Sunday, July 31, 2005

Writing is just the beginning.  I once met an editor who told me, over lunch at an expensive New York restaurant, that writers are a dime a dozen. Thank goodness he was paying for lunch. But no matter what industry you work in, you must expand from your skill in writing to become an expert in at least one of the following areas. Interface or interaction design Information architecture Usability Translation management, localization, and globalization In all of these extensions of our craft, the key is getting to know your user. Note that I do not call this person a reader.  Nobody reads online: or at least, not until they absolutely cannot postpone it any longer. Before people condescend to read, they navigate, they search, the browse, they skim. They do anything to avoid reading. Yes, eventually, when certain they have found the right spot, they read.  But not at length.  Just enough to get going. Traditional writing jobs, such as reporting, doing technical communication, crafting web content, are going to be downsized, outsourced, and minimized.  Result: the pay will get less and less, as has already happened in the newspaper business. And as well-educated folks in India pick up the work that used to be done by American and European writers, jobs get cut. To survive, specialize.   Yes, you have to be able to write well.  But you also need to learn project management, and you need to be able to show where your work fits into the business, how you are contributing to profits.  Becoming business savvy is critical, and that awareness often leads you into fields that are not traditional for writers. One thing you can do that outsourcers cannot: you can get to know your customers really, really well. In a special issue of a journal for technical communicators, titled The Future of Technical Communication, JoAnn Hackos says that getting to know the needs of your customers is the key to fighting off the low-cost outsourcers. Customer knowledge is the most difficult to replicate by those with little access to customers. (Hackos, JoAnn.  August 2005. The perspective of a management consultant. Technical Communication. 273-6.) Yes, we need to learn new technologies such as XML, and content management, and a few of the related tools like web servers, collaborative software, XML editors, content management systems.   But we have to think a lot bigger.   We have to think about the people we are writing for. If we can show that we know our customers better than anyone else, we have unique value for the organization, whether we are called writers, or usability gurus, or content managers. Understanding what customers need and enjoy-that requires something that you already have.  Imagine that. Best, Jonathan 7:56:27 PM    comment []

Writing’s just the beginning.  I once met an editor who told me, over lunch at an expensive New York restaurant, “Writers are a dime a dozen.”  Thank goodness he was paying for lunch. But no matter what industry you work in, you must expand from your skill in writing to become an expert in at least one of the following areas: •    Interface or interaction design •    Information architecture •    Usability •    Translation management, localization, and globalization In all of these extensions of our craft, the key is getting to know your user. Note that I do not call this person a reader.  Nobody reads online: or at least, not until they absolutely cannot postpone it any longer. Before people condescend to read, they navigate, they search, the browse, they skim…anything to avoid reading. Yes, eventually, when certain they have found the right spot, they read.  But not at length.  Just enough to get going. Traditional writing jobs—-reporting, doing technical communication, crafting web content—-are going to be downsized, outsourced, and minimized.  Result: the pay will get less and less, as has already happened in the newspaper business. And as well-educated folks in India pick up the work that used to be done by American and European writers, jobs get cut. To survive, specialize.   Yes, you have to be able to write well.  But you also need to learn project management, and you need to be able to show where your work fits into the business, how you are contributing to profits.  Becoming business savvy is critical—-and that awareness often leads you into fields that are not traditional for writers. One thing you can do that outsourcers cannot: you can get to know your customers really really well. In a special issue of a journal for technical communicators, titled The Future of Technical Communication, JoAnn Hackos says that getting to know your customers’ needs is the key to fighting off the low-cost outsourcers: Customer knowledge is the most difficult to replicate by those with little access to customers. (Hackos, JoAnn.  August 2005. The perspective of a management consultant. Technical Communication. 273-6.) Yes, we need to learn new technologies (XML, and content management, for example), and a few of the related tools (like web servers, collaborative software, XML editors, content management systems).   But we have to think a lot bigger.   We have to think about the people we are writing for. If we can show that we know our customers better than anyone else, we have unique value for the organization—-whether we are called writers, or usability gurus, or content managers. Understanding what customers need and enjoy—-that requires something that you already have: imagination! 7:51:14 PM    comment []