Technical Writers to the Rescue!!
Technical writing has had to develop ever since it was developed. The job (yes, this is actually an actual job title, not just a type of writing!) has really developed over the years. Technology runs the field, so as technology changes, the requirements for the job change.
There are many important skill sets that a technical writer needs. Most (obviously) being technically based. A technical writer must have a strong sense of communication between what they write and the audience they are writing for. Their work has to be clear and understandable since most of the information is complex. They must know the topic that they are working on completely so that they can do their job correctly and accurately. Being able to quickly adjust through training and education is also important due to how quickly technology changes. Technical writers need to be able to do the latest type of technology. Because the technology is so new, they must also have patience to work through problems that turn up. Technology often has faults and it is a technical writers job to be able to work around the problem and continue on with their work. Technical Writers must be able to express their ideas through different modes or technology, and example is graphically. Most of their work will consist of using two or more types of media and technology to do a certain task. And lastly, Technical Writers need to be an SME (subject-Matter Expert). An SME just means they need to an expert in a certain topic or field since knowing all the information that is required for a job is extremely important.
Many people take technical Writers for granted since most do not know what this job consists of and people do not realize how much they use thanks to technical writers. Here are some jobs (and this is why their job skill set is so important). Computer Software and Computer Hardware and two extremely fast growing jobs in the technical writing world. They are needed to write the manuals, marketing materials, training guides, how-to guides, and troubleshooting manuals for users and employees. IT Technology (cell phones, cameras, tv sets, and other technical applications and gadgets) is one of the most popular fields in technical writing. Technical Writers are needed to create product reviews, write product advantages, disadvantages, and comparisons for websites, and manuals. Other fields include medical and other scientific fields, engineering, the automotive industry and many more.
More information below:
http://idratherbewriting.com/2007/09/26/five-skills-every-technical-writer-needs/
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos319.htm
http://www.writeawriting.com/technical/best-technical-writing-fields/
Intern Queen!
Hey Diary readers,
Most college degrees now require an internship. But as a second semester Sophomore, I’ve come to realize finding out information about different companies and figuring out how to snatch that intern spot can prove to be difficult.
But finally there is a way to simplify this process thanks to Lauren Burger, alum of University of Central Florida.As a freshman, she decided to intern at the Zimmerman Agency, and because of a few tips she learned along the way, by the time she graduated in 2006, she had accomplished fifteen different internships (some including big names like MTV, FOX, and NBC!). Because of her extensive personal knowledge of internships, Lauren decided to create her own website that pertains to just that… Internships!
Website Disabilities
Hello Diary Readers,
When deciding how to create a web site, audience is an important aspect of the decision making process. How will you catch their attention? How do you make them want to come back? But how about… how do you make it so that their disabilities do not negatively affect their experience? Many people has disabilities that make it hard for them to see websites, leading it to not catch their attention and them not returning.
But there are websites that list how to invent around these disorders. To see how, go to w3.org!
Web Page Laoyout Friends
To create a well designed layout many things are needed to make it flow in an appropriate way. To do this, great sites like smashingmagazines.com and HTMLdog.com will be a great “friend” to have while creating your web page’s layout. Looking at these sites will give in depth descriptions or what to use to best accomplish the look you are going for while giving workable code.
Coloring Web Pages
Hello Diary readers,
To create a web page that draws in someone, color is extremely important. But to create an appropriate web page, one must know their audience. different colors mean different things throughout the world. If the web page you are designing is intended for a global audience, knowing the meaning of your color choices is important. Here are three examples of colors we as Americans view extremely different that other cultures.
Red: In the US red is associated with power, passion, anger and love. But in China it is associated with prosperity, happiness, and attracts good luck. In South Africa, red means mourning and communism.
Yellow: means happiness and hope in the United States but in Egypt, it is a symbol for mourning. In Japan it is associated with courage and in India it is the color for merchants.
Purple: In the US it means royalty and creativity but in Thailand it is associated with mourning for widows.
Knowing the meaning of colors is very important to create a web page that expresses your purpose. For more information, go to smashingmagazines.com.
New web page “toys”
Here are some new websites that I have found to help create more interesting things for any web page!
for color scheme use colorschemedesigner.com
for different creative fonts use themeworld.com
for web graphics and images use wfu.edu
and for video use mediacollege.com
These sites help create a more eye catching web page, but only by telling how to make it look the best!
CSS to the rescue
Helllo Diary Readers,
Ever wonder what makes a web page look the way it does? CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a web designing language that creates that look and formatting of a web page. It is used in (X)HTML. XHTML is used for the content on a web page, the written words, while CSS is the stuff you actually want to look at! Imagine a website that just had words in a simple, boring font and no color or detail. Now picture the same website with color, interesting fonts, borders, and other special effects that make it eye catching. CSS does all of that!
Good (XHTML and CSS) Dog
Hello Diary Readers,
Dogs really are a humans’ best friend! Thanks to HTMLdog.com clueless web page developer newbies like myself are finally able to figure out how to use XHTML and CSS. It’s like RosettaStone for web related languages!
XHTML
Hell Diary Readers,
Ever wonder what makes up the web pages you view everyday? Well, that would be XHTML. XHTML is the language in which web pages are written. It is a code used to create everything you see while on the web. It stands for eXtensible Hyper Text Markup Language. XHTML is based off of HTML but it allows the creator to omit tags that previously were needed. It is an easier way of creating the web pages that we all take for granted!
