John from Delaware, who has a job in technical support, asked my advice about whether he should become a technical writer. He expressed some concern about the field, explaining that since almost everyone can write, the skill of technical writing must be decreasing in value. For example, technical writing can be easily outsourced. In an economy of doing more with less, is it really a good idea to base your career in a skill that is increas...
I constantly receive questions about Google Adsense from people who just start blogging. They say things like, I want to start making some money from my blog and would like to know how to integrate Google Adsense. For anyone with the same questions, I recommend that you read Penelope Trunk's latest post, "Reality Check: You're not going to make money from your blog." She writes, Almost everyone should forget about making money directly fr...
The past few days I was camping in southern Utah at Sand Hollow State Park. When we entered the park, the ranger knew -- but did not share with us upon entering -- that the area sported some of the windiest regions in southern Utah. The ranger later explained that only three days out of the last month were non-windy. Had we known this from the start, we might have pitched our tent in a more secluded shelter. But as we had no idea about th...
Usually working from home -- telecommuting -- is one of the perks of any company job. You usually wake up later, because you don't have to commute, and you may skip taking a shower, or even getting dressed. In your pajamas, you kick your feet up on the desk, keyboard in your lap, and start fiddling around with whatever projects you're working on. For me, this is how telecommuting always starts out. But it's never how it ends. The last tim...
For those interested in learning more about wikis, Anne Gentle is giving a virtual presentation on documentation wikis for the NY Metro chapter of STC. Her presentation is titled "Wiki-fy Your Doc Set: A Writer's Role in Web 2.0." Members are charged $5 and nonmembers $10. You can register through the following link: http://www.stcnymetro.org/events/messages/2009-016.htm
When you first start blogging and even years after you've been blogging, the question of what to write about is constantly on your mind. In the past, I've followed traditional advice (from people such as Lorelle at WordPress.com) and maintained a specific focus to my blog. I've also recommended this strategy to others. In fact, after recommending it to one blogger, she reported that having a specific focus helped her come up with ideas to...
Quick reference guides 1.0 Quick Reference Guides: The Poetry of Technical Writing 1.1 Quick Reference Guide Formats -- Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts 1.2 STC Presentation this Thursday: "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Technical Documentation" ...
Quick reference guides 1.0 Quick Reference Guides: The Poetry of Technical Writing 1.1 Quick Reference Guide Formats -- Tips for Finding Attractive Layouts 1.2 STC Presentation this Thursday: "Quick Reference Guides: Short and Sweet Technical Documentation" ...
The online transition to web 2.0, with its proliferation of blogs, wikis, podcasts, tweets, and other user-generated content, has posed a question for the state of help content. Should help material concern itself with web 2.0? Do users want to interact and contribute to help content in the same way they contribute and interact with web content? What is the technical writer's role in relation to new media? Although it may be early to tel...
Why Most Designers Will Be Freelancers Within 20 Years | Freelance Folder.
When I talk to most technical writers, video is a format they haven't done much with. This surprises me, because I find that, as a user, video tutorials are often the most helpful type of material for me to learn software. Video most closely simulates the universal desire we have for a friend to show us how to do something in an application. Perhaps I'm a visual learner, but the majority of us (some say 60 to 65 percent) are visual learne...
I was surprised to read Lars Trieloff's announcement today that he is quitting his personal blog. He explains, Personal blogging is dead. It has been succeeded by microblogging and lifestreaming on one end and corporate and professional blogging on the other end. ... The world has changed, personal blogging is dead and so is this blog. He's not quitting blogging altogether, just refocusing his efforts on a corporate blog and a twitter-li...
Here I am getting the kids breakfast Many of you may know I was recently featured in an AP article calling attention to the deadbeat role that many husbands and fathers play in keeping up the house and helping with the kids. Actually, although I was featured, it was more of an example of the positive possibilities about the role husbands and fathers could play, not the negative. Here are a few newspapers I was featured in: The Northweste...
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 mult...
When you insert a transparent image over a color background in Adobe InDesign, the transparent image may look good when you generate the PDF, but when you actually print the image from a laser printer, the transparent image has a faint background where the image should otherwise be transparent. I spent a long time trying to figure out the solution to this problem. It seemed to be a new, unheard of issue by everyone I asked. But after a ...
