STC Annual Conference

I'll be at the STC Annual Conference next week, held in Philadelphia, PA. It's going to be an exciting conference and I'll file my impressions on a daily basis right here.

One issue that I see surfacing these days is the very definition of a "technical writer" since we tech writers usually do a lot more than just "writing." We also design information and do a lot in terms of page layout, graphics, single-sourcing, and illustrations.

So the new term is "technical communicator" but the Labor Department is still resisting the redefinition.

I'm all for the "technical communicator" label since in all honesty we do a lot more than just "writing." Try creating a structured FrameMaker document and you'll know what I mean.