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RE: Microsoft wants journalists, not tech writers?
Subject:RE: Microsoft wants journalists, not tech writers? From:Kate Robinson <KRobinson -at- seattle -dot- telecomsys -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 30 Oct 2003 07:02:24 -0800
(Sorry about the previous, truncated message. I should never try to type on
this teensy weensy laptop keyboard before I've had a cup of tea in the
morning.)
As a 15-year veteran of Microsoft, I have a few guesses as to what is going
on here.
I put my money on Microsoft being out to buy credibility, not a newsroom
approach to documentation. The people who make these wacky decisions at
Microsoft are far from the trenches where folks understand the effects of
such decisions on users. Microsoft, I'm fairly certain, wants to raid the
industry that has arisen from the fact that the Office product user relies
on non-Microsoft experts for workarounds that make it possible to actually
work with the products. I refer you to any number of Techwr-l threads on
numbering in Word, for instance.
The "journalists" Microsoft seeks to hire probably did not go to J-school.
They are power users who can write and who make a living selling this fairly
unusual skill set to magazines etc. They are "journalists" by virtue of the
venue in which their writing is published, not by calling or training.
Having lived through a number of regimes with Bright Ideas about hiring
non-techwriters to "improve the quality" of documentation, I wish them luck.
What will no doubt happen is what always happens: A few folks with the
aptitude and constitution for being a tech writer at Microsoft will gain a
new career. Microsoft will "train on the job," that is, fling inexperienced
people into the deep end and wait to see who can swim. The experienced
editors and tech writers will do their best to work with the result.
Bottom line: Don't expect any fabulous improvements in MS docs.
Kate Robinson
TechComm Editor
Alaska Building / 206-792-2146
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