It is not always easy to get motivated to get to a class or teach yourself a new technical writing tool. But it’s so important to stay fresh and current with the latest trends and breakthroughs. I try and spend one hour of each day reading and exploring new technologies. What do you do to ensure you stay in front of the eight ball? There are some great resources for e-learning, networking, and sharing technical writing and doc management knowledge that you can take advantage of without ever leaving your desk.

Here are some that I recommend:

• TECHWR-L
• The Content Wrangler
• Lynda.com
• VTC.com
• Various Linked-in groups including: Documentation and Technical Writing Management, Technical Writer of Writers, and ITW
• Author-it

I’m curious to know which other online learning sites you utilize. Leave me a comment below and let me know, I’ll be sure to check them out.

And along these same lines, i.e. in the interest of furthering our individual skills and our collective profession, we are in the process of gathering as many technical writers in Israel as we can find to form a new community of documentation managers, technical writers and everyone in between. I’m envisioning a not-for-profit group setting where we learn from industry leaders, share knowledge and best practices, and be exposed to new trends in the industry.

Documentation and Technical Writing Management Forum in Israel

Doc Managers Unite!

On May 25, 2010, Tech-Tav organized what we hope will be the first of many meetings of the Documentation and Technical Writing Management Forum. It was awesome to see so many doc managers from throughout Israel and the world gathered in one room learning from Israel's top leaders in their respective fields. From Michael Eisenberg, partner at Benchmark Capital, whose remarks sparked debate over the future of technical writing in Israel and maintaining our position as leaders and innovators in the hi-tech world, to Iris Bar-Hava who taught us everything we always wanted to know about interviewing but were afraid to ask, to Tech-Tav’s own high-energy Rivka Bernstein introducing us to Mindmapping, we all gained something new and innovative from each unique presentation. For more on the Doc Managers forum, sign up on Linked-In or drop us a line and we’ll keep you up-to-date about future events in Israel and around the world.

Thanks so much to our amazing speakers, to all who attended and to Check Point Software for hosting the event.