Idea Letters as a Genre of Technical Communication

In “Imagining Language Machines,” Lisa Gitelman discusses Idea Letters as an accidental genre sparked by Edison’s inventions.  While these letters may not provide accurate insight into how emerging technologies of the time worked, or give a comprehensive discussion of the technologies, they are a form of technical communication, with the writers as technical communicators attempting to shape technologies to improve the user’s experience, knowledge, and life.  In today’s job market, a technical communicator does not have to have any knowledge of technology in order to translate the ideas of the Subject Matter Expert (SME) to a variety of audiences.  The technical communicator must obtain accurate information about the technology from the SME and then use the principles of rhetoric to convey that information in a persuasive and informational manner to inform the listeners about the technology—the advantages, disadvantages, uses, purpose, etc.

While reading this article, I saw the writers of the Idea Letters as emerging technical communicators. While modern technical communicators write emails to their SMEs for additional clarification or information regarding a SME’s explanation of his/her technology, the technical communicators of Edison’s time wrote to him to solicit a response.  In both cases, the technical communicators consult their SME in an attempt to shape technology, either by trying to gain an understanding of how something works, or by trying to provide ideas to improve a current invention. This impetus to influence the user’s experience is an essential characteristic of the technical communicator.

In addition, just as modern technical communicators use the principles of rhetoric in their daily communication, so did the writers of Edison’s time.  In each case, there is a situation that catches the attention of the writer.  The writer recognizes something critical in the technology that must be communicated to the users because it will affect their experience, knowledge, or life.  The writer then solicits information from the SME to provide accurate information to the audience; however the writer can be selective in deciding what information to communicate depending on which facts will best fit his/her discussion.  It is at this point that the writer translates the chosen information into meaning, creating significance for the audience, and communicating the culture and history of the time.  Unfortunately for the writers of Edison’s time, he was not very responsive, but their attempt provided a record of the culture and history for that time.