Chirp: The best of times, the darkest times
Chirp: A newsletter from Catbird Content

In this Chirp, I take the space to think about the progress Catbird Content has made in its first full year. I’m also thinking about the physical motion of our planet, hurtling around the sun, wobbling as it goes. Sometimes, that means parts of the planet feel uncomfortably warm and other times uncomfortably cold. Running this small business can also feel fast and wobbly, hot and cold!  

Coming up soon with Catbird Content:

Finds

New chapters for the books I’m writing are now available! Caution: These are marked “Early Release: Raw and Unedited,” which feels deeply accurate.


First, the brand-new book UX Skills for Business Strategy has its preface and first chapter now available on the O’Reilly platform. These chapters tell you how we imagine the book will be used, and it’s more than a little nerve-wracking to have it up there before the rest of the book is available! We’re busy writing the skills and impacts that it talks about; we have our next deadline (for ½ the manuscript!) at the beginning of April.


Next, the second edition of Strategic Writing for UX also has a never-before published chapter: Building AI Features. This was a very challenging chapter to write, and I’d love to get your feedback on it. While every chapter of this book is getting revisions and updates, this is the only net-new chapter (it’s chapter 5 in the new edition.)


If you’d like to preview these books, the best way to see them is on O’Reilly’s platform. It looks like O’Reilly is also offering a free trial to see the books, if you don’t already subscribe. If you have a subscription, or if you get access through your library, you can see them now!


Flexes and fumbles

It has been a very good year. By the numbers:

  • 2 books proposed and accepted for development (see above!)

  • 2 courses developed and taught about Information Architecture and Content Strategy for the University of Washington iSchool.

  • 6 amazing mentees, from early-career to leaders in the field, who impress me with their investment in their work, their growth, and the differences they have made in their circumstances.

  • 20+ presentations and workshops, both in-person and online, for Optimal Workshop, Weave, Microsoft, Faire, BMW, Growing in Content, THAT Conference, Button, Converge, Ambition Empower, and offered through my website.  

  • 86 open office hours sessions. Some people have landed the jobs they wanted after talking with me, but despite the superstition, I wield no magic to make that happen; they got those jobs on their own merits.

  • 1000+ people have taken the Content Design Skills Survey in its first year, and received personalized reports.


This list doesn’t include my other client work, which varies too widely to be easily summed up. But I am very proud of that work, too, and the relationships I’ve formed with my clients.


Which leads me to fumbles: there are lots of things I can get a lot better at! I’ve hired a new bookkeeper, and am giving myself more structured scheduling. As I’ve heard from other people running small agencies, nobody is born good at these things, including me.


The biggest way I need to grow as a business person is to grow the business. It may look like I did a lot this past year, but I wasn’t busy with paying work as much as I need to be. I haven’t been good at reaching out to new clients, and reminding people (perhaps people like you?) that my services are available. So as a blanket invitation:


I have openings for new clients next year. If you’re looking for support with your group’s content strategy, content design system, or need mentorship or fractional leadership in UX and content, let's talk about it!


Pink letters appear within yellow quotation marks: "I have openings for new clients next year." The background is white, and there's a gray catbird perched on a pencil at the top. At the bottom, it says "Torrey Podmajersky" and has the URL “Catbirdcontent.com/chirp”

Philosophy

When the days get dark, I find it very helpful to go back to the basics: Why are we here? I think we’re here to discover and grow into the best versions of ourselves that we can, for as long as we get to do so.


Our discovery and growth happens in the context of the greatest gift humans have given themselves: Lasting communication. Because we embed our ingenuity in the artifacts and stories we create, one person can influence other people beyond their own capacity, beyond their own few hours.


I find this perspective centering. Nothing I make has a huge, grand effect, but it has my effect. By showing up, and only by showing up, do I get to nudge my fellows in the direction I think is best.


So this is the advice I’m reminding myself to take this season:

  • Give the gift of sharing what you make, think, and feel.

  • Give the gift of your attention to what others make, think, and feel.

  • Get at least a little sunlight every day.


Happy winter solstice and every other holiday you might be celebrating. 🌟


Hire Catbird Content

When I can help you or your team, please get in touch.  

  • Design consulting: Solve problems with adoption, onboarding, usage for products and services, and design process and skill alignment for teams.

  • Training & facilitation: Keynotes and other presentations, plus hands-on workshops in UX content, visioning, naming, and team building.

  • Mentoring: I work with individuals to focus their own career development, including navigating change, constraints, careers, and more.

  • Open office hours (free!) I hold 2 hours a week open on my calendar to connect with people who don’t have business with me, but just want to talk.

I write these newsletters myself, and I stand by what’s in them. If you have kudos, concerns, or questions, please tell me. —Torrey