Site Name Change
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.
Note: This was an April Fools day post.
Sponsored
About 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, agent skills, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my AI courses for more on the latest in AI and tech comm. If you're looking for info about documenting APIs, see my API documentation course.
If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me.
Finally, I want to note a couple of things. I usually write the first drafts of my posts myself and then use AI to improve accuracy, clarity, and detail in places, so my writing is a mix of human and AI. (Hopefully that's not too off-putting.) Also, the opinions I express on my blog are my own perspectives, not those of my employer.