Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing

Subject: Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing
From: Daniel Friedman <daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2015 13:01:36 -0500

It's a little outdated, and it seems geared more towards technical writers
for industrial industries, rather than software development. But all in all
not bad. These ones all seem accurate to things I do. Not all encompassing,
doesn't include participation in product development, QA, marketing, etc.,
but those are "extra hats" rather than my core responsibilities.


- Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set
standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
- Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
- Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other
writers or establishment personnel.
- Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to
illustrate material.
- Interview production and engineering personnel and read journals and
other material to become familiar with product technologies and production
methods.
- Develop or maintain online help documentation.


I did chuckle a bit when they mentioned that technical writers use Scanners
a lot. When's the last time anyone here used a scanner other than for an
employment agreement / legal document?

On Fri, Jan 2, 2015 at 11:55 AM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
wrote:

> Here's the entry for technical writers from O*NET, which provided the
> bulk of the data for the study's algorithm:
>
> http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3042.00
>
> The Tasks section includes mostly things I never do ("arrange for
> typing"?) and is missing the core tasks I spend most of my time on.
>
> Garbage in, garbage out.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork,
> communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>



--
*Daniel Friedman*
*friedmantechpublications.com* <http://friedmantechpublications.com>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives


References:
Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing: From: Lois Patterson
Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing: From: Robert Lauriston

Previous by Author: RE: Advice for interviewing new tech writers
Next by Author: Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing
Previous by Thread: Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing
Next by Thread: Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads