I can see this site being really useful to young Millennials who care a great deal about the softer aspects of job satisfaction and are in a process of self-discovery. However, this sort of thing (“eHarmony for jobs” as one user put it) might be a bit touchy-feely for boomers. But hey, if you’re unemployed you probably have time to slog through the 100+ questions and spend some pleasant self-actualization time finding out you should have been working for Tim Hortons this whole time.

Lyndsey Amott, in an article on her website, stresses that industry knowledge should not be a primary deciding factor when mulling over suitable candidates. Her top three must-haves are:

1. design a document that looks good both on paper and on-line
2. design a document that can be updated easily
3. write instructions that are easy to understand

She goes on to say that the proof of a good writer lies in the way they organize their thoughts and that inexperienced writers shouldn’t necessarily be dismissed.

Technical writing consultant Jean Weber makes some good points in this article. She agrees that the writing is more important than the software or technical expertise. She advises companies to look for problem-solvers who keep digging until they find all the answers. But they should be somebody tactful, not abrasive.

Employers are always concerned with costs and staying on budget. If you can relay the value of creating relevant content in a specific context and to a specific audience, you’re on the right track. Remember that as a technical writer you’re the bridge between subject matter experts and the stakeholders, the marketers, and the end-users. Without you, knowledge could not be channeled into capital gain. 

So, if you find your head on the chopping block, start thinking like your employer and ask yourself why they should keep you around. The answer could just save your neck.

Great people, good food, and leading-edge content. Kudos to the organizers and to the Marriott Pinnacle for hosting this terrific event. And a huge thanks also to the Westcoast STC for the opportunity to attend.

Here’s the best of the rest:

Document engineering in user experience design
Robert Glushko (University of California at Berkeley)

With little collaboration between designers (front end) and information architects (back end), the result is a poor user experience. A brilliant mind, Glushko coined a new term today: the content choreographer.
What’s hot:  Doc or Die

| View | Upload your own

Social media 101: Now everyone’s a technical writer
Darren Barefoot (Capulet Communications)

From Youtube to Twitter to Facebook, social media is about two-way conversations, collaboration, sharing, community, transparency, and authenticity. It also means we have to relinquish control of our content.
What’s hot: Web 2.0 in plain English

View slides on scribd

Changing the rules of the game for the benefit of the user
Joe Sokohl (Keane, Inc.)

In his talk, Joe emphasized knowing your end user – especially when training customers. Qualitative research is the key to giving end users what they want, not what you think they want.
What’s hot: The Kobayashi Maru approach to solving problems

| View | Upload your own

How an author and editor used a wiki to write a book
Stewart Mader (Atlassian)

Stewart wrote his book using only a wiki. He found that communicating with his editors using a wiki was far more efficient than using email.
What’s hot: WriteRoom (Mac only…grrr!)

The many-armed starfish: today and tomorrow in social media
Darren Barefoot (Capulet Communications)

I can’t get enough of Darren – he’s a terrific speaker. He expanded on social media tools and explained which ones were most effective for use in marketing strategies.
What’s hot: Brightkite

What technical communicators need to know about flash
Sarah O’Keefe (Scriptorium Publishing)

Flash is finicky, but useful if you need to explain difficult concepts using animation. From motion to shape tweens, we got the basics in this tutorial.
What’s hot: Brain games

Living multiple lives: The new technical communicator
B. Noz Urbina (Mekon)

In the closing keynote, Urbina gave practical advice on how to create documents more efficiently and save your company money (the reason companies pay for employees to fly to these conferences in the first place).
What’s hot: Fly me to London

| View | Upload your own

That’s a wrap. Now go outside.

So without further ado, here’s my take on the presentations that I attended.

 Bringing the Video Revolution to Technical Communication
RJ Jacquez (Adobe)

RJ spoke about how we live in a highly visual world where videos are the primary content delivery method – especially for Gen Y.
What’s hot: Adobe Air

XML in the Wilderness
Joseph Gollner (Stilo International)

The importance of XML cannot be underestimated in the design of content technologies. In fact, web 2.0 is a consequence of the ‘openness’ of XML.
What’s hot: Douglas Engelbart and the Mother of All Demos 

| View | Upload your own

Wikis are wonderful, or are they? A real-world story of using wikis for user information
Alan Porter (WebWorks)

Wiki evangelist Alan Porter showed how his company uses wikis for their intranet as well as for project management with clients.
What’s hot: Wiki mavens

| View | Upload your own

A comparison of three visual help authoring tools
Neil Perlin (Hyper/Word Services)

Neil reviewed three authoring tools: Captivate, Camtasia, and Mimic. Each tool possesses a different feature set, so it depends what you need them for.
What’s hot: My vote for the most user-friendly tool is Adobe’s Captivate.

| View | Upload your own

 
Putting everything back together again: delivering effective information products
Joseph Gollner (Stilo International)

With DITA and S1000D emphasizing small multi-purpose units, consideration must be given to what end configuration will most benefit the user.
What’s hot: DITA online community

| View | Upload your own

Meet the bloggers: Not nearly as disastrously funny as the movie
Anne Gentle, Darren Barefoot, Tom Johnson, Scott Abel, Aaron Davis, and Scott Nesbitt

This was a fun session where we got to meet some of the world’s most prolific technical-writing bloggers in person. You can find some of them in my blogroll.
What’s hot: Made to Stick

The implementation of STE involves developing a company-specific dictionary and using documentation software to aid in the mechanical side of ensuring uniformity of language across the board. The goal is to ultimately reduce costs and facilitate quality assurance. If you’re interested, here’s an abbreviated version of Berry’s powerpoint presentation:

| View | Upload your own

I found this presentation quite interesting, especially as there is little standardization when it comes to documenting software. Berry actually dismissed Microsoft’s style guide, and even the Chicago manual of style, as incompatible with the goals of STE, but did commend them for the attempt. Some of the audience thought that STE could become too stilted and robotic. Personally, however, I could see the merit of choosing vocabulary, for example, that is completely unambiguous when it comes to reducing workplace accidents.

A case in point – a manual in the aviation industry asked the mechanic to “cut the power” (ie. turn it off), whereupon a mechanic literally cut a power-line with sheers and died from electrocution. 

I also wrote a short piece on the rise of the mosquito population in our new era of rising temperatures. Mosquitoes love warm, moist climates, and they’re getting a lot of that these days.

For most of the rest of this week, I expect to be blogging exclusively on DocTrain West, which I’m attending this week.

Highlights? The future of XML publishing, the new Quark dynamic publishing demos, social media, mobile content management , and of course, the fabulous food.

He advises us to model ourselves after Leonardo da Vinci, who believed that seven key elements allowed him to become one of the most incredible innovators of our time. Here they are:

1. Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.

2. Dimostrazione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.

3. Sensazione: The continual refinement of the sense, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.

4. Sfumato (literally, “Going up in smoke”): A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty.

5. Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. Whole-brain thinking.

6. Corporalita: The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.

7. Connessione: A recognition of and an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking.   

Watching this video, it almost seems like Google is becoming a cult. Think about it – you never have to leave the office, it’s more fun hanging out at work and eating gourmet food and getting massages than hanging out at home. I’m sure “Googlers” work longer hours than Microsoft employees but nobody’s complaining. People will willingly work all night because their loyalty is unshakable. Productivity is through the roof. If only more companies would start treating their employees like their most precious commodity, what a world this would be.

On a similar note, I’ve just accepted a summer internship position at alive magazine. I’m pretty excited about it. Alive is a nationwide publication with a readership of almost half a million. I’ll be working in the editorial department as a writer and editor. I’ve already start writing some articles for them on environmental issues and fitness. It’s awesome! I get to inspire people to live fuller, more enriching lives and get paid for it. What more could you want?