Welp, I didn't think I was going to return to posting under this banner, but here we are. There are a few factors which have led me here, and I’ll name them in a bit. But I want to establish a few new ground rules that will make these next few entries more predictable, and less of a burden, so that we — yes, both you and I — can get more out of them. Hopefully.
First, these won’t be daily. That was too much. And I’m too tied to this machine already, trying to line up my next full-time gig (if you need a seasoned content designer, please get in touch). Second, I want to make these next handful of posts focused on content design (or UX writing or content strategy, whichever term your employer has been using to try and portion out that tiny piece of users’ experience). But please know that there will most likely be some soccer or music or politics of — heaven forfend — Twitter references thrown in, because they have all defined me, (for good or for bad) and have definitely shaped who I am today. The last ground rule is that I reserve the right to undo or add to these ground rules at any moment, based on needs, mine or yours. So if you have an idea or response, please let me know.
Now, on to the reasons we’re back here. I’ve been volunteering as a middle school math teacher on Tuesdays at my daughter’s school (have you read about our teacher shortage?) and during my lunch break, I listened to this recent conversation between Patrick Stafford and Kristina Halvorson live on LinkedIn while inhaling my lunch before 5th period started. They kept making one point over and over: We need to talk about our work. And not just where we’ve worked or the metrics we may have achieved. Sure, those are important, but we need to start sharing the intricacies and minutiae of how we do what we do.
This got me to thinking’. I’ve been telling the same handful of stories over and over in job interviews and portfolio presentations, but I’ve only shared parts of them in my previous posts. So, another reason we’re back here is so I can write them all down. Not just for you, but for me, too. I hope that I can get enough detail out of my head and into these sentences to make the daunting task of interviewing a little less harrowing.
The last reason I’m doing these again is I miss the community. When I was publishing daily posts, I really enjoyed getting reconnected to the voices I missed on Twitter. And I got to meet some smart people for the first time through LinkedIn. With the rise of BlueSky (I have invite codes, if you need one), and the start of Button just a few days away, I want to rekindle the deeper discussions some of my previous posts had garnered. With that in mind, here are a few ideas for upcoming topics:
Now, I listed these alphabetically, but I don’t have any idea — yet — which one is coming next. We’ll find out together in a week. And if you have a desire to read more about some specifics about some of my past work, please let me know and I’ll add it to the agenda.
I hope you’ll climb back on for this ride. It should be more focused than our last trip. I’m looking forward to connecting with you again. Oh, and if you know of a senior-level UX writing or content design role, I know a guy who’s looking again.
Storytime
08 October 2023
Welp, I didn't think I was going to return to posting under this banner, but here we are. There are a few factors which have led me here, and I’ll name them in a bit. But I want to establish a few new ground rules that will make these next few entries more predictable, and less of a burden, so that we — yes, both you and I — can get more out of them. Hopefully.
First, these won’t be daily. That was too much. And I’m too tied to this machine already, trying to line up my next full-time gig (if you need a seasoned content designer, please get in touch). Second, I want to make these next handful of posts focused on content design (or UX writing or content strategy, whichever term your employer has been using to try and portion out that tiny piece of users’ experience). But please know that there will most likely be some soccer or music or politics of — heaven forfend — Twitter references thrown in, because they have all defined me, (for good or for bad) and have definitely shaped who I am today. The last ground rule is that I reserve the right to undo or add to these ground rules at any moment, based on needs, mine or yours. So if you have an idea or response, please let me know.
Now, on to the reasons we’re back here. I’ve been volunteering as a middle school math teacher on Tuesdays at my daughter’s school (have you read about our teacher shortage?) and during my lunch break, I listened to this recent conversation between Patrick Stafford and Kristina Halvorson live on LinkedIn while inhaling my lunch before 5th period started. They kept making one point over and over: We need to talk about our work. And not just where we’ve worked or the metrics we may have achieved. Sure, those are important, but we need to start sharing the intricacies and minutiae of how we do what we do.
This got me to thinking’. I’ve been telling the same handful of stories over and over in job interviews and portfolio presentations, but I’ve only shared parts of them in my previous posts. So, another reason we’re back here is so I can write them all down. Not just for you, but for me, too. I hope that I can get enough detail out of my head and into these sentences to make the daunting task of interviewing a little less harrowing.
The last reason I’m doing these again is I miss the community. When I was publishing daily posts, I really enjoyed getting reconnected to the voices I missed on Twitter. And I got to meet some smart people for the first time through LinkedIn. With the rise of BlueSky (I have invite codes, if you need one), and the start of Button just a few days away, I want to rekindle the deeper discussions some of my previous posts had garnered. With that in mind, here are a few ideas for upcoming topics:
• Accessibility
• Conversation design
• Glossaries
• Office hours
• Reusable frameworks
• Templates
Now, I listed these alphabetically, but I don’t have any idea — yet — which one is coming next. We’ll find out together in a week. And if you have a desire to read more about some specifics about some of my past work, please let me know and I’ll add it to the agenda.
I hope you’ll climb back on for this ride. It should be more focused than our last trip. I’m looking forward to connecting with you again. Oh, and if you know of a senior-level UX writing or content design role, I know a guy who’s looking again.
See y’all next week?