Becoming a Subject Matter Expert
As technical writers we frequently have to become superficial subject matter experts to ask the right questions of the real experts, and structure information for end-user consumption. How do we approach a new subject?
1. Review manuals for similar equipment.
2. Talk to the engineers and review technical information available to you like requirements documents, specifications, designs, and drawings.
3. Check industry specific journals.
4. Read engineering primers.
Recently, I've discovered a website that serves as a starting point for many school projects these days,
www.howstuffworks.com. I've used it myself when I've tackled something completely new.
I should also confess that years of watching Discovery channel mean I at least recognize the jargon for topics I know very little about. I love that I've been at this long enough that coming up to speed is much shorter and much more comfortable.
I'm still looking for new sources of information.
Valley of Fire
While we were in Las Vegas for the STC conference, we took a day to play tourist and see the Valley of Fire. I think this is my best ever one-day vacation.
I liked it so much, I put up a permanent page on my website.
Field Trip to the Valley of Fire.
Vegas as a conference location
I've attended a number of conferences. If your spending all your time in sessions, the location is
usually pretty generic. One airport, hotel, or restaurant is much like any other. Las Vegas is different. There is no forgetting where you are. From the moment you get off the airplane to the moment you step on it to go home, there are cassinos and slot machines everywhere.
The first (and last) are at the airport.
The rest are are between the elevator to your room and the restaurant, any restaurant, or anything else you might want to see or do.
And they go on forever. All the big hotels have a sea of slot machines with mesmerized patrons pushing button combinations to select their bid, and go.
You could easily get distracted by the flashing lights and spectacles and forget to leave the hotel. But walking the strip is an experience, too. From daytime when the grandeur of a recreated world reflects the desert sun, to nighttime when the lights and bling outside rival the the lights and bling inside.
My photos weren't this good. I visit free photo sites to scoop pictures worth spreading on the internet. There are a few good free photosites. Here are two sites where the photos are free, copyright-free, and royalty-free.
SEO College
Still working on making my site findable.
This link was forwarded to me by an associate at Blue Springs Consulting.
SEO CollegeThey publish a monthly newletter with tips for making your site search engine friendly, and explanation for some of the odd things that the search engines do.
Cheers.
