AI-Powered Search, Structuring Prompts For Tech Comm, Building Self-Service Help Experiences, and Barriers in API Docs
AI-Powered Search, Structuring Prompts For Tech Comm, Building Self-Service Help Experiences, and Barriers in API Docs
The Content Wrangler RoundUp: A curated collection of content for technical writers and information developers
Welcome to the 1,223 new members who have joined us since the last month! If you haven’t subscribed, join 28,874 content wranglers by subscribing here.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI helps consumers make shopping decisions
Amazon is releasing AI-generated summaries on their website to help shoppers make purchase decisions faster.
Is that AI smarter than a fifth grader?
Researchers find ChatGPT trick that makes it sound smarter.
You: A Generative AI web search tool
Search the web with this AI-powered search engine.
🖥️ [Webinar] Structuring AI Prompts For Technical Communication
Lance Cummings provides unique insights into how structured content can optimize interactions with AI, especially when crafting prompts across teams for technical communication.
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Can’t make the live event? Register and we’ll send you a link to watch the recording.
AI-powered music app for DJs and remixers
New AI-powered app allows you to isolate and remove vocal tracks from recorded music.
Meet Julius: A ChatGPT Plug-in that allows you to unlock insights hidden in spreadsheet data
Julius.AI provides a powerful ChatGPT plugin called “Chat With Your Data” — a generative AI tool that analyzes structured data and uncovers insights locked inside the rows and columns of spreadsheets. You must have a ChatGPT Plus subscription and plugin access to utilize the plug-in.
It’s free to get started. You can link up to 2 data sources, send up to 15 messages a month, and export unlimited files.
Prompt Engineering 101 course for Content Developers
Lance Cummings teaches you to use ChatGPT to manage content and increase productivity.
WWJT?
New AI app lets users ‘text’ with Jesus. For an additional $2.99 you can chat with Satan 😈. Critics call it blasphemy.
TECH DOCS
Google Offers Free Technical Writing Courses For Software Engineers
This collection of courses and learning resources aims to help software developers and engineers better understand technical documentation and the work of technical writers.
QUIZ: Which type of structured content is right for you?
Answer a few quick questions to learn which flavor of structured content is most appropriate for your technical documentation needs.
[Virtual Event] 67th annual STC ‘Spectrum’ Conference Sept 19-20
"Tech Comm Stories" is the theme of this year's 2023 Spectrum Conference, a two-day virtual event hosted by the Society for Technical Communication’s Rochester, NY chapter. The event will deliver a series of round table discussions that will span careers in technical communication, discuss technology, bring together the past and the future, and leave room for some professional networking and fun.
Tech Writers Without Borders: Helping Others Communicate During Times of Crisis
Meet Stuart Culshaw, co-founder of a global community of technical communication professionals known as Tech Writers Without Borders (TWWB). TWWB volunteers help charities, humanitarian organizations, and other nonprofits improve the quality of the documentation and educational resources they use to train and support their staff and volunteers.
💡 Looking for a way to beef up you tech writing portfolio and gain needed experience? Consider volunteering with Tech Writers Without Borders.
The Art and Science of 3D Technical Animation
Discover the world of 3D technical animation, its role in visualizing complex ideas and exploring its applications across various industries, in this presentation from Paul McCrorey.
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Can’t make the live event? Register and we’ll send you a link to watch when it’s convenient.
Learning XML: An Introduction
Check out this interactive tutorial from W3Schools to learn the basics of XML authoring.
Discover science-informed information design
The InfoDev Academy is an online community and learning platform specifically for information developers – professionals who work with fact-based, verifiable content that is meant to be used. The Academy’s mission is to help you create high-quality content, advance your career, and thrive in the workplace through:
Check out the InfoDev Academy today!
🖥️ [Webinar] Building Self-Service Help Experiences
Presenter: Chris DeTurk
Attend this session to learn what's involved in building a self-service help portal and to see examples from organizations that have already done so. You'll discover the various ways that Heretto helps its customers create self-service support sites that delight their technical documentation consumers. We'll walk through portal-building basics and explore the Heretto portal development framework.
Can’t make the live event?
Register, and we’ll send you a link to watch a recording when convenient.
Creating Enterprise Content Strategies is the theme of this year’s LavaCon Conference in San Diego
At LavaCon 2023, Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, will deliver an opening-day talk and participate in the closing panel chat on the future of content.
Save $200 off in-person registration at LavaCon 2023
We’ve arranged a discount of $200 off the cost of entry to the 2023 LavaCon conference on Content Strategy (October 14-17) at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, at the gateway to San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter.
Use discount code TCW to save $200 when registering for the in-person event.
API DOCUMENTATION
Adding API Docs to your technical writing toolkit
Documenting APIs: A guide for technical writers and engineers from Tom Johnson of I’d Rather Be Writing.
Additional Resource: Using AI to Learn Coding
[Stack]Overflow AI
Stack Overflow is using AI to deliver more intelligent responses to user queries. The popular developer portal is upgrading to semantic search from traditional lexical search methods.
Obstacles To Keeping API Docs Up-To-Date
In their 2023 report — State of Software Quality — SmartBear identified the top obstacles preventing organizations from properly looking after their API Docs.
🖥️ [Webinar] Recognizing Exceptional Developer Experiences
Join us for a chat with Laura Vass, organizer of the DevPortal Awards and the API The Docs conference (and podcast), to discuss the content needs of software developers. We'll discuss the awards and learn what we can do to provide developers with the best content experiences possible.
Can’t make the live event?
Register, and we’ll send you a link to watch a recording when convenient.
What Are Software Development Kits (SDKs)?
A quick explanation of Software Development Kits (SDK) and a comparison of SDKs with APIs.
Related: 10 Best Practices for SDK Generation
What software developers want from API documentation
You might be surprised to learn that they want pretty much what everyone else wants.
Barriers in API documentation that hinder developers
Developers benefit from consistency in navigation, predictable structure, useful search, and easy to reuse code samples. Learn what researchers discovered about how developers use API Docs and uncover the barriers that prevent developers from successfully using documentation.