The Cherryleaf Podcast
Cherryleaf’s podcast on technical writing and becoming a better business communicator. www.cherryleaf.com
Episodes
In this special episode of the Cherryleaf Podcast, we're doing something a little different - a curated roundup of recent news, tools, research, and resources especially relevant to technical communicators.
🔔 Highlights & Topics Covered:🆕 TechSmith Launches Camtasia Online
🛠 Vale Linter Introduces “Views” Feature
📄 Netflix’s Documentation Approach We review “Documentation that Developers Actually Read: The Netflix Approa...
The way users want to access information may be undergoing a seismic shift. Some have suggested technical communication is rapidly moving towards a question-and-answer (Q&A) paradigm.
As user behaviour moves away from reading and towards asking, we discuss how chatbots, AI, and Q&A-driven interfaces are reshaping the expectations and responsibilities of technical communicators.
Takeaway quote: "It’s not about crafting a li...
In this episode, we dive into responses to the evolving digital landscape shaped by AI in search engines and changes in social media.
We explain how Cherryleaf took inspiration from the viral success of the Museum of English Rural Life (Merl) and used AI chatbots to analyse Merl's approach.
We share the key lessons learned - such as embracing an authentic voice, leveraging unique content, blending education with entertainment, and ...
In this episode, Ellis explores how AI agents, especially autonomous AI agents, are reshaping the landscape of technical communication. What are they? How do they differ from traditional AI tools? And crucially, what does their rise mean for technical writers?
Blending two recent blog posts, Ellis walks us through emerging tools like Manus, Opera's browse...
Summary:
In this episode, Ellis Pratt explores the critical issue of data privacy for technical writers using AI tools and chatbots. He delves into the potential risks, from data leaks and copyright infringement to compliance violations and intellectual property concerns. The episode also provides practical solutions and strategies for mitigating these risks, empowe...
In this episode of the Cherryleaf Podcast, we explore the challenges of receiving and responding to criticism as a technical writer. Documentation plays a crucial role in user experience, and receiving feedback—whether constructive or harsh—can be an opportunity for growth. We discuss practical strategies for handling feedback, evaluating its validity, and implementing improvements to enhance documentation quality.
Key Topics Cover...In this episode, we reflect on 2024's trends and explore what may be coming in the world of technical writing and content development in 2025. From the impact of AI to evolving policy requirements and shifting market dynamics, we look into the key factors shaping the field.
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Reflections on 2024
- Overview of the year's major trends in technical writing and client demands.
- Changes in government spending and its influence on ...
In this episode, Ellis discusses the importance of networking and meeting other technical communicators, especially for those who work solo or in small teams. He explores various avenues for connecting with industry peers, from conferences and meetups to virtual groups and informal gatherings.
Key Topics Discussed:
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Challenges of Solo Technical Communicators Many technical writers in the UK work alone or in small teams, limiti...
We explore an intriguing development in content creation: AI-generated audio from technical documentation.
We’ve prepared two examples to showcase this technology, and we discuss its potential impact and applications.
We used the user guide for Audacity, the popular audio editing application, to generate an AI-narrated overview:
https://youtu.be/yPlfAPpqGuw?si=cCJeZ-hfvg_o--fg
We also created an audio overview of Transport for Lond...
In this episode of the Cherryleaf podcast, we explore the latest trends in technical communication as revealed by an in-depth analysis of conference themes from 2024.
By examining data from leading events such as Tekom, TC World, LavaCon, and the STC Summit, we identify eight major themes shaping the industry, with a surprising dominance of AI and generative technologies.
Listen in to understand how these trends are influencing con...
Remember the excitement when ChatGPT burst onto the scene? Suddenly, it seemed like AI was going to revolutionise everything, including our field of technical communication.
But now, 18 months and six Cherryleaf AI podcast episodes later, we're asking the big question: Was it all just hype?
You've probably heard some folks saying AI isn't delivering the promised return on investment. And others swearing it's changing the game. So, ...
We've created some YouTube Shorts on promoting the value of techcomm. We talk about the process of creating the videos and the content in the videos.
See also:
Uncovering and communicating the value of your tech comm teams' work, with Keren Brown
We'll also publish a transcript of this podcast on the Cherryleaf blog.
About Cherryleaf:
In April 2023, we conducted a survey into the use of AI and ChatGPT in technical communications. We thought it would be interesting to carry out a similar survey again.
In this podcast, we talk about the results from the survey and describe what has changed over the last 12 months.
We'll post a transcript on the Cherryleaf blog.
About Cherryleaf:
This month's podcast looks at the language of persuasion and how technical authors can use it.
What do we mean by persuasive language? What is nudging and are we as technical authors able to use this type of language?
As part of the research for this podcast I watched some public information films and read articles which are mentioned in the podcast. Many thanks to those organisations, authors and their expertise. Here are the link...
In this episode, we look at the current demand for contract Technical Authors in the UK, using statistics from ITJobsWatch.net. We look at the the number of vacancies and whether this has affected the rates offered.
We'll also publish a transcript of this podcast on the Cherryleaf blog.
About Cherryleaf:
This month's podcast looks at how large organisations create useful, informative content which is accessible to a wide, often global, audience.
As part of the research for this podcast I looked at various websites which are mentioned in the podcast. Many thanks to those organisations and their expertise. Here are the links to the ones mentioned in the podcast:
We'll also publish a tran...
This month's podcast looks at what is involved in a corporate re-brand and what is involved for technical authors if their organisation decides to rebrand.
What is a corporate brand? And what is involved when an organisation decides to rebrand?
As part of the research for this podcast we looked at various websites which are mentioned in the podcast. Many thanks to those organisations and their expertise. Here are the links to the o...
Welcome to the first episode of 2024!
In this exciting instalment, we dive deep into the evolving world of e-ink writing devices. Will these gadgets gain momentum in the tech world?
We explore their rising popularity and forecast their potential to become mainstream tools. We'll dissect the key issues these devices address, unveiling the unique solutions they offer to modern problems.
Our discussion spans the capabilities and featu...
It’s that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2024 and beyond.
We've posted a transcript to the Cherryleaf Blog.
About Cherryleaf:
Microsoft's Akash Dubey has created a YouTube playlist that contains a series of interviews with people from Microsoft, Meta, Across Systems, and Cherryleaf, on lessons learnt with AI. https://...
In this episode, we look at what Techcomm problems can generative AI solve.
Technical writers today face numerous challenges that can hinder productivity and impact content quality. From managing high volumes of documentation to keeping pace with rapid product changes, it takes great effort to produce and maintain helpful, accurate, and engaging technical content. This is where AI comes in.
In this episode, we provide an overview o...
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