From tech layoff to leadership (Cara Lam)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: | Do you enjoy the podcast? Please leave a review! Get 20% off courses and workshops at . Just use the code PODCAST20 at checkout. From layoff to leadership: How Cara Lam rebuilt her career Getting laid off is tough—but for content designers on work visas, it can feel like everything is on the line. When Cara Lam lost her job at Instagram during the wave of tech layoffs, she had just 60 days to figure out her next move or leave the country. What followed was a relentless job search, rejections, and a journey of self-discovery. In this episode, Cara shares how she bounced back,...
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How to survive burnout in tech and UX (Yvonne Xiao)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: | Do you enjoy the podcast? Get 20% off courses and workshops at UX Content Collective. Just use the code PODCAST20. Burnout isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a reality for many of us working in UX and tech. The long hours, the shifting priorities, the constant pressure to prove our value… it all adds up. And if you’re not careful, it can take a serious toll. Yvonne Xiao has been there. She’s worked at companies like Microsoft and Uber, navigating the highs and lows of content design in fast-paced environments. But instead of letting burnout define her career,...
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Forget tone - embrace systems thinking (Dave Connis)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: | Do you enjoy the podcast? Get 20% off courses and workshops at UX Content Collective. Just use the code PODCAST20. Content design has some growing up to do. Whether it's the things we talk about at conferences, or even the aspects of our job that we *think* are important (but really aren't), we need to see some change. Dave Connis, Lead Content Designer at OutSystems, has embraced systems thinking and he wants you to as well. Go beyond the deliverables we're used to (tone, style guides, etc) and start thinking about how to connect the elements of your product in...
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Why your support content sucks (Maring Eberlein)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: | Do you enjoy the podcast? We're proud to announce Maring's new course at UX Content Collective: . Get it now for 25% off! If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated by terrible help center content, you’re not alone. Most of it sucks. But why? That’s why I’m excited to share this conversation with Maring Eberlein. Maring is a support content expert with a deep understanding of what makes help centers effective — and what makes them fail. She’s worked with companies large and small, transforming their support content from "just get it done" projects...
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Leading content design at Canva (Sally Bagshaw)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: | Do you enjoy the podcast? Canva is a true (Aussie) tech success story, and the content design practice there is no small reason why. One of the people leading that practice is Sally, Head of Content Design at Canva. Sally and I dive into how Canva has built one of the strongest content design practices in the world, why leadership is about more than managing people, and what content designers need to do to grow their careers. We also discuss why content design in Australia often feels a few steps behind the global stage and what Canva is doing to set an example. This was...
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Product vs content (Scott Kubie)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: Do you enjoy the podcast? ! A few weeks ago I that caused a little bit of a stir. I said that content designers need to do more in considering how content supports the greater product ecosystem...and why that lack of curiosity might be holding them back. In essence, I was asking: which is more important - product or content? I got a lot of great responses, but Scott Kubie's was one that stood out to me. His view was that my assessment of the situation was a little upside down, and that we should talk about it. So I did. Scott and I agree that content designers need to...
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Stop taking content work personally (Deiadora Blanche)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: Do you enjoy the podcast? ! Having trouble letting go? Deiadora Blanche (Airbnb, Coursera) can help. In this episode, we dive deep into the idea of ego detachment — letting go of personal attachment to the work we do. Deiadora shares her journey from business consulting to content strategy, and how she’s learned to balance personal growth with professional success. We also chat about thinking like a CEO, even when you’re not in leadership, and how content professionals can create their own success by setting metrics and driving results. Plus, Deiadora...
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The power of small moments in UX (Vidhika Bansal)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: Do you enjoy the podcast? ! Vidhika Bansal might win the award for the . Just reading her tweets makes your entire day better. But Vidhika's talents go far beyond nice social media posts. Her intense interest and focus on human behaviour and user research make her one of the most thoughtful and fascinating people in UX. She's spoken at conferences like Button and Confab, led teams at organizations like Intuit, and has one of the most human-centered approaches to UX that I know of. Vidhika shares her journey from studying pre-med to finding her passion for...
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Knowledge graphs (Larry Swanson)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Listen on: Do you enjoy the podcast? ! Larry Swanson might be one of the most knowledgeable and friendly people in content design and content strategy. Every time you speak to him, he’s full of joy and passion about the craft. Not just that - he’s probably one of the most intelligent people in the industry when it comes to the technical aspects of content. He calls himself a “content architect”, but that’s really too short a description of his capabilities. Whether he’s talking about information architecture, content modeling, or content and AI, Larry has just an...
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Content for AI products (Kyra Lee, UserTesting)
Writers of Silicon Valley
Get US $100 off your ticket for the upcoming ! Use UXCC100 at checkout! Listen on: Do you enjoy the podcast? ! I know, I know. A lot of AI. But I swear, the conversation in this one is really worth listening to. For so many organizations, the use of AI is dictated by the CEO, or head of product, etc. Rarely do content designers take the effort or initiative to actually develop an idea of how AI should be integrated. That's why this interview with Kyra Lee from UserTesting was so fascinating to me. Kyra and her colleagues have taken the initiative to create a "playbook"...
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Do you enjoy the podcast? Please leave a review!
I know, I know. A lot of AI. But I swear, the conversation in this one is really worth listening to.
For so many organizations, the use of AI is dictated by the CEO, or head of product, etc. Rarely do content designers take the effort or initiative to actually develop an idea of how AI should be integrated.
That's why this interview with Kyra Lee from UserTesting was so fascinating to me. Kyra and her colleagues have taken the initiative to create a "playbook" about how AI should be approached in their design philosophy.
We talk about that, plus...
- Why Kyra's interest moved from working in law to UX
- How UX writers and content designers can take part in quality research
- What Kyra has learned about testing content with users
- Why not ALL of your content actually needs to be in the user interface
- An approach to AI for user research that maintains a human touch...
As always, let me know your thoughts: [email protected].
(Also, yes...audio is a bit off today. Again. Please be patient as I fix some ongoing issues!)
Connect with Kyra:
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