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Latest posts by Andreas Guenter (see all)

Not Just for Laughs: Putting Animated GIFs to Work for Technical Communication

By

Daniel Foster

If the official documentation is an intimidating (dare I say boring) wall of text, they are likely to dismiss it and look elsewhere. While videos have become a bigger piece of the content pie for many technical communication teams, the added complexity of audio production and streaming video hosting can be a limiting factor in their use.

One lightweight option worth adding to your multimedia toolbox is a technology that dates back to the dawn of the Digital Age – the animated GIF.

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“Educate yourself, take it seriously, and be proud of what you do!”

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Interview with Ulrika Månsson

Today we have talked with Ulrika Månsson. She is a Language Engineer and CAT Tool Specialist at a Sweden language service provider. Earlier she accomplished a technical writer training and worked as a translator and language teacher…

In our series, people from different age and professional groups introduce us to their IT jobs. Beginners, students or people with quite long working experience share their motivation and recommendations, confirming prejudices or invalidating them.

 

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When the Digital and the Real Are Combined

By

Hanane Anoua

The best technological realizations are those that stem from a real need and tap into the mood of the consumer and not the opposite. Our focus should not be on the technology itself but on human needs and aspirations. When the digital and the real are combined, credibility is earned and loyalty is returned.

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Where DITA is Now and Where It is Going: Lightweight DITA and DITA 2.0

By

Keith Schengili-Roberts

The “D” in DITA stands for “Darwin”, underscoring the fact that the XML standard has evolution built into its design. That evolution continues, with several new offerings expected soon from the OASIS Technical Committee in charge of the standard, including the various flavors of Lightweight DITA, multimedia extensions to DITA 1.3, and the upcoming DITA 2.0 standard.

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Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots in Technical Communication – A Primer

By

Ellis Pratt

It seems likely that artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-driven chatbots will play a key role in helping users in the future. So what does this mean for technical communicators and for User Assistance? In this article Ellis Pratt gives an insight into:

  1. What are Chatbots?
  2. Making a Chatbot
  3. What Does This Mean for Technical Communicators and for User Assistance?

If you want to download this article free as PDF click here.

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Virtual Reality as the Next Frontier in Design Tools

By

Awane Jones

A lot of the industry has already adopted VR as a design platform for their projects. The purpose often remains the same: to review a project before committing resources to it. Let´s take a look on these 3 clips with Awane Jones:

  • HTC Vive – VR Interior Design Experience
  • VR & The Future of Car Design
  • The Lab at Google Cultural Institute

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What is Contextualization all About & Why is it so Important in Information 4.0?

By

Andy McDonald 

Contextual help is a term that has been around for a long time, but until now it means little more than being able to deliver a block of information based on position to everyone, regardless of the task each is doing. While this is a laudable approach, it is far from the notion of contextualisation we would like to see emerge around Information 4.0.

About the meaning of contextualization in Information 4.0, content prediction and mapping knowledge & experience …

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