DeborahWrites

6 ms·

1.
by DeborahWrites 9mo ago
Yeah. AI might replace tech writers (just like it might replace anyone), but it won't be a GOOD replacement. The companies with the best docs will absolutely still have tech writers, just with some AI assistance. Tech writing seems esp
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by DeborahWrites 9mo ago
Yes. Yes it is.
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by DeborahWrites 9mo ago
You sound unlucky in your tech writer encounters! There are plenty of people who can read code who don't work as devs. You could ask the same about testers, ops, sysadmins, technical support, some of the more technical product managers
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Decisions in a Short Doc(deborahwrites.com)
2 points by DeborahWrites 1y ago|1 comments
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
An insight into the number of decisions a tech writer makes, even in a short document.
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
The point about advocating for your craft is a good one (and one of my weaknesses in my most recent perm role)
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Some knowledge base or wiki tools build this in, but I don't know of a friendlier alternative for text-based formats (markdown etc.) Would love to hear of it if you find one . . . I suspect it would need to be git or something similar
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Yeah, if your primary contributors aren't already comfortable with version control, you likely want to choose another toolset.
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Capitalization would probably be a good idea, based on the comments here! Thanks!
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Very valid question. I have tested it a little! I wrote it because a less technical tech writer was asking me a ton of questions, and he found it helpful. I also got a non-technical marketing person to review it, and she said she was able t
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Thanks for pointing this out. The post starts from the assumption that people have at least heard of "docs like code", because it's a widely-used term/practice in tech writing. So I was aiming at tech writers who heard t
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Docs like code in basic terms(deborahwrites.com)
66 points by DeborahWrites 1y ago|60 comments
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Most guides to docs like code, even the ones for non-devs, assume you have some developer knowledge: maybe you're already using version control, or you've encountered build pipelines before, or you're working alongside develo
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
Is there some rule that design tool companies have to be arseholes?
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Thinking First, AI Second(deborahwrites.com)
5 points by DeborahWrites 1y ago|1 comments
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by DeborahWrites 1y ago
An approach to using AI that ensures you benefit from it, without damaging your thinking skills.
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
You're telling me the seemingly arbitrary 6 weeks of Prolog on my comp sci course 11yrs ago is suddenly about to be relevant? I did not see this one coming . . .
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
Yeah I freelanced for 4yrs before returning to employee-land in 2022. I think I'm going to go back to it eventually, but nervous in the current market.
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
This has a lot of appeal. I am instinctively wary of managers who can't do the actual job, which this obviously avoids. It also removes the 'management track', and presumably means you can see more progression as an IC (with
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
I'm belatedly learning this lesson (you'd think I'd have caught on earlier in my career) I very much want to stick to small young startups in future, but there's less demand for tech writers there.
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
The process in my mid-20s of realising I was not going to have the career I'd expected since my mid-teens was pretty rough. I eventually dusted myself off and pivoted, but it might have been healthy to mourn (although I can't imag
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
Yeah if an applicant/incoming hire is reaching out then definitely respond! But I'd wait for the applicant to initiate it - if the company does, the applicant is under pressure.
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Paddle's third AI Launchpad is open for applications(paddle.com)
1 points by DeborahWrites 2y ago|0 comments
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
Every ~3yrs an article like this floats across my screen. Every time, I think it sounds SO fun. And then do nothing. Given this time I have the excellent excuse of a new job, I don't expect to break the trend this year. But one day . .
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
"The second practice I've adopted has been to hop on a few quick calls and trade some emails back and forth with people who haven't yet joined. These can and should be super casual (remember: they're not employees yet!).
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by DeborahWrites 2y ago
I'm enjoying the recent small trend of gentle pushback against overly rigid planning.