Find out more about the tools you love to use.
Kitchener-Waterloo FrameMaker Users Network Meeting
Tim Grantham will discuss DITA and FrameMaker 9. Tim Grantham is an award-winning writer, instructional designer, and technical trainer, and an active member of the OASIS DITA Enterprise Business Documents Sub-committee.
Mark James from Adobe Systems Canada will provide a high level overview of
Adobe Acrobat 9 3-D and it's use of Multi-media and be on hand to answer any
product questions you may have...
F.U.N. review by Milan Davidovic from our September F.U.N. event
Toronto - FrameMaker User Network Meeting
Wednesday December 2nd, North York Memorial Hall, Gold Room B, 6 to 9 p.m.
Front Runner is pleased that Ann Rockley, from The Rockley Group accepted our invitation to present at our F.U.N. meeting to offer you a presentation 'Analyzing content for structure'. Mark James from Adobe Canada accepted our invitation for our F.U.N. to present more exciting features of Adobe's latest software.
A chance to win door prizes....you must be there to win!
Excellent opportunity to network with other FrameMaker and DITA users in your area...
Register at our site today!
We look forward to seeing you there.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Seneca College Technical Communication Co-op Graduate Certificate Program
What is co-operative education?
Co-operative education works as a three-way educational partnership with Seneca, you and the student. The Seneca College Technical Communication Co-op Graduate Certificate Program's goals are:
What makes these students great candidates for your company?
Who can I contact to find out more?
Yvonne Gilbert
416.491.5050, ext. 3764
Yvonne.Gilbert@senecac.on.ca
Co-operative education works as a three-way educational partnership with Seneca, you and the student. The Seneca College Technical Communication Co-op Graduate Certificate Program's goals are:
- to provide skilled, enthusiastic and productive employees to meet your specific needs
- to give our students maximum opportunity to apply classroom studies in meaningful work placements
What makes these students great candidates for your company?
- Top calibre, effective writing and communication skills
- The ability to understand and explain how things work
- An affinity for technology
- The skills needed to make a valuable contribution to your organization
- Academic credentials in sciences, technology, humanities and the arts
- Students further develop professional writing skills
- To design user-friendly information and documentation for every industry from software development, banking and engineering to telecommunications and health
- To produce reference manuals, templates, on line help files, web pages, instructional and procedural documents as well as marketing materials
- Skills on the latest industry technology (Adobe FrameMaker, HTML, Visual Basic)
- Canadian Standards Association
- CIBC
- IBM
- Longview
- Quest Software
- Research in Motion
- Royal Bank
- Siemens Milltronics
- TSX
Who can I contact to find out more?
Yvonne Gilbert
416.491.5050, ext. 3764
Yvonne.Gilbert@senecac.on.ca
Thursday, October 22, 2009
AIIM Event: Social Media, ECM & SharePoint
AIIM, the Association for Information and Image Management (also known as the enterprise content management (ECM) association) is holding the following event:
Social Media, ECM & SharePoint
Networking Breakfast and Presentation
Case Study: How ING Leveraged Social Computing and ECM to Improve Customer Delivery and Reduce Costs
Ask the average customer what they value most when it comes to banking online, convenience would most likely top the list. Since 1997, ING Direct Canada has been catering to more than 1.6 million customers who prefer to bank directly by Internet or phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Not content to rest on its laurels as a leading direct savings bank, ING Direct is always looking to grow its client base and enhance its competitive edge in the industry. Within 8 weeks, ING delivered an entire Intranet branded as Orange Grove (The OG) and Orange Spark innovation center projects on Microsoft SharePoint Server. Learn how ING leveraged a combination of informal communication like Twitter and formal information management to improve customer engagement AND corporate compliance. Presenter: TBA
The Balancing Act of Social Media and ECM with SharePoint 2010
IM managers are continually working to streamline processes associated with line-of-business applications and centralized document management. As the cost and complexity associated with managing records increases, many organizations also struggle with user adoption. Emerging trends like social media present many new opportunities. What are the implications to traditional ECM and RM? Rather than treating collaboration, information capture, discovery and retention as isolated challenges, learn how to encompass the whole continuum of information management through a single, strategic approach. Be among the first to experience SharePoint 2010! Learn how SharePoint Server 2010 can help you cut costs, gain greater business insight, and rapidly respond to your specific needs. Join us as we explore the future of business productivity.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Wednesday, November 18th 2009
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Program
Cost: $29 AIIM Members/$39 Non-Members plus GST
(includes speakers, continental breakfast)
Early discount of $5 when register by November 6th.
Location:
The National Club
303 Bay Street (on the East side, between King and Adelaide Streets)
Toronto
www.thenationalclub.com
Online Registration
Contact: Winnie Tsang, Chapter President.
Winnie.Tsang@teranet.ca
416-348-0311 x4023
DRESS CODE: The National Club requires business casual dress.
Bring your colleagues!
We’ve booked a large room to accommodate this popular session.
SPREAD THE WORD!
If you know others who would be interested in receiving this invitation, please forward it to them. Alternatively you can email us their contact details at sonyagoldman@yahoo.com, and we will invite them.
See more information about AIIM Toronto here.
Social Media, ECM & SharePoint
Networking Breakfast and Presentation
Case Study: How ING Leveraged Social Computing and ECM to Improve Customer Delivery and Reduce Costs
Ask the average customer what they value most when it comes to banking online, convenience would most likely top the list. Since 1997, ING Direct Canada has been catering to more than 1.6 million customers who prefer to bank directly by Internet or phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Not content to rest on its laurels as a leading direct savings bank, ING Direct is always looking to grow its client base and enhance its competitive edge in the industry. Within 8 weeks, ING delivered an entire Intranet branded as Orange Grove (The OG) and Orange Spark innovation center projects on Microsoft SharePoint Server. Learn how ING leveraged a combination of informal communication like Twitter and formal information management to improve customer engagement AND corporate compliance. Presenter: TBA
The Balancing Act of Social Media and ECM with SharePoint 2010
IM managers are continually working to streamline processes associated with line-of-business applications and centralized document management. As the cost and complexity associated with managing records increases, many organizations also struggle with user adoption. Emerging trends like social media present many new opportunities. What are the implications to traditional ECM and RM? Rather than treating collaboration, information capture, discovery and retention as isolated challenges, learn how to encompass the whole continuum of information management through a single, strategic approach. Be among the first to experience SharePoint 2010! Learn how SharePoint Server 2010 can help you cut costs, gain greater business insight, and rapidly respond to your specific needs. Join us as we explore the future of business productivity.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Wednesday, November 18th 2009
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Program
Cost: $29 AIIM Members/$39 Non-Members plus GST
(includes speakers, continental breakfast)
Early discount of $5 when register by November 6th.
Location:
The National Club
303 Bay Street (on the East side, between King and Adelaide Streets)
Toronto
www.thenationalclub.com
Online Registration
Contact: Winnie Tsang, Chapter President.
Winnie.Tsang@teranet.ca
416-348-0311 x4023
DRESS CODE: The National Club requires business casual dress.
Bring your colleagues!
We’ve booked a large room to accommodate this popular session.
SPREAD THE WORD!
If you know others who would be interested in receiving this invitation, please forward it to them. Alternatively you can email us their contact details at sonyagoldman@yahoo.com, and we will invite them.
See more information about AIIM Toronto here.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Career Day Report
Our Sept. 29 Career Day was a great success! Held in a modern presentation hall at Seneca@York, attendees were treated to a wide variety of topics and speakers.
Self Directed Development
After chapter President Anna Parker Richards welcomed everyone, Milan Davidovic began the first presentation on Self Directed Development. This is the process by which we make ourselves into technical communicators, and then later "grow" that role.
Exploring the definitions of develop and directed, we see how self-directed learning is really about self-development and therefore requires knowledge of self. Development actions include asking questions when learning a new tool or subject. Note that the learning must be driven by you, not the other person. With a provocative quote from Stalin, “The writer is the engineer of the soul”, Milan explored the idea of manipulation and how writers can "manipulate" users for good, not just evil.
To grow in your profession, you need to question assumptions and established ideas. To keep your current job, you must meet expectations from customers, managers, and co-workers. However, these groups also have their own expectations that may relate to yours. The challenge is that people are not always honest about describing their expectations, so you need to confirm their answers, and find out how meeting your expectations serves these other people . Ask the classic "who, what, where, when, and how" questions. Think about yourself and your peers. Understand that questions are objects in development, and that they often lead to even more questions. Finally, it's important to understand that development is not a one-person show - you need to collaborate with others on your own development. In turn, you can help them with their growth.
Personal Branding
After a coffee and snack break, Michael Barwick led a lively presentation on Personal Branding. Michale noted that he was channeling Carloyn Watt, and using her slides. Carolyn asked Michael to present on her behalf and he did an outstanding job with tremendous energy.
All major corporations (such as Dell, IBM, Ford, and Apple) use branding to identify and distinguish themselves in the marketplace. Brands and logos can evoke a wide variety of emotions and reactions. But what exactly is a brand? Essentially, a brand is a set of promises that reflect your values. It's about hearing your customers describe you in the way you want to be remembered, and is therefore much more than simply a logo or slogan.
To develop your own brand, you have to ask yourself some tough questions. How do you want to be known? Are you reliable? Organized? Thoughtful? Honest? What are you core values? What do people say about you? What are the behaviours related to your brand? For example, if you call yourself reliable, a behaviour for this would be that you always deliver your documentation on time.
There are many aspects to a brand. Your organization drivers include your mission statement, representing your values and telling your story. Your brand drivers are your brand principle, personality, and associations with others. Your brand conveyors are the ways you communicate or position your brand: these include your resume, business card, and elevator pitch.
There are many tools for promoting yourself and your brand: your resume, articles, speeches, and volunteer work. Note that professionals are constantly developing, evolving and refining their brand; Madonna being an excellent example.
Remember that you control your brand. It's all about what you want others to think about you, and the promises you make. A brand is like an iceberg - it must be built from ground up.
Ultimately, a brand is about relationships and the hopes and dreams of your customers. It's not simply a set of problems to be managed. You must take great care not to damage your brand, because it is not just a separate part of you - it is you, a co-created reality, and it must be honest and authentic.
Job Hunting Secrets That Might Surprise You
After lunch, Jack Molisani gave a dynamic presentation on Job Hunting Secrets That Might Surprise You.
A resume is a vehicle that shows whether an applicant matches what the reader is looking for. Therefore, the reader must clearly be able to see that there is a match between the applicant and the job - that is the resume's one and only purpose. The scary truth is that most people only scan resumes; they usually don't read them in full. Also, people are never hired because of their resume; they are only rejected. The longer the resume, the greater chance of rejection, so be as brief as you can. The reader often has a short attention span; this is another reason to have a short resume, ideally two pages.
Managers often read only the first part of the resume: the summary. You must therefore have a detailed summary section with matching relevant information. Recruiters assume that you're not qualified for the job, so you must prove you are. The first page must show that you have what the reader is looking for. Companies want you to be doing what they want now, so your summary must show this.
Feel free to add to your job title if it more clearly indicates your duties, for example: Technical Writer/Courseware Developer. But remember that what you do is more important than your job title. Your stated accomplishments must therefore match what the company is looking for. Finally, you must have someone else review your resume - errors and improvements will always be found.
A cover letter has the same purpose as the resume: it shows how the job requirements match your experience, but in a brief list format. Include the cover page with the resume as one document; don't separate them into two. The first sentence of the cover letter must match the job.
To find out areas that may be hiring technical communicators, look at the industries that are hiring now or will be hiring in the future. These include health care and "green" jobs.
To sum up:
Finally, Pamela Paterson gave the final presentation on What Makes an Excellent Résumé? She discussed interviewing strategies, explored ways to set your resume apart and ensure that it will float to the top of all human resources filters both online and offline, starting us off with an important note for the day, "Always use your own judgment, take what is relevant to you, and leave the rest."
As a recognized senior member of the STC Toronto community, Pamela has helped many tech writers with career coaching and resume reviewing, and has gleaned a lot of experience in the craft of resume writing. Her workshop reminded us all that our resumes are like any other document we write in that it must focus on a specific target audience. One resume does not fit all; it must be modified for each job opportunity.
Pamela took us through examples of targeted writing and had us working in groups to review each other's resumes. At the end of the day, Pamela left us with the following nugget of wisdom, "Using the most appropriate and strategic words in your resume - for your goals and audience - is your best change at getting an interview. If you market to everybody, you are marketing to nobody. You need focus.
Anna closed out the day with a thank you to everyone in attendance.
Self Directed Development
After chapter President Anna Parker Richards welcomed everyone, Milan Davidovic began the first presentation on Self Directed Development. This is the process by which we make ourselves into technical communicators, and then later "grow" that role.
Exploring the definitions of develop and directed, we see how self-directed learning is really about self-development and therefore requires knowledge of self. Development actions include asking questions when learning a new tool or subject. Note that the learning must be driven by you, not the other person. With a provocative quote from Stalin, “The writer is the engineer of the soul”, Milan explored the idea of manipulation and how writers can "manipulate" users for good, not just evil.
To grow in your profession, you need to question assumptions and established ideas. To keep your current job, you must meet expectations from customers, managers, and co-workers. However, these groups also have their own expectations that may relate to yours. The challenge is that people are not always honest about describing their expectations, so you need to confirm their answers, and find out how meeting your expectations serves these other people . Ask the classic "who, what, where, when, and how" questions. Think about yourself and your peers. Understand that questions are objects in development, and that they often lead to even more questions. Finally, it's important to understand that development is not a one-person show - you need to collaborate with others on your own development. In turn, you can help them with their growth.
Personal Branding
After a coffee and snack break, Michael Barwick led a lively presentation on Personal Branding. Michale noted that he was channeling Carloyn Watt, and using her slides. Carolyn asked Michael to present on her behalf and he did an outstanding job with tremendous energy.
All major corporations (such as Dell, IBM, Ford, and Apple) use branding to identify and distinguish themselves in the marketplace. Brands and logos can evoke a wide variety of emotions and reactions. But what exactly is a brand? Essentially, a brand is a set of promises that reflect your values. It's about hearing your customers describe you in the way you want to be remembered, and is therefore much more than simply a logo or slogan.
To develop your own brand, you have to ask yourself some tough questions. How do you want to be known? Are you reliable? Organized? Thoughtful? Honest? What are you core values? What do people say about you? What are the behaviours related to your brand? For example, if you call yourself reliable, a behaviour for this would be that you always deliver your documentation on time.
There are many aspects to a brand. Your organization drivers include your mission statement, representing your values and telling your story. Your brand drivers are your brand principle, personality, and associations with others. Your brand conveyors are the ways you communicate or position your brand: these include your resume, business card, and elevator pitch.
There are many tools for promoting yourself and your brand: your resume, articles, speeches, and volunteer work. Note that professionals are constantly developing, evolving and refining their brand; Madonna being an excellent example.
Remember that you control your brand. It's all about what you want others to think about you, and the promises you make. A brand is like an iceberg - it must be built from ground up.
Ultimately, a brand is about relationships and the hopes and dreams of your customers. It's not simply a set of problems to be managed. You must take great care not to damage your brand, because it is not just a separate part of you - it is you, a co-created reality, and it must be honest and authentic.
Job Hunting Secrets That Might Surprise You
After lunch, Jack Molisani gave a dynamic presentation on Job Hunting Secrets That Might Surprise You.
A resume is a vehicle that shows whether an applicant matches what the reader is looking for. Therefore, the reader must clearly be able to see that there is a match between the applicant and the job - that is the resume's one and only purpose. The scary truth is that most people only scan resumes; they usually don't read them in full. Also, people are never hired because of their resume; they are only rejected. The longer the resume, the greater chance of rejection, so be as brief as you can. The reader often has a short attention span; this is another reason to have a short resume, ideally two pages.
Managers often read only the first part of the resume: the summary. You must therefore have a detailed summary section with matching relevant information. Recruiters assume that you're not qualified for the job, so you must prove you are. The first page must show that you have what the reader is looking for. Companies want you to be doing what they want now, so your summary must show this.
Feel free to add to your job title if it more clearly indicates your duties, for example: Technical Writer/Courseware Developer. But remember that what you do is more important than your job title. Your stated accomplishments must therefore match what the company is looking for. Finally, you must have someone else review your resume - errors and improvements will always be found.
A cover letter has the same purpose as the resume: it shows how the job requirements match your experience, but in a brief list format. Include the cover page with the resume as one document; don't separate them into two. The first sentence of the cover letter must match the job.
To find out areas that may be hiring technical communicators, look at the industries that are hiring now or will be hiring in the future. These include health care and "green" jobs.
To sum up:
- find out what the hirer is looking for and include that information
- make sure this information is clear and easy to find
- be brief
- don't give people ammunition to reject you
- make sure your accomplishments appear early on
- keep what works, discard what doesn't
Finally, Pamela Paterson gave the final presentation on What Makes an Excellent Résumé? She discussed interviewing strategies, explored ways to set your resume apart and ensure that it will float to the top of all human resources filters both online and offline, starting us off with an important note for the day, "Always use your own judgment, take what is relevant to you, and leave the rest."
As a recognized senior member of the STC Toronto community, Pamela has helped many tech writers with career coaching and resume reviewing, and has gleaned a lot of experience in the craft of resume writing. Her workshop reminded us all that our resumes are like any other document we write in that it must focus on a specific target audience. One resume does not fit all; it must be modified for each job opportunity.
Pamela took us through examples of targeted writing and had us working in groups to review each other's resumes. At the end of the day, Pamela left us with the following nugget of wisdom, "Using the most appropriate and strategic words in your resume - for your goals and audience - is your best change at getting an interview. If you market to everybody, you are marketing to nobody. You need focus.
Anna closed out the day with a thank you to everyone in attendance.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
FrameMaker Users Network - 24 Sept 2009
There was a time when a Google search for DITA had to specify at least a couple of the words from the acronym to avoid getting hits for a certain American contemporary burlesque artist who used to be hooked up with a certain American musician who derives his stage name from a film actress and a convicted murderer (also Americans).
Recently I did the search and the result for the Darwin Information Type Architecture comes in ahead of that other one, so searching from a work computer for information on DITA is a little safer than it used to be.
DITA – or more accurately, Adobe FrameMaker and DITA was the subject of the first half of the latest FrameMaker Users Network (FUN) meeting held on September 24 at Front Runner. This portion was presented by Tim Grantham, Front Runner’s DITA Program Manager and a long-time participant in the Toronto technical communication scene.
Per FM’s Wikipedia entry, Version 9 was released in January 2009 and, among other things, brought with it full support for DITA and a new user interface that’s aligned more closely to those of other Adobe applications such as Photoshop and Illustrator.
Tim introduced himself and took us through Front Runner’s DITA curriculum and some background of DITA and what’s happening with it currently. He then gave us a tour of FM 9, highlighting some changes from the previous version as well as talking in more detail about the enhanced support for DITA.
Tim was followed by Mark James from Adobe Canada, whose portion of the evening focused on the latest version of Adobe Acrobat 9.
While text and graphics are familiar features within a PDF document, Acrobat 9 now has the ability to display – and allow you to interact with – 3D models and Flash animations directly inside the PDF.
Mark also introduced us to Acrobat Portfolios the Packages feature in Acrobat 8, used for combining PDFs into a single document. Acrobat 9 gives you more ways to organize and present the PDF documents in a user-friendly way.
I checked in with a couple of other people at the FUN meeting (thanks Kimberley and Mary Ellen) and asked them for their impressions of the event. They thought the following points were particularly valuable:
They said the presentations would have been of particular interest to technical communication practitioners and managers who are:
Based on the evening’s content, they were interested in finding out more about:
Thank you to Tim, Mark, and the Front-Runner team for another FUN evening.
Recently I did the search and the result for the Darwin Information Type Architecture comes in ahead of that other one, so searching from a work computer for information on DITA is a little safer than it used to be.
DITA – or more accurately, Adobe FrameMaker and DITA was the subject of the first half of the latest FrameMaker Users Network (FUN) meeting held on September 24 at Front Runner. This portion was presented by Tim Grantham, Front Runner’s DITA Program Manager and a long-time participant in the Toronto technical communication scene.
Per FM’s Wikipedia entry, Version 9 was released in January 2009 and, among other things, brought with it full support for DITA and a new user interface that’s aligned more closely to those of other Adobe applications such as Photoshop and Illustrator.
Tim introduced himself and took us through Front Runner’s DITA curriculum and some background of DITA and what’s happening with it currently. He then gave us a tour of FM 9, highlighting some changes from the previous version as well as talking in more detail about the enhanced support for DITA.
Tim was followed by Mark James from Adobe Canada, whose portion of the evening focused on the latest version of Adobe Acrobat 9.
While text and graphics are familiar features within a PDF document, Acrobat 9 now has the ability to display – and allow you to interact with – 3D models and Flash animations directly inside the PDF.
Mark also introduced us to Acrobat Portfolios the Packages feature in Acrobat 8, used for combining PDFs into a single document. Acrobat 9 gives you more ways to organize and present the PDF documents in a user-friendly way.
I checked in with a couple of other people at the FUN meeting (thanks Kimberley and Mary Ellen) and asked them for their impressions of the event. They thought the following points were particularly valuable:
- Upcoming releases for DITA 1.2 and 1.3.
- The inclusion of more topic types in the upcoming releases
- Caveats and workarounds re: getting PDF output from FM 9 and DITA.
- How you can incorporate 3-D models within PDF documents.
- The Portfolio feature, which looks particularly useful for RFPs and presenting information to senior management.
- The ability to incorporate Adobe Flash material in PDFs.
They said the presentations would have been of particular interest to technical communication practitioners and managers who are:
- familiar with DITA and/or FrameMaker, especially those considering the upgrade to Version 9.
- looking for new ways to use Adobe Acrobat to present technical information in structured, accessible, and interactive ways.
Based on the evening’s content, they were interested in finding out more about:
- Front Runner’s DITA training.
- cross-platform capabilities with the Flash and Acrobat Portfolio options, particularly how to incorporate these “wow” features to “wow” audiences.
Thank you to Tim, Mark, and the Front-Runner team for another FUN evening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)