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BB>> "In short, what I would like to see is presentations that would get
writers
BB>> more interested in the technical side of the profession. I'm convinced it
BB>> can be done - but I don't know of many efforts to do it.
>
EG> "How much effort have YOU put into making this happen?"
I have been participating right here and sponsoring TECHWR-L. I've been
explaining security to writers, telling people how to use MS Exchange Servers,
explaining concepts of business, law, etc. I've been also been advising people
here to become more technical. To learn their companies products and services
at a greater depth. And once a month (or so) I get a private email that says,
thank you from a writer who took that advice and ended up getting a better job,
a raise, or at least more respect among her co-workers.
Furthermore, I learned long ago that fighting STC was a fruitless and
unrewarding endeavor. STC doesn't want to change and it will go to great
lengths to stop any change.
This was never more blatant to me than last year when a few of us at my firm
tried to put together a technical study group for writers. We were going to try
to become Microsoft certified. I was certified in 1996, but needed to get
re-certified. Moreover, we figured it would be a good opportunity to become
more technically skilled with Windows systems.
One of the guys in my office (who is an STC member) suggested we put out an
invite via an STC mailing list. We did and a ton of people showed up -
including a few longtime STC members.
On the second meeting, one of these STC people announced to the group that she
thought this type of technical training was "useless" and that she had spoken
with "a number of technical publications managers" who told her that such
technical training would not encourage them to hire a candidate. Then, over the
next few weeks the STC folks went to work on the attendees. They would email
attendees and tell them that this was a waste of time and that they shouldn't
go. Attendance plummeted and eventually, we just did the study group among
ourselves.
It was another STC moment that affirmed what I always believed to be true. STC
outright discourages writers from obtaining technical training. STC and it
wants to make sure writers remain non-technical, so they will continue to see
value in the parade on one-off issues they champion.
Andrew Plato
__________________________________________________
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