Episodes

Wednesday Mar 28, 2018
Wednesday Mar 28, 2018
We take a look at topic-based writing.
What is a topic?
Features of topics
Why use topics?
Why not use topics?
Where can you use it?
What happens if you don't use them?
Tools for topic-based writing
What do you need to know
Interacting with others
Cherryleaf surveys
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See also:
Planet Money podcast: Spreadsheets!

Thursday Mar 15, 2018
Thursday Mar 15, 2018
We talk to Terry Hopper of Middlestone about modelling business processes, process mapping, the relationship between processes and procedures, and Business Process Model and Notation (BPNM).
Links:
bpmn.org
4 reasons why small businesses need process maps
Middlestone
Cherryleaf
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Monday Feb 26, 2018
Monday Feb 26, 2018
This is a recording of a presentation from the February 2018 London Content Strategy Meetup
What's the deal about structured content?
"Content can often seem like jelly - messy and hard to manage. In this presentation, we'll look at whether you can reduce this messiness through structured writing. In this overview of the topic, we'll explore what is structured writing, what it promises to give its adopters, the different standards, and the challenges that come with using structured writing."
Links
Copy of the slides on SlideShare
Cherryleaf's structured writing services
STOP
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Tuesday Feb 13, 2018
Tuesday Feb 13, 2018
We look at using sequential art/comics/graphic novels in business. We discuss:
What is a comic?
Examples of comics used in a business context
Why use a comic?
Tools and resources you can use if you have no drawing skills
How to structure the story
Links:
Google on Google Chrome - comic book
Kubernetes, powered by Google Cloud comic
Scott McCloud: The visual magic of comics | TED Talk
COMICS WITH PROBLEMS
Will Eisner's M-16 Rifle Manual
The Content Twins (content strategy graphic novel)
The DITA Man (the business benefits of DITA graphic novel)
The CEO and the technical communicator (making the business case for technical documentation graphic novel)
Tools:
Comic Life Magic
Google Storyboard
Adobe e-Learning Assets
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Cherryleaf creates instructional content that helps people use a product or complete a task. It can stop them getting stuck, frustrated and making mistakes. See the Cherryleaf website for more information.

Monday Jan 29, 2018
Monday Jan 29, 2018
We look at one way the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) used to promote technical communication at the University of Cambridge's Careers fair.
Lego TIE Striker™ Microfighter
Video - What is technical communication?
ISTC
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Saturday Jan 13, 2018
Saturday Jan 13, 2018
We look at the equipment you can use for creating elearning content.
Zoom H6 recorder
Camtasia
Captivate
Mimic
Cherryleaf training courses
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Wednesday Dec 27, 2017
Wednesday Dec 27, 2017
We look at delivering technical documentation via an API.
Weather API
Bing Ads Content API
The Guardian API
BBC APIs
Scriptorium - Cancer staging information podcast
ReadtheDocs Embed API
MindTouch API
FontoXML Launch API
Forestry.io API
GatherContent API
Paligo API
AI and chatbots in technical communication - A primer
Alexa Skills
Cherryleaf
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Monday Dec 11, 2017
Monday Dec 11, 2017
It’s not quite 2018 yet, but here are our predictions for technical communication in 2018 and beyond. We also look back at the predictions we made for 2017.
Predictions for technical communication in 2017 and beyond
Five predictions for technical communication in 2016 and beyond
Docs Like Code - Interview with Anne Gentle
Every Page is Page One - Interview with Mark Baker at UAEurope 2017
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Flickr image by byronv2

Tuesday Nov 28, 2017
Tuesday Nov 28, 2017
We look at the tools used by technical communicators for editing and reviewing content.
Cherryleaf Revising and Editing Content course
Restrict or permit formatting changes in Word 2016
Acrobat DC
Hosting shared reviews on SharePoint or Office 365 sites
Hosting a Shared Review: An Alternative to Acrobat.com
Authorea
CriticMarkup
Hypothesis
FontoXML
MadCap Contributor
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Tuesday Nov 14, 2017
Tuesday Nov 14, 2017
We look at the pros and cons of using the DITA standard, and the alternatives.
Every Page is Page One - Interview with Mark Baker at UAEurope 2017
Interview with Tony Self - UAEurope 17
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