From The Inside September/October 2011
I need your help in getting the message out that MultiValue is a modern, robust, solution-oriented platform that works well in a multi-system, mainstream environment.
Are you interested?
I've asked many people to write articles over the past few years, and I have been rewarded with some very interesting articles. Most of these authors are techies like you, not professional writers. The best articles are the ones provided by the end users in the marketplace.
I understand that writing can seem daunting, and you wonder where to find the time to do it. Well, we are here to help.
The most common problems that new authors have are:
Don't know what to write about
Company restrictions on propriety code
Not a writer and don't know how to create a finished article
Issue: Don't know what to write about
I can understand this one. I have to come up with a topic for the "From the Inside" every issue. It seems like this is the biggest issue, but in reality, it is the easiest to address. The answer: Call me or e-mail me and ask.
I have a whole list of topics that I would like to see articles written about, but most of time I want to hear about the solutions you have developed for your business.
If you are reading this and would like to see a specific article in International Spectrum magazine, please feel free to contact me and let me know. I can add it to my growing list of articles, webinars, and conference topics.
Issue: I'm not a writer
Well, truth be told, neither am I. My spelling is horrible. My grammar makes Clif pull his hair out. (Editor's Note: I plan to bill Spectrum for a hairpiece.) And about every article I write, he has to clarify at least one paragraph because he's not quite sure what I'm trying to say.
My suggestion is, don't try to be a writer. Be yourself. Write the article as if you are talking to someone or making notes on how to do something. We can take that rough material and make it a finished product.
The article doesn't have to be a Word document. It can be typed out in e-mail. Take an hour for lunch and use your smart phone to write the article.
So, if you are worried about your writing — please don't be. Let us address the polish of your articles. Trust me, the International Spectrum Staff is very good at doing this.
Issue: Company Restrictions on Proprietary Code
This can be a major hang up for a lot of people, but you don't have to provide your company's code in the article. You'll have to describe the problem you were solving and an outline of the solution.
Many times the article is about a concept or suggested way of doing something, and you can strip the coding examples down to a few lines of code to show examples, without giving away anything your company owns.
One of authors here at International Spectrum has this same problem. He worked with his management, and worked how to write the article to cover the topic without using any of the company code. Most of the code
he supplied was information provided on public domain web sites, and a line or two of code on how to access or use the public domain code.
No company process or code was given way.
Issue: Everyone knows how to do this already
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I'm sorry. But there are a number of problems and solutions that people think are obvious, but they are not. I see this every year at the Spectrum Conference (Which, by the way, will be April 2 - 5, 2012).
Here is an example: Can you write an article about, "How do you print your MultiValue data to a PDF document?" Response, "Well, everyone knows how to do that!" Did you know how to do it before it was published here in Spectrum magazine?
I don't know about you, but I've found that many people want to do this, and know it can be done, but have no clue where to start.
Just because it seems like common knowledge, it doesn't mean that there aren't people that don't know how to do it.
So, please! I need your help to get the word out to your MultiValue colleagues — MultiValue is alive and well, and it's ready for your mainstream, diverse systems, integrated environments. I want to hear how you solved your business or technical problems.
