bookmark_borderWhy everything is changing

I’ve agreed to present at this years ISTC conference, and my topic will be blogging and technical communications. It’s a nice topic title, vague enough that I can stretch it in many ways, but specific enough that it has some natural constraints.

I’ll write up some of my thoughts here, naturally, but it’s interesting that I’m starting to see how other areas of the online world, the Web 2.0 vision of the future, are coming into play.

Case in point: Rhonda Bracey blogs about the presentation Tony Self gave, based on an article he wrote titled What if Readers Can’t Read? which I’d already read, and linked to in my monthly newsletter column for the ISTC. The premise of which is:

The fundamental shift away from traditional forms of written communication (books and documents) to new media (e-mail, social networking, collaboration spaces) is something that we as technical communicators should be attuned to. The shift is not just from paper to online media… the shift is also away from top-down, autocratic communication structures to democratic, peer-to-peer structures.

It’s an excellent, thought provoking article, whether you agree or disagree, and it’s made all the more powerful by some of the videos that Tony showed during his presentation, videos to which Rhonda has kindly provided links.

One of the videos is referenced heavily in Tony’s article so I thought I’d show it here as it’s quite a powerful message and something that should be shaping our thinking in the years to come.

Without blogging, I wouldn’t have come across this and this is a perfect example of why blogging can be so powerful, however you do need to be part of this online conversation to be able to catch these snippets.

bookmark_borderFlipping Context

At work I’ve spent the last couple of weeks mired in planning spreadsheets, shuffling chunks of information around from here to there, from that to this. It’s the kind of work that needs to get done whilst in the full realisation that it’s a bit of a drag. But, as my Mother says “You can’t always get what you want”, well should have had my mother been Mick Jagger and, let’s be honest, if Mick Jagger was my mother then it’s unlikely that I’d be blogging about spreadsheets.

Instead I’d be blogging about the fact that I was a medical marvel, having been given birth to by a man.

That’s not to say I’m NOT a medical marvel, just that I choose not to talk about THAT THING that makes me SPECIAL (you mere mortals wouldn’t understand, so don’t ask).

So there I am, sitting at my desk, an endless series of spreadsheets full of words and numbers in front of, watching as they spin and float off the screen just like they would in a big Hollywood movie full of special effects.

But hey, it needs to get done.

And then, at home, I’m busy being creative, having just finished off a website for a client and in the midst of reworking design mockups for another.

It’s a bit of a head fuck to be honest, and I find myself taking far longer than usual to get my mindset to change.

However, that’s nothing new, I always have had a bit of an issue switching context and know that it takes me a few moments for my brain to re-engage and have tried several strategies in the past, none of which work.

Until now.

Believe it or not, the noise and chatter of Twitter really does help me make that switch. Going from a rote, line by line, formulaic piece of work, to the small and digestable chunks of randomness that is my Twitter channel, allows my brain to break away from the previous context and very soon I’m able to tackle something more creative. I’ve not tried it in reverse mind you, but certainly the effect of checking in with Twitter seems to allow my brain to relax.

Does that mean I don’t value Twitter, that I pay less attention there? Perhaps, or perhaps it’s the fact that the cognitive load on my brain is different, and the switch to reading 140 character tweets helps reduce that load and allow other areas of my brain to kick in. Sort of like shifting to neutral before picking a lower gear in your car so you can accelerate past a car.

Anyone else use Twitter the same way? As a stop gap between different types of work or task?

And, whilst I’m asking, why DO you use Twitter?

P.S. My Mother is not on Twitter, neither is Mick Jagger.
P.P.S. If you really want to know about why I’m a medical marvel, ask. I’m sure I can come up with something…

bookmark_borderMeetings and Contacts

A quick reminder to those of you in the West of Scotland, there is an open meeting this evening to which you are invited. No agenda, just a chance to meet up with fellow technical writers. We are meeting at 7 p.m. in the offices of Sumerian in Glasgow city centre, at 19 Blythswood Square, Glasgow G2 4BG. Tea & coffee will be provided.

Thanks Katja for organising this, I’m looking forward to it as it’s always informative and interesting to meet fellow professionals. As my career progresses (or perhaps just because I’m getting older) I start to understand the true benefits of, what has now come to be known as, networking.

It’s the same reason I joined the ISTC, and also why this blog exists. I’ve been blogging, on a personal basis, for several years and have made some good friends so I have my own proof that blogging works as a way to network, to communicate.

It’s not that hard to quantify either. Directly because of this blog I realised how enthusiastic I am about my line of work, which made me want to get more involved which prompted the writing of a monthly column for the ISTC Newsletter and which also lead to my invitation to speak at the TICAD conference. I’ve swapped emails with technical writers from around the world and, quite genuinely, can say that through the blogs I follow I learn something new, if not every day, at least every week.

It can be hard to find the time to write posts, it can be hard to find something that I can write about (I try to steer clear of company specific issues), but it is rewarding and, I hope, of some use to others.

Networking isn’t easy. In a way I’m lucky as I have an outgoing personality, but the internet makes it so much easier. In saying that, it still doesn’t beat face to face communications so, if you are in the Glasgow area this evening, please come along.

bookmark_borderYe olde blog

OK, perhaps if I head back to some previous “unblocking” techniques I might be able to kick start my blogging mojo.

Remember when Referrer Searches were all the rage? Back when we all suddenly discovered that our blogs were being indexed by something called “Google” (weird name…) and that meant we could see how people came to find our blogs? Those were the days, eh!!

So, aprop… ohh I’ve done that…

So, without further ado here are the top 12 search referrals (slightly filtered):

  1. gordon mclean
  2. itunes stuttering
  3. my mother is an idiot
  4. how to make a cup of tea
  5. how to kung fu withdraw testicles
  6. jamie bulger email
  7. 37signals apps
  8. monitor rss start torrent
  9. recipes for chicken with red pesto
  10. one mans blog.com
  11. voyeuer nature
  12. mrmen

To be fair, there are multiple variations on “red pesto chicken“, as well as “iTunes stutter“, and “how to make tea” but they fail to knock a good old ego search off the top of the list. And no, it’s not me googling myself… honest.

I should also apologise, again, to my mother for calling her an idiot, and I should point out that I no longer use ANY of the 37signals apps that I seemed to be so bothered about last year.

And, finally, I have NO idea how to “kung fu withdraw testicles” but it sure sounds like something that would come in handy… at some point… if my testicles were under threat I mean…

I think I’ll stop there.

Now, what should I do for my next post?

bookmark_borderApropos of… something..

I am not out shopping today. Mainly because I do most of my shopping online. That and the fact that we have a night out tonight and Louise is already off out to get her hair done so I’m stuck in the house unless I fancy walking…

This moment I’m sitting on the sofa, the TV is tuned to… some food channel it seems… and there is a fresh pot of coffee gurgling away in the kitchen. I’m wondering what to have for lunch, but might wait until later as I slept in so still not that hungry.

I’ve checked my email, updated Twitter, purchased a new app for my iPhone (Speed Dial, going cheap today, looks great) and a soaking wet cat has just come in so I’d better finish this and go dry him with a big fluffy towel.

I say all of this as it seems I’m projecting a version of me here that isn’t really me. I’m not a nasty person who shouts at women pushing their babies in prams. I did it once, felt bad for it and recounted the tale here with a view to pitch it as something that wasn’t very nice but was possibly a little funny in a dark kinda way that maybe others would relate to.

I’ve said this before, so let me repeat. I am not this blog. I am not the person you’ve met in the pub once or twice. But I’ve said this before, quite recently.

Perhaps I’ll stop blogging about me. Perhaps, as I’ve changed, I need to change what I write here. Perhaps the coming year will be different. This blog has changed over the past year, and will, of course, continue to change in the future. However, this is the first time that I’ve been aware of the change myself. It doesn’t feel natural, it feels forced, and that means that it’s no longer just a fun hobby, it’s now, whilst not a chore, certainly something that I have to think twice about.

I’m not entirely sure, but this has been building for a while so, I guess, consider yourself forewarned. This blog is changing…. somehow… for some reason… roll on 2009?

bookmark_borderBack on track

Whilst I can’t say the words are flowing all that freely the past few hectic weeks are behind me and, whilst the next few are still full of plenty of things that need done/attend, they are all mostly things I can envisage and plan for so that, somehow, seems like things are better.

Which makes it sound like things were bad, they weren’t, just busy (and even then a lot of that busyness was mainly in my head).

So. Hello! Welcome to my blog.

Ohhh now there’s a thought. I wonder what it must be like to start a blog afresh, free from conceptions and restrictions, a blank canvas on which to paint which version of myself I choose, an empty space to fill with those areas of my mind which I keep closed off to even myself.

Might be interesting.

But no, don’t bother searching, I don’t have an anonymous blog. Not yet…

Twitter remains a good outlet for the odd random thought and nonsense, which oddly should allow this this blog to go full circle back to the origins which brought it to life. I even switched away from having a miniblog once twitter came along, although I still share links via my delicious account.

But I guess the comforting thing is that my blog has never really had a distinct focus, and as it took quite a while for me to figure out what my ‘voice’ was, I have the luxury of blogging about whatever I want, whenever I want. Doubly so now my other blog is given over to more considered posts centred around my profession.

That said, I did recently clear out a load of old draft posts that I’ve kept hanging about for months in the vague hope I might one day complete but as I’ve not managed that up to now I decide, what the heck, and bye bye draft post.

I’m hoping to take a little more time to consider my posts here, and part of me covets a Post of the Week award, mainly for the pleasure I get from writing. But hey, don’t count on it. Knowing me the next few posts will be about my iPhone.

Ohhh, actually, now I come to mention it…