The Interface

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Latest Episodes:

Ep. 13 - Is Your Company Gaslighting You? Nov 16, 2023

Recently, Active Voice CEO Sara Wachter-Boettcher published an article in which she made a bold claim about designers: your company is gaslighting you.

Designers might know this feeling well. Content designers especially. Being told that you need to do more. Educate more. Prove your "worth" more. But Wachter-Boettcher says...no.

"It’s a manipulative technique that makes designers question their own sanity and assume that they’re the problem — but that maybe, if they just try one more time, things will change. But they never do. Because the truth is, you cannot overwork your way into being valued. You cannot explain or fight your way into being valued."

Content designers know this intimately. We are passionate about our work and internalize a lot. But it isn't healthy. And Wachter-Boettcher says we need to change our approach.

So we got her on to talk about it.

Connect with Sara Wachter-Boettcher
"Hey designers, they’re gaslighting you."
Sara's company, Active Voice
Active Voice Year-End Retreat

Ep 12. The Evolution of Content Design Skills Sep 27, 2023

Come to the Button conference next month and learn new skills, hear from other content designers, and contribute to the future of our industry! Get $100 off with UXCC100.

This audio is a recording of a LinkedIn Live event we held on Tuesday, September 26 with Kristina Halvorson. As we head into the Button Conference next month, we discuss:

The skills content designers need to survive in 2024
How to advocate and grow the industry (and yes, that doesn't mean writing another blog about "why content design is important"
How to move beyond "teaching" and into real substantive effect

Enjoy!

Ep. 11: The Future of Content Design in a World of AI Aug 16, 2023

Check out the Frontitude UX Writing Assistant

Frontitude is one of the leading UX writing and UX content tools available on the market right now, giving product teams a single source for copy. But as we all know, the world of UX content is changing with artificial intelligence - and Frontitude wants to be at the forefront of that change.

Join us as we speak to Tomer Gabbai, Frontitude's cofounder and CEO, as we discuss how AI is impacting content design, whether or not it sucks creativity out of the job, and what the future is for content designers - and how it might be better than you think.

Ep. 10. Strategic Content Design with Erica Jorgensen Jul 18, 2023

OFFER: Get 15% off Strategic Content Design by Erica Jorgensen through July 31! Just use UXCONTENT15 at checkout.

Erica Jorgensen is one of the most accomplished content designers in our industry. A senior content design manager at Microsoft and now at Chewy, Erica wrote a book that comes with a key message: you should be more strategic with your content design work.

Want to create impact and influence? Listen to this episode, and get 15% off Erica's book through July 31.

BONUS: AI in Content Design with Chelsea Larsson (Expedia, Zendesk) Jun 01, 2023

Understanding AI in the context of content design and UX writing has been a challenge. Is it helping us? Hurting us? Something else?

We held a LinkedIn Live conversation with Chelsea Larsson, Head of Experience Design and Content Design at Expedia (Partnerships) to understand AI in the context of our profession.

The takeaway? Content designers are natural partners for AI models—and by embracing them, you have the opportunity to exert more influence and impact in your organizations than ever before.

Listen to learn how you can start thinking about AI in your organization, and learn some key steps you can take now to put your plan into action.

Links and people mentioned:

Smallish Book: https://smallishbook.substack.com/
UX Content Collective Workshop: "AI in Content Desith: Scale, Ethics, and Impact" https://uxcontent.com/waitlist-ai-workshop/
ChatGPT Prompt Engineering from Deep Learning: https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/chatgpt-prompt-engineering-for-developers/
Ovetta Sampson
Timnit Gebru
Soribel F.

Ep 8. The UX content jobs market with Shannon Leahy (Adobe, Capital One) May 16, 2023

Shannon Leahy, Senior Experience Content Strategy Manager at Adobe, joins Patrick for a live podcast recording to discuss the current job market and tips for content designers navigating the search. Follow Shannon on LinkedIn. Get your custom salary and industry report.

Ep. 7 - Content Leadership with Connie Wu Apr 13, 2023

Join the waitlist for Connie Wu's leadership course: https://uxcontent.com/waitlist-leadership-course/

This episode is a recording of a LinkedIn Live event held Wednesday, April 13. Join Patrick Stafford and Connie Wu (TikTok, Meta, Google) as they discuss the challenges of content design leadership, what skills content design leaders need to develop, and how to move from senior to leader. It's a can't-miss discussion for any content designer who is thinking seriously about moving into management and leadership.

They also discuss the ultimate question: if you were a potato, how would you like to be cooked?

Ep. 6: The best content design jobs on the market Feb 14, 2023

The Interface is a monthly, can’t-miss group chat for everything happening in content design and UX writing. The Interface has industry updates, deep conversations, and other helpful resources.

Today, we're all about jobs. Jobs jobs jobs. And more jobs. We look at some of the best content design jobs on the market, and discuss what the "market" even is for content design roles.

Featuring Patrick Stafford and Gordon MacRae.

Jobs mentioned:

Some other jobs around the world:

Ep. 5: Will AI eat UX writing? We test ChatGPT! Dec 19, 2022

The Interface is a monthly, can’t-miss group chat for everything happening in content design and UX writing. The Interface has industry updates, deep conversations, and other helpful resources.

Today we put ChatGPT to the test. Can it write recipes? Strings? Will it take our jobs and dominate us as overlords? Will those among us who never bought smartphones and held on to their flip phones "for the vibe" look down on us in the new world order? We discuss these and more in today's episode.

Featuring:

- Patrick Stafford

- Bobbie Wood

- Gordon MacRae

- Katie Syzmanski

Ep 4. We recap the Button conference! Nov 01, 2022

Welcome to The Interface! A monthly, can't-miss chat with the UX Content Collective crew, and friends.

The Button Conference was a great time in Seattle (and on your computer, if you attended remotely). Together we recap the conference, talk about our favourite sessions, and speak on what we want to see next year.

Connect with our guests:

Carly Gray, Content Designer at Meta Reality Labs
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
Erica Jorgensen
- Content Research for User Experience
- LinkedIn

Ep 3. Is this the end of Figma? Sep 22, 2022

Welcome to The Interface! A monthly, can't-miss chat with the UX Content Collective crew, and friends.

Adobe acquired Figma for US $20 billion, roughly half cash, half stock. The news has put the tech industry, and the content design community, into a tailspin. Some are worried that this acquisition could mean an end to the free tier...arguably one of the biggest tools that put UX writers "in the room". Is Adobe going to kill it?

News at the top of the episode:

Buy tickets to the Button conference in October
The last ever Confab takes place next year
Roy West is looking for a UX writer at Apple
Content Rookie pod
Candi Williams and UX equity learning

Thanks to Scott and Carol for joining!

Scott's links:

Carol's links:

Work at ServiceNow as a content designer

Ep. 2: Do content designers need portfolios? Aug 17, 2022

Welcome to The Interface! A monthly, can't-miss chat with the UX Content Collective crew, and friends.

Do you need a content design portfolio? Do they stop disadvantaged people from getting jobs? What if you don't have time to make or update one...and do they really matter all that much? All that and more in today's episode.

Resources discussed:

JOIN OUR FIGMA WORKSHOPS!

Featured on this podcast:

Patrick Stafford, Co-founder and COO of UX Content Collective

Daree Allen-Nieves

Daree Allen Nieves is an award-winning technical writer, UX writer, speaker, podcaster, voice actor, and author in Virginia. She has volunteered, freelanced & contracted her writing talents for over 20 years with various companies, including the UX Content Collective.

She’s also written three personal development books (2 for youth), and started the personal development podcast “Kickin’ it with Daree” in 2015. And as a voice actor, Daree narrates corporate & explainer videos, commercials, and training courses.

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/dareeallen Voiceover: https://DareeVoiceover.com Podcast & personal dev freebies: http://KickinitwithDaree.com/resources/

Cara Lam

Cara is a content designer at Instagram and loves to blog on the side. She's based in New York City but has also spent slices of her life in Hong Kong, Australia, Los Angeles, and Japan.

When she's not writing, you'll find her hiking in national parks and planning for the next roadtrip. Occasionally, she organizes workshops and teaches different aspects of UX writing. It's her passion to share her journey and knowledge with people who are looking for a career in content design.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-lam/ Blog: https://thecaradventures.wordpress.com/

Ep. 1: Will the wave of layoffs hit UX writers? Jul 14, 2022

Welcome to The Interface! A monthly, can't-miss chat with the UX Content Collective crew, and friends. First up: a decade-long bull run is coming to an end in tech with plenty of layoffs. But is it hitting UX writers? And if it does, how can you make sure your job is safe? The crew have a chat about what you can do to insulate yourself.

Resources discussed in this episode:

Featured on this podcast:

Bobbie Wood, Founder and CEO of UX Content Collective
Patrick Stafford, Co-founder and COO of UX Content Collective
Gordon MacRae, Head of Learning at UX Content Collective
Katie Szymanski, Head of Marketing at UX Content Collective

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