The first Technical Writing Newsletter of the year includes some interesting predictions on the future of technical communications, how to justify your role as a technical writer (i.e. metrics), news of Camtasia Relay’s UK Bootcamp and the results of the salary survey for technical writers in Israel.
Ten trends in technical communication for 2010 and beyond
Ellis “Let’s take the opportunity to look forward into 2010 and beyond. Here are, in no particular order, ten predictions to consider. 1. The battle between the “Engineering” and “Craft” schools of thought within technical communication will come to some sort of resolution…”
Technical communication trends in the 2010s
Larry Kunz, “The next ten years figure to be just as eventful. Here are a few trends that I see in technical communication in the 2010s:. The rise of the content strategist: the person who can process information from all over the enterprise (and from its customers) and repackage it for different audiences. Audiences demand information that’s tailored to them and to the tasks they’re performing, and they look for it in all kinds of places. The stars of the 2010s will be the content strategists who can meet the demand.”
Documentation metrics: How do you prove you’re worth it?
Meanwhile over in Edinburgh (really great place!), Alistair Christie writes, “You know how sometimes you read something and it niggles away at you and you can’t quite get it out of your system? You might never be able to prove that customers are happier because of the work you do, but if you’re able to prove that customers are less annoyed with the products and increasingly able to get on with their business without calling support, then you might just be able to convince people that documentation is valuable.” When to go with printed documentation
Scott tell us that “As you may or may not know, I’m a strong advocate for documentation in electronic formats. Whenever possible, I avoid printing — documentation, or anything else for that matter. Part of that is the environmentalist in me. But I also don’t see the need for having a pile of paper, whether or not it’s bound, in front of my while I’m using or learning software.”
Who cares if they read it or not?
Gordon tells us to lighten up! “Seriously, do we spend too much time worrying about this? What do we get paid for after all, to write documentation, so that’s what we should concentrate on doing. So what if no-one reads it, as long as I’ve done my job I’ll get paid. And no, I don’t care if they don’t understand how to use the product properly, if they choose not to read the documentation then there isn’t much more I can do, is there? Yeah, they might get stuck but if I can learn it, so can they. If not then maybe they shouldn’t.”
Explaining Your Contribution as a Technical Communicator
Ben Minson on why technical writers sometimes find it difficult to explain what they do in a few words. “Maybe it’s not so bad when you’re talking to your uncle, but if you’re unable to explain this to your project manager, it can be awkward. I’ve put together thirteen specific positive impacts that technical communicators have on organizations.
Techsmith is running a series of bootcamps in the UK, one of which is for Camtasia Relay. “In a fast moving morning or afternoon session you’ll discover how Relay allows you to share your knowledge more widely than you ever thought possible. In minutes you’ll learn how to record and share your expertise with the press of a single button and without having to know anything about all the technical stuff that goes on in the background.’
Reporting for the Salary and Rate Survey
From Israel, Svi Ben-Elya has the results of the recent salary survey, “The reporting period has started for the salary and rate surveys for technical writers, marcom writers and copy editors. This is the most accurate survey of salaries and freelance rates for technical writers, marcom writers and copy editors working in Israel.”
Interview with Dave O’Rourke – Lead Camtasia Studio Developer
Betsy Weber “Kelly Rush, TechSmith’s videographer and I have been roaming behind the scenes at TechSmith and filming as part of our ongoing series about the people at TechSmith who make the products you use. This time, we stormed Dave O’Rourke’s office. Dave is the Lead Developer for Camtasia Studio. As Lead Developer he’s not only involved in software engineering and design, but he’s also responsible for the code that makes Camtasia Studio work. Dave also steers the development of Camtasia Studio”.
5 Reasons to Write Procedures in Twitter
Julie Norris “Recently, I’ve been exploring the need for writing procedures in real-time, focusing on Twitter in particular. This is the fourth post in the series. In my last post, I was asked by Larry Kunz in a comment for thoughts on situations in which one might write procedures in Twitter. Five come to mind; I’ve described them below.”
LinkedIn (I’m at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanwalsh) lists ten events that might interest those in the technical writing community.
eSeminar: PDF-based Documentation Reviews for Technical Communicators
With over 90% of all computers connected to the Internet already having the free Adobe PDF Reader installed, conducting PDF-based Reviews of Technical Documentation is one of the most intuitive and cost-effective solutions in the market.
Special mention to Writer River, a collaborative news site for the field of technical communication. Lots of great links and building up a nice following on Twitter.
Hello! Do I know you?
I follow as many technical writers as I can on Twitter and with my Google Reader. That’s where these links come from. If I’ve overlooked you – or you know of a company/product I should follow, please let me know.
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