TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
This weekâs update is supported by Platinum sponsor ComponentOne & their
Doc-To-Help Help Authoring Tool (http://goo.gl/QcMWA).
Evolution
*evÂoÂluÂtion noun* /ËevÉËloÍoSHÉn/
*The gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex
form or A pattern of movements or maneuvers (Websterâs Dictionary)*
For today, letâs agree that evolution can mean the gradual changing of our
moment. With that idea, we can evolve from child to adult, care-given to
caregiver, intern to executive and child to adult. Sure thereâs interesting
pub conversations on evolution for the physical characteristics of animals
and our poor stuck in the middle friend, the platypus, but evolution in the
strictest sense really means change.
I (Al) recently received an invitation to a friendâs 60th birthday party. In
it, they used the quote âFor the first 30 you learn; second 30 you earn; and
third 30 you returnâ, which really made an impact on me on a number of
levels. For this platform, it can really be an interesting framework for
our work and careers as they evolve from entry level, to semi-entry level,
to the first manager role, mid-manager; to â if we want and have the ability
â taking our place as an executive with a company.
We have to evolve. Yes, the quote falls apart with the theory that after 30
we no longer need to learn learn, when in fact, it can be argued that the
entire career progression is based on learning. Whether it be small things
like rephrasing âI donât knowâ to âlet me get back to you because I donât
have enough visibility on that areaâ to better understanding how to motivate
employees we are evolving all the time. Yes, some people can regress and
yes, we probably all have horror stories of knowing people who were great
sales people but abysmal managers. Show me a person who doesnât believe in
the Peter Principle and Iâll show you a person who is either an example of
it or doesnât work in corporate.
As weâve mentioned before, most of Julyâs articles are on Career Decisions
and Transitions. Or, you know, your evolving career.
This week brought us two new articles. The first from Craig Cardimon
entitled âSliding Into Technical Writingâ (goo.gl/M5pQE) and our second was
âThis IS Your Dream Jobâ by Vancouver Island
University<http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>âs
Julie Clark (goo.gl/jch9q). Finally, our classic article division decided
it was time to start talking about how to âPromote Yourself as a
Contractorâ, which was written by Bruce Byfield (goo.gl/iz42V).
Next week we shift from careers to collaboration with our features touching
Collaboration Tools, Techniques and Strategies for Better Tech
Writing. However,
since weâve been having so much fun (and needed another weekend) on our
portfolios article, weâre ceremoniously adopting August 1 as an honorary
member of July. What about August 2? Forget-a-bout it â Aug 2 is out of
the club and has to stay with the collaboration gang.
How have you evolved as a writer? Worker? Leader? Are you the same
person you were 10 years ago? Share your story with us in the comments.
*Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl*:
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What Youâre Talking About
o Matt Moore has the enviable assignment of managing his companyâs
âEvaluation Process â HATsâ and started a popular thread on what to look for
with the major players, why you should pay attention to the lesser known
tools and the importance of look and feel.
o With a slight morph to the topic above, Chris Despopoulos is pondering
âModern vs Old-fashioned Helpâ and lots of whirlers are discussing the
virtues of tripane, removing frames and refreshing CSS, and giving users
what they say the want.
o Monique Semp is seekng affirmation on her feelings about list
ânon-parallelism - looking for the ok to let it go....â and getting
responses that encourage parallelism for clarityâs sake, and consideration
of the content of a list (document versus presentation) among others.
o Ruth Sessions is looking for a little TW bartering with her post on
âswapping monitors?â Seems like there are quite a few folks ready to
sacrifice newness for high resolution.
In Case You Missed it: This Week @ TechWhirl
 New: âSliding Into Technical Writingâ by Craig Cardimon |
goo.gl/M5pQE
 New: âThis IS Your Dream Jobâ by Julie Clarke | goo.gl/jch9q
 Classic: âYour Own Best Ad: Promoting Yourself as a Contractorâ by
Bruce Byfield | goo.gl/iz42V
 Poll question: Important factors when moving into
contracting/freelancing| techwhirl.com
Upcoming Events & Articles
 New: âCan You Create an NDA-Compliant Portfolioâ by Connie Giordano,
and âIntroduction to Content Management Systemsâ by Jacquie Samuels
 Classic: âGetting Contractors Up to Speed Quicklyâ by-Micki Magyar
 Poll question: What kind of system do you use to manage technical
communications content?
SPONSOR-Luv
We want to send a very special âthank youâ to sponsors. Without them,
youâd be reading this would be on a bbs using a 14.4 modem â
*Platinum*: Adobe, ComponentOne, Madcap,
*Gold*: EC Software, Society for Technical Communication (STC)
*Silver*: Vancouver Island University
> Before the PR firm for the platypus contacts us, we meant no offense and
did not intend to harm the platypus brand.
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