Session #1
Advanced
Technical
Writing
2008
Welcome to the Class!
Notes, news, etc. available at
http://www.msu.edu/~hartdav2/atw.html
Readings in PDF available on ANGEL
Contact
Info
Bill Hart-Davidson
*hartdav2@msu.edu*
Office: Suite 7 Olds Hall (TR 3;5 pm)
Phone: 353-9184
AIM: billhd30
And you are…?
Textbooks, etc.
1. Rockley, Ann. 2003. Managing
Enterprise Content: A Unified
Content Strategy. Indianapolis:
New Riders.
2. Readings in PDF from the course
ANGEL site
What is Web Content?
Content is the combination of
information and interactions that
comprise the user experience.
Content is synonomous with value
on the web, comprising what
users see and interact with.
Which of these qualify as
content?
►A
news item on the CNN website
► A movie trailer in Quicktime
► A recipe search tool on Epicurious
► A flash version of Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire on the ABC site
► A threaded discussion about Tech
Support for Red Hat Linux
► A ‘blog’s syndicated RSS feed
Qualities of web content
► Web
content is dynamic
► Web content is linked & distributed
► Web content is customized
► Web content is granular
When I say
► Web content is interactive “is,” I allude
to users’
expectations
Web Content is Dynamic
What we see on the web, we expect
to change soon…or to have changed
recently.
We talk of “stale” or “stagnant”
pages. Pages the don’t recognize
us, or recognize what day it is are
less easy to trust as sources of
information. Note how different this
is from the medium of print.
Web Content is Linked &
Distributed
Users experience content in a
localized way when it shows up on
their screens. But we know that it
may reside on servers that are
remote and widely dispersed.
The ability to link content with other
content means that, often, the
information IS the interface!
Web Content is Customized
As “the primary location of value” of a
website, the content that is most
prized is content that the user
experiences as tailored to their
individual needs.
This creates an interesting dilemma:
when should we customize to the
point of personalization? Is there a
point where delivering value by
personalizing yields diminishing
returns?
Web Content is Granular, 1
Web content is far less likely to stay
neatly tucked into the boundaries
we associate with traditional print
genres.
As we develop better ways to attach
meta-data to content, we increase
its granularity. Familiar units from
the print world like the page or
the paragraph, give way to new
ones…
Web Content is Granular, 2
“Granularizing” content
Can you
simply means
think of a
identifying and placing
situation
boundaries around
where we’d
smaller and smaller
chunks of information
want word
so it can be referenced,
or character
styled, and re-used.
level
granularity?
Web Content is Interactive
If we truly accept the idea that
content comprises both
interactions and information,
then web “content” can
conceivably take the place of
applications as we know them.
Let’s have a look at Ebay, for
example…
The Changing Role of
Technical Communication
Old school technical communicators
operated with a clear mandate
defined by the difference between
the product and information about
the product.
The web effectively erases this
distinction. Developer roles merge as
what used to be clear distinctions
among job responsibilities become
more difficult to make.
The Changing Role of
Technical Communication, 2
This class aims to explore the new
responsibilities information
developers, technical
communicators, HCI or UCD
specialists…and a host of other
titles…can expect to have. Call it
Tech Comm 2.0, or maybe Tech
Comm XP…
How will you fit in?
How many of you envision a career in
which you will be somehow
responsible for web site content?
How do you see the tasks of
managing information, interaction,
and value as interrelated?
ATW Mission…
► To
add to the working definition and list
of characteristics presented here
► To deepen our understanding of content
production/management
► To further define the role of the content
developer in the context of TC
► To think about these things but also to
actively experiment and try out
techniques – reflection-in-action
About ATW Projects…
Typical practices a content person uses



Know available technologies and
how they intersect with your
knowledge & skills
Analyze an organization’s overall
content strategy; implement this
strategy via content modeling
Help those around you to better
develop and manage content
Turning Your Projects in…
Set up a personal project page. A
website where you’ll post your
projects, big and small.
A template is provided on the class
web site.
Go grab it now.
Web Space?
You have access to an account provided by
MSU– your AFS Space.
http://www.msu.edu/~your_msunet_id
To put stuff there, FTP to ftp.msu.edu and
store files in the directory called
public_html; Or, in a networked lab, map
the drive and navigate to your
public_html directory
Did that last bit of jargon confuse you?
For next time…
Post your project page in your AFS
space.
You can use the template provided,
modify it, or replace it if you like.
We’ll troubleshoot and calm fears
today and next time…
Project 1: Ergonomics Poster
For the first project, we’ll be building a
poster that helps folks working in Bessey
317 to work in egonomically appropriate
ways.
Individually, your job will be to develop
content for the poster & play an editorial
role in its production. You should also
document your participation carefully.
Project 1, Continued
Information will
come from…
OSHA online site + MSU
Ergonomic Info Center
But we will…
Customize the information
for the specific users and
specific ergonomic
challenges of EBH 317
We will also
Test the poster with real
users to be sure that it is
a useful and usable
resource
Project 1, Continued
We will consider four key topics, each of which will
be assigned to an editorial team:
 Workstations (chairs, tables, computers)
 Non-Workstation areas (tables, laptops)
 Lighting & displays (monitors, projector, overhead lights,
resolutions)
 Work Processes (timing, group dynamics)
We will negotiate issues of design, sequence, real
estate, etc. for each of these areas on the poster.
Project 1, continued
In addition to reviewing key TC concepts &
skills, we’ll learn other valuable things:
► We’ll explore the complexities of
managing multiple content-providers,
including managing format & content
consistency
► You’ll learn important content
management concepts
…and there might be a few twists thrown
in along the way…
Project 1, Requirements
►A
poster, suitable for hanging up in 317,
is our final deliverable; you will produce
all the digital assets needed for the final
production of the poster
► A portfolio, compiled by each person, of
work contributed to the poster project
► Your portfolio will be a section of your
project page that makes your
contributions to the project visible
Next Time…
► We’ll
talk more about P1; think about the
key topics and which team you’d like to
be on
► Get your project page up
► Order textbook
► Review syllabus and schedule
► Read articles by Applen, Geisler et. al., &
Crowley (all are PDFs you can get from
ANGEL)