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I agree, and this is why I argue, repeatedly, that technical writers
must change their role to be more inclusive or they will become
dinosaurs. There's no shortage of English majors, and now they all know
how to use their computers, and so they're all "technical writers" with
one semester of work. More needs to go into this job or it will become
a dinosaur.
--- Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> Technical writing has become commoditized. As the
> economy has changed, many companies have outsourced
> and offshored technical writing as a way of saving
> money. Now, a lot of business people and even
> technical managers tend to consider technical writing
> a commodity that you buy as needed, by the project.
> It's something you get done because the customers
> expect documentation. When technical writing is
> included in the project on such a basis, it is
> impossible for managers to think of the writers as
> equal team members.
>
> The economic basis for technical writing has changed.
> Originally, the job description was found in only a
> few large companies and/or quasi-government entities
> like NASA. The organizations that had need for
> technical writers were old-style organizations that
> were fairly paternalistic, that followed the old
> thinking about employee retention and longevity. Now,
> there are tens of thousands of companies that need or
> may need tech writers, the vast majority of them are
> small and their ethos is speed and quick profit above
> all else (think video game companies and specialty
> software shops). Even among the old corporations, the
> old corporate ethos has gone totally out the window.
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