10-Minute Tech Comm

Father-daughter research team Lupe and Elena Garcia discuss their recent Technical Communication Quarterly article Considering the Factory Floor, which analyzes communication breakdowns between union workers and supervisors. This episode is part of the 2024 The Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival on "Politics/Rhetorics: Navigating Crisis, Culture, and Civility." Check out all the podcast carnival episodes at https://thebigrhetoricalpodcast.weebly.com/! #tbrpodcastcarnival2024Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Irina Silyanova offers advice on how to write better UX microcopy, the small chunks of text that allow users to navigate an interface. Her advice comes from her recent Smashing Magazine article: How to Improve Your Microcopy: UX Writing Tips for Non-UX Writers.Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Karen Rempel (https://karenrempel.com/) joins the podcast to give advise on crafting better resumes and giving better interviews. Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Anjana Rahan shares insight from her career in knowledge management and information architecture. Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Julia Pond, information architect at Trilyon, Inc, joins the podcast to discuss her work using XML and DITA to collect, manage, and publish content. Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Dr. Jordan Frith discusses Barcode, his new book in the Object Lessons series. Though we take barcodes for granted now, Frith argues that "it's really hard to become mundane." He explains how barcodes shaped the global economy, how controversies nearly derailed them, and how the barcode has taken on so much symbolic weight. Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Sara Sánchez, a localization lead and technical writer at Onada, talks about her project of spreading the word about technical communication in her country of Spain. Check out https://meetcontent.github.io/ for more about her work! Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Summer Lopez from PEN America joins the podcast to discuss her organization's new report, Speech in the Machine: Generative AI's Implications for Free Expression. The report details ways that generative AI tools might disrupt free speech with threats that include increased disinformation, online abuse, censorship, and bias. Ms. Lopez also discusses some recommendations that might help address these threats. Visit https://tenminutetechcomm.com/ for a transcript of the episode. Email ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information on the show!

Jasmyne Epps, Product Manager at Digital Services Georgia, joins the show to discuss the definition and goals of digital accessibility, plus the ways that digital accessibility contributes to the goals of a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative. Follow @TechCommUAH, visit tenminutetechcomm.com, or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Joy Robinson joins the podcast to discuss her work as a user experience researcher at Google. She discusses her research methods, how she advocates for users, and the trends she see in UX. Follow @TechCommUAH, visit tenminutetechcomm.com, or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show. Transcript available at https://tenminutetechcomm.com/index.php/2023/05/04/dr-joy-robinson-on-user-experience-research/

Justin McGill, founder of the AI content-generation company Content @ Scale (https://contentatscale.ai), joins the podcast to talk about what his company does, what AI means for the future of writing, and the ethical issues surrounding AI content generation. Follow @TechCommUAH, visit tenminutetechcomm.com, or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show. Transcript available at https://tenminutetechcomm.com/index.php/2023/01/26/justin-mcgill-on-ai-writing/

Astrophysicist Dr. Katie Mack (https://www.astrokatie.com/) joins the show to talk about writing her book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). Dr. Mack discusses her writing process, her moment of realization that the universe could end, and her strategies for making complex concepts accessible to a wide readership. Follow @TechCommUAH, visit tenminutetechcomm.com, or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Part of The Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival 2022! Dr. Emily Haozous researches Native American health care disparities and communication at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (https://southwest.pire.org/person/emily-a-haozous-ph-d-r-n-faan/). Dr. Haozous joins the podcast to talk about the challenges Native American and indigenous people face in health care, the limitations of the "health literacy" model, and the need for participatory communication development processes that consider and involve members of the health communication audiences. Follow @TechCommUAH, visit tenminutetechcomm.com, or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

David Nunez talks about his book Docs for Developers (https://docsfordevelopers.com/), coauthored with Jared Bhatti, Zachary Sarah Corleissen, Jen Lambourne, and Heidi Waterhouse. David talks about why developers need to write documents, how to understand your audience, the writing process, and ways to measure the success of documentation. Transcripts for the first 50 episodes are now available (https://tinyurl.com/2uu9swrc). Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Julio Vazquez is a Senior Digital Content Strategist at Cisco and a technical communicator with decades of experience. He joins the show to talk about his experience helping to create the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) standard and why he's a DITA evangelist. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

This episode is part of the Big Rhetorical Podcast Carnival 2021 on Contending with Misinformation in the Community and Classroom. The episode features three experts who study how misinformation spreads and effective ways to thwart it. Dr. Sara Yeo (1:43) discusses our weaknesses in identifying misinformation and how emotion and humor affect receptions of scientific information. Dr. Leticia Bode (18:45) provides a nuanced definition of misinformation and explains why countering misinformation online is not always a waste of your time. Maryam Maleki (41:15) talks about how misinformation spreads online following models that also predict the spread of infectious diseases. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Natalie Dunbar (https://www.nataliedunbarcontentstrategist.com/) defines information architecture and content strategy, then explains how to implement both! She explains how to keep your webpage from resembling the Winchester Mystery House (https://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/)! Also, transcripts for the first 50 episodes are now available (https://tinyurl.com/2uu9swrc). Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Jason Tham (https://jasontham.com/) joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Design Thinking in Technical Communication: Solving Problems through Making and Collaboration (https://www.routledge.com/Design-Thinking-in-Technical-Communication-Solving-Problems-through-Making/Tham/p/book/9780367478216). Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Philip Kiely, author of Writing for Software Developers (https://philipkiely.com/wfsd/) talks about how technical professionals can write content users love. We discuss the writing process, how to assemble articles effectively, how to get users to care about your topics, and why the Heart Bleed Bug was so well named. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Gowri Ramkumar of Document360 hosts the podcast Knowledgebase Ninjas (https://document360.com/podcast/) and offers listeners insights on how knowledgebases and technical writing can integrate into an organization. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

This roundtable discussion includes several members of the College Composition and Communication Conference Black Technical and Professional Writing Task Force: Dr. Temptaous Mckoy, Dr. Cecilia D. Shelton, Ja’La Wourman, Dr. Natasha Jones, and Dr. Donnie Sackey. These scholars, along with Constance Haywood and Dr. Kimberly C. Harper, recently compiled the "CCCC Black Technical and Professional Communication Position Statement with Resource Guide," available at: https://cccc.ncte.org/cccc/black-technical-professional-communication. In this roundtable discussion, the members discuss the impetus for the statement, the gaps it fills, the topics it covers, and the ways we can build from the groundwork it establishes. To learn more about the conversation with the task force hosted by Virginia Tech on November 30, 2020, visit https://liberalarts.vt.edu/news/events/2020/10/black-technical-and-professional-communication.html. To shop Pyramid Books, visit https://pyramidbooks.indielite.org/. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Jack Molisani, Strategy President at ProSpring Technical Staffing, talks about how job titles in technical communication are changing, and how you can cater your resume to these new titles. He also previews LavaCon (https://lavacon.org/2020/), a virtual content strategy conference coming up from October 25-28, 2020. 10-Minute Tech Comm listeners can get $100 off registration with the promo code #TeamWeber. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

David Dylan Thomas, author of Design for Cognitive Bias, offers insight on how our unconscious minds shape decisions and designs and tells us what we can do about it. Learn more at https://www.daviddylanthomas.com/. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Jenny Rice, author of Awful Archives: Conspiracy Theory, Rhetoric, and Acts of Evidence, talks about how conspiracy theorists use evidence and gives advice for how to engage conspiracy theorists (and when not to). Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Katie Trauth Taylor of Untold Content (https://untoldcontent.com/) talks about a recent collaboration between her company and Action Learning Network to create infographics and social media materials about COVID-19 for heart failure patients and their parents. Check out the infographics here: https://www.actionlearningnetwork.org/covid19. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Jacinta Bowler from Science Alert (https://www.sciencealert.com/) talks about how she reports on the changing situation surrounding COVID-19. She discusses the challenges of reporting on uncertain science and making complex concepts clear for a large audience. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Lehua Ledbetter talks about how beauty YouTubers from marginalized communities expand our definitions of procedural discourse and success in technical communication. She shares insight from her work, including "Tactical Technical Communication in Communities: Legitimizing Community-Created User-Generated Instructions," written with Dr. Avery Edenfield. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Chris Dayley shares his research into how students perceive diversity in university technical communication programs and offers strategies for making these programs more inclusive.

Dr. Natalia Matveeva and Dr. Godwin Agboka, co-editors of the recent collection Citizenship and Advocacy in Technical Communication: Scholarly and Pedagogical Perspectives, talk about the best ways of doing technical communication advocacy. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Welcome to the first episode in a series about making technical communication more inclusive. Dr. Avery Edenfield talks about his research into the ways that transgender people share experiences and repurposed scientific literature in online forums. These types of communities help technical communicators redefine standards of success and emphasize participatory research design. Dr. Edenfield shares insights from his recent publications, including "Queering Tactical Technical Communication: DIY HRT," written with Steve Holmes and Jared S. Colton, and "Tactical Technical Communication in Communities: Legitimizing Community-Created User-Generated Instructions," written with Lehua Ledbetter. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Saul Carliner shares data from "The State of the Technical Communication Industry: A Census of Technical Communicators," published in the December 2018 issue of Intercom. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Dr. Jason Swarts, author of the recent book Wicked, Incomplete, and Uncertain: User Support in the Wild and the Role of Technical Communication, talks about how changes in technology have altered user needs and the role of technical communicators producing user help. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Donna Lichaw (https://www.donnalichaw.com/), author of The User's Journey: Storymapping Products that People Love, talks about how the classic storytelling structure applies to the way people use products and the way that teams design them. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Sidney Fussell, a reporter at The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/author/sidney-fussell/), covers technology and its intersections with race, privacy, and surveillance. He talks about he researches, describes, and interprets technology clearly and effectively for audiences. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

This episode highlights the connections between hip hop and technical communication. First, Dr. Victor Del Hierro talks about his recent article "DJs, Playlists, and Community: Imagining Communication Design through Hip Hop." Then, Alabama-bred rapper Black Native (https://blacknative.bandcamp.com/) talks about his message as a southern artist. The episode also features clips from three Black Native songs: Black Confederate, DSA PSA feat. Shaz & Frank Yeiger, and Undivided Attention. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Seth Earley, founder and CEO of Earley Information Science (http://www.earley.com/), talks about how artificial intelligence (AI) will change technical communication in the next 15 years.

Laura Gonzales, Profesora Asistente en la Universidad de Tejas en El Paso, conversa sobre su nuevo libro, Sites of Translation: What Multilinguals Can Teach Us About Digital Writing and Rhetoric. Este libro demuestra las conexiones entre la traducción, la composición digital, y el activismo comunitario.

Dr. Laura Gonzales talks in English (and in a Spanish-language interview) about her brand-new book, Sites of Translation: What Multilinguals Can Teach Us about Digital Writing and Rhetoric. Dr. Gonzales talks about translation moments, when translators must pause and consider the right phrase for their rhetorical situation. She also talks about how translation is situated, cyclical, and creative, how translators use translation tools, and how translation happens in communities. Plus, you can find full transcripts of this show and the Spanish-language episode at uahtechcomm.com/10-min-tech-comm-podcast/. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Kristin Scroggin, owner of genWHY Communication Strategies (https://www.genwhycommunications.com/) talks about how companies can better understand and communicate with the Millennial generation. Sponsored by STC Huntsville/North Alabama and recorded live on August 29, 2018, at Yellowhammer Brewing (https://www.yellowhammerbrewery.com/) in Huntsville, AL.

Amruta Ranade, technical writer and blogger (https://amrutaranade.com/), talks about how to learn a new technology one small piece at a time. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show.

Chelsea Moats, senior learning designer at Delta Airlines, talks about how she created her online professional portfolio (available at http://www.chelseamoats.com/). Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at ryan.weber@uah.edu for more information about the show or the Intercom Student Perspectives column mentioned in this episode.

Freelance writer Allison Augustyn (http://araugustyn.com/) talks about her work as an exhibit writer for the Field Museum and the Pacific Science Center. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Dr. Emily January Petersen shares insights from her 2017 article "Articulating Value Amid Persistent Misconceptions about Technical and Professional Communication in the Workplace." The article reports on interviews with 39 female technical communicators who talk about how their work often goes overlooked and underappreciated.

Andrew Etter, author of Modern Technical Writing: An Introduction to Software Documentation, shares strategies for producing effective software documentation. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Dr. Kirk St. Amant talks about script theory and prototypes, two concepts for researching UX in international contexts. St. Amant offers plenty of examples, especially relating to medical care. Our conversation is based on two recent articles by St. Amant, "Mapping the Cultural Context of Care: An Approach to Patient-Centered Design in International Contexts" and "Of Scripts and Prototypes: A Two-Part Approach to User Experience Design for International Contexts." Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Dr. Lauren R. Kolodziejski talks about writing her Technical Communication Quarterly article "Harms of Hedging in Scientific Discourse: Andrew Wakefield and the Origins of the Autism Vaccine Controversy." Kolodziejski talks about how she came up with the idea for the piece, her writing process, and her interactions with peer reviewers. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Dr. Lauren R. Kolodziejski explains how the rhetorical features of a 1998 scientific article by Andrew Wakefield et. al. helped fuel unnecessary skepticism about vaccines. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Jeff Gerding of Purdue University talks about how the government can use technology to foster civic engagement, especially when gathering feedback about new policies. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Amelia Chesley, a graduate student at Purdue University, talks about her research into how the LibriVox community uses both control and freedom to help volunteers achieve a shared mission. LibriVox (www.librivox.org) is an online group for volunteers who record public domain audiobooks, and the community uses online communication to make complex decisions about its mission, policies, and procedures. Plus, a poem! Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Dr. Marte Otten shares insight from her recent article "A social Bayesian brain: How social knowledge can shape visual perception," authored with Anil K. Seth and Yair Pinto. Otten argues that social knowledge can shape what we see and that perception begins with predictions informed by past experience and social context. Follow @TechCommUAH or email Ryan Weber at rw0019@uah.edu for more information about the show!

Diane Murphy, Content Strategist at Airbnb, defines content strategy and tells us about her work.