#technicalwriters — Public Fediverse posts

Technical writer job is open:
* based in Auckland
* Hybrid - 2 days a week in CBD office
* Suitable for intermediate level technical writer.

https://apply.workable.com/vista-group/j/E064DEA23E/?utm_campaign=4a3dbdb2fd&utm_medium=eps&utm_source=link

I have no connection to the company. I am simply spreading the news for tech writers who may be seeking a new job.

#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #NewZealand #FediHire_nz

Technical writer job is open:
* based in Auckland
* Hybrid - 2 days a week in CBD office
* Suitable for intermediate level technical writer.

https://apply.workable.com/vista-group/j/E064DEA23E/?utm_campaign=4a3dbdb2fd&utm_medium=eps&utm_source=link

I have no connection to the company. I am simply spreading the news for tech writers who may be seeking a new job.

#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #NewZealand #FediHire_nz

The pushback against AI slop is making employers recognise the importance of skilled writing by humans so they are now hiring "storytellers":
"It’s so much more than a copywriter,” says one hirer: https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-are-desperately-seeking-storytellers-7b79f54e

Hopefully this will see a move beyond hiring copywriters to keyword stuff for SEO and AI, a move beyond judging skill by simplistic metrics such as number of boosts, likes etc. I hope that organisations will want professional writers who can identify target audiences and deliver meaningful material that will be valued by those audiences. This is true success, but may mean that the post or article might not get many clicks.

I hope that over time "storyteller" will not simply become a synonym for "copywriter".

Technical writers already provide this kind of skill when writing about technology, or health, or science, or digital humanities

#WriteTheDocs #TechWriting #TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters #DigitalHumanities

The pushback against AI slop is making employers recognise the importance of skilled writing by humans so they are now hiring "storytellers":
"It’s so much more than a copywriter,” says one hirer: https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-are-desperately-seeking-storytellers-7b79f54e

Hopefully this will see a move beyond hiring copywriters to keyword stuff for SEO and AI, a move beyond judging skill by simplistic metrics such as number of boosts, likes etc. I hope that organisations will want professional writers who can identify target audiences and deliver meaningful material that will be valued by those audiences. This is true success, but may mean that the post or article might not get many clicks.

I hope that over time "storyteller" will not simply become a synonym for "copywriter".

Technical writers already provide this kind of skill when writing about technology, or health, or science, or digital humanities

#WriteTheDocs #TechWriting #TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters #DigitalHumanities

Addressing critical needs driven by the dynamic world of #techDocs, Manny Silva has created Docs as Tests, a system that integrates well-developed #techComms practices and a collection of engineering tooling to help #technicalWriters streamline and constantly improve their software #documentation and #QA work.

This was a fun chat with a deeply experienced Silicon Valley #content veteran. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

https://ellessmedia.com/csi/manny-silva/

i wonder if anyone wants to hire technical writers these days given that LLMs are mostly the talk now.

#technicalwriting #TechnicalWriters #information_technology #softwaredevelopment #llm #Documentation

i wonder if anyone wants to hire technical writers these days given that LLMs are mostly the talk now.

#technicalwriting #TechnicalWriters #information_technology #softwaredevelopment #llm #Documentation

"The good news is that the job market is going to recover as those owners of code progressively realize the limitations that are inherent to replacing the folks at the periphery with numb language models, something they’re already noticing when it comes to coding tasks. After a stint of degrowth that has felt way too long, companies will seek to grow again in a more sustainable fashion, a trend that will carry the need for better documentation with it.

The catch is that life in the periphery of tech will require AI augmentation and training. If past job offers emphasized API documentation and coding skills, in 2025 tech writers will have to be proficient operators of AI tools, both for writing in docs-as-code environments as for becoming coding associates, able to execute docs infrastructure and toolchain work. When done well, job interviews will ask writers to be able to use AI in writing tests in efficient, innovative ways.

If I’ve learned something this year is that the LLM-powered writing and coding isn’t going away. Technical writers will need to focus more on content strategy, information architecture, and tooling, and less on writing; at the same time, they’ll be expected to know how to use tools like Cursor’s composer mode to set up entire documentation sets in little time, and then iterate. As I explained in What’s a docs engineer, writers will continue specializing in two separate strains."

https://passo.uno/tech-writing-predictions-2025/

#TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters #LLMs #AI #GenerativeAI #DocsAsCode

"The good news is that the job market is going to recover as those owners of code progressively realize the limitations that are inherent to replacing the folks at the periphery with numb language models, something they’re already noticing when it comes to coding tasks. After a stint of degrowth that has felt way too long, companies will seek to grow again in a more sustainable fashion, a trend that will carry the need for better documentation with it.

The catch is that life in the periphery of tech will require AI augmentation and training. If past job offers emphasized API documentation and coding skills, in 2025 tech writers will have to be proficient operators of AI tools, both for writing in docs-as-code environments as for becoming coding associates, able to execute docs infrastructure and toolchain work. When done well, job interviews will ask writers to be able to use AI in writing tests in efficient, innovative ways.

If I’ve learned something this year is that the LLM-powered writing and coding isn’t going away. Technical writers will need to focus more on content strategy, information architecture, and tooling, and less on writing; at the same time, they’ll be expected to know how to use tools like Cursor’s composer mode to set up entire documentation sets in little time, and then iterate. As I explained in What’s a docs engineer, writers will continue specializing in two separate strains."

https://passo.uno/tech-writing-predictions-2025/

#TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters #LLMs #AI #GenerativeAI #DocsAsCode

We have been busy this year developing the idea of a Brick Docs Workshop designed to help IT engineers develop technical writing skills. This fun workshop uses Lego to identify writing and formatting techniques that help make instructions clearer.

We are running this workshop at the national technical writing conference in Melbourne next week. DM me if you want to attend - I can see if I can wangle some tickets.
#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #Melbourne

https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/australia/2024/workshop/

We have been busy this year developing the idea of a Brick Docs Workshop designed to help IT engineers develop technical writing skills. This fun workshop uses Lego to identify writing and formatting techniques that help make instructions clearer.

We are running this workshop at the national technical writing conference in Melbourne next week. DM me if you want to attend - I can see if I can wangle some tickets.
#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #Melbourne

https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/australia/2024/workshop/

I am feeling pretty happy after a good day's work. I put a lot of work into any meeting I organise. I always include a clear agenda and expected outcomes in the meeting invites. I do all the necessary fact finding and preparation before the meeting. Then I chair the meeting, ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak and no waffling or preventing work from finishing in the quest for perfection. Afterwards I send meeting notes with responsibilities for action clearly defined.

Today we had a meeting with senior engineers that could have gone for an hour, but I allocated half an hour because I knew I would do the meeting prep, so little time would be needed for fact finding in the meeting. Then because of all the meeting prep and clear meeting objectives we achieved what we needed and finished the meeting in 15 minutes! Two participants were able to use the bonus time to discuss another matter while the rest of the participants left the meeting early.

I put a lot of time and effort prior to the event to achieve a 15 minute meeting.

#TechnicalWriters #MeetingMinimalism

I am feeling pretty happy after a good day's work. I put a lot of work into any meeting I organise. I always include a clear agenda and expected outcomes in the meeting invites. I do all the necessary fact finding and preparation before the meeting. Then I chair the meeting, ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak and no waffling or preventing work from finishing in the quest for perfection. Afterwards I send meeting notes with responsibilities for action clearly defined.

Today we had a meeting with senior engineers that could have gone for an hour, but I allocated half an hour because I knew I would do the meeting prep, so little time would be needed for fact finding in the meeting. Then because of all the meeting prep and clear meeting objectives we achieved what we needed and finished the meeting in 15 minutes! Two participants were able to use the bonus time to discuss another matter while the rest of the participants left the meeting early.

I put a lot of time and effort prior to the event to achieve a 15 minute meeting.

#TechnicalWriters #MeetingMinimalism

@sarah11918 I am enjoying reading your series of tips! They are written in a way that will make it easy for me to repeat at work.

I have worked a lot with volunteers in the past and often reflect how much harder it is to work with them. You need to set standards but implement them with care or volunteers walk out. However, paid employees have an unspoken thing that ensures some degree of compliance - you will be out of a job if you don't pass minimum standards of compliance.

That is why I am so impressed with your work. You work on helping volunteers achieve standards in documentation. That is so hard. HT to you!

#TechnicalWriters #documentation

@sarah11918 I am enjoying reading your series of tips! They are written in a way that will make it easy for me to repeat at work.

I have worked a lot with volunteers in the past and often reflect how much harder it is to work with them. You need to set standards but implement them with care or volunteers walk out. However, paid employees have an unspoken thing that ensures some degree of compliance - you will be out of a job if you don't pass minimum standards of compliance.

That is why I am so impressed with your work. You work on helping volunteers achieve standards in documentation. That is so hard. HT to you!

#TechnicalWriters #documentation

@remoquete THIS ☝️.

I am fortunate that my manager recognises this critical juncture in technical writing and has given me substantial time to reimagine my job.

I spoke about the benefits of working in the space between professional silos in my Linux Conference talk a few years ago: When STEM Becomes STEAM We All Benefit https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oEX-F5SxwrU

#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #documentation

@remoquete THIS ☝️.

I am fortunate that my manager recognises this critical juncture in technical writing and has given me substantial time to reimagine my job.

I spoke about the benefits of working in the space between professional silos in my Linux Conference talk a few years ago: When STEM Becomes STEAM We All Benefit https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oEX-F5SxwrU

#TechnicalWriters #WriteTheDocs #documentation

I can't say enough good things about Graham and the Canonical Technical Authors team on their Documentation Academy program.
If you're looking to step up your tutorial writing game or just sharpen your documentation skills, this is a great way to do it.
#Ubuntu #Documentation #TechnicalWriters

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-qBHd6_LXWYefHij0dJ7c9X-Q9QfFFFa&si=F39yeFcJmEqWfawx

I can't say enough good things about Graham and the Canonical Technical Authors team on their Documentation Academy program.
If you're looking to step up your tutorial writing game or just sharpen your documentation skills, this is a great way to do it.
#Ubuntu #Documentation #TechnicalWriters

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-qBHd6_LXWYefHij0dJ7c9X-Q9QfFFFa&si=F39yeFcJmEqWfawx

I am looking forward to exploring the resources in Learn-Static, a set of #DigitalHumanities resources to help teach students foundational technical skills needed for their research projects such as Git, HTML, CSS, Markdown etc: https://learn-static.github.io/about/

These resources may also be useful for #TechnicalWriters

I am looking forward to exploring the resources in Learn-Static, a set of #DigitalHumanities resources to help teach students foundational technical skills needed for their research projects such as Git, HTML, CSS, Markdown etc: https://learn-static.github.io/about/

These resources may also be useful for #TechnicalWriters

@evanwill Thank you so much for sharing this article you and Olivia wrote! I am a technical writer who learned a lot of digital skills through #DigitalHumanities when I was previously working as a professional historian.

These skills that you are teaching are such valuable skills for students to add to their resumes and are foundational for many careers. Digital Humanities give their students communication skills, research skills and foundational technical skills that businesses need. Businesses don't realise this.

I am currently training a couple of people at work in introductory command line skills and git skills. I am looking forward to exploring any curriculum materials you make available online to see if I can draw on them for my tutorials.

#TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters

@evanwill Thank you so much for sharing this article you and Olivia wrote! I am a technical writer who learned a lot of digital skills through #DigitalHumanities when I was previously working as a professional historian.

These skills that you are teaching are such valuable skills for students to add to their resumes and are foundational for many careers. Digital Humanities give their students communication skills, research skills and foundational technical skills that businesses need. Businesses don't realise this.

I am currently training a couple of people at work in introductory command line skills and git skills. I am looking forward to exploring any curriculum materials you make available online to see if I can draw on them for my tutorials.

#TechnicalWriting #TechnicalWriters

Question:

I've been #TechnicalWriting for a while, but this is the first piece of #equipment with physical #safety #hazards I've had to write the manual for.

Are there any relevant #standards I don't know I don't know about that might be relevant? Like are there standard implementation of safety/hazard glyphs (like the WHIMIS and MDS symbols?)

Any "safety critical equipment" manual do's and don'ts? Things that you've learned the hard way? #TechnicalWriters

Question:

I've been #TechnicalWriting for a while, but this is the first piece of #equipment with physical #safety #hazards I've had to write the manual for.

Are there any relevant #standards I don't know I don't know about that might be relevant? Like are there standard implementation of safety/hazard glyphs (like the WHIMIS and MDS symbols?)

Any "safety critical equipment" manual do's and don'ts? Things that you've learned the hard way? #TechnicalWriters

Passive voice can be used by you
https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/01/12/passivevoice
#TechnicalWriters #WritersOfMastodon #writing

Passive voice can be used by you
https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/01/12/passivevoice
#TechnicalWriters #WritersOfMastodon #writing

Google's Season of Docs is a grant program to help open source software projects improve their documentation. https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/02/12/seasonofdocs #OpenSource #TechnicalWriters

Google's Season of Docs is a grant program to help open source software projects improve their documentation. https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/02/12/seasonofdocs #OpenSource #TechnicalWriters

I just released our AI #docs #chatbot for internal testing and holy shit it's already outperforming members of our community in terms of answering customer questions

It's totally mindblowing to see it take on a life of its own after being fed the material you've written

Only took about a week to build the #RAG pipeline using our low code automation product (tray.io)

It's like a doctor Frankenstein moment. What have I done?

#AI
#documentation
#ChatGPT
#TechnicalWriting
#TechnicalWriters

I just released our AI #docs #chatbot for internal testing and holy shit it's already outperforming members of our community in terms of answering customer questions

It's totally mindblowing to see it take on a life of its own after being fed the material you've written

Only took about a week to build the #RAG pipeline using our low code automation product (tray.io)

It's like a doctor Frankenstein moment. What have I done?

#AI
#documentation
#ChatGPT
#TechnicalWriting
#TechnicalWriters