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.
Subject:Re: User rant -- as employment tactic? From:Mitchell Maltenfort <mmalten -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 29 Jun 2005 06:27:49 -0400
There's a tactic from the AMWA newsletter for developing clips to show
employers: write clear, accurate summaries of medical topics you saw
poorly covered in the news.
The idea could be transposed to developing tech writing clips. Work
out for yourself, between experimentation and technical
documents/advice you find elsewhere, how these things work and write
up your own documentation. Then add the documentation to your clips
file to show to potential employers. Perpahs even mail copies to the
miscreants showing them what the proper tech documentations hould look
like.
There's always the marginal risk of squawking from legal departments
about intellectual property, but I don't see much trouble if that does
happen. You aren't costing them money since they don't sell
documentation and clearly don't consider it a product, and you can
insist they explain why they aren't going after web pages and
newsgroups providing tech tips on the same devices.
On 6/28/05, Dick Margulis <margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote:
>
> Within the last week my wife and I have brought home to attempt to use:
>
> • Linksys wireless router
> • Motorola cell phone (since returned)
> • LG cell phone
>
> All suffered from the same problem--inadequate documentation.
>
<clip>
> But all in all this has been a frustrating week dealing with products
> that ought to have decent documentation. Fie on companies that see
> documentation as a drain on profits.
>