With all the talk about latest trends and avoiding extinction as communicators, and integrating web 2.0 and wikis, blogs, podcasts, and other interactive social media into help, it's a good time to look at how Google -- practically the leader of the web -- does help. Last week Google released Google Voice, a service that allows you to integrate all your phones into one number and includes a host of features, including voice mail, recordin...
Note: For an updated post on this topic, see this post. Beginning writers trying to break into the field of technical writing face a paradox: almost all jobs require experience, but they can't get experience without first having a job. In the past, I've recommended that beginning writers create documentation for any open-source project they can find, such as WordPress, Audacity, or projects on SourceForge.net. However, ou...
Trees, maps, and theorems, by Jean-luc Duomont I'm currently reading Trees, maps, and theorems: Effective communication for rational minds, a new book by Jean-luc Doumont. The reason I wanted to read the book is for Jean-luc's expertise in visual design and page layout, because I thought it could help me design better quick reference guides. Although very little of the book deals with design and is more geared toward engineers (the "ratio...
Outsourcing vs. offshoring, and how U.S.-based technical writers can stay competitive « Your Writing Dept Blog. Ron Creel explains the difference between offshoring and outsourcing. Basically, offshoring is outsourcing outside your country. He also highlights the dangers of immigrant bashing. I think it's easy to feel threatened by offshoring or outsourcing because it poses risks to your job (if you're a company employee). However, there...
I'm trying something a little new on my blog. Previously, every time I read a cool post, I submitted the link to Writer River. The problem with that, however, is that posting to another site isn't such a smart search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Using the Writer River method, people who follow trackbacks don't follow them back to my site (idratherbewriting.com), but rather go to another site (writerriver.com). Additionally, it's mo...
Core Dump: STC floundering? Keith Soltys reflects on the STC issue as well. His last paragraph sums up his point: "I would hate to lose the STC. It was really important in my development as a technical writer, and I still find it worthwhile. However, it's not essential - the rise of the Internet, with the World Wide Web and social media, has provided many alternatives for finding information and networking with other writers. At one time,...
Technically Speaking » The STC Crisis: the take of a “young” writer. Here's Paul Pehrson's take on the STC issue. Again, he argues that STC doesn't have a strong value proposition. It seems no one is really getting much out of the STC. By the way, Paul just joined our team at work.
Generation B - Mr. Mom, Father's Day Edition - NYTimes.com. I thoroughly enjoyed this post about fathers. A good barometer as to whether you're involved in your kids' lives is whether you plan their birthdays. Although this editor worked 11 hour days with a 2.5 hour commute, I think tech writing jobs, which mostly tend to be 8 or 9 hour work days, lend themselves to more family involvement. I've got a post I'm writing based on this articl...
Identity and Authority. Why the Foundation of Documentation is Changing. | The LugIron Software Blog. In this post, LugIron says documentation departments now have competition from other sources, whereas previously they dominated this arena without challenges from other sources. He pulls together several posts by various bloggers and suggests a trend in the industry. He ends by arguing, "This shift [in the tech comm industry] will be domi...
4J's Group - THE CONTENT POOL: It's STC not STW. Alan Porter comments on the STC issue and argues that we don't focus enough on the visual communicators--the graphic designers and illustrators. The STC really only targets the technical writers. In a world where visual information is in increasing demand as a means of technical communication, excluding the visual communicators is one way we hold ourselves back.
Last Sunday we celebrated Father's Day. I don't know if this is a global holiday, or if it's just a U.S. holiday, but reading an article in the Father's Day edition from the New York Times made me think about my role as a father. I am a lot of different things to different people. To some, I'm a blogger and podcaster. To others, I'm an employee and team member. To others, I'm a church member and scout leader. To others, a basketball playe...
It's Time to Shoot Your Blog | Copyblogger. In this post, Jon Morrow compares a cowboy shooting a sick horse to bloggers pulling the plug on a sick and dying blog. Shooting a blog is a better analogy than blog-fading, because shooting a blog suggests that you're not just quitting because of a lack of time, energy, or topics, but rather you're quitting because something isn't right about the blog--its focus, the lack of interest, or a non-...
Fictitious documentation refers to documentation that fails a lie detector test but which passes the project manager's approval. Here's the situation: You're writing documentation that will be printed in large quantities. At the deadline for printing, the software still has a few bugs. If you mention the bugs in your documentation, it's likely the printed documentation will still be around after the bugs are fixed, making your documentati...
Inkscape: the free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. Alistair Christie references two open source alternatives to Illustrator: Inkscape and Raven. Students are always asking me how they can master power tools without having a budget to buy them. If you use these open source apps to create engaging diagrams and illustrations, employers probably won't care what tool you used. You demonstrate your skills using any tool to get the job done. ...
The Blockhead Blog: Does the STC deserve to survive?. David Farbey has written an engaging article on the STC question. He asks a poignant question, "Do Board members not realise that the financial crisis is just an acute symptom of an underlying chronic condition, which is the decline of the Society?" The posts I've seen and the subsequent responses seem to call for a radical overhaul of the Society, but few believe it will happen. ...
