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Subject:Technical Writer vs. Information Developer From:Mike Christie <mikec -at- SYNTEL -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 11 Aug 1995 09:22:09 -0700
Stuart Burnfield writes:
> My business cards are mute on the subject. If I have to come up with a
> title when dealing with other businesses, I say something like Senior
> Documentor or Documentation Manager, though these are very grand names
> for the head of a very small group. When I go to the toilet, the
> Documentation Division is unattended.
Likewise here. When the company re-organized and I got to select my own
title, I chose Senior Information Developer (in spite of the advice to
the contrary I got from this list at the time). While I know that a very
large number of people who have the title of Technical Writer or Senior
Technical Writer or some varation thereof write on-line help and on-line
documentation, somehow the term still suggests to me printed manuals.
Information Developer suggests that I am writing, preparing, and
organizing information for use by (someone) and that that information may
be developed and distributed in any of a number of forms.
And, if I were to move on to another firm where I was told my title was
to be Senior Technical Writer, it's certainly not enough of an issue that
I would make any kind of a fuss about it.
Mike Christie
Senior Information Developer
SyntelSoft, Inc.
mikec -at- syntel -dot- com