Owl Things Considered: Issue 5

The fifth issue of Owl Things Considered: How to Make Sense of Any Mess, Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti, and some warm fuzzies to brighten your day.

Published

January 15, 2026

Knowledge management tips: How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert

an image of the book How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert

A not-uncommon reaction to a new year is to take stock of where we are, a step back to process the previous year and to set some intentions for the upcoming one.

Geopolitically, Societally, environmentally, psychologically: we have a wild amount of information continually being firehosed at us, and our best bet is to try to make some sense of what we can, where we can.

At KnowledgeOwl, I work mostly on Customer Success and Marketing. In my other career, I’m a visual artist. In both of these realms, my best work appears when I can frame practice and theory in ways that make sense and give me a logical path forward.

When we can better architect the information we experience, hold, see, and learn, we create a less overwhelming and stressful reality for ourselves and others.

As a late-in-life diagnosed ADHDer with a mind that’s far more Looney Tunes than Wittgenstein, I deeply appreciated the suggestion of reading Abby Covert’s How to Make Sense of Everything.

This book is a delight. It does a great job of being sparing with words so that the reader might have more space to really take the messages in. I continually return to this poem of a chapter: Moving from why to what, which again feels like a big feeling for welcoming in the new year with some much needed optimism.

I truly believe this book can be useful to any kind of writer, knowledge manager, or anyone wishing to make the world make a little more sense.

Who’s inspired us lately: Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti

If you've been in the technical communication world for any amount of time, there's a good chance you've come across Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti's work. And if you haven't yet, I'm excited to introduce you to someone whose writing consistently makes me think harder and more carefully about what technical writers do.

Fabrizio is one of those rare voices in the field who manages to be both deeply thoughtful and genuinely accessible. He writes about technical communication, UX writing, and content design from a perspective grounded in real experience while still pushing us to think in bigger ways about the impact of it. His newsletter and blog are full of insights that stick with you and pop up frequently in situations you might not typically expect.

Something I particularly appreciate about Fabrizio’s work is how he approaches technical writing as something worth serious intellectual consideration without ever making it feel pretentious or gatekept. He's appeared on numerous podcasts (including our own The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast) and every time I hear him speak or read his work, I come away with new ways of thinking about the relationships between humans, language, and technology.

We owls have been a fan of Fabri’s work since at least 2021, when we saw him speak at Write the Docs Prague (and wrote a blog post about it). I had the pleasure of seeing him speak at Write the Docs Berlin this past year, as well. His thought leadership invites you into a conversation, makes you feel smarter for participating, and leaves you with practical ideas you can actually use.

Whether he's writing about information architecture, the philosophy of technical communication, or the practical realities of documentation work, Fabri blends academic rigor with boots-on-the-ground practicality. He understands that technical communication work matters—not just for business outcomes, but for real humans trying to accomplish real things with the products and services they document.

If you're not already following his work, I recommend that you do. I believe that engaging with his ideas can make you a more thoughtful communicator in general. In a field that sometimes struggles to articulate its own value, we need more people like Fabri helping us find the words.

Dopamine dose

Some warm fuzzies to brighten your day

gif of a white dog with his head out the window of a car

Song to smile to:

In the spirit of making sense, gaining clarity, finding our center in 2026, this issue’s song to smile to is one of my all-time-forever-and-ever very favorite songs: Centro de Gravedad by Franco Battiato.

Heart-warming animal alert:

Our Lead Support Owl Veronica had the honour of seeing the Walk for Peace Monks in her city in South Carolina earlier this week. They’re accompanied by Aloka the Peace Dog, who is recovering well from her recent surgery. Aloka and the Buddhist monks are making their way to Washington, D.C. in February, inspiring peace and unity for all on their way.

❤️ 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 November 2025, Anne, Lead Support Support Owl and Breakfast Hoot-dini and Asheville, N.C., resident, donated to BeLoved Asheville. As Anne put it: “This is an org that really stepped up post-Helene to offer housing support for those who were displaced. And with the uncertainty around SNAP benefits, they've set up new free food pantries and programs to help those facing food insecurity.”

In December 2025, I chose to give to Somos LGBTQI+ Aragón. I moved to Zaragoza earlier this year, and I wanted to choose an organization that is doing important work locally here. They support a wide-range of important programs to support the LGBTQI+ communities here.

Answer to this month’s riddle:

Flap-cisco Goya is Linus’ very favorite artist from Spain.

Of course he greatly respects the importance of Pablo Picowlsso and S-owl-vador Dali’s work, too.

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,