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Site Name Change

by Tom Johnson on Apr 1, 2009
categories: technical-writing

I know that my site's title "I'd Rather Be Writing" has always struck the wrong chord with those passionate about the technical-writer-to-technical-communicator name change movement. Those familiar with the profession and the semantics around the job title know how limiting and frustrating it can be to see project managers and developers pigeonhole you into a "writing" role when your skills actually extend far beyond this and include multimedia, graphic design, usability, information architecture, project management, and other abilities.

To break this stereotype and to move beyond the "technical-writers-only-write" assumption, I've decided to change my blog title to "I'd Rather Be Technical Communicating." I will grant that the grammar is not spot on, but that's not really the point. By adopting a daring title, it calls attention to the phrase and makes readers reevaluate and reassess their previous assumptions about the critical role that technical writers communicators play.

As an added incentive to gain traction for the movement, I've contracted with CafePress to make T-shirts available with the new site title for the upcoming STC Conference in Atlanta. If you're interested in a T-shirt, add your name in the comment section below the post and I'll let you know as soon as they're available.

Cafepress T-shirts with new site title/logo
Cafepress T-shirts with new site title/logo

Note: This was an April Fools day post.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.