Rock the Docs: Applying music theory and band dynamics to technical writing

The discotheque gets disco-technical at Rock The Docs! This double headline bill sees Marco Spinello, Technical Writer at Booking.com showing us how music theory can be applied to documentation, using examples from both his professional and creative life. Following this act, Jerry Bartlett, founder and principal at Content Pro Tech will demonstrate how the fundamentals of technical writing can be applied to gathering and organising metadata for digital music libraries. These presentations will cover: Why Git is like a metronome - Why managing stakeholders is not unlike managing band members Why recording an album is not unlike delivering an MVP - How metadata underpins the algorithms of streaming services *How curating metadata is a key aspect of technical writing work - The difference between descriptive metadata and management metadata Marco Spinello tells the story of a disco band that shrank from eight members to a power trio, not unlike a company reorganisation with a built-in product pivot. Music and technical writing have more in common than meets the eye; music theory maps the territory like information architecture, a metronome enforces discipline like git, and song dynamics prevent the "wall of text" effect of very long, very dense docs. Jerry Bartlett discusses how uploading his music collection to a NAS drive found him drawing on skills honed during his day job as a technical communicator, and working on striking a balance between the right level of granularity, while making sure to not have ‘too much’ metadata. This event is kindly hosted by Wise. 📅Agenda When: Thursday, 18 June, from 6:30pm Where: Wise, 65 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4JE What: 18:30 - 19:00 Arrival 19:00 - 19:15 Welcome & Housekeeping 19:15 - 19:20 Short introduction to Wise 19:30 - 20:00 Rocks the Docs by Marco Spinello 20:00 - 20:30 Jerry's presentation 20:30 - 21:00 Networking 📍How to find us: Please head to Wise, 65 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4JE, from 6:30pm onwards -- one of the friendly Write The Docs London team will be checking guests in. 🌎 Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/r6zdmeDKhyAbLbaf7 📜 What3Words: ///lift.send.curiosity 📷 Photos: Please note that the organisers may take some photos for the WTD group.

Venue

Wise Office (Worship Square)

London

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