Long before I was a technical writer, I was a technology writer.
All the way back in my college days I wrote a column for the school’s newspaper called Technological Anarchy (PDF, sample columns from 1997!). You see I was interested in the sociological effects of technology even back then, twenty years ago.
Although with a semi-skeptical eye, I still largely bought into the tech hype and quasi-utopianism of the time. John Perry Barlow’s Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, along with magazines like Mondo 2000 and Wired and books like those by futurist Ray Kurzweil—well—it was still towards the beginning of the popularization of the Internet and there was a lot, frankly, to buy into.
Also, as explored in this blog—I eventually became a technical writer, often working in Montreal’s strong 3D graphics demi-monde. This was where, unfortunately, I first had to clip my wings, for I had to obviously keep my opinions to myself working for often large corporations—a proverbial cog in the machine. But I came to relish this role, as the liaison between the SMEs and the public, I was often one of the few in at least the development side of the company with both a global and detailed connaissance of the product —seeing the product pipeline all the way from conception to eventual shipment. I also often tried to infiltrate marketing and project and product management—besides working across the whole R&D and QA teams to give the widest and simplest understanding of the software products I was covering in written form.
I am now going full circle, back from my technical writing experience to my love of general technology writing and journalism: I am first venturing out to cover top software industries in Montreal such as video game production and artificial intelligence. I am writing longform pieces of 20-40 pages not only to post electronically but to be submitted to magazines and to be published in and through other media and platforms.
I am finding a dearth of real expository work on these jewels of the Montreal tech industry in English and for global audiences, so this is my near and medium term goal.
This coincides with a small but pivotal rebranding of the Tech in Montreal Tech Writer to not only represent technical aspects for specialized audiences but technology itself for lay audiences.
Looking forward to a series of technology articles, profiles, technology deep dives as I sorta pick up my pen somewhat dormant since my Technological Anarchy days in college to today where we collectively oscillate between tech utopias and tech dystopias seemingly dependent on the news cycle.
I hope to broaden my readership of course, but in my heart is allowing us a critical view into these new games and applications so we can make the right decisions as we tackle economic disparities, the world of work, the question of leisure, and above all the environment taken as a whole.
Thanks so much loyal clients and readers in allowing me this conceit, to add technology writing for the laymen to my overall repertoire.
