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Posts Tagged ‘ROI’
Stories from SXSWi 2008 - Edit Me: How Gamers are Adopting the Wiki Way
Eager to get started with the four days of SouthBy goodness, I got off work Friday afternoon a little early, having headed in a little early, and made it downtown in time to wait in a line a half a block long for my SXSW Interactive badge complete with my photo. I only needed a half hour to get through the line, though. For the first time ever I made it to the very first SXSWi session, having to choose between Edit Me: How Gamers are Adopting the Wiki Way, and Career Rev 342: Dabble Dabble, Toil and Kick Ass. Come on, what would you choose?
The wiki talk won out, and I was happy to sit in the back and take notes in my moleskine notebook. Here they are, my notes transcribed from my handwriting, after listening to these panelists. You can listen to them also, as the podcasts are already available.
Angelique Shelton GM of Wikia Gaming, Wikia Inc - A collection of freely-hosted ad-supported wiki communities using the Open Source MediaWiki software.
April Burba Community Mgr, NCsoft - Game software publisher
George Pribul Lead Admin, WowWiki.com
Jake McKee, moderator Chief Ant Wrangler, Ant’s Eye View
Wiki way - gamers community - wowwiki.com World Of Warcraft wiki
“People are stronger than the game.”
People devoting time to their product is more valuable than money (because the money will follow, I guess) and because it makes the developers motivated and excited - passion.
Wikia has 6000-7000 communities. Wow.
Why write content for free? NBA Analogy - pick up games in the street are everywhere, they are playing for social status. Same thing with the wiki status - social currency is valuable in the gaming community and other communities. I especially like this analogy because it means I’m like a pro basketball player but I play pick up games when I write on wikis other than my employers. 
Q: What happens when or if the social status in the game collides with the social aspect of the wiki?
A: It happens all the time - the panelist met his girlfriend on the wiki but also played the game with her. Both areas contribute to social status. You can now browse the Internet while you play with side-by-side windows. Lets the wiki be viewed or even edited while playing the game. Wow. In the MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game industry, they have seamless interaction between web and the game. XML feeds for character sets and everything already supplied.
Q: What’s the best scenario - when do you (the company) create a wiki, or are you better off letting the community start and run with it?
A: NCSoft decided to let users run their own wiki, citing concern about risk, but offered network hosting, “helping the community help themselves” - ended up making one wiki. Let the community moderate/arbitrate it - thinking they’ll take care of “griefers.”
Q: What about guilds in the game publishing in correct data to mess up other guilds?
A: Wowwiki does not allow anonymous editing, so this isn’t easy to do, although they have seen it attempted but it’s usually futile.
Q: Are published strategy guides losing money because of the wiki? Is there any IP conflict? Sicne Wikia is ad-based, how does it cut into game book revenue? A: Absolutely not, since publishing “freezes” the content, and Walmart is the only one making any “real” money on the product. There’s not enough money to be made on strategy guides. Books on strategy tend to be read in the bathroom (says a panelist), having a passionate community offers more return on investment. Wikis and the community members are accessible at all times across all time zones, the info is up-to-date.
Q: Is it good (intentional) that Blizzard’s developers aren’t on the wiki?
A: Thinks developer editing would hinder the wiki’s growth - especially if users “hate” a particular area of the game, they’ll attack the developer. But, they want info to get it out there. Also, it’s more motivating to the community when a developer comments - means he’s reading with out interfering. The Panel moderator said he would prefer that a CEO comment on blogs rather than write a blog. George commented that the forums are for “railing against” a certain area of the game (or a developer). Also, developers do use internal wikis and have found them very helpful for collaborative idea generation - such as asking for ideas for armor.
If community is not motivated enough on their own, might find someone outside of the company who is passionate, or an inside (the company) community manager can help . One panelist said she thinks 5 editors is the “tipping point” - readers will come if those five continually update. This best practice matches with the wikipatterns.com findings and other’s findings.
Q: How does support work within the wiki?
A: George says the community “sends them away.” Because their wiki’s conversation is about strategy only, not how to. Fascinating to me. To attempt to interpret for the enterprise wikis that many tech writers might be working on, it seems like there are two potential conversations and perhaps two communities built up around strategy and best practices versus how to and perhaps even troubleshooting. It’s like the difference between asking for help from a professional services group versus asking for help from the customer support group. There are specific conversations you’d expect to have from each group.
Meatball wiki guy asked, what collaborative projects such as fan on a wiki writing fan fiction on the wiki (amateurs) like what happens in the film industry (I’m not sure what this is an example of, but I’d love to see it.) A: Again George said that their wiki isn’t set up for that, they’d send them to another area, apparently.
On the way out, I ran into another Austinite Laura P Thomas, known as LPT on Twitter, and her daughter. I had met Laura at an Austin Social Media Club meeting. She had chosen the Career rev talk instead, and she said it was good. I told them about the giant pile of Legos (it looked like a pit of Legos from where I saw it while waiting in line! But it was actually a pile.) I saw later on Twitter that they both enjoyed them! I love that kids had things they could see and do at SXSW Interactive. A great start to a great conference.
Use a blog to respond to a blog post?
I’ve been diving deeper into social media and its use to make connections via email and also in real life. For example, I had a great lunch conversation with Alan Porter at Quadralay a few weeks back. We made the connection thanks to a comment conversation on Tom Johnson’s blog, I’d rather be writing. I had asked Alan how Quadralay responded to some constructive criticism about their product wiki, and he said he talked to the blogger at the next conference they both attended and had a really nice conversation, clearing up the confusion. That interpersonal approach works well because it forges the relationship rather than simply connecting blog posts. It’s using social media to make that next connection meaningful.
My next question was, why don’t you have a corporate blog where you could respond to the blogger via comment on the very blog post that could be interpreted as critical, therefore using the blog medium that the blogger was using? Then, when my search about WebWorks wiki came across this post, I could have had Quadralay’s response to read along with the post.
My theory is that the Adobe Technical Communication blog has been set up for this very purpose. In my opinion it’s an effective Public Relations move, because you are creating the record that you want to be available for years to come when the search term is found again. But I’m sure Adobe’s team has to prove that the time spent blogging and the money spent on the blog infrastructure and tools was money well spent.
Effectively, any blogger must prove that there would eventually be a return on that investment of time and money. I think that the return could occur months or years later when someone like me is researching their next toolset. It’s the influence that the bloggers can wield, which then translates to investment, which I discussed in my prevous post about the Reach and Influence of blogging.
Currently, I get paid with a pseudo-currency of community connections more than any actual currency payoff with my blog, and I like it that way. My blog is driving the boringness out.
A recent graduate talks about her experiences getting a masters degree in technical communication
In my previous post, I interviewed Diane Fleming who had completed a graduate degree in technical writing later in her career. Today’s interview is with Melissa Burpo, who has completed the coursework and internship portions of the graduate program but still needs to write up her internship report (an equivalent assignment to a master’s thesis) before graduating. I was especially interested in the most current graduate’s perspective and Melissa graciously agreed to answer all these questions.
Melissa Burpo’s Interview
Anne: Could you give me a little bit of a bio - your employer, how long you’ve been there, what you do there?
Melissa: I work for Dovetail Software (www.dovetailsoftware.com), a CRM software vendor. Before I was hired as an intern in October 2006, Dovetail had never employed a writer of any sort, and I had never been employed as a fulltime technical writer. Because both the company and I are new to this whole “technical writer” thing, my job duties can be somewhat nebulous. Common tasks include rewriting, reorganizing, and redesigning legacy documents; writing end-user documentation for new functionality alongside a small agile development team; and lately, moving all of our scattered documents into AuthorIT, a single source content management system. I also occasionally handle marketing tasks, such as writing, designing, and voicing product demonstrations; designing product and company brochures; and producing graphics as needed for other marketing purposes.
Anne: First of all, tell me what your undergrad degree was in?
Melissa: Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Oglethorpe University, with a minor in Sociology
Anne: What led you to a graduate degree in tech comm?
Melissa: An undergraduate professor suggested that I look into tech comm after I finished my bachelor’s degree, but it took me three years to find my way to the MTSC program at Miami University. At first, I was turned off by the idea – I thought tech comm meant writing instruction manuals all day. Eventually I figured out that there was a very cool side to it as well – tech writers are constantly learning new things, exploring new technologies, and then figuring out how best to communicate that information to a user base. It seemed like a fun and innovative space to work in, so I decided to get the degree.
Anne: What other degree programs did you consider?
Melissa: I briefly looked at degrees in Professional Writing and Literary Nonfiction, but tech comm won out in the end.
Anne: What did you learn in the degree program?
Melissa: I learned how to practically apply technical writing theory to real-world problem solving contexts. Almost all of my school projects were for real clients in a variety of industries. For example, I collaboratively put together a website for a waste water group, wrote and designed a procedural reference card for nurses at a local hospital, and wrote a white paper about a local environmental issue for the university.
Anne: What do you wish others had told you about technical writing before you got a job in it?
Melissa: I wish someone had warned me that being a technical writer is just as much about building successful interpersonal relationships as it is about writing and designing good documents. Forging a good relationship with your SMEs is vital, because they are your information resource. Everything works a lot better if he or she is happily willing to share information.
Anne: What do you consider to be the “value” of the graduate degree - in monetary terms, employability terms, and general learning?
Melissa: I don’t see the value as the degree itself, but instead, I see the value as the experience I gained while in the program. The experience translates into a full portfolio, a well-rounded resume, and the ability to find and secure a good job.
Anne: Do you think the degree has paid for itself?
Melissa: Yes, absolutely.
Anne: How well has the education “aged,” meaning, are the subjects you studied still current for the field?
Melissa: So far, so good – of course, I’ve only been out of the program for a year : )
I do want to mention one thing, though. The technology I studied has already been replaced by new versions and new innovations. But that’s okay, because one of the greatest lessons I took away from my program is the ability to quickly learn new technology as needed.
Anne: Do you think that an undergraduate degree in tech comm offers the same results as a masters degree in tech comm?
Melissa: Yes. If the undergrad degree has a practically-based curriculum that prepares students for a professional career, then there shouldn’t be much of a difference. I needed the graduate program because my undergraduate degree was unfocused. It didn’t prepare me for a career.
Anne: If you hadn’t gotten the master’s in technical and scientific communication, speculate about what might be different for your career path and job prospects.
Melissa: In the one year since leaving the program, I’ve already completed two contract jobs and an internship, and I now work in a regular full time position. I don’t think any of this would have been as easy or possible without the experience I gained in my graduate program. If I hadn’t gotten my MTSC degree, I would probably still be struggling to establish myself as an employable, valuable professional.
Anne: What would you advise others who are thinking about pursuing graduate work in technical communication?
Melissa: When looking for a program, find one that gives you practical experience in the field. This will not only start you off with a great portfolio, but it will also give you the knowledge and confidence to move into a real job. Also, keep in mind that studying a specialty area is important. For example, if you want to work in the pharmaceutical industry, you’ll probably need to know something about human biology, drug chemistry, regulatory issues, etc. This should be reflected in your studies, whether it’s before, during, or after you enter the tech comm program.
Should I get a graduate degree in technical writing? Interviews with those who have
It’s no secret that I have a masters degree in technical and scientific communication from Miami University. With all the hype about Web 2.0, outsourcing, crowdsourcing, and social media like wikis, an interesting question that I get asked occasionally is, “should I get a graduate degree in technical writing?”
I’ve had quite a few interesting online discussions while seeking interviewees, and I’ll post two interviews this week, and then try to discuss all the complexities in answering this question in a third post.
I emailed questions to two current technical writers in the Austin area who have masters degrees in technical writing. This first post is an interview with Diane Fleming, a Senior Technical Writer at NetQoS. The second interview is with Melissa Burpo, a not-quite-graduated degree candidate who’s working as the only technical writer at DoveTail Software.
Diane Fleming’s Interview
Anne: Could you give me a little bit of a bio - who is your employer, how long you’ve been there, what you do there?
Diane: I currently work as a Senior Technical Writer at NetQoS. I provide all documentation for SuperAgent, an end-to-end performance monitoring tool. Because the Training and Technical Writing departments are combined at NetQoS, I provide product docs (pdfs and online Help) and curriculum for customer training.
Anne: First of all, tell me what your undergrad degree was in?
Diane: It’s a BA in English from SUNY Buffalo.
Anne: What led you to a graduate degree in tech comm?
Diane: I had never heard of technical writing as a profession (this was in the late seventies), but a graduate of RPI’s technical communications department offered a one-night seminar at a local college entitled, “A Career in Technical Writing.” After taking the seminar, I discovered that a high school friend of mine had also graduated from RPI, so I started exploring their degree program. At the time, I was working at the Poughkeepsie Journal and they had a very open tuition reimbursement program. They agreed to pay for my degree at RPI, though it required that I work full-time and commute to Albany to complete the degree (a two-hour commute in each direction).
But I couldn’t pass up the free tuition.
Anne: What other degree programs did you consider?
Diane: None, though later I began work on an M.S. in computer science (which I never completed).
Anne: What did you learn in the degree program?
Diane: I don’t remember the exact titles of the classes, but we learned writing and editing, project management, and computer programming. One of the classes required that we work as a team to produce a piece of documentation, which unfortunately required an extra weekly commute to Albany for me. We also took a communications
class, which entailed a general review of communication theory.
Anne: What do you wish others had told you about technical writing
before you got a job in it?
Diane: I’m not sure anyone could have told me, but I always regretted not pursuing computer programming in lieu of writing because of the greater respect programmers garner – tech writers have to constantly remind others of their value. Sometimes it seems like a losing battle. With offshoring, the message seems to be, if you can speak English, even minimally, then you can be a tech writer!
Anne: What do you consider to be the “value” of the graduate degree — in monetary terms, employability terms, and general learning?
Diane: My degree opened a lot of doors for jobs I’d otherwise be overlooked for. I’ve managed to stay employed as a tech writer since 1988, and I’ve been paid well.
Anne: Do you think the degree has paid for itself?
Diane: Absolutely! Especially since my employer paid for the degree. Even if I had paid for it, the degree was worth its cost. It’s enabled me to put two sons through college and to support my family.
Anne: How well has the education “aged,” meaning, are the subjects you studied still current for the field?
Diane: The skills that have aged well are writing, editing, and project management. But as technology changes, my skills degrade. New programming languages, wikis, agile development, blogging, browser-based interfaces, so on and so forth – all these innovations require that I keep learning new things to stay current.
Anne: Do you think that an undergraduate degree in tech comm offers the same results as a masters degree in tech comm?
Diane: Probably. When I got my M.S. degree, lots of teachers were retraining to become technical writers. In fact, the original program at RPI was geared toward teachers. RPI ran summertime institutes so that teachers could retrain during their time off. The masters degree enabled people in other professions to retrain in a couple of years. But for someone coming right out of high school, an undergraduate degree should suffice.
Anne: If you hadn’t gotten the master’s in technical and scientific communication, speculate about what might be different for your career path and job prospects.
Diane: I doubt I would’ve become a tech writer – I’d tried to “break into” IBM for many years – it was the major employer where I lived, even minimally, then you can be a tech writer!
Anne: What do you consider to be the “value” of the graduate degree - in monetary terms, employability terms, and general learning?
Diane: My degree opened a lot of doors for jobs I’d otherwise be overlooked for. I’ve managed to stay employed as a tech writer since 1988, and I’ve been paid well.
Anne: Do you think the degree has paid for itself?
Diane: Absolutely! Especially since my employer paid for the degree. Even if I had paid for it, the degree was worth its cost. It’s enabled me to put two sons through college and to support my family.
Anne: How well has the education “aged,” meaning, are the subjects you studied still current for the field?
Diane: The skills that have aged well are writing, editing, and project management. But as technology changes, my skills degrade. New programming languages, wikis, agile development, blogging, browser-based interfaces, so on and so forth – all these innovations require that I keep learning new things to stay current.
Anne: Do you think that an undergraduate degree in tech comm offers the same results as a masters degree in tech comm?
Diane: Probably. When I got my M.S. degree, lots of teachers were retraining to become technical writers. In fact, the original program at RPI was geared toward teachers. RPI ran summertime institutes so that teachers could retrain during their time off. The masters degree enabled people in other professions to retrain in a couple of years.
But for someone coming right out of high school, an undergraduate degree should suffice.
Anne: If you hadn’t gotten the master’s in technical communication, speculate about what might be different for your career path and job prospects.
Diane but at the time, I was told that women were secretaries and that was that. I had worked as a temp secretary at IBM, even with an English degree. It wasn’t until I received my masters degree that someone would interview me for a tech writing job at IBM. I might’ve eventually pursued a computer science masters degree in order to become a programmer. But if I hadn’t done that, maybe I’d still be at the Poughkeepsie Journal doing graphic design for retail ads.
Anne: What would you advise others who are thinking about pursuing graduate work in technical communication?
Diane: Check out certificate programs first – RPI offers a HCI certificate (human-computer interaction), which might help you find work as a tech writer. Also look into current technologies – are companies using wikis? What kind of technical information do you want to document? If you’re interesting in writing about programming interfaces, you might get an M.S. in computer science to complement an English degree – this might be of more value in the long-run in terms of pay scale and promotability. Also look into distance learning – schools offer low-residency programs in technical writing, which enable you to keep working and pursue your degree at the same time. Also look for a program that’s tied into a particular industry. RPI was associated with IBM, which really enhanced their program. I think more academic programs are less useful. If the program seems to focus on a lot of theory, it’s probably not going to help you be a good tech writer, though it might help you teach. Also, see if you can talk to a tech writing manager at a local company and ask them what they recommend to become a tech writer.
