WritingHere.com » Software Tools http://www.writinghere.com Doug's portfolio in technical communications Mon, 31 May 2010 17:19:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 WritingHere.com http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d258f4979017f817e9d4753a0e398db3?s=48&d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536 http://www.writinghere.com Video Redux http://www.writinghere.com/2009/10/video-redux/ http://www.writinghere.com/2009/10/video-redux/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:42:33 +0000 Doug http://www.writinghere.com/?p=324 Continue reading →]]> More on using videos for help and explanation.

Some examples:

Communicating user experience through video telling stories

Taking a cue from science fiction movies (Star Wars, Starship Troopers) using holograms of people sending messages, CNN used a holographic analyst on election night

How well does a 1930s short movie work as an online video?

Creative and innovative uses of online video

Working on getting the implementation part right:

Usability and interface design issues

In case you wondered, Why Do Adobe Flash Videos Slow Down?

To me, the very watchable WordPress.tv seems to have smoothed out such problems

FYI, people watch at all times, except during dinner: online video viewing has no ‘peak times’

Hybrid use of video with written materials or a personal touch:

Chrysler combines a dvd of longer explanations with a shorter than before car manual

A WordPress consultant points clients to WordPress.tv even while remaining their “central support mechanism”

Thought pieces

Sergey Brin on the potential of YouTube

The question of how videos are  like or unlike explanatory comics

Dealing, as a communicator, with the explosion of new media

Local online news video: what types of content work best (features, local, breaking rather than national news or talking heads)

]]> http://www.writinghere.com/2009/10/video-redux/feed/ 0 Video Trends in Technical Communications http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/video-trends-in-technical-communications/ http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/video-trends-in-technical-communications/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:40:44 +0000 Doug http://www.writinghere.com/?p=172 Continue reading →]]> Help works well when it is seen as answering real questions. Users look for solutions to those concrete problems they encounter using software.

Answers can be shown visually as well as verbally. (Pet peeve: “verbally” means with “words” and does not mean the same as “orally.”) The technical communicator can do this with videos, quick start guides, screencasts, or infographics. ( Apparently, tech writers do infographics better than copywriters )

When WordPress.org released its latest installation, 2.8 or Baker, on June 19, it also put out a video. This video answers an implicit question, “How does this version provide a cooler, smoother ride, like the music of Chet Baker sounds?” Quick reply: with an automatic theme installer, code highlighting PHP editor, and widget and interface improvements in the administration panel. It is an aural as well as visual answer and it hits its point in a nifty video package.

More on video’s potential as help:

Video, documentation, and you

Interactive YouTube videos

]]> http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/video-trends-in-technical-communications/feed/ 0 Test http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/test/ http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/test/#comments Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:08:22 +0000 Doug http://www.writinghere.com/?p=140 Seeing if this posts from the iPhone…

Yes, it does…

]]> http://www.writinghere.com/2009/06/test/feed/ 0 Tags http://www.writinghere.com/2008/08/tags/ http://www.writinghere.com/2008/08/tags/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:26:16 +0000 Doug http://www.writinghere.com/?p=82 This is a filler post to add tags.

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