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February 04, 2004
No wonder tech writers are insecure
Here's a snippet from a solicitation for a technical writer on a local list: This person will be developing a template or boilerplate of an Operations Manual for the IT Department. And the individual IT managers will be filling it with the content. Alas, it was posted by a recruiter, so I don't know what fabulous company this is for. What's that Virginia Slims tagline? You've come a long way, baby. Making a living writing doing tech writing can be a tough sell, considering that your average person (or organization) may not value something we all learned to do when we were in first grade. Of course, I don't need to tell you that good writing--like good design--is both an art and a science. Here's hoping the transformation work is successful!
Comments
As someone interested in professional labels and the assumptions we carry related to labels, I was interested in your "jeesh" comment on views of technical writers. So I followed your link to the STC transformation work and I have two comments based on my experience reading this document. 1. The content explaining what the blog is, is buried in the text. I printed the document expecting a coherent whole -- but there was no structure to support me. I started making notes on my printout, "who are we?" "Why am I learning this?" As a human being wanting to know this organization and its challenges I was left wondering if steps could be taken to improve OUR understanding as readers of the online communication product -- especially if that's core to the profession's purpose and mission. 2. The writers tell me "technical communication is often defined as any effort that makes it possible for people to get the most from technology in their lives." Is it? I think of my ergonomic keyboard as enabling me to get more from technology because my thumb doesn't hurt as much when I type. I think of our role as technical communicators to improve the structure of information so we can do what we need to do. -- Posted by Thom Haller on February 6, 2004 11:01 AM
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IDblog is Beth Mazur tilting at power law windmills. A little bit Internet, a little bit technology, a little bit society, and a lot about designing useful information products. Send your cards and letters to .
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