I'd Rather Be Writing Podcast
Topics and issues for technical writers. Improve your technical communication role. Empower users with better documentation.
- Update frequency
- every 22 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 323
- Years Active
- 2006 - 2025
Podcast: The evolution of podcasting, with Ed Marsh
In this podcast, I talk with <a href='https://edmarsh.com'>Ed Marsh</a> about podcasting. You may have listened to Ed Marsh's <a href='https://edmarsh.com/content-content-podcast/'>Content Content po…
00:57:24 |
Sun 03 Dec 2023
Podcast: Tech writing and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, with Dan Grabski
In this episode, I chat with Dan Grabski, a senior content developer based in Portland, both about his recent WTD talk titled 'Zen and the Art of Manually Creating API Documentation' and Robert Pirsi…
00:42:12 |
Sat 18 Nov 2023
Doing research with AI tools -- avoiding the trap of fabricated URLs
In this short podcast, I explore using AI tools to do research, the potential for fake URLs, and how to deal with the fabrication. I started by using Claude to summarize a podcast and provide a list …
00:14:56 |
Thu 09 Nov 2023
Notes for Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality
In <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Building-Cycling-City-Blueprint-Vitality/dp/1610918797'><i>Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality</i></a>, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett de…
00:46:49 |
Mon 06 Nov 2023
My experience trying to write original, full-length human-sounding articles using Claude AI
You can use AI tools like Claude to help you write full-length content. By going paragraph-by-paragraph, you can direct the AI while seemingly maintaining your own voice and ideas. However, despite m…
00:37:30 |
Wed 25 Oct 2023
Chatting about AI trends and tech comm with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti
In this podcast, I chat with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti, a tech writer in Barcelona who blogs at passo.uno and works for Splunk, about various AI news topics. We talk about the Forrester AI jobs impact…
00:49:01 |
Fri 20 Oct 2023
[Podcast] AI and APIs: What works, what doesn't
In conversations about AI, a lot of tech writers are asking what kind of scenarios is AI good for? What works, what doesn’t? In which scenarios? You may have read my responses to these questions befo…
01:00:58 |
Sat 14 Oct 2023
Presentation recording: Specialization myopia syndrome and the content journey
This is a recording of a presentation called <i>Specialization myopia syndrome and the content journey</i>, which I gave to a company's private tech comm event. With their permission, I'm posting it …
00:50:52 |
Tue 07 Mar 2023
Podcast: All about Redocly, with founder Adam Altman
In this podcast, I chat with Adam Altman all about Redocly, an authoring/publishing tool for creating API documentation. Topics we discuss include why he started Redocly, the approach to API doc tool…
00:36:16 |
Sun 26 Feb 2023
Podcast about Archbee -- a new documentation tool with a block-based editor, API publishing capability, content re-use, and more
<a href='https://www.archbee.com/'>Archbee</a> is a relatively new documentation tool that offers a block-based editor, API publishing capability, content re-use, and more. The initial version of Arc…
00:29:09 |
Mon 31 Oct 2022
Keynote presentation to STC India 2022
This post is <a href='/trends/trends-to-follow-or-forget-intro.html'>part of a series</a> that explores tech comm trends that I've either followed or forgotten, and why. The overall goal is to better…
00:57:12 |
Sat 26 Mar 2022
[Podcast] Become a technical writer: conversation with Bobby Kennedy about the technical writing courses he offers
I recently chatted with Bobby Kennedy to learn more about the technical writing courses he's offering at <a href='https://becometechnicalwriter.com'>becometechnicalwriter.com</a>. In this podcast, he…
Mon 21 Feb 2022
MEGAComm recording: How to increase awareness of tech comm inside corporate walls
I recently gave a presentation called <i>How to increase awareness of tech comm inside corporate walls</i> at the <a href='https://megacomm.org'>MEGAComm 2022 conference</a>, which is a conference fo…
00:52:55 |
Thu 10 Feb 2022
Presentation recording -- 'Best practices in API docs: Product overviews and getting started tutorials'
I recently gave an online presentation about product overviews and getting started tutorials in API docs, sponsored by the STC Washington, D.C.-Baltimore Chapter. This post provides a recording of th…
01:01:35 |
Fri 29 Oct 2021
tcworld China 2021 keynote: 'Tech comm and marketing: How to make your tech comm group more visible to those within your company'
I recently gave a keynote presentation at tcworld China 2021 on the topic of tech comm and marketing. This post provides a recording of the presentation, slides, and detailed notes for the presentati…
01:02:30 |
Thu 16 Sep 2021
Recording of 'Product overviews vs. getting started tutorials: striking a balance between read-first and try-first user behaviors'
I recently gave a <a href='https://www.technical-communication.org/tekom/webinars/upcoming-webinars?tx_zwbisdreiwebinars_webinar%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_zwbisdreiwebinars_webinar%5Bcontroller%5D=Webina…
00:49:06 |
Sat 07 Aug 2021
Videocast: Micro content and Flare -- Conversation with Kate Schneider
In this videocast, I chat with Kate Schneider about micro content and Flare. Kate shares micro content examples from her current documentation and explains the strategies she considers when creating …
00:31:05 |
Sun 21 Mar 2021
The story behind Document360 -- podcast with founder Saravana Kumar
In a <a href='/blog/document-360-review/'>previous post</a>, I explored how <a href='https://document360.io/?ref=idratherbewriting'>Document360</a>, a new cloud-based documentation platform, handles …
00:32:12 |
Tue 17 Nov 2020
Playing a product design role as a content designer -- podcast with Jonathon Colman
In this podcast, I chat with Jonathon Colman about an innovative work model they implemented at Intercom with content designers. In their experimental model, content designers were allocated to one p…
00:46:20 |
Mon 24 Aug 2020
A tip for doc reviews -- bring a list of questions
Although doc reviews are a central part of the tech writing process, it's often a challenge to get teams to review docs. One tip is to bring a list of questions to the doc review. This provides more …
00:08:08 |
Fri 24 Jul 2020
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