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I believe that writers need to present content in all mediums(videos, e-books, blogs, formal doc, working with social groups) and be flexible in voice, message, and style. That is where I think we need to be flexible. I think that is where Paul is correct in this statement…we don’t just want to specialize in being help system writers (and many of us are today).

But I also think we need to be subject matter experts. We need an understanding of a domain of information that we research and write about. We can’t just be scribes anymore following around the SMEs. We need to be SMEs at some level. In that way we are going to need to be more specialized as authors/content strategists/technical communicators and not just tech writers.

Here’s an example: I understand the market for IT system management tools for small-medium businesses based on my experience of the past decade. I want to engage these customers in this domain using a variety of mediums, portals, and publishing techniques. I want to be flexible here.

But I also want to define what market I am after. I don’t want to be hired by one of these companies. I want to compete for customer attention. I believe large companies don’t really want extensive information about their products in the cloud because they depend on training and professional service add-on sales. They are also outsourcing the tech writing jobs to junior ESL writers that provide low value, low quality help files only to save money. I want to engage in the questions of this IT mgmt system for now and the future and take away mindshare from their marketing departments and go directly to the user.

I want to compete at the market level and be more of an analyst and provider of ITIL and other best practices for existing (or new) customers in providing useful, unbiased content for users of MS, BMC, Symantec, KACE, LanDesk, and other competing vendors. Or for those using a miscellany of products. Or maybe just those who partner up with Dell to manage their systems.

My main goal is be flexible in providing content wherever I can and in whatever format is needed, yet stay in my domain of knowledge.

This came out of my analogy of the finches on Daphne which was a bit convoluted. My point was that the competition and environment changes, so we need to decide what we want or is available to feed on–what domain or market or job we want–and find our rightful position to do so.

As an independent author, I think I can bypass the vendors marketing messaging, staid and obvious doc, marketing slanted positioning papers, and go directly to the customer/user/reader. But I need to also be more than just someone who writes low value, obvious content. I need to confront the customer needs using whatever tools of communication I can use an be loyal to them. I need to create a new job in the market…go after other seeds.

Does this make sense? I am still making my way through this. I am putting together a PRD for this market with my intentions, cash stream, audience, publishing portals and possibilities and more. I need to take my theoretical and take it to the streets.

This comment is kind of a brainstorm, so let me know what your thoughts are. Thanks again.

“We don’t want to specialize.”
“The need in the market relies on an understanding of customer needs in vertical markets and delivered to them where they congregate.”

Aren’t vertical markets specialized as opposed to horizontal markets that aren’t? So aren’t you really saying that we need to understand vertical (specialized) markets and target those customers? If that’s not your message, examples would help. Thanks.

I also agree with Paul that we need to expand our writing to be analysts, as well as champions of customers, creative forces in the marketplace, and writers of high-value content.

Corda’s point, that more tech writer jobs are moving to lower wage locations is also a good point. The traditional way of rotely writing help files, reference tables, and inside-out product doc is also dying.

The need in the market relies on an understanding of customer needs in vertical markets and delivered to them where they congregate. The traditional ways of tech writing are fading away and those left should be done as cheaply as possible because it is little more than a required, but low value delivery.

What is really needed is what Paul says, more analysts to help wend through changes, best practices for vertical markets, better writing to capture an audience, and more useful delivery methods. This will require real content strategists and fewer tech writers. We just need to evolve to this higher value position as Paul says and Corda points out and I agree with vociferously.

The small seeds will be taken leaving the larger seeds for a new breed of aggregator.