New Roles for Technical Writers: Technical Marketing Communication  

Technical software marketing is a specialty that calls upon skills technical writers already possess. Clear, accurate product information is essential in today’s complex market; decision-makers need to know how your software will fulfill their business needs. In making the shift from documentation to marketing writing, it is necessary to broaden your sense of the writing’s purposes, and prepare for different ways of working with your material. However, many key aspects of the two specialities are the same, such as the need to uphold a consistent, well-defined tone and organization, and above all to strive for consistency and clarity.

Earle, Ralph. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>TC>Marketing>Software

Software-as-a-Service: Changing The Benefit Packages IT Organizations Offer

If you work in the information technology industry, for instance, especially in the software industry, chances are you are accustomed to having the same days off from work as everyone else: bank, religious, and national holidays—and, if you are creative about your planning—vacation days that you take before and after these holidays to create an extended break, usually coinciding with times others in your life are also away from work and school. But, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model will likely change all that. And, the changes don’t bode well for family vacations or extended holidays with your sweetheart.

Abel, Scott. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Careers>TC>Software>Online

The Special Role of the Technical Communicator in the Small or Startup Software Company  

I decided to present an Idea Market session on the role of the technical communicator in a startup company because that was exactly the role I had recently taken on. In my previous experience as a technical writer I had worked in established companies as part of a team of writers. The questions that I brought to the Idea Market were the questions that I had had to face. This paper summarises the discussion that took place during my Idea Market session at Forum 2000, but begins with a brief report of the informal survey I conducted as part of my research before the conference.

Farbey, David. Tripod.com (2000). Careers>TC>Software