The tech-writer’s journal #5 — Becoming a part of the tech-writing community
Being a part of a professional learning community is vital for any professional. A learning community usually involves a group of professionals who often belong to the same field that set meetings (either online or in-person) to share expertise, work collaboratively, and hone their professional skill-set. The goal of the learning community is to improve the skill-set of the professionals in the community.
Technical Writing is a profession that demands a fair-share of expertise in inter-personal skills. A typical day of a technical writer would not be complete without meetings, either with the developers, product managers, software quality assurance specialists, and the list goes on. Being part of such communities can contribute a great deal to the soft skills of a technical writer. You can use these communities to stay up to date with the trends in technical writing. Also, it is always nice to know that there are people to whom you can reach out for any professional advice.
Here is a list of things you can do to get to know the latest trends in technical writing:
A. Listening to podcasts
Technical writing podcasts offer a vast amount of useful information on technical writing, and for the most part, they are free! Here is the list of my favourite technical writing podcasts, that I follow regularly:
a. The not-boring tech writer, by Jacob Moses
The conversations in this podcast are informative and engaging, and they usually anchor upon proving that technical writing is not a boring career!
b. I’d rather be writing, by Tom Johnson
Tom Johnson is a technical writer at Google, and is the author of one of my favourite technical writing blogs under the same label. The podcast educates you about everything you need to know about technical writing and includes topics related to information architecture, API documentation, information design, DITA, and so on.
c. Write the Docs Podcast
If you need to ask something about technical writing, stay relevant or find friends who are technical writers, Write the Docs is just the platform you need. Write the Docs is a series of conferences and local meet ups that primarily focus on topics related to software documentation.
d. The 10-minute Tech comm, by Dr. Ryan Weber
In this podcast, Dr.Ryan Weber from the University of Alabama interviews experts in the field of technical communication. The episodes are both informative and engaging.
B. Following tech-writing blogs
Here is a list of insightful technical writing blogs that you can follow:
a. I’d rather be writing, by Tom Johnson
As mentioned earlier in the podcast section, the I’d rather be writing blog aims at educating you about everything you need to know about technical writing and includes topics related to information architecture, API documentation, information design, DITA, and so on.
b. ClickHelp
The ClickHelp technical writing blog covers a variety of topics related to technical writing, tips and tricks, checklists, and latest trends in the software documentation.
c. Tech Writing is Easy by Kesi Parker
It’s a publication on Medium created by Kesi Parker. Her posts are aimed at proving that everyone can learn technical writing, and she does that with her simple yet compelling set of posts.
C. Becoming a part of tech-writing LinkedIn Groups
A LinkedIn Group is one of the most convenient ways to stay upto date with industry trends, get in touch with experts, ask for feedback, and so much more. Here is a list of technical writing groups that you can be a part of:
a. Society for Technical Communication, Usability and User Experience SIG
Experts in the field of technical communication, usability and user experience share industry trends, useful research articles, job postings, and so on.
b. API Documentation
API Documentation is a LinkedIn community for professional Programmers & Technical Writers who write API Documentation.
c. The technical writer forum
A forum to discuss trends and difficulties faced by technical writers and strategies to handle them.
d. Software user assistance
This group is designed for Documentarians. It is an open forum to share ideas and news related to User Assistance. The software user assistance skills include technical writing, editing, planning, coding, indexing, testing, programming, localization, and standards.
e. Agile technical writers
Agile environments are highly dynamic and fast-paced. They create challenges in planning, managing, and writing which can differ from traditional software development environments. If you are an Agile technical writer or documentation manager or other Agile professional who would like to share and contribute to the collective wisdom, this group is just for you.
D. Joining Slack Channels
a. Write the Docs Slack Channel
The Write the Docs Slack Channel has a network of technical writers discussing about documentation. You can post your queries related to technical writing, share insights, give feedback, suggestions, and a lot more. The write the docs slack channel is the best way to stay in touch with technical writers whom you have met at their conferences and meet ups.
E. Following tech-writing youtube channels
Technical and Business Writing, by Ugur Akinci, Ph.D.
The youtube channel is created and maintained by Ugur Akinci, a fortune 100 technical communicator and educator since 1998. Being an experienced professional, Ugur shares general principles of good technical writing and content development. He also shares various tips and tricks that might save you a lot of time and effort in your writing process.
Amruta Ranade
Amruta Ranade has a relatively young, up and coming youtube channel for technical writers. Her videos are insightful, simple, and engaging. If you are an aspiring technical writer, this is where you should be headed.
To conclude, I’d be really happy to know if this post helped you in getting connected with fellow technical writers, and I am convinced that there are many other similar platforms that serve the same purpose, do drop them in the comment section. Let’s connect :)
