TechWhirl Recap for December 30, 2011

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

This week’s update is supported by Platinum sponsor Adobe & RoboHelp
9<http://goo.gl/mWtcM>|
http://goo.gl/mWtcM



*From the Desk of the Editor*



It’s the last weekly recap of 2011, and what a year it’s been.  Since
taking over TechWhirl in April, we made a lot of changes, on the back end
and to what you see, and we are gratified at the response.  A whole crew of
dedicated volunteers joined the ranks of the Special Writers Unit,
delivering more than 100 new articles, and lots of fodder for continuing
discussions.  The email discussion list welcomed back a few old friends and
a number of new ones, and the threads show why the original is still the
best in tech comm discussions. Our sponsors have shown tremendous faith and
support for our vision to become the go-to spot for all things technical
communications.



All in all, 2011 has been a tremendous year of change and growth for us and
the TechWhirl community.  If you’re not quite sure about that, Keith
Soltys’ new article on E-book Formats <http://goo.gl/Vq7NL> is just one
example of the kind of information the magazine provides.  Then check out
the Top 11 Tech Writer Today Articles of 2011 <http://goo.gl/fw69E>.  And,
if you’re not sure about the value of the discussion list, we invite you to
take a look at Best Tips & Tricks from the Discussion
List<http://goo.gl/e2eSz>,
which covers some great ideas gleaned from just a few of the hundreds of
threads that posted during 2011.



We have a lot to be thankful for, and resolve to live up to the support and
confidence you’ve placed in us and to surpass these achievements in 2012.
And we look forward to seeing you participating on the list, reading the
magazine, and attending technical communications events next year.



- The gang at TechWhirl
In Case You Missed it: This Week  @ TechWhirl

New on http://TechWhirl.com <http://techwhirl.com/>:


   -  E-book Formats, by Keith Soltys | http://goo.gl/Vq7NL
   - Lovingly curated by humans, it’s Tech Writer This Week |
   http://goo.gl/TxjFQ
   - Top 11 Tech Writer Today Articles of 2011 | http://goo.gl/fw69E
   -  Best Tips & Tricks from the TechWhirl Email Discussion List, by
   Connie Giordano | http://goo.gl/e2eSz


Tech Comm News:


   -  2012 Lectora® User Conference Scheduled for May 22-24 in Chicago |
   http://goo.gl/Iu3ax
   -  Tenth Annual LavaCon Conference and Graduate Workshop Dates Announced
   | http://goo.gl/VQwug

What You’re Talking About

A quick *What you talkin’ ‘bout* to our Tech Writers and their discussions
in our email discussion group <http://goo.gl/YUrbb>:

   - Ann Waterhouse is “Fishing for a new documentation title” for a
   package of materials that combines materials from two other packages.
   Responses from Whirlers suggest that sometimes we make things harder on
   ourselves than they need to be.  A simple description such as
   “Documentation Package” may do the trick, when the component documents
   speak for themselves.
   - Lee Fisher provided a link to “the Hadoop comic” developed by Maneesh
   Varshney as an experiment in documenting computer science topics using the
   medium of comics. A number of Whirlers have reviewed it and provided
   comments on how effective the medium could be.  Feel free to take a look at
   the comic and add to the discussion (link:
http://goo.gl/u2LNC<https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-zw6KHOtbT4MmRkZWJjYzEtYjI3Ni00NTFjLWE0OGItYTU5OGMxYjc0N2M1>
   ).

Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

   - Our Google Plus Page – what’s happening behind the scenes |
   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
   - Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click |
   http://goo.gl/tDrW7
   - Want all this TechWhirl goodness a few characters @ a time |
   http://goo.gl/itjDg
   - Updates from TechWhirl delivered to your email in box |
   http://bit.ly/tjshxU
   - Or, try our RSS feed (great on Flipboard) | http://goo.gl/msLzu

SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their
support.  Make a resolution to visit their sites and buy their stuff.



*Platinum A*: Adobe Systems
Incorporated<http://www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite/>

*Platinum B: *Madcap
Software<http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/overview.aspx#whatsnew>,
ComponentOne Software<http://www.doctohelp.com/?utm_source=techwrl.com&utm_medium=125x125%2Bbanner%2Bad&utm_campaign=doctohelp>
**

*Gold*: Society for Technical Communication (STC) <http://www.stc.org/>, EC
Software <http://www.ec-software.com/>, Vancouver Island
University<http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

-- 


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