atw: Re: 'Writers' or 'communicators' or 'authors' or '?'

Where is our audience here? Australia only? Global? In the UK the common ti=
tle is Technical Author.  What is the common  title in the US?=20

I agree that writing is a part of technical communication and definitely ha=
ng my hat on the Technical Communicator branch. However, having said that, =
in some circles my title is "Written Communications Specialist". How much d=
oes that rock the boat?

Sonja

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Allan Charlton
Sent: Tuesday, 25 January 2005 13:33
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: 'Writers' or 'communicators'? (WAS: Re: Apart from
usingWord 2002, what else am I doing wrong


Howard questioned the term 'technical communicator' and alleged that it
'may now be well established in our profession.'  After fifteen years or
more it hasn't got through to Joe Public and I think that if it was a
good label everyone would understand and accept it.  How many job
adverts have you seen that call for a Technical Communicator?  Only a
few.
=20
If I say I'm a technical communicator most people have no idea what I
do, but if I say I'm a technical writer they immediately think of
manuals.  It's less than half right, but it gets my interlocuteur
thinking in the right direction.  As Howard says, the term
'communicator' is not clearly understood.  Maybe it has too many
syllables, but it certainly has too many meanings.
=20
I agree with Howard when he says
> Putting pen to paper, or finger to key, is surely understood
> to be only part of what a 'writer' does. So I think it's
> reasonable to regard technical writing as a specialised
> branch of writing
=20
Yes.  'Writer' is a generic label that applies to many professions,
including ours.  I'm happy to accept that being a technical communicator
is a branch of being a writer, just as being a dermatologist is a branch
of being a doctor or being an auditor is branch of being an accountant.
=20
The question is whether we need a job title that more carefully
describes all the things we do.
I think not, but I'm probably in the minority.
Allan
=20
=20


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lete it and notify the sender.=20
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=20
You should scan any attached files for viruses.

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