I'd Rather Be Writing Podcast Feed

I recently participated in an online radio-style chat about documentation with the folks at Readme.com. In an ambitious undertaking, Readme created a 24-hour streaming radio show (called "WAPI FM"') focused on APIs, from March 26-27, 2020. They are publishing some of the recordings week by week. During this hour, Ryan...

I recently appeared on the Knowledgebase Ninjas podcast in an episode titled Metrics Don't Work. In the podcast, I chat with Gowri Ramkumar about documentation processes, why metrics are problematic, advantages and disadvantages of docs-as-code models, why measuring doc traffic falls short, the value of internal documentation, people I've learned...

I'm giving a presentation on May 27 in the API The Docs Virtual series titled How Trends in API Documentation Differ from Other Tech Comm Trends. You can register for free on EventBrite. API The Docs is typically a one-day conference event but has gone virtual and is experimenting with...

How is the role of the technical writer evolving? It seems we're moving away from writing and more towards other roles, such as reviewer/convener, user champion, editor, publisher, and promoter. However, it's difficult to gauge change, especially across different job categories. In some scenarios, writing might never have been why we were hired.

How can users shape and influence the documentation you're producing? In this podcast, I chat with Nupoor Ranade, PhD candidate at North Carolina State University, about how the roles of technical writers are changing. Instead of writers authoring content for passive users, users are actively directing and shaping the knowledge that writers produce. In this podcast, we look at ways docs-as-code workflows are facilitating that shift in roles. This podcast is more of a conversation, where I first ask Nupoor a series of questions, and then she asks me questions. There's also a transcript of the podcast.

Podcasts seem to be growing now more than ever. Here's a list of more than ten technical writing podcasts that you can listen to.

I recently gave a webinar on trends in developer docs to the STC Washington DC chapter on March 12, 2020. In this presentation, I presented the results and analysis of my Trends in Developer Documentation 2020 survey. A recording and audio file is available below.

In January I gave an <a href='https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/upcoming-api-documentation-workshop-los-angeles-jan-23/'>API documentation workshop in Los Angeles</a>, and I recorded the first section of the workshop. This section provides an introduction to APIs, including an overview of APIs, the API doc market, info about API popularity, how to submit requests through Postman, and other trends. The recording is available as both a video/audio or standalone audio.

I recently chatted with Anders Svensson about how Paligo, a cloud-based CCMS, is filling a niche in the CCMS market for complex documentation needs. Complex documentation refers to documentation with multiple product variants, versions, languages, audiences, and more. In these scenarios, content re-use and scalability become more challenging. Paligo is filling a need for documentation teams that have grown beyond their help authoring tools and need the more robust support that a component content management system (CCMS) offers but without the price tag and implementation timeline.

The Manuscript is a new tech comm podcast produced by Breno Barreto, a technical writer working for VTEX in Brazil. Breno interviewed me for episode 2, titled How technical should a tech writer be? In this podcast, we talked about changes in the tech comm field, how I got started,...

I recently chatted with <a href='http://www.linkedin.com/in/synergistech'>Andrew Davis</a>, a recruiter for API documentation positions in the San Francisco Bay area, about why it's so difficult to hire technical writers for developer documentation roles. Andrew has more experience and knowledge with developer doc jobs, companies, and recruiting processes than nearly anyone else in the tech comm industry. He actually helped me find my first dev doc job when I transitioned to California years ago. Andrew's company is called <a href='http://www.synergistech.com/'>Synergistech Communications</a>. In this interview, Andrew provides an inside look at fixing broken processes around hiring.

Cruce Sanders at [A] recently interviewed me for his podcast series Towards a Smarter World. The episode is called Unifying Technical Content Sets into a Broader Ecosystem, and we chat about some issues I wrote in an earlier article about agile teams and enterprise content strategy.

One comment I often hear from API workshop participants and other readers is that they want a more advanced API course. I've been thinking about what that more advanced course would involve, in addition to what might be involved in leveling up at my work, and I've come to a realization that I need to transition more from API documentation to developer portal strategies. Developer portal strategies includes API documentation but also encompasses broader concerns as well, not too different from content strategy.

Listen to this post: You can download the MP3 file, subscribe in iTunes, or listen with Stitcher. The Design of Web APIs, by Arnaud Lauret Podcast topics Here are some of the API design/usability topics we chat about in the podcast: What API usability is, and how usability is the same/different with developer tools How writing documentation tests the usability of a product What tech writers should look for to know whether an API is designed well What to call each of the components in an API (e.g., whether the term “endpoint” should be used) How tech writers can influence design and usability when they’re so far downstream in the development process Best practices for creating tutorials on API doc sites Spec-first design versus auto-generating the OpenAPI from the code Which framework you would you choose to work with to render the API spec Whether we’ll eventually move into a state where manually editing the OpenAPI spec code by hand becomes antiquated The Open Map visual diagram that shows the OpenAPI structure Recommended APIs that we should learn from and why Why providing the OpenAPI spec is important even if you don’t generate your docs from it How tech writers might interact with their company’s API style/design guide and why Whether the reference content and user guide should be separate or seamless Tip: If you'd like to explore these ideas in more depth, consider getting a copy of The Design of Web APIs. I've read the book and found it relevant and helpful to the work of technical documentation. Resources The Design of Web APIs (book) API style book OpenAPI Map API Handyman blog @apihandyman (Twitter) API Developer Weekly newsletter WebAPI Events DBS Developer Portal Visual Code Studio Swagger Viewer extension openapi-lint extension

Arnaud Lauret, also known as the API Handyman, recently published a book called <a href='https://www.manning.com/books/the-design-of-web-apis'><i>The Design of Web APIs</i></a>. In this podcast, I chat with Arnaud about his book, specifically exploring best practices for designing web APIs and focusing on the roles technical writers can play.