You’re writing on the Internet

The world has evolved and progressed with advancement of technology. Technology arm man with tools for different purposes what he requires. And these tools are result of human imagination towards achieving higher, faster, and greater milestones in any field. One such milestone, which brought world closer with a mouse click, is the world of Internet. The invention of Internet has revolutionized the world of communication by leaps and bounds.

Connecting all the computers of the world through a world Wide network is the most modern gift of science to the human being. People can communicate with one another across the country effectively via their websites, emails and blogs. Communication has never before been so easy and cheap as it is now. It has even grown beyond this. The great social networking sites and great opportunity for anyone to store data online are other gifts. Innovations are still on to provide some more opportunity in the future.

The core communication of the Internet is written language except the voice chat. Entire web pages are filled with written messages to communicate to specific audience. Naturally your written skills play a very important role communicating on the Internet. Whether you write an email, or a scrap, or a blog post, everywhere your writing is the index of your image. Language is not the barrier any more and you can choose to write in any of the important languages of the world listed with the Internet. However, the world of Internet largely understands English and respect the users most, who use this language, broadly because of this being the most popular international language.

This does not mean that you command least respect when you write in your mother tongue. But obviously it speaks the truth that you are here to communicate to the audience who belongs to your nation and speaks the same tongue. This specifically communicates that you are trying to reach to your community and this is the best language you can use to communicate effectively.

The reach of Internet has been so wide and varied that people from Jhumari Tilaiya to Tumbaktu write on the web pages and send email to their friends, relatives and whomsoever they want. Most of the people use English language on the net irrespective of being native or non-native speaker. English is the most obvious choice because most of us want to pose a brave international face on the Internet. At one hand this is really appreciating, whereas on the other hand it is disappointing that a messy, unclear writing puts off reader and fails to impress the audience with its content. Most of the people try to get the thought and idea correctly and in the process miss the grammar and way of presenting it, which at a time makes different sense if not used judiciously.

Good writing always attracts good appreciation and wins half the battle in business as well as on the personal front, solves our problem. Good writing is not only about putting bare thought and concept but putting it across correctly without any error. People judge you here by virtue of your writing skill and since they have not met you before this is the only face you have. Your writing can connect people if it is legible, direct, focused and simple. To your people your writing is you. This is what the importance of writing, is on the net.

Eventually Internet is filled with good and bad writing, be it in any form. But the experience of years says that filthy, slang and poor writing no more appeal the Internet users. The Internet users now look beyond the personal identification, which reflects in your writing. You create a sense of confidence among the audience if you are trying to reach out for a writing profession. Such kind of opportunity is flooded on the net. I might discuss these in some other post. But the bottom line is your writing can make or break your image on the net if you are not cautious.

Reading helps Writing

A writer is a good reader himself. I have come across this statement quite a number of times. Frankly speaking, I realized very late the potential of being reader could enlighten the spirit of writing in me. In fact I can write and I want to write itself took long time for me to understand. As usual, like numerous Indians who are not aware what they want to do with their life, what they are interested into and what they want to become, I too was indecisive about my life.

In reality, what you want to do and what you are ought to do are two things, which literally makes you think before taking a step in life. You are ought to be in a profession which earns you livelihood, is the first thing you are supposed to be doing than the next what is close to your heart in our context. If what you dream to do, is what you do, and that gives you livelihood, then you are the luckiest soul. Else, bury your idea to follow your dream. This is nothing but the opportunity available for you. But if the opportunity really exists, will you have the right skills to chase your dream is another question. For example you want to break into writing, but can you write effectively.

Ask hundred people whether they want to write something or not. Ninety out of hundred times you will find the answer that people want to write something. Every one of them has some message to convey to the world or to the small crowd to which they belong to. Sometimes, they simply want to write their diary. Once you write and if your writing is published, it adds into your joy. Suddenly you discover that you can write and you can express your ideas across. That is when you feel you can take a chance in a writing career.

But, writing is not as easy as many of us might think. Good knowledge of language, grammar and even good selection of words can not guarantee you to be a good writer. Many people speak eloquently without any hesitation. However, if they are asked to write the same things what they speak, many of them would struggle. Because putting down something as coherent sentences is a difficult act. I bet, to do that, some special impetus is required.

I recall my first encounter when I began writing. The first shot was a letter to the editor of a science magazine. Successful, with moderate editing it was published. Then on, whenever felt like expressing my views, kept on writing to different magazines, news papers and most of the cases it published except on a few occasions when my idea was preconceived and supporting particular ideological group.

Over the period of time I have learned to express in writing what I want to say. Though, not very accurately but most of the time I have been able to narrate the point what I want to say. The pivotal point of my writing have been the input I have gathered while reading others writing. Consciously or unconsciously, other’s writing has contributed immensely in my writing also. I have learnt the art of expression, narration, arranging the content and creating a style of my own. That has purely come to me because of reading other's creation. The more you read, the more you evolve as a writer.

Truly, writing requires empathy. The personal experiences and the view point has greater role to play while you write. Rightly once said by one of the writer, “Reading is an education and writing is a pleasure one shares.” There is no substitute to this fact.

To many of the writers beyond anything reading and writing make life more colorful, intriguing and interesting. Seeing their writing published makes one feel happy more than anything else, as they are likely to reach a larger audience. When I read the comments posted by the reader on my writing, it provides me different dimension of thoughts on my write-up. In my opinion, to write effectively and beautifully, one needs to read more good pieces of writing. The revelation and expression of your inner beauty comes out naturally in your writing and you do not tend to emphasize on it. That’s the wonderful effect of reading to writing.

As they saw India

India has been the destination for the travelers from ages. Many have written their travelogues as they saw India during their time. As usual these travelogues are not free from biases. The travel writers have always seen India with prejudices and pre-conceived ideas what they carried even while they traveled. Hardly any one have done any justice to describe what true India is all about. Americans, Europeans and many others have seen India comparing with their nation and its people. None of these travelers have seen India from an Indian’s perspective.

The mystic land of India, off late has been quoted as land of poor, farmers, beggars and snake charmers. Ancient travelers nevertheless were more truthful in their expression than the English colonial masters. The perception about India in today’s world is because of the image created by these so-called travelers who consider themselves the masters of everything. Even few non-resident Indians find the place not worth living yet they feel more about it. Their love and hate for the country is another dream of the nation what they want to carve comparing the other developed nation. Some of the people in the world whose lineage connects them to this land are both averse and attached emotionally. If you happened to read V S Naipaul, he wants to be away from India in his writing consciously, but unconsciously more he does that, more he is drawn towards this country of his fore fathers. Why is this love and lust?

In spite of the tarnished image created in the world about India and its people, still it attracts people across the world who want, at least, once in their lifetime to visit India. What make them feel so special about India?

Once I met a Japanese couple in New Delhi near India Gate. As I could see during the evening, they looked very much happy and contented than any other traveler who acted according to the whims and whishes of their travel agent and looked skeptic and careful. I could not resist to broke a conversation with this couple and asked what best they could see in India.

They replied, “India might be poor and underdeveloped but its people are rich. They are rich by heart. They might be hungry and unhappy, yet you give a smile to them, they will reply you with a bigger smile. That’s something amazing and makes your day.”

Technical Writing and the Domain Knowledge

Technical writers are often been questioned during the interview if they have worked earlier in the same domain or not. Even I have faced the same tune during my interviews on the previous occasions but mostly by those employers who have never shown any interest in my writing ability or my understanding ability of the subjects. For a writer, is it going to make any difference? If at all, it is going to make difference, the question is how much. Is there any one to quantify it? Interviewers possibly know this question much before they come across the candidate. The kind of work they have done previously or the companies they have worked for is enough to know about the domain a candidate has worked so far. Yet, this question is eventually asked.

I have not yet understood the real purpose of this question, may be the interviewers who are very much experience in the technical writing field can throw some light on this. Whereas I understand that technical writers are meant to work in a different setup at different times and they are basically writers who are by default supposed to clear up the mess in the writing and make it simpler and understandable to the readers. What happens if they have Domain Knowledge? Will their work be faster and smoother? I agree to some extent that writers will enjoy the comfort of knowing the subject well, and it will not be demanding either to spend much time in understanding it. But even if you are in the same domain, next time the topic changes, issue changes and the requirement changes. To cope up with all these one will have to spend required amount of time. Above all, can the writer be as knowledgeable as the Subject matter experts. The straight answer can be “no”. Technical writers can learn only some basics of the domain. That can be gathered during due course of time while working on the project.

So, why is this fuss? Is this a limiting factor for any of the technical writers to land up in any technical writing job before having domain knowledge? My answer is, it should not be. If it is so, then I believe subject matter experts will have to be the technical writers. Yes, but technical writers will have to be a fast learner and should have interest in learning things to present it to the audience what they are aiming for. In this perspective, it is right to have knowledge of your domain, which can always help you in understanding. But this is not the core requirement of a technical writer. The more years of work you put in some domain, the more you learn about it. But it should not become a constraint while you make a shift from one domain to another domain.

At the end of the day it is the choice of the technical writers themselves to analyze liking for a domain and if possible stick to that because that will eventually provide them some other opportunity in terms of career growth. Say for example, I have written for Telecommunication domain, Agriculture and now writing for Life Science products. My background is in life science and it gives me upper edge in understanding the business logic of the product but the work what we perform, does not require that much of specialized knowledge. For me this domain could be a liking domain and I may prefer to be in this domain and write about it. Similarly an engineer graduate who is into technical writing might choose to write more about hard core technology, a finance graduate might think of writing in financial product and management graduate can write about ERP and other related domain. It is all about likes and dislikes, which drives you to choose the domain.

This is one of the issues going round in the industry for quite some time and there should be clarity on this. Well, the necessity will definitely bring people to understand it by themselves. I remember there was a time when only engineers were in demand to be in the technical writing. But now the clout is out, writers can be found in any individual and of any background. Therefore, now the technical writers are from different backgrounds. Similarly the dearth of good technical writers will definitely wipe away the hypocrisy of domain knowledge, which some times block your entry into many of the good corporation. Early understanding would be the welcome step towards solving this issue.

Pitfalls of Technical Writing

The documentation need does not always grant good status and valuable position for technical writers in any of the product development company. Most often when you interact with the technical writers, they do not seem to be very much willing to let you know where are they heading towards in their career or they are happy about their role in the organization. The truth is that they themselves do not know what is their fate except the fact that they have a job, which is paying them well presently.

Ask most technical writers about their workplaces and you will likely to hear the same complaints. The developers do not follow any specs and never tell what they are up to. They slip their schedules by months, but the minute they are done, you are supposed to have the docs ready, like by magic. The developers and development team is the hub of activity and the core team in any product company. Obviously, this is. However, it is not only the team in the organization. If so, does organization not need other teams like testing, documentation and SQA team to work simultaneously. So, why is there a bias?

Worst over, most of the developers are bad in their verbal and non-verbal communication. If you learn their English, you forget yours and that is the end of your year’s toil of learning little bit of English. Yet, they will only meet the customer with their lanky, unshaven English language. The scenario is, you keep on changing the job and everywhere you go, you will witness the same thing happening. Moreover, many a times you report to your boss who does not have slightest idea about what you do and what it takes to do such job.

I remember, in my last company, a Software Requirement Specification document was returned to our development team with the comment that it contained 90% language error and it can not be accepted in its present form. We had to do the cleaning and correcting of the entire document to make it presentable. Yet, Technical writers are often struggle to prove their Return On Investment in absence of any established metrics for measuring it. Irony is that technical writers can make difference in any kinds of the document organization produce, be it client serving documents or archival documents, yet their importance is highly misunderstood.

The fact remains unimportant to many of the organization’s biggies that high quality documentation can make a big impact on customer satisfaction. It increases usage, gives more successful implementations, and creates better references and happier customers, which then drive more sales. It is an image-uplifting act which most of the organizations fail to realize. Good documentation can sell even product. You can have competitive advantage over your competitors of having high quality documentation.

Today, the ratio for developers and technical writers are somewhere 20 or 30:1. This is for the obvious reason if the bosses are Technical person they value that art more than anything. That also reflects the poor image one organization has toward it's documentation. Organizational chart does not show a progressive look to the technical writers. Many organizations have typically failed to sustain because of the dearth of enough documented archival knowledge, which helps most of the new employees to understand the background of the product.

Although technical writer’s whole job is about communication, they are sometimes the last to hear about future development plans or last-minute changes to a release. Truth is, Tech writers are good advocates for the user, always thinking about the user's point of view and they can make valuable addition in the development of the product.

Technical writers do tend to be the user's advocate, arguing for clarity and logic in everything from error messages to how features are implemented. But that's hard to do when you never talk to any customers. Even the customer’s feedbacks are shelved with customer support department, leaving technical writers imaginative on their own.

Technical writing is no black magic and if many feel, any one can become, they are wrong. English is no short cut, which can be learnt in a year or two like Java or C++. This field is in nascent stage and growing horizontally in sheer numbers. Today, technical writers are joining the band wagon, but it is not too far that these writers would be evaluating and weighing their career goal in terms of their achievement on vertical ladder. Future will hold the platform where technical writers will make it big or break.