Reading response to Chapters 1-2 of “Conversation and Community”

I always thought technical writing was about writing about technology such
as computers, phones, cameras, etc. Those instruction manuals that are included
when you buy a new television (computer, phone, etc, etc.) with all the technical
words. That has always been my concept of technical writing. But now I know that
technical writing is any writing with knowledge that is understood by the reader, no
translation needed. In order to do technical writing you have to have some
knowledge about a specific topic that focuses on a certain audience.

The readings seem to stress how important technology can be. Technology is
everywhere, if you don’t make an effort to keep up with technology you will be like
a fish out of water. However, I don’t think I have fully grasped the content of the
readings. Besides email, instant messaging, discussion boards (for school), and
sharing media such as photos I don’t use any of the applications mentioned in the
two chapters. I guess the reason I don’t fully understand is because, one I hate to
write and two I am a private person and don’t like writing things for the general
public to read as is done with blogging and twitter. From my understanding blogs
don’t have to be truthful and they don’t have to be backed up with proper
references. So how is someone to know whether a blog is accurate or not?
Because of the way I think and for those people who think like me, the book tries to
stress the importance of exploring the social networks and media. By exploring, a
person can come up with a new way of thinking and develop new ideas.

Don’t get me wrong or anything; I do understand some of the benefits these

applications have in certain situations. For example, for a business that has lots of
locations an online meeting would be very convenient to have. The same applies
for the forums that people can ask questions on. I understand that social networks
such as Face book and MySpace are great for meeting and reconnecting with
friends. Also mentioned in the readings, today’s technology allows everyone to
access to whatever a person needs to know. The examples given in the book are
how-to questions. Some examples of how-to questions are “how to install a patio”
or “how to make homemade ice cream” or even “how to fix a lawnmower”. People
learn in different ways, which is why we have videos, pictures, podcasts, etc. on
every subject which are all available on the internet.