Thanks again to Sarah O’Keefe and Scriptorium for inviting me to co-present!

Trends in technical communication, 2013 from Scriptorium Publishing

Sarah O’Keefe from Scriptorium has challenged me to a battle of wits… TO THE PAIN!

Sarah and I will discuss and debate what we see (or hope, or dread) as some of the more prominent trends in technical communication for 2013. You can follow along, ask questions along the way via the webcast chat, and of course tweet your (hopefully not scathing) commentary using the #techcomm2013 hash tag.

Join us for some predictions and fun! “And if you’re not careful, you may learn something before it’s done!” — Bill Cosby (from Fat Albert)

For many this is the first work day of 2013. As with popular tradition, people across the world have made New Year’s resolutions. Many will focus on losing weight or otherwise getting in better shape, focus on their finances, or improve some other aspect of their personal lives. But what about work life or, more specifically, your content development practices?

The new year gives us, whether by project/workload cycle or by fresh outlook, a chance to seed improvements into how we get our work done. As you’re settling into your work day (sifting through emails, sitting through back-to-work meetings, or what have you), think about your successes and struggles in 2012. What went well that you would like to continue? What went wrong that you’d like to avoid? And, what more can you do to make things better?

Here are some ideas to think about as you approach content development in 2013.

Herd the Cats

Unless you already work in an environment that functions like a well-oiled machine, chances are you receive information and develop content in many different ways. Perhaps you have multiple writers or teams in many different departments producing a wide range of information supporting different needs (sales, marketing, support, development, documentation, etc.). It might be a good time to look into ways of corralling that information and save everyone some time and effort in producing their content. Whether you use a wiki, a content management system, or shared network folders, it’s a good idea to start talking with your co-writers across your organization about sharing information and resources. It will help bring consistency to the information being pushed out to various channels, and will save everyone some time and effort in finding/creating the core information to work with.

Simplify Your Language

One of the most common questions posted to writing forums in 2012 more or less read, “how do I word/explain this?” Many times the discussion around these questions boiled down to use of terminology. As writers, we strive to clarify what we write as much as possible. Sometimes this good intention results in using multiple terms for the same thing or action. As you review your existing content, look for these instances and identify other possible candidates and begin to standardize your use of terminology. The ideal to aim for is a single noun or verb for a specific thing or action. This will ensure you always instruct the reader in the same manner about the same thing you’re writing about, and will eventually eliminate the need to ask, “how do I word/explain this?”

Document Your Documentation

I know, I know… You barely have enough time to get things written and out the door as it is. But consider the amount of time you might spend developing a writing convention, cross-referencing other information, or explaining to co-workers where to look or how to do something in your content development processes. Style guides are a great start, but it’s important to document all that you do to avoid making the same mistake twice or spend time tackling the same task via brute force. Document every “how do I”, “where is”, and “how to handle” question your team asks, whether it be about the products your company develops, the tools you use in your daily work, or the style in which you write. It doesn’t need to be formally produced documentation, but something reasonably managed and easy to query.

I hope you find these few ideas helpful as you plan your work year. If you have any work-related resolutions you’ve already made, please share them in the comments. Best wishes for a productive and successful year!

Happy New Year one and all! I’m squeaking in on the tail end of the first day of 2013 to fill you in on all the excitement this day has brought me. Are you ready?!?

[crickets]

Truth is I’ve been holed up all day drinking tea with honey and taking cold meds. Yep, I’m sick. What a great way to ring in the new year, huh?

But sickness aside, I’m optimistic about what 2013 has in store. Step one is firing up this blog again after a rather long hiatus. Mission accomplished! Now to finish off this last cup of tea before bed.

This is a call for thoughts/opinions.

Over the years I’ve come to use 3 different Twitter accounts for my own needs.

• techcommdood started as a catch-all but over time was limited to techcomm and other professional content. It’s since become more conversational though still leans professional.
• billswallow started as a private account for close friends, but I soon came to think there was no point in using Twitter in a private manner, so I made it public. It’s mainly used for banter but many professional people follow me here (some primarily over techcommdood).
• beercommdood was an amusing play on my long-held personal brand designed to be hobby focused (craft beer and homebrewing). It’s followed by beer nuts, friends, and professional contacts.

Now, managing 3 personal accounts is not easy. It can be dizzying at times, and even with the best Twitter applications I tend to send from the wrong account on occasion. Since all 3 of these accounts are me, and since I no longer think it’s necessary to hide the fact that I’m a beer-loving techcomm professional with a snarky demeanor, I want to merge them. Plus, it would avoid amusing things like this happening:

The question is, which Twitter name do I use (I will keep all of them but render 2 inactive)? I asked this on Twitter and received some feedback, but I’d like to show where I’m stuck, by account name:

• beercommdood – This was more created out of amusement than anything else. While I have many followers at this account, I don’t think it’d matter what I tweet beer stuff as so long as they continue to get the content. I think. Correct me if I’m wrong.
• techcommdood – I’ve been using this personal brand since 1998. Almost everyone in my pro circle knows me as “techcommdood“, and even refer to me as “the dood” in person. It’s a brand I’m actually happy with. While many do follow for pro info, I get beer followers here and friends as well.
• billswallow – Yes, it’s me by name. This option would be a no-brainer if techcommdood wasn’t so established.

So which do I go with? What would you do? Throw away an established brand for a real world name? Lump everything under the established brand and let things fall where they may? Other?

I really need some thoughts here. I’m torn between techcommdood and billswallow, and can’t decide which is the right one to use. I do want to get down to 1 account, make no mistake about it. But which?

Help!

Once again, I’m way late to the party when it comes to blogging my brewing. This will be brief, as I have 4 more brews to catch up on. (I’m making good on the brewing, but not the blogging!)

My second batch of 2012 was another IPA, this time exclusively made with Amarillo hops. I went all extract with no adjunct sugars, using just under 10 lbs of liquid malt extract. The hop schedule was fairly uniform, with about an ounce being added every 15 minutes, plus 1 ounce for dry-hopping. I used the run of the mill Safale-05 dry yeast as well. This was a knock-around beer for home, nothing fancy

The beer came out quite well. In fact, it’s probably one of the better IPAs I’ve brewed (likely because I stuck to the basics). The alcohol is up there (just under 7% ABV) but not too high. The beer has a nice light caramel color from all that liquid malt syrup, and a wonderful hoppy aroma and bite to it. If I need another knock-around IPA, I just may brew this one again (though maybe save some cash and go all-grain).

I made myself a promise that I’d brew at least 12 batches of beer this year. Of course, I forgot to promise myself that I’d blog them. And so, about 6 weeks late, here’s the post for batch #1.

I decided to go back to extract batches for my first few brews this year out of convenience. My kids have some crazy schedules right now, so it’s hard to set aside a full day (or at least a full afternoon) to brewing. I can easily knock out an extract batch in a couple of hours during a free evening. That’s exactly what I did in this case.

I set off with a fairly basic pale ale recipe, but as with most batches I decided to veer from the recipe right from the start, ending with an IPA instead. I used 6.6 lbs of extra light liquid malt extract, to which I added a half pound of local wildflower honey and a full pound of light brown sugar, mainly to boost the alcohol content and dry the beer out a bit. To this I added 2.5 ounces of Centennial hops; 1 ounce at the start of the boil, 1 ounce half way through (at the 30 minute mark), and the final half ounce in the final 2 minutes of the boil.

Once cooled to room temperature, I added a packet of Safale-05 US ale yeast, sprinkled in dry. Fermentation picked up in no time, and I had a happily bubbling airlock within 8 hours.

Not content with the recipe, I then added another ounce of Centennial hops to the fermenter about 3 days prior to bottling. This turned out to be a good idea, as the final product is bursting with citrus aromas.

The beer is quite good, but a bit too dry in my opinion. My next batch will be using more liquid extract and no additional sugars. That’s the plan, anyway. But the beer is quite tasty, with a light body, nice light copper color, and is nice and hoppy. Overall I’m fairly happy with how it turned out, but I’m looking forward to a slightly heavier body in my next batch.

Reposting a comment I penned on FUSSYlittleBLOG as to why “chunks” appear at the bottom of some beers, and why it’s NOT an indication of the beer going bad.

That crap you see at the bottom of a bottle of beer? That’s yeast and a slurry of proteins that have fallen out of suspension in the beer. Why is this a good thing? It’s preferential, first and foremost, but it’s also supposed to be there in the beers you find it in.

That crud indicates that the beer is unfiltered. No microscreening to make your beer crystal clear. The brewer made a decision to bottle you a beer straight-up the way the recipe was intended. Some brewers, even craft brewers like Dogfish Head, filter their beer, and that’s perfectly fine. But others do not. It could be based on style (wheat beers should have the particulate stirred up and poured over the head of your glass-poured beer – you’re missing out if you ignore this step), based on availability of equipment, or on brewer’s preference.

You also have the amazing bottle-conditioned beers, which are not carbonated prior to bottling. This is how I produce my homebrew, for what it’s worth. Before bottling, a small amount of sugar is added into the beer. The yeast still suspended in the beer “wake up” and go to town eating this sugar in the capped bottle, producing a negligible amount of alcohol but also carbon dioxide. Because the bottle’s sealed, the gas has nowhere to go, so it gets infused in the liquid, thus carbonating the beer. And while the yeast are working, they produce some additional esters that are then introduced into the beer.

Regardless the reason, the sediment is not an indication of anything bad. It’s there because it’s supposed to be. Plus, in that crud you will find a ton of flavor and healthy vitamins and minerals. The yeast is loaded with B vitamins, by the way. If it’s not to your liking, just be careful when pouring and stop once you see a particulate trail as you pour (likely at the last fluid ounce). Otherwise, enjoy!

Rick Lippincott recently posted this to a STC leadership listserv (subject line and all). I am reproducing it here with his permission as it contains info that the general public interested in the STC Summit should be aware of. Thanks to Rick for the heads-up!

STC Summit Chicago Thoughts and Pass-Along

Something that might be worth noting and passing on to anyone who is planning to attend the Summit in Chicago in May.

It turns out that the dates of the Summit (May 20-23) overlap with a pair of huge Summits (i.e. as in “international heads of state) that will be taking place in Chicago at the same time:

• The G8 Summit (eight largest economic nation’s heads of state) will be taking place in Chicago on May 19 & 20
• The NATO Summit (up to 28 nation’s heads of state, plus military leaders) will be taking place May 15-22.

US President Barack Obama will be attending both events.

(By the way, so far as I can tell these events and dates were not announced until long after the STC selected Chicago for 2012. There’s no way anyone could have foreseen this coincidence.)

We will be some distance away from all of this, but I think one could reasonably expect the following:

• Chicago will be full of politicians, administrative staff, military leaders, and news media.
• There will be extremely high levels of security which will tie up traffic and cause some restrictions of movement.
• This time period will be a magnet for protesters.
• Hotels will fill up quickly. (While the STC has a block at the Hyatt, there may not be many openings left once that block runs out.)
• Flights in and out of Chicago will book up faster than might be expected.
• Foreign dignitaries will likely be coming in and out of O’Hare.

I would recommend that persons planning to attend the Summit consider doing the following:

• Make hotel and airline reservations as soon as possible.
• Make every effort to fly into O’Hare Airport (symbol: ORD) and avoid Midway Airport (symbol: MDW). Midway is located very close to downtown, and travel from there to and from the conference site (at O’Hare, after all…) may be difficult and have delays.
• Give serious thought before planning activity in downtown Chicago. There are a couple of activities that look interesting and fun, but it doesn’t take much tear gas to spoil an outing.

I’m sure that out at the O’Hare Hyatt things will be fine and we won’t see much of it beyond what we see on the news. I’m also hopeful that the almost inevitable protests don’t get out of control. But even under the best of circumstances, the downtown area promises to be a congested mess.

I hope this helps somebody…

–Rick Lippincott

PS I’m not ruling out the theory that the G8 and NATO selected this location and date because they knew we would be there. Maybe they just wanna hang out where the cool kids are, y’know?

Related articles

• Downtown Streets To Be Shut Down During NATO, G8 Summits (chicago.cbslocal.com)
• Economist: NATO/G8 Summits Could Be A Disaster (chicago.cbslocal.com)
• Chicago grants 1st permit ahead of G-8, NATO (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Walter’s Perspective: Summits Putting Heat On The Mayor (chicago.cbslocal.com)
• Chicago Protesters Filing Applications In Advance Of G8, NATO Summits (chicago.cbslocal.com)
• Police Officers To Work 12-Hour Shifts During NATO/G8 Summits (chicago.cbslocal.com)

Image linked from RateBeer.com

This beer is an exclusive brew for Julio’s Liquors in Westborough MA, made by Smuttynose Brewing Company.

I was finally able to make a run to Julio’s when visiting family over the holidays, and grabbed a bottle of this along with quite a few other beers I can’t get or haven’t seen in NY. I was particularly interested in Ry(e)an as apparently you can only get it at Julio’s. Of note, this was from batch 2 (purchased December 31, 2011).

Appearance is solid. Nice dark copper beer with a dense shallow head that sticks around a while.

This beer, to be honest, smells like a caramel apple. None of your typical floral or citrus notes on the nose in this beer. I had caramel apple on the nose, and orchards on the brain when smelling this.

What can I say, I wasn’t happy with how this beer tasted. I found it to be overwhelmingly sweet (and I’m a big beer lover) and off balance. If there are hops in this beer, I’ll be damned if I could taste them. I got a heavy onslaught of caramel sweetness and some tartness on the back with a bit of a lingering boozy aftertaste. I don’t know why they bothered making this a rye, as I couldn’t find any of it in the flavor at all. I love a good rye beer, and this was just disappointing.

Mouthfeel was very heavy and thick, like a thin syrup. No carbonation on the tongue at all, though it’s lightly present in the glass. I felt like there was a film left in my mouth, on my teeth, on my tongue, upon finish. The boozy aftertaste did nothing to dry things up between sips.

Overall I was very disappointed in this beer. I know and enjoy Smuttynose, and this is just not one of their better batches. Maybe I got a bum bottle, or maybe batch 2 just wasn’t up to snuff. I don’t know, but I was shocked that this beer rated so well on RateBeer and BeerAdvocate given my disappointment with it. I’d split it with my father on New Year’s Eve, and he passed his glass over to me to finish. It’s just not an enjoyable beer, unfortunately.