Will Kelly

The Tools of My Trade: 2009 Edition

By tradition, at the end of every year, I take a look back both personally and professionally over the previous 12 months. This year—especially with 2009 being a challenging year—was no different. Part of this year’s review was taking a look at the tools I use on a daily basis to get my work done to make sure I had the right mix for productivity and hadn’t fallen into any of the latest fads or had software just idling away when I should really decommission it and streamline my workflow.

Thoughts about Technical Editing and Reviewing

I would be the first person to describe myself as a blank pages kind of a technical writer  because I like writing documents from scratch and see it as one of my strengths (or at least I like to think so).

However, some current and recent projects have placed me more into a reviewer and editor role and has got me thinking about technical editing and reviewing including:

Latest Version of my Technical Writer Resume now Available

I just updated my technical writer resume and you can find it online over at willkelly.com.

Random and Recent Projects

Despite some recent ups and downs in my personal life, I must say I've been pretty busy when it comes to projects including:

• After receiving my Google Wave invite, I've been pondering its potential impact on technical writing and document collaboration in general. In fact, I am writing a follow up post to How Google Wave can drown Technical Writers.
• Back to writing more for WebWorkerDaily because I had a number of distractions in October.
• Rethinking my gym workouts after taking a week off to clear my head on some personal matters.
• Plunging even further into my new iPhone 3G s.
• Getting ready to upgrade one of the Vista machines in my home office to Windows 7.

WWD Post: Corporate Culture, Not Technology, Drives Online Collaboration

Recently, Simon reported on a couple of interesting studies looking at the use of collaboration technologies in the workplace, Forrester’s “The State Of Workforce Technology Adoption: US Benchmark 2009” and Frost & Sullivan’s “Meetings Around the World II: Charting the Course of Advanced Collaboration.” Both reports have great stories to tell about the current state of collaboration technology acceptance within corporations. However, both reports skim over what is perhaps the key element in driving online collaboration within an organization: Corporate culture.

via webworkerdaily.com

I wrote this post based on some of my experience working as a consultant and seeing inside organizations where remote working really worked and just wasn't paid lip service. Culture seemed to be the key to the success of online collaboration.

Recent Lessons Learned

Here are some recent lessons I've learned over the past few months both personally and professionally:

Lame Technical Writer Interview Questions

It seems that when an organization wants to add a contract or full-time technical writer to their staff they are at a loss as to what questions they should ask the candidates. I've certainly had some lame interview questions asked to me over the years.

At times, it has seemed that because I have a liberal arts degree, some prospective clients and employers weren't sure about my background and experience because I was not a programmer and didn't have a technical degree but it's not like they have to poke me with a stick.

Although, I must admit that the lame questions and attitudes I've experienced while interviewing have been in the minority. But oh boy, the questions do stand out to me until this day.

Catching up on Work

I am spending my Saturday catching up on some work. It's good to be busy again.

The Wisdom of Youth. The Wisdom of Age

Some elements of the Generation Y workforce and corporate america try to  perpetuate the myth that Generation X and 40 + workers are not up to date on technology and not able to adapt to changes. This is a pretty broad generalization. I heard this a lot during my last contract and job hunt.

There is a certain wisdom with youth. Generation Y workers can bring an unjaundiced and fresh perspective to the workplace. However, they lack the wisdom of experience and can run aground in situations that require real time in the field and experience with the learned diplomacy and street skills.

Reviewing Technology Products

Technology product reviews can be difficult to write for some people. It's easy enough to do a hatchet job but much harder to be constructive in your criticism of a new product.

I Am Now Writing for WebWorkerDaily

I am happy to report that I've begun writing for WebWorkerDaily, part of the GigaOM network. It feels good to be writing for an online publication again and I am looking forward to exploring new technologies and writing about the future of work.

Look for my posts starting this month.

The Statue of Limitations on Original Ideas

While it can be hard to admit to many organizations, ideas do get recycled. Take for example, in politically hot climates where executives are fighting to hold onto their jobs and bloated compensation plans that don't take into account their competency and body of work. It's all about survival mode these days.

For a while, there has been a running joke with some of my friends and colleagues about the Statue of Limitations on Original Ideas to account for stolen ideas. The Statue of Limitations on Original Ideas starts the moment a manager or executive shoots down an underling's idea and and expires the move the manager or executive recycles the ideas as their own creation.

Gaining Perspective While Cleaning Out My Home Office

I've been spending some of my downtime cleaning out my home office. My work as a technical writer, computer book technical editor/reviewer, and freelance writer have made me a pack rat.

The other fact is that my office is at the highest point in my town house so I have to carry things up two flights of stairs meaning some things stay up there.

Some Random And Recent Projects

I try to keep myself busy during my downtime. Here are some random and recent personal projects I've been pursuing:

Will Today's Economy Further Thin Out IT Contracting Firms?

The thought passed my mind today after hearing about more than one low ball technical writing contract off and on over the past few months is if today's economy, corporate indecision, and skewed corporate perceptions that the perfect senior person can be found for cheap is going to further thin out the IT contracting firm herd.

I say this because the bulk of most recruiters salary is paid on a commission basis meaning they have to place people and the fact that some IT contract openings have been open for months as employers get lost in indecision, hand wringing, and a myriad of other issues I can only pretend to understand.

Building The Better Office 2007 Migration

The Microsoft Office 2007 system seems to be catching on in my marketplace. During recent interviews and meetings with prospective clients, the topic of Microsoft Office 2007 and its many new features has been raised more than once. A lot of the Microsoft Office 2007 questions I've heard also deal with Microsoft interaction with Microsoft Office SharePoint Services 2007.

Organizations planning a migration from Microsoft Office 2003 to Microsoft Office 2007 shouldn't take the migration lightly. While it is easy to dismiss Microsoft Office as just Microsoft Office, it needs to be known that Microsoft Office can be the center of an end user's primary work and business processes.

Including your Resume in a Proposal or Interviewing for a Contingent Project

There is a whole lot of proposal writing going on in today's  bad economy in the commercial and Federal government sectors. This means technical writers and other IT workers may get approached to have their resume included in a proposal or to come in and interview for a contingent project that the client or potential employer has not yet won.

Some of my Favorite Articles...

I've been spending time going through my writing samples  because I've been pitching new articles and came across some of of my favorites when I was writing for PC Today Magazine and Processor Magazine.

Five Things Technical Writers need to do at least Once

I've had a chance to meet with some technical writers, hiring managers, and potential clients over the past few weeks and the picture of the technical writing profession remains as troubled as ever.

While many senior technical writers are driven into contracting there is still an insular technical writing community that has never taken such risks. Personally, I think every technical writer needs to spend some time as a W2 and independent contractor and publish original work to expand their own horizons beyond just font fondling.

My Impressions about VisualCV.com

I've been using VisualCV.com to help get the word out that I am available for a new contract or full-time employment opportunity.