Archive for Technical Writing

Redundancy—A serious and critical crime since 1066

Here’s a little tip from my technical editing and grammar class about why there’s so much accepted redundancy in English:

“It all goes back to that fateful Battle in Hastings in 1066. After the Anglo-Saxons lost, Norman rule was established in England and with it, a second language. In order to rule the country (and be understood), court officials, lawmakers, and judges had to repeat themselves in both official languages (sound familiar?). Commoners, anxious to put on airs and sound official, incorporated these redundancies into everyday language, bringing about some of the phrases we have today:

  • Null (Anglo) and Void (Norman)
  • Just (Anglo) and Proper (Norman)

This writing habit is now so widespread that writers often think they need to use the and/or construct to accommodate both words, when the best solution is to simply remove the offending redundant word or phrase.”

The Future of the Book

With touchscreen technology poised to become a ubiquitous part of our lives, the future of the book is likely to change dramatically as well.

From TED.com – “Software developer Mike Matas demos the first full-length interactive book for the iPad — with clever, swipeable video and graphics and some very cool data visualizations to play with. The book is Our Choice, Al Gore’s sequel to ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.”

Learning Adobe Illustrator

In 2010, I determined that I wanted to improve my Adobe Illustrator skills and so I started creating a mandala a month. Below is the final result.

Copy Editing English for a Globaliz(s)ed Audience

In one of the courses I teach at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology), I received an email from a very keen participant asking how to prepare for the course (Technical Editing and Grammar course – 1008). Inspired by such enthusiasm (this is what makes September great!), I decided to take it further and include  information for anyone interested in improving their core skills as a technical writer.

Get a Quality Style Guide – Consider ordering the Chicago Manual of Style (I have both an online and hard copy version). It’s an excellent investment for anyone interested in high-quality English-language writing.

Learn MS Word – Research the Track Changes feature in MS Word. There are other software programs technical writers need for writing, but MS Word is still the most common. As a technical writer, you’re expected to use Word at an advanced level.

Learn hard copy markup - It may seem archaic, but hard copy markup makes you indispensable when editing and developing large documents).

Learn the Most Common Grammar Errors – In my course, we learn the ten-top grammar errors. Don’t feel you have to know all grammar errors (that’s what a good style guide is for), but your credibility as a writer is increased exponentially if you know the core ones. To find out the ten-top grammar errors, take my course.

Write, write, write! – to get your foot in the door, take every opportunity you can to write and edit even if it means working for free. Ensure you ask low paying (or non paying) clients to let you keep a copy of the before and finished versions, so you can use them to market yourself.

Saint John Transit gets Webtech Wireless Upgrade

Here’s an excerpt from the latest blog I wrote for Webtech Wireless on the NextBus implementation for Saint John Transit. Saint John may not be the most glamorous place on earth, but I did my best to present it well. I used Google Streetview to snap shots of city buses parked in front of some of the beautiful old red-brick buildings downtown and dug up some of this city’s rich trove of history.

About Saint John

Historic Saint John has been a transportation hub since long before confederationHistoric Saint John has been a transportation hub since long before confederation

As Canada’s oldest incorporated city and New Brunswick’s largest municipality, the city of Saint John has been providing municipal services for more than two centuries. According to Statistics Canada, the Saint John municipal area has a population of 122,389, with a population density of 36.4 persons per square kilometre.

The Port of Saint John is one of Canada’s most important ports (its relatively mild maritime climate keeps its deep-water harbour ice-free year round when inland ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway must content with ice). This keeps the city’s businesses and industries bustling throughout the year. In 2010 for the first time ever, the Port of Saint John exceeded 30 million metric tonnes of cargo in a single year.

Read more…

Using NextBus on Your Smartphone

Below is another excerpt from the Webtech Wireless blog I’ve been working on. As a corporate blog, I try to balance clear concise professional writing with a personable informal tone often not possible in other corporate materials. So, the purpose of a blog is not merely to blast potential readers with the same material they’d find elsewhere, but rather, it’s an opportunity for a company to show  a more human face and reach out a real people.

Excerpt

Just as the adoption of the cell phone became universal a decade and a half ago, the smartphone is now a ubiquitous part of life for most urbanites. According to New York Times writer, Damon Darlin, “historians will remember the advent of the smartphone as something as important as the elevator, air conditioner and automobile.”

The implication for transit companies is clear: adopt an AVL solution or face irritation and disinterest from your ridership. Fortunately, transit authorities are reading the writing on the wall and many of them are choosing NextBus—for its reliability and simplicity.

“NextBus, a wonderful Web site that monitors the arrival of city buses in many big cities, is a godsend.”

While there is no official phone application for Nextbus, the simplicity of the NextBus website makes it easy to use on most smartphones.

To access NextBus using a smartphone:

  1. Using your smartphone’s web browser (such as Safari), access the NextBus website: www.nextbus.com.
  2. Choose the mobile version or the full-featured website.
  3. Select your location, your transit agency, your route, and then your stop.The most current prediction for the arrival time of the next vehicle is displayed.
  4. You also can add your stop info to your home screen so it will be instantly available.
  5. If a prediction is already displayed on your smartphone, simply push the ‘refresh’ link at the bottom of the page to get the most up to date information.

Training Blog Post for Webtech Wireless

Here’s an excerpt from a blog post I wrote for Webtech Wireless. I initiated this idea because I thought the training department there was under-represented, and because we’re trying to move from a bits and pieces (hardware and software) marketing strategy to one that is solutions oriented. The fun part of this project was that the training manager, Julia Degen, who is very emotive, was literally screaming she liked it so much. That feels good.

Training – “a huge leap forward”

In April, Julia Degen, Training Manager for Webtech Wireless, traveled to Oklahoma City to train a new client, Blue Knight Energy. She facilitated a three-day training session for 14 managers and IT personnel. She comments that due to the training, “they have already realized some great benefits from our system”. One enthusiastic training participant commented that the Webtech Wireless solution and the training represent a “huge leap forward” for their company’s bottom line. She continues, “By the end of our three days together, the participants were able to articulate exactlyhow to get their return on investment”.

Webtech Wireless training session

Training Manager, Julia Degen, leads a Quadrant training session.

Read more…

Webtech Blog Posts

Among my duties at Webtech Wireless is writing blog posts on various telematics-related topics the company offers with its GPS-based transportation solutions. Below are some  excerpts (the headings link to the entire post):

Mexican Newscaster Benefits from Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant Solution

Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant helps reduce theft, and aids in the recovery of stolen vehicles. In Mexico City, where automobile theft rates exceed 30%, GNP previously faced huge payouts due to rising vehicle theft, and urgently needed a solution.

“Over the last 10 years, vehicle theft has increased 67%. In 2000, 47,213 vehicles were stolen and by the end of 2010 this number reached 78,876 vehicles. Of those [stolen], only 29,077 vehicles were recovered—37%.”
eleconomista.com.mx

Webtech Wireless Launches Corporate Rebranding

Webtech Wireless announces the launch of its new corporate identity, unveiled last week to employees worldwide, and being rolled-out across all of the Company’s operations over the coming months. The new identity will be applied to all marketing and communications materials, including the launch of a new website slated for early next month.

Quadrant proves powerful tool during tsunami warnings

On March 11, 2011, the tragic 9.1 Mw Sendai earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, again demonstrated Quadrant’s usefulness in times of crises. As Pacific Rim nations raced to secure their coastlines before the tsunami hit, Kelvin was able to use Quadrant GPS to allocate trucks and drivers, and to prepare to assist with evacuations and clean up on the Big Island.

With a tsunami bearing down on the Hawaiian Islands, Kelvin rushed to HELCO’s headquarters to check that fuel acquisition, standby contractors, dispatch, and equipment were available and ready. In addition, he hurried to ensure HELCO trucks located in the tsunami inundation zone were relocated to higher ground.

Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) renews its service contract

Within the first two years of deploying the Quadrant solution (2008-2009), HELCO realized a fuel savings of over 22,000 gallons (US). In 2010, HELCO saved an additional 18,000 gallons. Kelvin Kohatsu, HELCO Fleet Administrator, credits the impressive reduction and subsequent cost savings for their decision to renew the contract and attributes lower fuel costs to a combination of “GPS technology, driver training (operator knowledge), more fuel efficient vehicles, and improved dispatch management.”

MTS Sales & Service sees a tangible reduction in fleet management costs with Quadrant

Quadrant customer, MTS Sales & Service, has reported “a tangible reduction in the cost of fleet management costs of 69%.” This figure is based on the difference in the cost of their old fleet management solution and savings in vehicle usage using Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant. Gino Venditti, VP of Operations, says that in addition to the superior quality of service and reliability (at the above-mentioned reduction in cost), it is now possible to manage routes, forecast fuel usage, and monitor assets with real-time notifications of unauthorized vehicle use.

Hino Trucks introduces advanced telematics solution powered by WebTech Wireless

Hino Trucks hails its newest solution designed—in partnership with WebTech Wireless—to advance GPS telematics’ fleet-management capabilities in their trucks. The new offering, HINO INSIGHT, enables fleet managers to gain daily snapshots of their fleets’ critical diagnostics status and performance against established targets. One of the unique elements to Hino INSIGHT is the “Dashboard” main page of the HinoInsight.com web portal. Fleet managers can now use the INSIGHT Dashboard to access real-time vehicle data and driver information simultaneously.

Usability Fun and Games

I convinced myself that applying for a job through the IBM web site was a good use of my time, but I didn’t factor in how much fun it would be.

Like many mega corps, the IBM site asks us to upload our résumés and then goes on to ask us to enter all the same information again manually, field by field. By the end, we’re likely to conclude that any job we should ever get at IBM will net us similar mindless work. But who knows, filling out online applications is my form of Vegas—’cause ya’ never know…

Here’s the kicker. In the section for language competency, I was given a list of languages and a ranking system from which to choose: fluent, intermediate, basic knowledge, and no knowledge. I don’t know what the value is in adding information about a skill in which one has no knowledge. I mean, I could go on and on.

I couldn’t help myself, so I obliged!

No Knowledge required

Three Ways to Improve Your (Technical) Writing Skills

I get asked more frequently about how to make inroads into the field of technical writing and my response generally comes down to three key points:

  1. Get educated: Many technical schools and universities have technical writing programs. They often offer their courses on an iterative basis (i.e., you don’t have to commit to the entire program; you can just take a course or two to try it out). Apart from the training you’ll get, formal training is also a great way to network and immerse yourself in the milieu of technical writing.
  2. Get Informed: Check out the job boards and read the requirements for various jobs in technical writing. If you find the requirements daunting—don’t be discouraged. Many job descriptions are little more than wish lists, but they’ll give you an idea about the kind of skills you’ll need to succeed and the range of industries that need technical writers.
    Tip – rather than searching for “technical writer” over a large date range, I view all posted jobs in, say, the last three days. Positions that require technical writing skills are frequently posted under other names than “technical writer”.
  3. Get involved: Find opportunities to write—don’t wait for a paying job. You may want to volunteer with some non profit or other group as a writer just to get experience. Everyone needs good writing and if you can provide it, you’ll start to acquire samples of work (ensure that any freebie work you do comes with the understanding that you’ll use finished writing as samples of your work).
    I volunteer as a writer for the Vancouver Observer (an online magazine) and it is definitely helpful for keeping my writing skills honed as well as for networking.

Some notable Vancouver job boards: