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Subject:RE: What would you call this process, and role? From:"Steve Janoff (non-Celgene)" <sjanoff -at- celgene -dot- com> To:Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:03:09 -0700
Wow, what an awesome post! Thank you so much, Lauren!! You rock! :)
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of Lauren
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 1:41 PM
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: What would you call this process, and role?
On 7/31/2012 12:38 PM, Steve Janoff (non-Celgene) wrote:
> Lauren wrote:
>> ... If you can present the data with same enthusiasm you have for analyzing it and get people enthusiastic about the data, then you can probably build yourself a lucrative niche.
> Yes, bingo. That would be awesome.
>
> What's most interesting about this stuff is that, although actually locating and extracting the data is not that exciting (although maybe it can be), the real excitement and challenge comes from analyzing the data and then presenting it in a way that anyone can understand -- and that's where our skills in Technical Communications come in.
That is where I was going. It is always good to be enthusiastic about
doing a job, but your enthusiasm about presenting data comes through in
email. If you can "sell" that data to your audience, then you would put
yourself in a very marketable position of a data presenter in whatever
role you wind up calling yourself.
I like to get user buy-in in my documents and that requires using some
marketing about whatever I am communicating in my documents. I like
getting people excited about business processes and effective
collaboration. It is exciting to me to see enthusiasm, especially when
so many people are jaded by business because of assorted economic chaos
and loss.
Being enthusiastic about data that people can use and more importantly
getting people excited about the prospects of benefiting from knowing
the meaning behind that data will certainly prove to be a promising
venture, if you pursue it.
You have a strong foundation for a great philosophy and a good reference
for understanding a new direction for data and its many facets of
aggregation, analysis, visualization, modelling, manipulation,
presentation, dumping, management, use, etc. You may also have the
rudimentary elements to establish a methodology of aggregating and
presenting data. Something you can write about or present in lectures,
if you get a mature methodology that others can replicate in their own
businesses.
> It also gives you the opportunity to think a little bit visually rather than just verbally.
This is important for most people to grasp what it being said. Every
great news story has a photo because people can relate to the story when
they see a picture. Then there is the adage that a picture tells a
thousand words.
> ... I have no artistic ability at all, but I do have a decent visual sense, and something that could be augmented with some basic design training.
If you can conceptualize data in a way that others will easily
understand, they you will be an artist; I guess, a data artist.
> ...there may be a niche here for Tech Commers. (Tech Commies?:)
Not commies. :-\
There is a niche for you, at least. I think that TechComm does have the
potential to expand in many areas because want information about
*everything* and many people are tired of being in the dark about how
their systems work. It seems there has been a sort of data obscurity
where users of a system do not know how the system works, so they have
to rely on whatever they are told about it. People have used this data
obscurity against business and businesses have used data obscurity
against people. Knowledge is power, but attaining data knowledge is a
challenge for many people.
> ... there's not an information explosion, rather a data explosion. We're inundated with data, and there's no sense-making out of it. ...
You have an inspiring philosophy; I think you should build on it.
> There is a need for people to bridge that gap between Data and Information, and it looks like the Technical Communicator is well-suited for that. ...
Perhaps, you should be a little selfish about this right now and focus
on how *you* can "bridge that gap" rather than how all TechCommers can
benefit. Cartographers do not take people with them when they map an
area; they map by themselves and then provide the map later. I think
you can get slowed down if you give to much attention to global aspects
of what you are doing. You are at the edge of a big, largely unexplored
area of technical communication. While there are many inroads to data
communication, most approaches are unique and few are easily understood
by the non-technical people who need data information.
> This doesn't have to be graphics, either. It can be charts or other variations of text-based presentations, maybe that just have more of a visual look.
You are describing your new niche as something that may be called, "Data
communication."
If I was in your position, I would put "Data Communicator" as my résumé
headline. It would get people talking and the discussion would flow
right into what you do and that infectious enthusiasm you seem to have.
> Anyway, don't mean to ramble. But it's exciting stuff.
It sounds like it.
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