Last week, CNN reported a story about a 14-year-old who calculated that US government agencies could save $467 million per year—simply by selecting a different typeface! Incredible, isn’t it? Usually, cost-cutting measures involve using less paper, but this young prodigy Read more
Why do organizations overlook training users about new business applications or changes to existing ones before making them available enterprise wide? Do CEOs and CIOs assume that users don’t need training and will adapt? If that’s the case—they are wrong. Read more
Ah, the humble adverb. Writers use adverbs to emphasize a point, deepen a sentiment, refine an action. The problem is, adverbs do just the opposite. Consider this sentence. “I am truly sorry.” The adverb “truly” qualifies “sorry.” The listener’s obvious Read more
The recent wild winter weather—my area’s first real blizzard since 1999, reawakening memories of the last really big one back in 1966—is making me realize how great it is to be able to work at home. It also has reminded Read more
Last year, here on the STC’s Notebook blog, I wrote a series of blog posts on my anticipation about going to my first STC Summit and my experiences from it. If you missed them, just click on my name (Danielle Read more
Are you tired of seeing article titles like Seven Secrets to Stunning Success or Ten Tips for Tackling the Terrible Twos? As much as we roll our eyes when the Huffington Post or Digg trots out another of these list Read more
Visma Software has invited me to speak at their developer conference, which is being held at the end of March in Latvia. I’ll be talking about how some major software companies are rethinking their approach to user documentation. This approach could Read more
Many years ago, I lived in Anchorage, Alaska, start of the Iditarod (The Last Great Race on Earth) from Anchorage to Nome. (Coincidentally, the 2014 race [1,000 miles of rough terrain] is running as I write.) When I lived there Read more
I am convinced that technology is making us lazy. Once upon a time, visiting a friend or family member meant traveling; nowadays we are satisfied with a few minutes on FaceTime or Skype. We friend and defriend people from social Read more
The one thing every tech writer hears early in a career is, “Avoid jargon in your writing.” Sage advice. But what is “jargon” really? I did some research. The best definition that I’ve found comes from the Writing Center at Read more