Re: Tech Writing for Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook)

[Anne Gentle <annegentle -at- justwriteclick -dot- com>]

Hi all -
Great discussion - Nicky Bleiel's article is a great one and I love Cheryl
Lockett Zubak's iPod anecdote that Geoff Hart mentioned. :) Another good
read is Alan Porter's blog entry, Move Over DITA - Chaos is Coming at
http://is.gd/NIdx. Most recently I pondered whether tech comm should look to
the decline of classic news delivery (but not good journalism, that is still
in high demand) on my blog at http://is.gd/NIa9.

Many people have been talking about about where social media fits in
technical documentation. Twitter and Facebook have the most media attention,
growth, and users right now so you might look there for a fit, but look
deeper and you may find that blogs, wikis, and subscription-style publishing
are themes with which you can find a good business case for a new
deliverable or delivery mechanism. For example, I just saw that you can use
an Excel spreadsheet to post to Twitter - imagine posting tips and tricks
that link to your helpsite or knowledgebase. There may be people internal to
your company who can assist with ideas for fitting tech comm topics and
delivery methods into the overall social media strategy. Keep reaching out,
this is a fascinating area to learn.

I could go on and on (and anyone who's heard me talk or read my blog knows I
do!) but it might be more efficient to say that I'm giving a webinar next
Tuesday at 11 am CST for Scriptorium Publishing
http://store.scriptorium.com/items/webcast-events/webcast-docasconweb-detail.htm.
I'll talk about my stories and experiences with the social web for
documentation.

We're still in the early days of these new ways of looking at documentation
delivery, but there are examples available and lessons already learned. I
think it's important to share as much as we can with each other as we
experiment and learn. I hope this response isn't considered an "ad" or
"plug" - that's not my intent! I just want to be sure people know we're all
learning more as we go. :)

Warmly,
Anne


 *Anne Gentle*
annegentle -at- justwriteclick -dot- com my blog <http://justwriteclick.com> | my
book<http://xmlpress.net/publications/conversation-community/>|
Twitter <http://twitter.com/annegentle>


-----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+dick=rlhamilton -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+dick <techwr-l-bounces%2Bdick>=rlhamilton.net@
> lists.techwr-l.com] On
> Behalf Of Blount, Patricia A
> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 7:13 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Tech Writing for Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook,
>
>
> Thanks all! I've found a great deal of help, with your posts as my
> starting point.
>
> I think Bill summed it up well, saying that the point is not to provide,
> but to engage. I've been researching this for days now and found this
> great post on Content Wrangler that supports Bill's point:
>
> http://www.thecontentwrangler.com/article/convergence_technical_communic
> ation_strategies_for_incorporating_web_20/<http://www.thecontentwrangler.com/article/convergence_technical_communic%0Aation_strategies_for_incorporating_web_20/>
>
> The author, Nicky Bleiel, provides a list of truths and myths. Truth 1:
> Users want to join the conversation.
>
> That simple sentence changed my perspective, as I was caught up trying
> to figure out how to fit social networks into my process. (Square peg,
> round hole...) Yes, we can certainly post notifications that formal docs
> have been updated, but now I see the potential for much greater
> reach...and hopefully, impact.
>
> Patty B.
>
>
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