Contribution, Drafting Content (Google Docs Method)

TDC Contribution Guide - Drafting Initial Content

These processes will walk you through some tips for writing your content. But basically, just write in Google Docs as you normally would.

I would like some tips on drafting Guides, Blogs, and other written content

1. Utilize the VMware style guide (VMware employees only) and the TDC style guide (VMware employees only). These will help with how to format things like lists, how to format in-line code, code blocks, proper names, etc. And this will make editing easier in later steps.

2. Content should typically be written in second person (the "you" voice). Guides should be written as a 1:1 interaction. Therefore "you/your" is preferred to "we/our" or "me/my".

3. Make sure to include alt text with your images. This is primarily for accessibility reasons. See the Reference page for images for more information).

4. Check in regularly with the team in the #tanzu-developer-center Slack channel (VMware employees only). Ask any questions you may have. Get feedback on your content. Or just confirm your current status.

5. Outline and write or build content as normal. With these tips, you are ready to draft your content. Good luck!

I am contributing a Tanzu Practice

1. Great news! We have a detailed Tanzu Labs Contribution Guide and a Google Docs template for Tanzu Practices (VMware Employees Only) you can use for this. Just follow the instructions and fill in the blanks.

2. Follow the rest of the guidelines outlined above in section I would like some tips on drafting Guides, Blogs, and other written content

I would like some tips on building Videos

1. Be considerate of the viewers time. Generally the shorter the video, the better. A 2-3 minute video is a great target. A video that runs over 5 minutes is probably too long. Consider if it makes sense to break things up into smaller videos.

2. Get to the point of your video ASAP. Begin by introducing yourself. Summarize the video in a sentence or two, Then jump right in! For VMware videos, always include VMware bumpers before and after the video.

3. Use subtitles. We strongly recommend that you use subtitles in your video so that it is easily enjoyed by all. There are many editing tools that come with the ability to add subtitles. For demos, ensure that the terminal font is clear and readable. Remember that a video may not always be viewed full screen. It’s better to go bigger.

4. The Tanzu Developer Center only hosts already-published videos. Once published (on YouTube for example), you can create a new video template under /content/videos (see how to create a starter template for more information) to provide informative context around the video. For assistance publishing your video, please contact the Social Media team (VMware Employees Only).