• Learning to use Linux for the first time! #
• Another article about foreigners looking for work in China http://bit.ly/JPo5c #
• Who wants a Google Wave invite? No longer just dog food! http://bit.ly/exxW1 #
• I’ve got 5 #GoogleWave invites left! #

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• Jetlagged! #
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• Looking forward to visiting Googleplex next week! #
• Playing Monopoly City Streets http://bit.ly/T9K9M #
• Slept all day — so tired and sick. #
• The All-In-One Guitar Playing Robot and Game http://bit.ly/ohkro #

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• Are you a nerd, geek, dork, or dweeb? http://bit.ly/6Kt31 #
• Preparing for a training session on using advanced features of Excel #
• Can’t believe all the hotels in downtown SF are fully booked! #

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Well, as mentioned in a previous  post, I will be resigning from National Instruments in a few weeks. There’s no easy way for me to explain my resignation. Working at NI the past two years has been an INCREDIBLE experience. If you’ve been following this blog, you’d know that NI is a great company and I love my job as a technical writer. I would not leave if it weren’t for the following two reasons. 1) For personal and family reasons, I will be returning to the U.S. for a few weeks. 2) I got an offer to work for my dream job/company.

The timing and everything just happened to work out PERFECTLY so that I’m able to work in the U.S. and out of different offices where my family is. I’ll be back in Shanghai eventually (project is moving to Shanghai!) and will continue to blog here, but the logo (or the lack of one) is going to become …

The nice thing is that when I tell people what company I’m going to work for, they won’t be asking if we make calculators, semiconductors, or musical instruments.

(In case you didn’t get the joke, National Instruments is NOT Texas Instruments or National Semiconductor.)

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• Anyone interested in working as a technical writer at NI? #
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This is now official. I will be resigning from National Instruments in a few weeks. This blog was born 2 years ago when I first started working at NI. More about my resignation and what I’ll be doing next in another post. For now, this means a position just opened up! Who wants to be the next Shanghai Tech Writer?  You can read my entire blog to learn more about what a GREAT company National Instruments is, what a FUN job technical writing is, and what an AMAZING group of really smart people I’ve worked with the past 2 years.

If you’re interested in applying for the position, send your cover letter/resume directly to the contact person listed in the job posting below. Please do not send resumes to me.

(Note: People who don’t know how to read and follow the instructions should not apply for this job. )

National Instruments is seeking talented, entry-level technical writers to join the R&D organization.

Technical writers at National Instruments partner with an engineering team to develop and improve product documentation. As an NI technical writer, you write technical documentation, collaborate with content experts to develop/enhance documentation content, and work with product managers and engineers to improve the usability of documentation and products.

National Instruments is well-known for its promote-from-within philosophy. Thus, as you advance your technical writing career, you have opportunities for many new challenges, including mentoring new technical writers, managing documentation project schedules, developing and improving processes, and serving as a customer advocate.

Responsibilities:

• Create and edit product documentation according to company guidelines, including printed materials, electronic help, and other forms of documentation
• Send documentation through review and implement feedback
• Collaborate with content experts to learn about products
• Meet with technical communications group leaders to discuss documentation content
• Prepare information for publishing
• Evaluate industry tools and trends
• Work with project managers and engineers to improve the usability of documentation
• Troubleshoot help systems as they are integrated into products
• Research new solutions to improve existing processes

Requirements:

• Bachelors or Masters degree in English, Technical Communication, or other major with writing-intensive component and/or science/technology emphasis
• Desire to succeed in a technical writing career
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills - must provide samples of excellent writing skills
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail  with ability to handle multiple projects and priorities
• Persistence and initiative to learn
• Strong interest in and comfortable with technology subject matter
• Prior hands-on experience working with computers (hardware and/or software)
• Ability to work effectively in a group environment

If you’re interested, please send your cover letter and resume to china.jobs (at) ni.com.

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From one of the top Diggs of the weekend, a quick start guide to using this terrifying device that you hope will never ever be used as a torturing device on humans. Can you imagine being the technical writer or technical illustrator for this product?

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• Playing Plants vs Zombies! http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz #
• Anyone interested in working as a technical writer? #
• … in Shanghai? #
• Fascinating story about a blind con artist who hacked telephone systems. http://bit.ly/m4a9W #
• National Instruments and LabVIEW, literally saving lives in Africa! http://bit.ly/x2oJu #
• Cool real-world applications of robotics powered by LabVIEW! http://bit.ly/tRzz8 #
• Featured on CBS: Car for blind drivers powered by LabVIEW! http://bit.ly/E2Gt5 #
• Found a copycat tech writer who’s been reposting many articles from the tech comm blogosphere without permission. http://bit.ly/7br6c #
• Checkout the MoonBots competition — partnership between NI, Google, LEGO Mindstorms, and Wired. http://bit.ly/2eb77Z #
• Will be doing extensive traveling in the coming weeks! #
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I saw this xkcd comic today describing the flowchart of what tech support geeks people usually do.

(Image source: http://xkcd.com/627/)

I remember eight years ago, I was just a second grade elementary school teacher teaching at a brand new school in Shanghai. The school had very few basic resources (like NO textbooks, curriculum, teaching resources, etc…). I relied heavily on my computer and the Internet to prepare teaching materials for my lessons. I brought a laptop and a projector to class every day (both which I had) and used them to teach.

People naturally assume that if you bring a laptop and a projector to class, you must be good with technology! People came to me with all sorts of problems—computer, printer, network, Internet—as if I knew how to fix things. I didn’t, but I’d take a look anyway, push a few buttons here and there, and try different things (see the flowchart above). Most of the time, the “find something related to what I want to do and click it” method worked. The “pick one at random” method also worked. If that didn’t work, the “search Google for the answer” worked too. 99.9% of the time, I’d fix whatever problem people had even though I had no idea how to fix it before. Over time, I sort of became the go-to tech person at school and in the community. People just thought and assumed I knew it all. I didn’t. I just wasn’t afraid to try new things and click buttons (see the flowchart above)!

As simple as that sounds, I also think that some people are naturally born with either good or bad technology karma. There was a teacher at school that came to me more than anyone else. She was always having some sort of technological meltdown. Icons, applications, and files would magically “disappear” from her computer. Her final exams would be “deleted” by the computer. Her computer would freeze when she touches it. The printer never worked for her. There was always something broken. And she was pretty bitchy about it too, blaming the IT department for purchasing crappy equipments.

My husband also has bad technology karma. Things break when he touches them. The Internet would magically stop when he tries to go online. The computer would all of a sudden crash when he uses it. He infected my USB stick with a virus and not know how it happened. He dropped my PDA and broke it, even though I’ve dropped it many times and it was fine (because it’s encased in a titanium metal shell!!).

I guess I’m just one of the lucky few people who is born with good technology karma. Things just work when I touch them. One time, a teacher had trouble with her computer CD-ROM drive. She couldn’t open the CD-ROM drive. I went over to her computer and pressed the button to open the CD-ROM (there’s only one button to push, see flowchart above). The tray came out when I pushed the button. The teacher looked at me and swore to me she pressed the same button about 100 times and nothing happened. I shrugged. I was just a second grade teacher. I didn’t know what was wrong with her computer. I just did the most logical thing I could think of—push the button on the CD-ROM drive (see flowchart above). How was I supposed to know that the same actions performed by other people don’t always work?

Well, eventually I got promoted from being a second grade teacher to managing the entire school’s IT department. I had to fix many computers, printers, network, and other broken technological resources at school. It wasn’t as fun because the 1% of the time when pushing buttons didn’t work, people get very pissed because all of a sudden, it is your job to fix everybody’s problems.

If you asked me how I did it the other 99% of the time, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But the flowchart above really explains it all!

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