Re: Definition of Tech Writer, was STC is broken

[Mike Starr <mikestarr-techwr-l -at- writestarr -dot- com>]

However, my point is that the consumers of our services aren't going to be as enlightened... they want somebody to *write* stuff or they want to find someone who's a *writer*. In order to guide them to technical communicators, the definition of technical communicator ought to include *writer*, *writing* or both (my preference). Until we're confident that the term *communicator* has achieved universal usage and replaced the term *writer* I think it's a disservice to those of us in the trenches to eliminate the terms from the description of what we do.

Mike
--
Mike Starr                            WriteStarr Information Services
Technical Writer  -  Online Help Developer  -   Technical Illustrator
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(262)  694-1028  -  mike -at- writestarr -dot- com  -  http://www.writestarr.com

Beth Agnew wrote:
> I think the terminology does need to evolve in that direction. Employers 
> look for writers or even technical writers because that's traditionally 
> been the title of people who have performed those functions. It worked 
> in the 20th century but is insufficient for 21st century information age 
> needs. The lines are indeed blurry, but I think there are some core 
> competencies that we could identify as being the hallmarks of that 
> creature the Technical Communicator that other types of writers or 
> communicators or technical people do not possess. If we could agree on 
> those, she says idealistically, perhaps we'd have an easier time on the 
> advocacy and PR side of things.
> --Beth
> 
> John Hedtke wrote:
>> FWIW, we were discussing this at the January STC Board of Directors 
>> meeting.  We'd like to move the terminology from "technical writers" 
>> to "technical communicators," in large part because we do more than 
>> just write.  The lines between what's business writing vs. technical 
>> writing are a bit blurry, but, then, so are the lines between many 
>> other similar job titles in our field.
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