Helping the world explore and understand content management and technical communication
Usually the week after a long holiday weekend finds the email discussion list operating in low key mode, but this week is proving to be a delightful exception. TechWhirlers are a wide-ranging, eclectic breed. Practitioners don’t usually fit the stereotypes, and in the long run that makes society better for everyone. Continue reading ...
Helping society can produce a wide range of career opportunities every bit as professionally and rewarding as the volunteer side. Much of what we see in "mainstream media" depicts technical communications in fairly limited, stereotypical ways. We don't have to look far to see a whole range of industries and economic sectors where communication is critical, and technical communicators have tremendous opportunities. Continue reading ...
Like some other lucky people, I won free passes to SXSW Eco, a conference "committed to finding solutions for a sustainable world," which was held October 3-5 this year. I am not an ecologist, city planner, or environmental engineer. Would I be able to get anything from a conference that was quite far from my typical work life? As it turned out, most definitely. Continue reading ...
One year ago, I graduated from Portland State University with a Master’s in Technical Writing, and set out into the world, sure that a career as a professional writer was within my grasp. Then reality showed its ugly head – I was going into the expertise-heavy world of technical writing with a piece of paper and little practical experience. Every job listing included the soul-killing phrase “5-10 years of experience preferred”. Continue reading ...
Several current threads on the TechWhirl email discussion list discuss areas aligned with but separate from technical communication—quality assurance and business analysis in particular. I always find those discussions fascinating. They continue to affirm my belief that the best approach to a successful technical communication career is to think in broader, more holistic, and yes, more strategic terms. Continue reading ...
Volunteering is usually considered to be the biggest component in helping society, so we've decided to survey one final aspect of volunteerism—the benefits we look for in choosing a volunteer opportunity. After looking at the challenges in volunteering technical communication expertise, and the types of organizations technical communicators choose to volunteer with, we were curious to know why you choose to volunteer. Continue reading ...
Volunteering provides both obvious and less obvious benefits to those doing the volunteering and the recipients. For many in technical communication, it means the chance to hone some professional skills as well as to offer those skills to benefit others. As we take a look at "helping society and tech comm" during November, we wanted to start by looking at the ways technical communicators volunteer their time. Continue reading ...