TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for September 14, 2012

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

*This week’s update on technical communication and the TechWhirl community
is supported by Platinum sponsor Madcap & their Ultimate Communications
Suite, MadPak <http://goo.gl/eO3ls> | http://bit.ly/zBI0Uj*



Another one of those “evergreen topics” in technical communication made its
way to the email discussion
list<http://www.techwr-l.com/about-technical-writing-discussion-groups.html>courtesy
of TechWhirl’s weekly curator, Craig Cardimon—the debate on what
title a technical communicator should have when their responsibilities grow
beyond “strict technical writing.” Some of us ancient mariner-types smile
when we see this topic, remembering similar discussions over the years, and
coming to the conclusion “I don’t really care what you call me, as long as
you call me, and remember to pay me for the work.”  I looked at my full CV,
and figured since I earned my undergraduate degree, I’ve had 14 different
titles, so at some point in my career, I just stopped worrying about it.
Now all the versions of my resume relegate the chronological history and
actual job titles to the back page so I can focus on the skills that I
bring to a project.



How we brand ourselves can be a significant and visible part of the
technical communication career upgrade. Our resumes serve as the
collateral, our portfolios help build the unique selling proposition.  In
the end we find a position, with a title that stops accurately reflecting
what the job entails about a week after we onboard.



But when the career upgrade involves going out on your own, the tenor of
the title often changes, consultant, principal consultant, advisor,
strategist… and so on.  This week TechWhirl published two different
perspectives on the world of technical communication freelancing. Jacquie
Samuels provided some excellent advice on a range of factors to consider
when asking “Are You Ready to Make the
Leap?”<http://techwhirl.com/careers/career-paths/freelancing-are-you-ready/>And
Andrea Altenburg looks back at the “Five
Things I Wish I Knew When I Made the
Leap.”<http://techwhirl.com/careers/career-paths/technical-communication-captive-to-freelancing-consultant/>
Then we managed to craft our weekly technical communication poll
around “What
drives you to go it alone as a freelancer/independent
consultant?”<http://techwhirl.com/business/polls/technical-communication-poll-what-drives-you-to-freelancing/>


LavaCon Conference 2012 is fast approaching, and we’re looking forward to
presenting two sessions, and covering the conference from all the angles.
And we’ll be part of the crowd attending the Adobe Day Thought Leadership
event <http://bit.ly/LavaConAdobe> in Portland on October 6.  If you’re
planning to be there (and you really should, it’s an amazing opportunity),
join the crowd of technical communication luminaries on hand for some great
discussions and networking.


So as you relax and re-energize this weekend, you have the perfect
opportunity to think about your technical communication career upgrade in
terms of moving to the freelancing life… or not… Isn’t it great to have so
many upgrade options?



Have a great weekend!

-The gang at TechWhirl
In Case You Missed it: This Week @ TechWhirl

*New features and articles on http://TechWhirl.com <http://techwhirl.com/>**
:*


   - Tech Writer This Week for September 14, by Craig Cardimon |
   http://bit.ly/UOiM9X
   - Technical Communication Captive to Freelancing Consultant, by Andrea
   Altenburg | http://bit.ly/No821y
   - Technical Communication Poll: What Drives You to Freelancing? |
   http://bit.ly/PeIYGS
   - Freelancing: Are You Ready to Make the Leap? by Jacquie Samuels |
   http://bit.ly/S1wFh6

*Tech Comm News on http://News.TechWhirl.com <http://news.techwhirl.com/>:*


   - Nuxeo Platform 5.6 Focuses on Business Process, Mobile and
   Collaboration | http://bit.ly/QYmpM8
   - Bloomfire Launches Free Tool To Enhance LinkedIn® Groups Collaboration
   | http://bit.ly/PmFYbk
   - TechWhirl Fast 5 Discussions | http://bit.ly/TWFast5

Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

   - Our Google Plus Page – what’s happening behind the scenes |
   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
   - Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click |
   http://goo.gl/tDrW7
   - Want all this TechWhirl goodness a few characters @ a time |
   http://goo.gl/itjDg
   - Updates from TechWhirl delivered to your email in box |
   http://bit.ly/tjshxU
   - Or, try our RSS feed (great on Flipboard) | http://goo.gl/msLzu

SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their
support.



*Platinum*: Adobe Systems
Incorporated<http://www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite/>

*Gold: *ComponentOne Software <http://bit.ly/doc-to-help>,* *Madcap
Software<http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/overview.aspx#whatsnew>
**

*Silver*: Society for Technical Communication (STC)
<http://www.stc.org/>, Vancouver
Island University <http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

-- 


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