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Re: What do you guys think of STCs new definition for technicalwriter?
Subject:Re: What do you guys think of STCs new definition for technicalwriter? From:Mike Starr <mikestarr-techwr-l -at- writestarr -dot- com> To:Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Tue, 27 May 2008 14:49:23 -0500
We had a bit of a discussion of this over the weekend. Sean did a rewrite and then I tweaked it as follows:
Technical communicators create a variety of print and online documents that are clear, concise, comprehensive, accurate, correct, accessible, and professional. Typical deliverables include manuals, online documentation, proposals, policies and procedures, and websites. Technical communicators work in all types of businesses and industries around the world and use a variety of methods, tools, and technologies including writing, illustration, graphic design, photography, video, and sound.
Mike
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(262) 694-1028 - mike -at- writestarr -dot- com - http://www.writestarr.com
Bill Swallow wrote:
> I've been looking at the proposed STC definition of the job of a
> Technical Communicator and the more I look at it, the more "wrong" it
> looks.
>
> "Develop and design instructional and informational tools needed to
> assure safe, easy, proper and complete use of technical goods.
> Combines multi-media knowledge and strong communication skills with
> technical expertise to educate across the entire spectrum of users'
> abilities, technical experience, and visual and auditory
> capabilities."
>
> I'll do a dissection of sorts, as that'll be less wordy. ;-)
>
> First, "informational tools" needs to go. It's an invented term that
> requires some degree of techcomm job knowledge to correctly
> understand.
>
> "Assure", as was pointed out, is wrong in this context.
>
> "Technical goods" is too specific and shouldn't be used. Not all TCs
> cater to goods and not all cater toward technical things. Yet they are
> TCs by HOW they work.
>
> "Multi-media" is one word, not hyphenated. I'll argue that I don't
> consider myself highly knowledgeable about multimedia, though I did
> take an electronic media arts course or two back in college.
>
> The most puzzling thing of all is that nowhere in the definition does
> it say that, basically, TCs explain things to PEOPLE. We instead
> educate across abilities, across expertise, and across capabilities.
>
> I say we Ctrl+Alt+Del and start over.
>
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