A special two-volume series of Technical Communication on professionalization for our field asks that very question.  In the November and February issues of Technical Communication, eight thought leaders provide answers that are both reassuring and provocative.  How do your capabilities compare to those of the new professional  who practices in the workplace or the academy?  We hope you read these issues and contribute to building a collective body of knowledge that will sustain our current professionalization efforts.    NWC Guest Editorial February 2012

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Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application“]

Connecting the Dots

When I learned about Steve Jobs’ passing, I started reading about his life. I was awestruck. I knew he was a genius, but I kept asking myself, “How can one person have that much drive and vision to accomplish so much in such little time?” I wish I could channel a little of his clarity and determination, since most days I feel more like the “Cat in the Hat” trying to balance everything while standing on a ball. But instead of the fish, a rake, a cake and a boat, I am trying to juggle a full-time consulting job, graduate school, along with my other life hats – wife, mom, housekeeper, cook, laundress, accountant, and secretary.

In the following days, some of Steve Jobs’ commencement speech statements kept haunting me.

“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do great work. And the only way to do great work is to do what you love.”

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. “ Read more…

Geoff Forman, MSPTC Student

Quality versus Quantity: The Endless Battle

It’s a common debate that has spanned many industries over many years: make something better or make more of it? If the number of people and time spent on a project remain the same, how do you balance quality and quantity?

I was recently in a meeting regarding the technical content available on my employer’s website. My employer, an optical engineering and sales company, currently provides a variety of product overviews and technical support material on its website. The meeting, which involved a mix of engineers, web designers and artists, and technical writers and editors, focused on finding ways to determine how to improve the quality of our content, while increasing the quantity of content offered.

The company wishes to be considered the industry’s trusted technical advisor.

Some in the meeting believed it more important to increase the rate at which we produce technical content, sacrificing some of the time spent on improving graphics and checking for technical accuracy. By offering more content, we show the customer that we are knowledgeable in a wide range of subjects. If a peer-reviewed journal tripled the rate at which it posted articles, it could quickly become the go-to source for the given subject – but at what expense? An increase in errors at the expense of speed may lead to a fast-food reputation: quick, but not too good – the opposite of the trusted technical advisor.

Others believed it more important to slow the content creation, improve the content design, and ensure technical accuracy. By providing to the customer the best material we can, we display expertise and specialization. If our content looks and sounds better than a competitor’s, then we are positioned as the superior technical advisor. If the same peer-reviewed journal decreased the rate at which it posted articles, but began to include detailed illustrations and images, its content may appear more thorough and complete. At the same time, though, taking too much time may be a competitive disadvantage: the competition may release a similar article, or referenced material may be outdated.

The content is written by engineers who are knowledgeable in the subject. Can it be assumed that the content is technically accurate? Does the author, who is arguably an expert on the subject, need to be fact checked? Time is saved by not fact checking the content, but at the potential risk of missing errors.

Does the audience, comprised heavily of engineers, care about the design or quality of the artwork?

Where is the balance between quality and quantity?

After posing this question to my classmates in NJIT’s Master of Science in Professional and Technical Communication program, the consensus was unanimous: better technical content trumps offering more of it. Personally, I agree, but I believe a balance must be made between the two. Taking too much time to produce quality content can be a detriment to becoming the trusted technical advisor. At the same time, offering a ton of error-prone, misspelled content is an even greater detriment.

Sadly, there is not necessarily a best answer for this question. Depending on who is asked or what the scenario is, the answer will constantly change. A 50-50 split between quality and quantity may work for some, while a 60-40 for others, and a 30-70 for others.

Regarding technical content, do you prefer the best content available, or a source that provides information on the widest range of subjects?

Guest Blogger, Ray McCarthy, Student in MS in Professional and Technical Communication

This post may be outside the scope of the golf world, but it’s an important topic and is part of an assignment for my Advanced Professional and Technical Communication course.

I posed a question to my classmates on October 6: What expertise are companies mainly looking for today? Considering the majority of my classmates are already established technical communicators, I was certain they would be able to offer a wealth of knowledge pertaining to that question. I was not disappointed.

The answers ranged from specific, tech-related skills to broad, personality-based attributes. Faye Newsham, who is currently a Senior Technical Writer and Information Architect for the federal government, emphasized Microsoft Word and the full Microsoft Office spectrum (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) as a must-have skill. Faye, borrowing from her 20 years of experience in technical communication, said that it depends on the position because different companies require different things of their employees.

You WILL use Microsoft Office.

Geoffrey Forman, a copywriter for Edmund Optics, piggybacked on Faye’s point and cited a knowledge of design software as crucial for technical communicators. “A knowledge of design and design software is always helpful – I have combined my background in writing with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator on numerous occasions, and the ability to create the artwork needed to service your own written content is always a plus.” Geoff hits on an important point here: As technical communicators, we need to be versatile in that we can provide both the written and design content that companies need today. Personally speaking, my strength has always been the written word, but I’m in the MS-PTC program because I need to hone my design skills and improve upon a weakness.

Lastly, Thasha Ramdas, a Web Content Manager also working at Edmund Optics, credited an understanding of social media as must-have in today’s workplace. (Read: This blog!) Thasha said that though companies may not even use social media tools, it’s imperative to know the basics (Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc.) so that you’re able to offer that to employers. Deliverables like that make you an attractive candidate for any position.

Social media is an integral part of this field.

It goes without saying that all of these skills are essential to succeeding as technical communicators. The intangibles, however, are just as important. Things like a positive attitude and dependability are perhaps more important than being able to design documents with your eyes closed. Above all else, a willingness to learn new tools and skills is paramount to achieving what you want as a technical communicator. This may be a 21st-century profession, but that age-old attribute will carry you a long way.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 –  12:00 to 5:15

Cullimore Hall, 411

Please come celebrate with our MSPTC students as they present

 their capstone ePortfolios and step toward completing their degrees!

Refreshments provided by Graduate Student Association

From today’s IEEE Spectrum Tech Alert:


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Here’s the editor’s immediate response — and why you always need to think about using inclusive language:

International Professional Communication Conference Presentation

NJIT: News: Humanities Professor Honored by STC.

My garden is my summer joy. These are some of my favorite flowers.