Category Archives: TC

TC, Technical Communication

New Facebook View

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Earlier this week, Facebook revealed its new look for the News Feed.

I know what you may think, why change it again? According to Facebook, they wanted to make the content consistent across both mobile and desktop environments so that users can focus more on stories from people and Pages.

The new Facebook view is not necessarily new, but was in the works for several months. If you have a developer account, the “new” view has been there for some time and tweaked a bit before being officially announced.

My impression about using the new design for months now is how easy and uncluttered the feed is. It also shows improved visibility for brand and Page owners by displaying photos that fill the entire width of the feed if the photo is as wide or wider than the feed itself. This also applies to photos pulled directly from a website or blog and works both on the desktop and mobile versions.

Facebook New Feed - Desktop

Notice that the desktop feed shows a preview of the website, including having it display across the entire width of the feed.

The only difference between the mobile and desktop version is the website preview box pulled from the shared website does not display on mobile views.

Facebook New Feed - Mobile

Notice that the mobile feed does not contain any information under the picture.

Other than that, I prefer the new improvements. At least when I make a post with an attractive graphic or image, it will gather other people’s attention faster than before.

Attend the 2014 Mid-Atlantic TechComm Conference

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Have you heard of the Cloud? Do you live on the Cloud? How do I get into the Cloud? Find out more!

Sunshine in the clouds

Soar into Cloud technology

I will be presenting, “Seeking Sunshine in Cloud Technology,” which will discuss how our profession can use Cloud technology to give us a competitive edge. How can we soar into the Cloud successfully without fear of being washed out and hung up to dry? I will talk about ways to plan, transition, and use Cloud technology and keep up to speed with the demands of our clients, customers, and our audience.

If you live in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, or within a few hours away of Philly, I encourage you to attend the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter’s Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference on Saturday, March 22, 2014.

STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter

STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter

This full-day conference features an array of technical communication topics to learn from. Speakers include locally and nationally known technical communicators. Many of them have presented at other conferences, such as the STC Annual Summit and LavaCon.

I  arrive Friday afternoon in Baltimore and plan to present in Philadelphia on Saturday. Then, I will travel to New York on Sunday and return home to Albuquerque Monday afternoon. If you would like to meet, please let me know and I would be happy to visit over food, coffee, or a tourist attraction.

See you soon!

Try Google Helpouts

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Ever heard of Google Helpouts? Most likely you may have heard of Google Hangouts if you use Google+. Helpouts is the professional sibling of Hangouts, which experts in anything can share their knowledge for free or for a price. Depending on what you need help in, you can schedule a session for advice on medicine, science, technology, writing, and much more.

Screen shot of Roger's Helpouts Listing

Roger’s listing on Helpouts

When Helpouts premiered in November 2013, ArsTechnica wrote a small piece about it. I felt it was neat to see that an online tech news site covered Helpouts and that I was part of this new venture. It was a wide rollout that can show how Google and everyday people can monetize face-to-face interaction.

The underlying technology of Hangouts is no different in Helpouts. For example, you can have a two-way video and audio conference with customers and service providers. All that a user needs is a webcam, microphone, and a high-speed internet connection. Additionally, tools, such as Google Drive and screen share are extremely useful. In my case, both are wonderful collaboration tools for me to review, edit, and provide feedback on documents.

Screen shot of Hangouts

Helpouts looks similar and has the same tools found in Hangouts.

Right now, my scope includes documents, but it could expand to screen sharing, remote computer service, and training. These Helpout sessions remind me of the work I once did as a Writing Tutor for the Center for Student Success at New Mexico Tech. I would consult with students about their papers for 15 or 30 minutes. Essentially, I’m doing the same but for a small fee and via the internet.

Currently, the marketplace for these services varies and I understand that people’s time and money is valuable. If you want to try Google Helpouts for my services, I would greatly appreciate the business. Google says that you will like Helpouts and offers a 100% money back guarantee.

Check out my 15 minute Helpout for documents that are 500-1000 words (1-2 pages long)  or my 30 minute Helpout for documents longer than 1000 words .

Your documents deserve better with some editing and feedback love.