Re: Yahoo has no staff tech writers

[Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

--- Jeff Hanvey <jeff -at- jewahe -dot- net> wrote:
> As always, Andrew shows his complete lack of respect for his own profession and
> for the other technical writers out there.

I am not a technical writer any more. :-) 

> I'm not diminishing his experience: he's obviously been burned by writers in
> the past, but to make the sweeping generalization that most TW's are unwilling
> to learn their field is simply incorrect.

Actually, I have not been burned by writers in the past. All of the writers I
have worked with were outstanding people who worked hard and generally did
outstanding work. But, I also make sure that I hired folks and trained them to
work under a different paradigm. One where technical expertise was not optional,
it was mandatory. 

> Of course, this completely goes against Andrew's assumption that everyone is
> lazy, and no one really cares about work any - all they want is a paycheck, and
> they'll take the path of least resistance to get it.

Own a business, that has ranged from 2 to 20 employees for 8 years and it will
fundamentally change your opinion on people.  

I used to be like you. I used to believe people were decent folks. Then I started
managing them. And I quickly realized that many people don't want to work hard.
They just want to get a paycheck and get out. Which is fine if you work at some
big pointless organization where results are optional. But at a small to medium
sized business, underperforming people are disastrous. 
 
> I think the main problem Andrew has had is that he has encountered writers who
> are fairly fresh out of academia. 

Actually that isn't true either. I've hired probably two dozen writers over the
past few years. And of them none were fresh outta college (FOCs). Most were 1 to
2 years into their profession - and hungry for a challenge. And that's what I
give them, a real challenge. And some of the writers at my company have gone on
to other contracts where they DOMINATED their group because they had come out of
an environment where they were honestly challenged. One writer just recently
contacted me with funny stories of how his fellow writers were about 1000 light
years behind him in their tech skills. When layoff day came, they were all let go
and he was the ONLY writer retained. 


> 
> The reality of technical writing is threefold:
> 
> 1. Technical knowledge (but not necessarily technical mastery)
> 2. Tools knowledge
> 3. Writing ability
 
I would agree with your list. But I would insist on a certain level of "mastery".

> Lack of *any* of the three will cause the writer to struggle endlessly in the
> field. We're already seeing the results: specific job descriptions, quick
> dismissal of people without specific knowledge, et cetera

I agree with you completely. But, most writers lack #1. And since that is the
most important aspect of their work, you would think it would gain some more
attention. But, it doesn't.

> Moreover, it is the writer's job to stress more than the average person over
> grammar - after all, s/he needs to make sure the language is accessible to
> his/her audience. There are times when TW's must worry about these things.
> Similarly, our tools are difficult to use, so we do have to spend time figuring
> things out and worrying our problem into a solution. That's a part of *any*
> field.

Grammar and tools are easy to learn. Grammar should come from grade school and
tools can be learned anytime. Therefore, technical knowledge should be paramount
right? 

> Technical writing is maturing as a field. As that happens, there are going to
> be growing pains, including an influx of incompetents. Time will weed them out
> and change the approach and attitude of those going into the field. Hopefully,
> time will change Andrew's attitude as well. I'll not be holding my breath,
> though.

Actually, tech writing is quite old. Its been around for eons. And once upon a
time, a technical writer was expected to be highly skilled in the topic he/she
was documenting. Then, sometime in the late 80s this notion that writers could be
totally dependent on SMEs for all technical content while they obsessed over
fonts and grammar. This notion consumed the profession and STC. And now we have
entire legions of tech writers absolutely devoid of experience or expertise with
the information they are expected to document with authority. 

Its easy to paint me as the bad guy, Jeff. I'm loud, I'm opinionated, and I use a
lot of emotionally charged words. I do that for a reason. It incites thought and
discussion. But don't confuse my methods with my words. 

Lastly, I want to remind everybody that Yahoo posted huge profits today spurring
a massive buying spree in the tech sector. So, to reiterate - clearly their "we
don't need tech writers" isn't hurting their business. 

I personally love Yahoo. Its simple, easy, and it runs on BSD, which should make
you open-source-heads really happy. 

Andrew Plato 

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