This is a brief overview of the tools we use to make this site happen. For those that are interested, here we provide a peek behind the screen at the technology and processes that allow us, collectively, to enjoy the knowledge of our peers.

Technology & Software

The Accendo Reliability is built on the Rainmaker Platform. The platform uses WordPress at its core with additional features added via select plugins. The platform includes membership, learning management systems, email, and podcasting features.

For search engine optimization, we use the Yoast SEO Premium plugin, plus we use Short Pixel, Autoptimize Pro, and WP Media Folder to manage image file sizes, CSS/JS Cache, and store/serve media files via Amazon Web Services to improve page load time.

The many terms or phrases that are linked within the site are part of the glossary features provided by the Toolip Glossary Plugin.

There is a lot under the hood of the site keeping it running and providing capabilities we use every day.

Content Creation and Editing

As much as I’d like to have a content plan, we don’t. Contributors write, talk, or present about the topics they wish with little editorial direction. Contributors own their work and may publish it elsewhere as desired. Accendo Reliability requests a copyright license, giving us permission to publish and promote their work.

The various contributors to the site use a range of tools, such as wordprocessors, editing tools, image creation and editing tools, etc. Many contributors upload and edit thier own content, while others rely on use to provide the finishing touches and hit publish. We do try to be very flexible to make the content creation and publishing process as easy as possible.

The limited editorial guidance encourages practical and useful content and discourages sales-focused, abusive, demeaning, or pornographic content. We like to think the site is where you may find your peers sharing their knowledge without the rigidity found in technical journals or the advertising found in trade magazines. A place we can ‘talk shop’.

On occasion, we correct spelling, grammar, etc. We may also add links within an article that help the reader understand terminology or concepts or for additional related content.

Content Promotion

First off, we do not nor plan to use paid promotion of our content. The idea is to help make those interested in our content that it exists, and the content itself will encourage them to visit again. We strickly adhere to the concept of ‘permission based content promotion’, meaning, you have to join or follow our various email lists or social media channels to receive announcements, promotions, etc. And, you can leave those lists or channels easily, when desired.

The day to day promotion practices at Accendo Reliability include posting articles and episodes at 3 a.m. US Pacific time, so as to be in your social media or RSS feeds first thing in the morning (at least for the Western Hemisphere where the bulk of our audience is located.

Each day we post on Linkedin a short annoucement with a link back to the content on Accendo Reliability. We also schedule a similar annoucement to post on Linkedin a week later. We have tried various other social media platforms, yet have found that Linkedin by a large margin is where our audience engages with our content.

Each week, we publish the Accendo Reliability Weekly Update, a newsletter with various topics, including what has changed on the site over the past week. This newsletter is published to an email list directly from the site and via LinkedIn. Both of these can be subscribed to (same content, so select with email or via LinkedIn).

Each month we post and email the Upcoming Reliability Webinars newsletter. We list the upcoming month’s events that may interest you. One email, once a month, for a listing of our and as many other reliability-related webinars as we can find.

Typography

We use Typekit to load Garamond Premier Pro for headings, and Maple for body text, captions, etc.

For code blocks we use Consolas, a monospaced font, plus add a style sheet to help with the code legibility.

Math typesetting is done using Mathjax to render Latex typeset math equations, formulas, etc.

We are experimenting with the application of Tufte.css. It formats a webpage in the style Edward Tufte used in a few of his books. Notable in the use of sidenotes instead of footnotes or endnotes.