Category Archives: news

by DMN Communications

New paths and new horizons  Clip to Evernote

You’ve probably noticed that things have been a bit … well, quiet in this space for a while. Almost a year, in fact. It’s hard to believe that the last post we published in this space went live on May 2, 2012.

No, we haven’t been kidnapped by aliens or succumbed to some nasty fate. We’re alive and definitely kicking.

Since last May, we’ve gone through a lot of changes. Actually, many of the changes started before then. And most of those changes have been good. Some of them great. None of them boring. In fact, the last 12 to 15 months have been a bit of a whirlwind both personally and professionally for both of us.

We’ve been exploring new paths and walking towards new horizons. And our professional focuses have changed.

Aaron has moved into customer engagement and product marketing, areas in which he’s been interested for quite some time. And they’re areas in which he has quite the aptitude. Customer engagement and product marketing allow Aaron to combine his (considerable) people and technical skills, and are areas in which he’s finding new and exciting challenges.

Scott recently sold all his worldly possessions, packed up the family, and moved to New Zealand. By doing that, he’s realized a dream he and his wife have had for over a decade and a half. And while Scott’s still involved in technical communication (as a team lead at a software firm in New Zealand), he’s gradually shifting away from tech comm and is focusing on blogging, writing, and coaching/consulting.

So, what about DMN Communications? We’re keeping the company alive, though dormant. Even though our careers are moving away from technical communication, it’s still a part of our professional lives. DMN Communications is still a vehicle for consulting as a team (even though we’re oceans apart).

You never know what will happen.

Photo credit: johnnyberg

by DMN Communications

News and notes  Clip to Evernote

While we’ve got a couple of longer-form blog posts in the works, there’s so much happening right now at the Home Firm that we haven’t had a chance to finish them. Or sleep. Or eat a proper meal. Or bathe.

Here are few things that are happening in the next couple of weeks:

If you’re wondering what Aaron’s been up to, he’s up to his eyebrows in work. And he and his wife recently welcomed their second child into the world so Aaron isn’t getting much sleep!

by Scott Nesbitt

I love it when a pet project comes together  Clip to Evernote

Especially when I don’t have to do all that much work. Let me explain …

Last year, I got the idea to put together a FLOSS Manual that covers Chromium, the Open Source version of Google’s Chrome Web browser. When I approached Adam Hyde of FLOSS Manuals about writing this manual at the book sprint at Toronto Open Source Week, he was intrigued.

But Adam strongly suggested that the sprint focus on Thunderbird, instead. Having annoyed Adam enough in the past, I complied. Mainly to keep the peace, and partly because I was interested in documenting Thunderbird.

Until earlier this year, the Chromium manual sat on the back burner waiting for me to find the time to start it. That’s when Edward Cheung, a student from Seneca College’s technical communication program, got in touch with me. Edward was wondering if there was a FLOSS Manuals project he could contribute to. In a case of being careful of what you wish for, I had one for him!

Working together, we created a table of contents and Edward put together a project plan. Then I cut him loose. After a lot of work, the manual got written and finalized. The results are better than pretty good — heck, I even learned a thing or two about Chromium!

Edward did a bang up job pulling this manual together. What impressed me most is that Edward took a lot of the initiative after I cut him loose. There was no hand holding. He gathered information, approached subject matter experts, and wrote most of the manual himself.

I wasn’t just someone barking orders. I did some writing — mostly the sections of the manual that cover Linux. But Edward did the bulk of the work. And he did it with minimal supervision. He only approached me when he had some questions or ran into a problem. Which wasn’t too often.

And I have to extend a big thank you to Mark Hancock who helped edit the manual. Mark’s edits really helped tighten up the text and helped keep it consistent.

The final edits and cleanup were completed last week, and overall the manual is looking good. If you’re interested in reading it, you can find it here.

by DMN Communications

Taking a break  Clip to Evernote

It’s that time of year again. We’re taking a much-needed break over the next couple of weeks to relax and recharge.

So, that means there won’t be any new posts in this space until January 3. That said, we’ll be highlighting some of our favourite posts from 2010 over the next week or so. Enjoy.