Nathan

A screenshot showing a Google search of 'how old was Marlon Brando in The Godfather'. The search results show an AI-generated response that incorrectly says 'Marlon Brando was in his 70s when he played a role in The Godfather.'

I got one of these as well the other day!

It's defo personal - I'm self-conscious showing my work even amongst my own team. But it also comes from seeing amazing TWs (@theletterf.bsky.social , @tomjoht.bsky.social ) publicly push the discipline. The feeling I'm always left with is "Oh god, how would I follow THAT?"

Not sure how relatable this problem is, but I don't feel as if anything I do at work is sufficiently innovative/technical/good to warrant a TALK. You give a talk when you've walked on the moon or solved the energy crisis!

Trying to think of tech writing talk proposal for @writethedocs.bsky.social is causing an existential spiral. Please shout if you have any tips on how to identify the thing you do at work that would actually be interesting to a room full of very clever peers. Or tips on how to just get over it!

This is great! We have a principle of always writing as if this page is the first thing your user has ever read about your product. Never assume they have prior knowledge of the product or wider technical concepts.

That principle achieves the same thing, but the rubber duck is much cuter!

Style guide - Technical content A to Z - Guidance - GOV.UK GOV.UK The technical content style guide covers the style, structure and terms you should use when writing content for technical users on GOV.UK.

Yes! We ended up adding 'simple' to the 'words to avoid' section of our style guide - www.gov.uk/guidance/sty...

It's also not a one way street. I've found a lot of value in 'scaffolding' feedback with (some) SMEs. When I'm first working with them, I'll explain how I generally like to receive feedback - format, tone, level of detail, and so on.

It's not for everyone, but I've found it valuable with some SMEs.

I saved this last week and am just getting to reading it now.

Heavy agree on all of it, especially open ended questions. I think there's a balance to be found there. I've definitely been too open ended and ended up with a lot of less-than-relevant detail, which can be overwhelming.

As an aside, it also made me feel good about working in the public sector. It's nice to only have to think 'How do I make this better?', rather than 'How do I make the pips squeak?'

Probably the most comprehensive, passionate, and coherent 'state of tech' thing I've read this year. Depressing, but I found a lot of hope in seeing someone 'get' the thing you knew in your bones but couldn't articulate.

I'm interested in the API animation you mentioned! I have to produce some animations for some concepts in our API next year and I'm struggling to figure out the best way to represent everything.

Just upgraded. MinnMax is the best!

Oooh! Is this just for new subscribers? Or could I upgrade a tier and also get a code?

I think it was seeing you on mutual connections' LinkedIn posts, searching 'content designer' on here, then the name ringing a bell.

Reading aloud is so true for anything you ever write, ever. When I used to teach, I'd send my students home with a dictaphone to record themselves or their family reading their essays.

Does it sound like a human being wrote this? If not, figure out why and redraft!

I know this is an old post, but it popped up in a search so thought I'd chip in. Anything Tom Johnson says on idratherbewriting.com is worth listening to. Depending on your existing familiarity, his API doc course is also an incredible introduction to API docs and APIs in general.

This is such a great episode. Always love a Talking Politics reunion episode with Helen.