Owl Things Considered: Issue 6

Celebrate Owl Things Considered's first birthday, with issue #6: On content types, succeeding through service, protecting jaguars, and loving David Byrne. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌

Published

March 17, 2026

Knowledge management tips: An introduction to content types

gif of Catherine O'Hara saying "just fold it in" while holding a bowl of cheese

Before you start, know what you are writing.

When a recipe goes wrong, it's often not because the cook didn't know their ingredients. It's because they started before they really knew what they were making in the first place. A one-pot dinner and one made of three side dishes and a main are two very different things, even if they share many ingredients. The prep, the presentation, and oh my god the timing: all of it shifts depending on what you're actually making. Starting before deciding isn't adventurous. It's just a reliable way to end up with an unappetizing mess.

The same is true for documentation. A common mistake we see at KnowledgeOwl is content that's doing too many jobs at once. Like an article that starts as a how-to, wanders into a conceptual explanation, and ends with a reference table, all without signposting any of it. Readers arrive with a specific need and leave confused, not because the information isn't there, but because the format is working against them.

The Diátaxis framework offers a genuinely useful way to think about this. It identifies four distinct content types: tutorials (learning-oriented), how-to guides (task-oriented), reference (information-oriented), and explanation (understanding-oriented). The key question before you start writing isn't "what do I know about this topic?" It's "what does my reader need to do with this?".

You can see all four working together naturally in our own support docs. The KnowledgeOwl app vs. a knowledge base article is an explanation, it helps you orient. Add an author seat is a how-to, it gets a specific thing done. Custom content category merge codes is reference, listing different merge codes and what they do. And the Zapier integration section breaks into Intro, Prerequisites, Quickstart, and Tutorial, each serving a distinct moment in a reader's journey. None of them try to be all of the others.

A reader troubleshooting an issue needs a how-to guide. A reader trying to understand why something works the way it does needs an explanation. Mixing them together — even with great content — is a bit like combining a recipe with a written history of French cuisine. Both useful! But learning about Catherine de' Medici’s great influence on your dish is just a distraction when you need to see if you’re supposed to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of dijon to the sauce.

The Good Docs Project offers free, community-built templates for each of these content types, a genuinely useful starting point if the blank page is where things tend to stall.

Getting clear on what you're making before you start writing doesn't constrain you. It ensures you stay on track to serve your readers what they’re hungry for.

A company that inspires us: Octopus Energy

banner image of animated pink octopi at home, at the office, etc.

If you've ever tried to call your energy supplier, you already know that "energy company" and "good customer service" are not phrases that typically find themselves in the same sentence. The same could be said of a lot of SaaS companies, honestly, and it's something we think about a lot at KnowledgeOwl. Both industries have an unfortunate reputation for making customers feel like a problem to be routed around rather than a person to be genuinely helped.

Which is exactly why we love what Octopus Energy has done.

Founded in 2015, Octopus went from newcomer to the UK's largest electricity supplier in under a decade. They did this not through aggressive pricing games or flashy campaigns, but by doing something almost radical in their industry: actually looking after people. Their Trustpilot score has never dipped below "Excellent" in five years, with 90% of customers rating them five stars across over 750,000 reviews. One reviewer summed it up rather perfectly: "Octopus energy is weirdly great." Which is, when you think about it, a slightly sad commentary on how low the bar has been set, but a wonderful thing to clear anyway.

What we find most inspiring isn't just the results, but the philosophy behind them. CEO Greg Jackson describes a culture built on trust, autonomy, and a shared mission where customer-facing staff are empowered to just solve problems, without having to navigate a gauntlet of permissions and policies to do it. One small but telling example: every email Octopus sends is replyable. Not a single "do not reply" address. It sounds simple. It is simple. And it says everything about how they see the relationship with their customers.

Caring enough to remove the small frustrations, trusting your people to do right by others, building a business that's genuinely good to be a customer of: these are all things we've always aspired to at KnowledgeOwl, too. It's encouraging to see it work at scale, in an industry where nobody expected it to.

If you're not already an Octopus customer, their website is worth a look. And if you run a business, their story is worth learning more about.

Dopamine dose

Some warm fuzzies to brighten your day

Here are this issue’s day-brighteners:

Song to smile to:

Chad, whose official job title is “Executive Assistant to the CEO & Friend of Felines” also does a lot more around here. He produces The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast, does a billion other helpful things, and always shares wonderful music in our Slack channel. This month he shared the Tiny Desk concert by one of my all-time forever favorites David Byrne, so it felt right to also share that with y’owl. It is such a gosh darn treat. Enjoy!

Heart-warming animal alert:

I’m keeping it simple and joyful this issue: Here is a list of the Top 10 Dogs carrying big sticks! Truly delightful!

Who we're giving to:

At KnowledgeOwl, we have a community commitment that we call 2% for People and Planet.

Beyond our commitment to 1% for the Planet, we also give another 1% to a charity of a different owl's choosing each month. This program allows us to help many different people, in many different communities.

If you're looking for some donation inspiration, you might think about giving to organizations we've given to recently (or starting a similar program at your company!)

In January 2026, Sue, Senior Developer and Climber of Mountains, donated to Hawks Aloft to support their rescue work and wildlife habitat research in New Mexico. She shared an image of one of their latest patients with us here.

In February 2026, Veronica, Lead Customer Success Owl & Ice Cream Scholar, donated to Sistercare, a nonprofit that provides shelter, supplies, legal aid, and mental health counseling to women and children rebuilding their lives after surviving domestic violence.

Bonus: Rainforest Trust

As a part of our 1% commitment we’ve been taking advantage of the donation matching happening right now at the Rainforest Trust to Safeguard a critical gap in protection for jaguars and giant anteaters in Argentina. This program safeguards habitats for other animals, too. Like this handsome little fella, the Black and Chestnut Eagle:

Image by David F. Belmonte: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/242647133

Hasta la próxima!

Thanks so much for reading Owls Things Considered! If you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas for the newsletter, please reach out to us at support@knowledgeowl.com.

Love,