Ryan Matthew Pierson

A Blog of Ersatz Savvy

I've been spending a good chunk of my recent days (and, let's be honest, nights) exploring the virtual landscapes with the Meta Quest 3, and I've got some thoughts.

Technical writing has the potential of being a very different career path in 2024 than it has in years prior. For a new technical writer, this means readying for quick pivots as the industry adapts to a new wave of technology.

For many new developers, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are an important part of learning how different data systems interact. GraphQL is an API structure that is quickly growing in popularity for its simplicity and efficiency.

Well-documented APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are the cornerstone of any good developer portal. REST (Representational State Transfer) and GraphQL are the two dominant architectures, each with its distinct approach to data retrieval and manipulation.

In the realm of technical writing, the collaboration between technical writers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) is pivotal. It is the primary relationship on which quality technical documentation is created.

Having played through the Mass Effect campaign more times than I care to admit, I'm surprised at just how few commentators on the saga have explored how Mass Effect's story mirrors the mythology shared by civilizations for thousands of years.

Ayn Rand, the Russian-American writer and philosopher, has left a lasting impact on many spheres, including literature, politics, and entertainment.

"Tales from the Afternow," an audio drama series created by Sean Kennedy, is a compelling journey into a dystopian future. While it is roughly 20 years old at this point, its quality and compelling storytelling holds up.

In the late '90s, a show emerged that was set to drive a stake through the heart of traditional television narratives and production. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (BtVS) wasn’t just a show about a young girl battling the forces of evil; it was a genre-bending, trope-subverting adventure that left an i...

Since the attacks on the morning of October 7, 2023, the news has been dominated by a long-standing debate between Palestinian and Israeli responsibility for violence in the region. Across social media, twenty-something-year-old experts in international affairs and the history of the Middle East hav...