308 episodes

Topics and issues for technical writers. Improve your technical communication role. Empower users with better documentation.

I'd Rather Be Writing Podcast Tom Johnson

    • Technology
    • 4.5 • 10 Ratings

Topics and issues for technical writers. Improve your technical communication role. Empower users with better documentation.

    [Podcast] Breaking ground: New API documentation course at UW, with Bob Watson

    [Podcast] Breaking ground: New API documentation course at UW, with Bob Watson

    In this podcast, I chat with Bob Watson about an upcoming API documentation course he'll be teaching at the University of Washington. Bob has extensive experience working as an API technical writer at big tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. The UW reached out to Bob to develop this new course offering. The 14-week evening course will cover fundamentals like understanding developer behaviors, working with various types of APIs, publishing workflows, as well as hands-on practice. A key component is having students create API documentation portfolios they can use to demonstrate their skills.

    • 53 min
    My 2024 technical writing trends and predictions

    My 2024 technical writing trends and predictions

    I've been mulling over whether to write a trends post this year. There's so much uncertainty, it's hard to feel confident about how the tech writing profession will play out. But little trends-related ideas keep surfacing in the back of my mind, so I decided to write out some of my thoughts. Before I jump into this, I want to say that I’m much more agnostic and unsure about directions this year. 2024 could be amazing, it could also be terrible. Or everything could be overblown and remain more or less the same. One thing is for sure: in predictions, AI dominates the scene and discussion.

    • 28 min
    Podcast: Notes and themes from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

    Podcast: Notes and themes from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

    These are some notes and thoughts from reading Robert Pirsig's classic philosophical novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, published in 1974. My reading here focuses more on the technical writing aspects and themes from the book. Some themes include Classic versus Romantic modes of thought, the concept of Quality, our relationship with technology, doing your own maintenance, caring about the work, peace of mind, systems thinking, multiple paths through a problem, troubleshooting, being in-the-scene versus removed, the road trip, effortless action, going with the flow, traveling along the backroads, and presence in the moment. I also include some questions about these themes to prompt discussion (these notes were initially prepared for a book club).

    • 1 hr 3 min
    Webinar recording: Experiments and use cases for AI from a tech writer’s perspective

    Webinar recording: Experiments and use cases for AI from a tech writer’s perspective

    I recently gave a webinar titled 'Experiments and use cases for AI from a tech writer’s perspective' on December 8, 2023. The webinar was sponsored by the STC Washington, DC - Baltimore Chapter. In this presentation, I shared some personal experiences in using AI for different writing-related use cases, explaining what I’ve found helpful. These use cases and takeaways were all experiential, based on my experiments with using AI both in the workplace for documentation-related scenarios and writing on my blog.

    • 1 hr 2 min
    30+ ways I’m using AI in everyday writing life as a technical writer, blogger, and curious human

    30+ ways I’m using AI in everyday writing life as a technical writer, blogger, and curious human

    In this post, I provide over 30 real-life examples of how I'm using AI on a daily basis, not just for technical writing tasks but more broadly in life, including summarizing content, explaining concepts, answering questions, troubleshooting problems, and having engaging conversations for a variety of tasks and scenarios. In my view, AI use cases are ubiquitous, equivalent to the use cases for computers or the Internet in general.

    • 44 min
    Podcast: The evolution of podcasting, with Ed Marsh

    Podcast: The evolution of podcasting, with Ed Marsh

    In this podcast, I talk with Ed Marsh about podcasting. You may have listened to Ed Marsh's Content Content podcast previously. As an experienced podcaster, Ed has a lot of insights and thoughts about podcasting. We discuss what initially drew him to start podcasting, the equipment and logistics involved in podcasting, different formats that engage listeners (from co-hosts to single person podcasts, and more), incorporating AI tools, why podcasters often go on hiatus, the ongoing appeal of podcasting, and more.

    • 57 min

Customer Reviews

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10 Ratings

Tudorlyn ,

Good for tech writers, IAs and help developers

I was hesitant to be the first to review. I stumbled on this podcast while looking for "content" and "information architecture" topics. These are well organized, thoughtful and interesting. Am downloading more as I post this...

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