2010 · View Comments · Communications, How To, Style Guide, Tips, Tools
When I started in tech docs, Times New Roman was THE font for printed manuals. There was no ifs, buts, or maybes about this. Times New Roman. Size 11. Since then other more trendy fonts have come onto the market. Trends in font styles come and go. While fonts in printed publications are one thing, [...]
Top 10 Benefits of Visio 2010 Beta
January 27th, 2010 · View Comments · Business Process, Content Management, How To, Process Design, Reviews, Templates, Visio
Visio, the diagramming tool for technical writes, business analysts, and web designers, is now in Beta. Some of the features look promising, especially for those who create complex data-driven visuals and need to share diagrams on the Web in real-time. The advanced diagramming tools of Visio 2010 help you simplify complexity with dynamic, data-driven visuals and new ways to share on the Web in real-time.
Tags: Add new tag·Business Process·Dashboards·diagrams·Document Management·Microsoft Excel·Microsoft SharePoint·Real-time·Ribbon·shapes·SharePoint·template·Workflow
What Andrew Chen Can Teach You About Writing Killer Headlines
January 26th, 2010 · Comments Off · Business Process, Communications, How To, Leadership, Productivity, Social Media, Technical Writing
If you want to see great web copy, read Andrew Chen. I’m going to show you his top 15 posts from last year. What do you see? The headlines are very compelling; smart little nuggets that draw you in. The secret is how he combines several copywriting techniques so well. It looks seamless. And that’s [...]
Tags: Business Models·business writing·Copywriting·fremium·Headings·web 2.0·writing
Al Gore’s Gentle Guide to Killer Presentations
January 25th, 2010 · Comments Off · Books I Like, Communications, How To
Speaking in public is the last thing most of us want do. So I was surprised to read how AL Gore, an experienced speaker, reached out to Nancy Duarte to improve his public-speaking skills. The next time you have to give a presentation, remember the following.
Tags: Add new tag·Al Gore·Guy Kawasaki·Leadership·PowerPoint·Presentations·Public-speaking·strategy
Using Google Wave to Write Technical Documents
January 22nd, 2010 · View Comments · Communications, How To, Productivity, Reviews, Tools
Maeve asks on LinkedIn how we can use Google Wave to write technical documents. Well, the first consideration is that Google Wave is not designed as a tech authoring tool but for collaboration and ‘almost’ real-time information exchange. Saying that, it does offer many benefits if you need to plan/coordinate/review documents in a networked environment. Here are some ideas.
Tags: Business case·Documentation Plan·Google Wave·Producitivty·Project Plan·Release Notes·Schedules·Wave
7 Ideas to Inspire Your Business & Laser Focus Your Blog
January 21st, 2010 · Comments Off · Career, Communications, How To, Productivity
Denise Wakeman asks, “How am I going to come up with fresh content for my blog three times a week?” She lists some excellent ideas designed to help save you time and stimulate some new ideas. Here are some others you might want to consider.
Tags: blog·Business·Chris Brogan·Google Alert·HootSuite·Ideas
Getting Things Done: How I Set Priorities
January 20th, 2010 · View Comments · Business Process, How To, Productivity
Ross Kimbarovsky asks: “How do you decide what to do next? Should you write a blog post? Answer emails in your inbox? Make several sales calls? Spend time on Twitter? Or should you call a team meeting to discuss a customer problem?
Tags: Add new tag·Decision making·Getting Things Done·Productivity·Project management·Time Management·Vimeo
How To Differentiate Yourself As A Technical Writer
January 18th, 2010 · View Comments · Books I Like, Career, How To, Productivity, Snagit, Social Media
Tom Peters says, “the value of services will continue to fall” and that the only way to survive is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Is this true? How do you as a technical writer make yourself stand out from the crowd? If you don’t, what impact could this have on your career?
Tags: Add new tag·Camtasia·Career·Debbie Weil·India·Linkedin·screencast·technical writer·Tom Peters·Video
How Technical Writers Can Move Further Up The Food Chain
January 15th, 2010 · Comments Off · Career, Content Management, How To, Linkedin
Do you feel loved? Many technical writers feel unloved. They feel they don’t get the respect they deserve. I hear this on LinkedIn and Facebook: “people don’t respect the work I do.” Well, if that’s the case, here are a few ways to get more respect and move into a more rewarding career.
Tags: Add new tag·Career·China·Facebook·Linkedin·Respect·strategy·technical writer
Which makes a Better Technical Writer – Writers with Language or Technical Skills?
January 14th, 2010 · View Comments · Career, How To, Jobs, Linkedin
Which of these would you hire to join your Technical Writing Dept? Someone with great writing skills but little technical knowledge or, for example, a Computer Science graduate with deep technical knowledge but average writing skills? We’ve been talking about this on LinkedIn and here are some thoughts.
How Many Hours Per Week Do Technical Writers Actually Spend Writing?
January 11th, 2010 · Comments Off · Career, How To, Productivity, Tips
How much time do you spend writing every week? Remember, you have 37.5 hours (I know!) for technical writing every week, but how much is actually spent writing? When I say writing I actually mean developing content, so this includes illustrations, diagrams, publishing etc – whatever goes into the final deliverable.
Tags: Add new tag·deliverable·developing content·diagrams·illustrations·Linkedin·Publishing·Technical Writing
How Advertising in User Guides Could Work
January 10th, 2010 · View Comments · Communications, How To, strategy, user guides
Putting advertising in user guides may seem rather flaky at first, but it could work. Here’s why. Life is full of taboos. Things you should and shouldn’t do. One of my ‘pet projects’ is to connect the lines between Sales and Technical Documentation. To me, they both serve the same purpose. Serve the customer. While they both start at different points, the end goal is the same. Unfortunately, these two departments rarely work together. Let’s take a look at how we can fix this.
