English (American, UK, or otherwise) probably contains more clichés about time than any other topic, including the latest attempt by a Kardashian to break the internet. Western societies are so time bound that relaxation has to be scheduled. Rather sad when you think about it, but then again who has time to think about it?
Gurus still make millions on time management strategies, one-percenters still hire people to focus solely on managing their social calendars, and the rest of us still don’t have enough time to focus on what matters. I have extraordinary regard for folks who can manage their calendars with precision, and still enjoy life. I also have extraordinary regard for folks who can manually balance their checkbook, knowing full well that I’m not likely to master such skills. I will however, aspire to mastery.
Tech comm and other content creation roles are also very time bound. Milliseconds to make an impression, estimates on how long a task should take, deadlines to get that content out the door. We live in an age when the usefulness of content expires as quickly as a Snapchat photo. Yet we’re still expected to create content with a shelf-life–stuff that can be reused, published across media channels, and held up to prove our employer’s commitment to serve the customer.
In fact it’s probably not a new frustration, newspaper reporters in the last century wrote brilliant exposés that were used to line trash cans the next day. We hold to a mantra here at TechWhirl–“Good content is hard to do,” which we often amend to “Good content is hard to do over and over again.” And that’s why smart companies hire good content creators. The individual pieces of content may not live in the minds of customers for any length of time, but quality leaves a long-lasting impression.
To save you some time, we spend it, perusing the latest from thought leaders, innovators and disruptors to provide insight on what it takes to produce great content from the technical support, customer experience, and branding perspectives. Just a few quick samples:
- How Text Tech Support Can Cut Back On Costs
- CX Journey™ Musings: Busy Work vs. Real Work
- How to Align UX with Product Management
- Software Technical Writing Is a Dying Career
If the meter’s running on your day, better hurry over and take a look at the latest edition of Tech Writer This Week.
