Tech Writer Today Magazine - TechWhirl
Technical writing and technical communications news, articles and resources for technical writers and technical communicators.
Freebies. Promotional Materials. Giveaways. Most people simply call it swag. Short for Stuff We All Get. Even the word SWAG is fun to say. A lot of us get cool trinkets when we attend technical communications conferences, and we thought we could “crowd source” this project as part of May’s TechWhirl theme. Thanks to those who participated via social media, and the technical communicators sent us pictures of their favorite conference goodies. Read more of this technical writing article »
This week's roundup takes us from the art of the question in technical communications, to the strategy in content strategy, design approaches in user experience, to tech writer specifics, and cool tools to check into. According to Tom Johnson (idratherbewriting.com), asking questions is more important than finding answers. Tom also asserts that "the technical writer’s job is anything but boring." Find out why ... and check into the rest of this week's posts and commentary from around the web. Read more of this technical writing article »
In honor of National Passive Voice Day: A conflict has appeared concerning career prospects for technical writers. It was reported in the US Occupational Outlook Handbook that job growth will occur in the 16 percent range and is considered high growth. Information was published by Careercast (publicizing was done by Gurpreet Singh) showing growth in technical writing will be poor, on par with mathematicians and statisticians. In addition, a drop has occurred in the ranking of technical writing as a career from 26 to 37. A reason for this conflict has not been determined, but research should be done. Read more of this technical writing article »
TechWhirl searches the web to bring you interesting, relevant and sometimes surprising commentary, articles and other posts about technical writing, the larger area of technical communications, and related areas that intersect and overlap with tech comm. This week we look at awesome help, trends and the value of tech comm, audience analysis, eLearning distractions and lots more. Read more of this technical writing article »
In the course of any given work week, many of us read dozens of blogs, follow hundreds of tweets, and keep up with threads and messages in a wide range of discussion lists and community forums. Not to mention those who work together with other technical writers and practitioners of in related fields on a daily basis (and the accompanying meetings, IMs and phone calls). Chances are pretty good that not all the blogs, or hash tags, or discussion threads focus specifically on technical communications. And chances are that the knowledge you gain from those other communities impacts how you do your job. In other words, our professional community is actually more akin to a complex affinity or venn diagram, with many overlapping edges between us and other distinct communities of professionals. Read more of this technical writing article »
It’s worth going back every so often and asking some basic questions about what we do, how we do it, and what it’s all for. We here at TechWhirl subscribe to a deep belief in “42,” and we also think the concept of “re-framing the community” is fascinating, challenging, and probably somewhat controversial. At least it should make for some really cool debates. We’ve come along way from square dances, one-room school houses and town criers, but electronic mobility and connectedness casts both shadows and lights into the corners of our communities, and it means big changes in how we think about what we do. Read more of this technical writing article »
We’ve had an amazingly busy week on many fronts, and like most of you, we’re looking forward to taking a breath and relaxing a bit during the holiday weekend. As you’ve probably guessed, April Fools’ Day is one of our favorite celebrations, and we timed our first ever Technical Communications April Fools’ antics to coincide with the launch of the News site for TechWhirl. If you’ve ever doubted that vendors really can have a sense of humor, check out the “new releases” from Adobe, Vasont Systems, Thirty Six Software, XML Press, INKtopia and TechWhirl, a report on a kerfluffle in Memphis, along with “research” and “tips” from Component One, STC and Publishing Smarter. Read more of this technical writing article »
The old saying March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, apparently doesn't hold true in technical communications. TechWhirl finishes up the month of March with a great set of articles on translation and globalization, more valuable recaps from WritersUA 2012, and some interesting news items (well, on the news front it was more like a lamb, but we figure it’s end of quarter quiet period for lots of companies.) Read more of this technical writing article »
ComponentOne, makers of Doc-to-Help software, is seeking input from technical writers on technical communication trends. The brief, ten-question survey seeks feedback on needs for review, approval, and commenting support on various platforms, as well as the tools currently in use for authoring technical content. Read more of this technical writing article »