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: More about the changes coming to tech writing From:"Lippincott, Richard" <RLippincott -at- as-e -dot- com> To:"Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 6 May 2014 17:57:09 +0000
Not to sound like a broken record, but...no, technical writing isn't going away. As usual, it's changing, but it's not going away.
We document the new, and so long as there -is- "new," there will be a need for people who do what we do. When human invention stops, then our jobs will stop...but at that point, we'll probably have our hands full with other worries.
Now to the worry of the blogger: is -software- documentation going away? Not completely, but it's getting smaller for the reasons he states.
For those who see tech writing as "user docs for software systems," you may indeed find the jobs are going the way of the 1920s Sears & Roebuck tech writers producing assembly instructions for kit houses, or the 1960s Zenith tech writers producing TV repair manuals. Of course, the Sears writer couldn't foresee the job of the Zenith writer, the Zenith writer couldn't foresee the job of today's SDK/API writer. Is it any wonder that our writers today can't foresee what people will be documenting as soon as ten years from now?
I've said this before, I'll say it again: Our job description in three words is "We explain things." People will always need explanations. It's as simple as that. The method and media may change, but then that's happened before.
So, as Douglas Adams would say: "Don't panic!"
Rick Lippincott, Technical Writer
American Science and Engineering, Inc. | www.as-e.com
829 Middlesex Turnpike | Billerica, MA 01821 USA | Fax +1-978-262-8702
Office +1-978-262-8807 | rlippincott -at- as-e -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+rlippincott=as-e -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+rlippincott=as-e -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Cardimon, Craig
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 10:32 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Cc: Cardimon, Craig
Subject: More about the changes coming to tech writing
Craig Cardimon | Technical Writer
Marketing Systems Group
Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp enhancements, and more. Read all about it.
Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp enhancements, and more. Read all about it.
