Since WAI has recently joined Twitter, I really hadn’t had time to think much about how technical documentation professionals like technical writers and others could really make the most of having a Twitter presence.

This post by Anne Gentle published on Twittip certainly stirs the imagination. While her post applies mainly to staff tech writers, she first discusses how technical writers can get started with Twitter:

• Monitor and listen first
• Play your part
• Give more than you get
• Measure

These steps apply to pretty much anyone who uses social media in general and Twitter specifically, but it’s the suggestions she has for how members of a company’s technical documentation team can help provide information on products and applications they document through Twitter that caught my eye, such as the idea of using Twitter as a medium for release notes.

I’m sure with the ingenuity and creativity many in the technical documentation community enjoy, it’s just a matter of time that this method of keeping customers advised really takes hold.

In what ways are your technical communications and tech support staff using Twitter or other forms of social media to get the word out about your products, latest releases, etc.? Have you given it consideration?

Great leaders are not always born that way.

Unfortunately, many management training programs don’t sufficiently emphasize leadership development, but instead focus on fundamentals and the day-to-day tasks that confront managers within the organization.

If you’re currently a manager or about to become one, you need to think about more than accomplishing tasks if you want to become a true leader.

As writer Kerri Harris points out in Fundamentals of Leadership: Communicating a Vision:

“Experts have long studied the subtle differences between general management, leadership, and truly great leaders. Thomas Cronin, author of, Thinking About Leadership observes, ‘Managers do things the right way, while leaders are more concerned with doing the right thing.’ “

Harris goes on to say:

“There are recognizable characteristics in great leaders and simple strategies anyone can adopt to improve employee performance and change the work environment for the better.”

Harris’ article takes a look at how having vision and then communicating it is the foundation of leadership and contributes to the makeup of a truly great leader.

What are some of the characteristics of true leaders that set them apart from other managers? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Continue reading Fundamentals of Leadership: Communicating a Vision

Going on or conducting face-to-face interviews can be nerve wracking – both for the job seeker and the person conducting the interview.

These ten tips from Karen O’Keefe are designed to ease the stress of interviews and make the interviewing process go more smoothly.

Use these tips the next time you need to conduct or attend an interview and perhaps you’ll improve your chances for success.

Read: Top 10 Interview Tips

Related Topics:

Negotiating Techniques
The Art of Self Marketing

Like any profession, becoming a technical writer requires a mastery of a certain set of skills. This skill set used to involve primarily writing and illustration skills, as large manuals for print publication were the standard in the profession.

The worlds of communications and technology have evolved dramatically in the latter part of the 20th century and the early part of this century. How has that evolution affected the skill set required for a technical writer?

Continue reading Which Skill Sets are Important in Hiring Technical Writers

More Articles on Technical Writers

Considerations for Hiring Technical Writers
How Technical Writers Add Value to Your Team

Need Technical Writing Services?. Just contact us and we’ll take it from there!

What skills do you feel are important for today’s technical communications professional? Leave a comment!

Event: ASTD 2010 International Conference & Exposition
When: Sunday, May 16 through Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Event Website:http://www.astdconference.org/

Writing Assistance, Inc. (WAI) will be exhibiting at this year’s ASTD International Conference & Exposition at McCormick Place in Chicago. Exhibition dates are May 17th through May 19th.

The ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. Held each spring, ASTD’s International Conference & Exposition is considered to be the premier event for workplace learning and performance professionals and welcomes attendees from more than 70 countries. More than 8,000 workplace training and development professionals from around the globe, representing a wide variety of industries attend the ASTD International Conference & EXPO each year.

If you’re planning to attend the event, be sure to stop by and say Hello. We’ll be in in booth 1010. (Mention you saw this on our blog.) As we did at the recent STC Conference in Dallas, we’ll be offering the chance for you to enter to win one of two Kindles.

We had a great event in Dallas at the STC. We heard some good reports from other companies that see signs that the economy, and specifically the job market, is recovering nicely. We’ve experienced that first-hand with new postings on our Jobs page.

ASTD Conference Registration
ASTD Conference Expo Hall Floor Plan

Being asked to take the reins of a brand new documentation department is a challenge that many professional technical writers relish, even though the training and development activities they participated in may never have prepared them for such a rewarding challenge. This article looks at forming a new documentation department, team or group and determining what’s needed, when it’s needed and what resources are available to help the new group carry out its mission.

Five Questions to Ask Yourself While Creating a New Documentation Department

by Eric Butow

Congratulations! You’re the manager of your company’s emerging documentation department — and your work has just begun. To create effective documentation for your customers, you not only have to build a sound team, but also build working relationships with all other departments in your company.

In my contracting travels, I’ve set up two new documentation departments in two very different settings. My first was a documentation department for a startup networking software company in 1999. The company’s only previous documentation was a slim manual written by a programmer.

In 2004, I helped set up a new documentation department at the financial aid division for a major bank. Over the years, this division had been passed along to different parent banks — the newest of which was shocked to find that no one had written documentation about financial-aid processes, and no documentation about the software they had used during the division’s last 20 years! As a result, the new parent organization decided that relying on the institutional memories of its employees was a major risk, so the documentation department was born.

When you create your own documentation department, you should ask yourself five simple questions that will help your new department show its value to the company as quickly as possible. These questions are similar to those that a good reporter must answer when documenting a story — who, what, where, why, and how? — and they are as important for a documentation department manager as they are for an ace journalist.

The questions are:

Read the full article

Event: Workforce Planning Conference 2010
When: Monday, June 14 through Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Location: Chicago, IL

Sponsored by the Human Capital Institute (HCI), the second annual 2010 Workforce Planning Conference is designed with senior executives in HR, talent management and planning in mind. Since the economic downturn began, planning for future workforce needs has become more difficult than ever.

The conference is set to discuss the issues of workforce planning in challenging times. According to HCI:

“Rapid reorganizations, whether through downsizing or M&A activity, have made it difficult for companies to understand their current talent pool. Developing a hiring plan that accounts for a wide range of future scenarios is even harder. While many firms see the downturn as an opportunity to build a competitive advantage by acquiring top talent, this effort must be carefully guided by strategic workforce planning, with careful attention being paid to the alignment of talent with future business goals.

Conference Links
Conference Brochure
Meet the Presenters

Register Online

Also of Interest
Potential Position Descriptions for Information Engineering Professionals
What to Consider When Hiring a Technical Writer