Pro communicators, learn a bit of software
Adobe Dreamweaver
I’ve recently been taking a Web design class to refresh my Dreamweaver and HTML skills, and I’m learning a little more about how to integrate Fireworks, Flash, CSS, PHP and MySQL into Web projects. Here’s the thing: even after the four-month class, I’ll still know only the very basics. I’ll probably never do any programming on a professional level. I’m enjoying what I’m learning, but in a couple of years, from lack of direct practice, I’ll probably forget 80 percent of it (and frankly, assuming I’ll retain 20 percent represents a certain optimism on my part.)
So why do I bother? As a writer and editorial consultant who spends increasing amounts of time working on Web-based projects, I’m betting that keeping my technical skills fresh will help keep me employed.
Other writers, journalists and marketing communications professionals should take note here. As my instructor nicely put it, to become a leader in the communications profession, you’re going to need at least a basic idea of how Web sites work. You may be good at developing content or planning marketing campaigns, but when it comes to implementing any of those projects on the Web, you’ll probably be working with teams of designers, coders and perhaps even usability specialists to get the job done. Knowing the basics of Web technologies will help you communicate better with these technical experts, and if you’re leading the team one day, this knowledge is essential.
In addition, I think knowing something about the technical details of what can be done and how it gets done boosts idea generation during the creative process, and I know from experience that these skills also come in very handy when using blogging applications or other content management systems.
Most communications pros know a bit about the technical details of print design, the print production process, paper types and distribution methods, and they probably consider this knowledge essential to being a professional. Why should the Web be any different?
