Steven Jong, Candidate for STC Secretary

Thanks for your consideration! I'd like to tell you a little about my background, describe the secretary's role and why I'm a good fit for it, and list what I see as the Society's issues and my ideas to help.

My BackgroundIn 30 years as a technical communicator, I've done a little bit of everything, including editing, illustrating, and training, but mainly writing and managing. Currently I work as a documentation manager.

Outside of work I've written professional papers, magazine and newspaper articles, fiction, poetry, and a trade paperback. I've designed and delivered courses, seminars, and workshops, in the US and Europe, on technical and professional subjects. I've been a law-school instructor, a freelance proofreader for the Dummies Press, and a compositor for an academic book. Finally, I've led three other non-profit organizations (including a stint as secretary).

I'm an active member of the Boston chapter. For nearly 20 years I've served the chapter competitions as a judge, lead judge, best of show judge, and judge trainer. In 2001 I was elected to Boston's administrative council. Then in 2002 I was elected second vice president, and served in automatic succession as first vice president, president, and immediate past president. During that time Boston won three chapter Awards of Distinction. I was given Boston's Landers/Carbrey Spirit of Volunteerism award in 2007. I also belong to the Northern New England chapter, the Management SIG, and the Information Design SIG.

At the Society level, I am in the final year of my term on the Board of Directors. I am the chair of the Certification Task Force. I've participated in the International Technical Publications Competitions as a judge, lead judge, and best-of-show judge. And I've presented at eight annual conferences.

The Secretary's Role

Unlike other Board positions, the Secretary must be highly organized and detail oriented. The Secretary assembles and distributes the agenda and materials before meetings, and of course takes minutes. But a good secretary also keeps the group on agenda, manages time, and reminds people of previous actions and decisions.

Additionally, the Secretary is a voting board member, and as such must have a strategic focus. Not everyone can think strategically. You can't micromanage; you have to set goals and directions for the good of the Society a whole, and leave implementation to the staff or volunteers.

Society Issues

I've seen enormous changes in the field. Today we may be called upon to create documents, Web content, video, or podcasts. We do so much more than writing! Yet the core skills of technical communication have not changed at all: we still learn a technical subject, determine our target audience's needs, and communicate just what they need to know as clearly and concisely as possible.

Today, STC's biggest issue is existential: will we be around next year? We've taken huge steps, and I think the answer is yes, but we're not out of the woods yet. We need to rebuild our membership base, and to do that we need to tap into new demographics and new areas of practice.

I think there's a communication gap between the Society, chapters, and members that needs to be addressed. Our relationships need repair.

Finally, we need for STC to set the standards in the field for everyone — practitioners, clients, and consumers alike.

I have a three-prong platform:

• Speed: I want to collect and post information faster, both before Board meetings for directors and afterwards for members.

• Transparency: I want to share as much information with members as we can within the legal constraints on an association.
  

• Communication: I've seen first-hand how messages can be both miscommunicated and misinterpreted. I want to ensure that we send out a steady, clear, and consistent message on multiple channels, including our Web site, our blog, and appropriate social media. Also, I think community secretaries need the same kind of support that community presidents and treasurers get now, and I'll work to establish that channel.

Summary

I have a great deal of relevant experience, not just at the chapter and Society level but also in other non-profits. I've worked with good secretaries and bad, and I know what's important in the role. I am a process- and detail-oriented person, which are critical traits in a secretary. And I've been able to observe the excellent example set by Char James-Tanny, so I already know what to do.

For more information, go to www.StevenJong.net. When you vote in March, please cast your vote for me. Thanks in advance!

Free STC Membership Offer from Madcap

The message below is on behalf of MadCap Software, an STC Corporate Value Program member, who is offering this special promotion to STC members and nonmembers.

MadCap Software and the Society for Technical Communication (STC) team up to pay for a full year of your STC membership dues. Whether you are a new member or renewing your STC membership, act now and save!

Purchase Flare and/or MadPak with any maintenance plan and MadCap will pay
for a full year of your STC membership dues and fees.

This offer is for a limited time only.

Click here to email us for more info.

Renewing Your Membership

'Tis the season to renew your STC membership. This message addresses the increase in membership dues, what's in it for you, and provides a report on what your Community Council has been working on in 2009, and what to look forward to in 2010.

What's in it for me?

Over the past few months, I have been privy to many discussions regarding, "what's in it for me if I renew my STC membership?" And—typical for our field—the answer is, "it depends on who you're talking to." For some, the publications, job bank, and resources on the www.stc.org and www.stctoronto.org sites represent the value. For others, the value is intangible and provides a sense of community, professional identity, and opportunity for learning and discourse. Personally, I enjoy the camaraderie of fellow technical communicators because we are a unique bunch. Also, the STC Toronto network has been the source of my employment for over 12 years and has kept me up-to-speed on current industry trends, technologies, methodologies, and innovations. Here is a summary of benefits we've posted on our website: http://www2.stctoronto.org/get-involved/join-stc/benefits.

Community membership

For 2010, there will be no pass through funding for any chapters, and it will be revisited in 2011. This means that when you renew, if you choose to pay the $25 to be affiliated with the STC Toronto chapter, chapters will not see that $25, but your name will land on the official chapter mailing list. We may see pass through funding again in the future, but that depends on the financial outcome for STC in 2010. 2009 has been a tough year and STC international is dealing with the repercussions as best as they can.

From an STC Toronto chapter perspective, our pricing model for professional development events has three tiers: Student, STC Member/Affiliates, and Non-Member. As long as you have your membership number, we will charge you the membership fee. The price difference between Member and Non-Member is double.

Increase in membership dues

STC has announced its dues structure for 2010, and for many of us it amounts to a significant increase. STC offers some points worth considering at http://www.stc.org/membership/. They have added new membership benefits recently, so you may want to check them out.

To help fit STC into your budget, STC has provided a basic membership that includes online publications but no affiliation with a chapter or SIG. Hard copy publications represent a large expense for STC, so you have to pay a lot extra to receive them. STC provides a plan that enables you to pay for your membership in four monthly installments.

STC has also set money aside from one of their scholarship funds to help a limited but substantial number of underemployed members renew. They have not yet posted the details of these "recovery packages" on www.stc.org, so keep your eyes open for that.

If you don't rejoin, you'll have to pay extra to attend professional development events, but you are still part of our community. You don't have to be a member to receive announcements. A good network is especially important during hard times, so please stay connected by letting us know that you'd like to stay on our email distribution list and do keep coming to our professional development and social networking events.

How is STC Toronto doing financially?

Since Bernard Aschwanden, Immediate Past President, introduced the 5 Events/5 Socials model and initiated partnerships with local vendors, our operating budget has been breaking even. These numbers heavily depend on professional development event attendance. If we make money on an event, we turn around and apply it as a subsidy to the next event.

We have approximately $5000 which we keep as a reserve for down payments on venues for bigger events and to be prepared for miscellaneous and unplanned costs.

Report on 2009

In September, we hosted a successful Career Day at Seneca College at York with over 50 attendees, free to members and students, sponsored by Seneca College and Mimic Print and Media Services. Our social event in October took place downtown at The Pilot in Hazelton Lanes. In November we hosted our Tech Trends event at Front-Runner's conference room at Yonge and St. Clair, which focused on translation strategies, and was sponsored by Able Translations. This month, we have opted not to have a social event since we will host one in January.

We also continue to work diligently towards keeping our website current, using modern technologies and social networking strategies for communications above and beyond mass emails and our blog.

2009 brought significant focus to the administration of STC Toronto as a whole, as mandated by STC international. We are in the process of becoming an incorporated non-profit organization and aligning our bylaws with STC international, ensuring they follow Ontario laws as well. We have been working closely with the STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter, who were able to secure pro-bono legal advice. A very warm thank-you to Fei Min Lorente and her council for all their support in this process.

Professional development events in 2010

Looking ahead to 2010, our first professional development event is Management Day, scheduled for Friday, February 26th. We have three fantastic speakers booked to provide us a "fly-on-the-wall" perspective on how companies are achieving success with User Centred Development, Agile Process, and Content Reuse. Stay tuned for more details, we are ironing them out right now.

For our final professional development event, Education Day, we are looking into the logistical possibilities of making it a joint venture with our colleagues at the STC Southwestern Ontario chapter. As you have seen in a recent email, we are looking to you to determine the content and location for the event; your feedback will determine the viability of a joint venture. This event is tentatively slated for April 19 to April 20.

Don't forget about the STC Toronto/Soutwestern Ontario Regional Technical Communication Competition. Judging for that starts in January! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our Competition Manager.

Nurturing the network

STC Toronto is a community that overlaps with many others that all land under the umbrella of technical communications. It is our goal to nurture our existing network and to expand our network to connect with other organizations. This is why we offer membership rates to affiliated organizations. It is with this frame of mind that we host our socials. Our next social is scheduled for January 19th. It offers an excuse and a location to get together to enjoy the company of fellow technical communicators. It is also an opportunity for newcomers to the field—who are not necessarily members—to ask questions of more seasoned members and for folks who are looking for employment to let it be known.

I'd like to conclude this note with a warm thank-you to our Community Council for all their volunteer efforts this year. I would also like to share that our membership count is 358. As always, if you are interested in joining the Community Council or wish to volunteer, or have suggestions or constructive criticism, please do not hesitate to contact anyone on the Community Council. You have an open invitation to attend any of our meetings.

Best wishes to all of you during the holiday season.

Anna Parker-Richards
STC Toronto Presiden

STC’s Education Evening - University of Waterloo

Learn how to reuse content and get free software to boot!

It’s true: you’re tired of writing the same content, over and over again, simply because you can’t locate the version you need. It’s painful to discover that you just spent two hours writing a product description that someone else wrote last week. Relief is available, and it’s called reuse.

Join us at the STC’s Education Evening at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, at the University of Waterloo, where you will learn how you can reuse your content and free up time for more rewarding activities. You’ll also receive a free trial copy of SmartDocs, an MS Word add-in that integrates the power of content reuse in the Word environment.

Space is limited, so register now for an Education Evening that will change the way you work.

For more info and to register, visit the Southwestern Ontario STC website.

Tuesday, December 1, 6:30-9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00)
Arts Lecture Hall, University of Waterloo

STC/Seneca Breakfast Social

This month's STC/Seneca Breakfast Social will be meeting at the Prairie Ink Restaurant & Bakery. The event is open to all whether you are a STC member or not. The restaurant is located within The Shops at Don Mills plaza, and on the second floor of McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Please RSVP by Thursday, November 26th, 2009 to stctoronto.membership@gmail.com

Details:

• 10am – 12pm on Saturday, November 28th, 2009
• Prairie Ink Restaurant & Bakery
• Website
• Menu
• Directions
• Parking: free outdoor plaza parking
• Public Transit: The Shops at Don Mills is located at the corner of Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East. It is accessible via the following bus routes: 25 Don Mills; 54 Lawrence East; 162 Lawrence. Visit ttc.ca for route maps and schedules.

Reservations have been made under STC. If you have any questions please let me know.

Noor Hussain
STC Toronto Membership
stctoronto.membership@gmail.com

Support the Front Runner CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish

For the fifth year in a row, Front Runner Training is proud to support the CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish!

To help support our efforts, we are collecting new, unwrapped toys for boys and girls until December 19th!

Help give a kid a Christmas! Drop off toys at our office, 21 St. Clair Ave. E, Suite 504, or at any one of our upcoming events!

Thanks for your support!

Veronica Kütt, President
Front Runner Training

FrameMaker User Network (FUN) Meetings

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.

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:

• 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

Employers can also benefit from participating by applying for the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit (up to $3,000.00).

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

What do these students learn?

• 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)

Who has hired Seneca's co-op students?

• 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

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.

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:

• 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

What Makes an Excellent Résumé?
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.

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:

• 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.

Website problem

We are aware that some of members are reporting seeing a security warning when trying to access our website. The problem does not seem to be occurring with Internet Explorer.

We are working to fix this problem, but rest assured that our website is safe and contains no malicious code. You can disregarding this warning and proceed to our website.

We will update you when this problem has been resolved.

Thank you for your patience!

STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter Event

Hobgoblins, Salad Forks, and Hard and Fast Rules: An English Usage Guide for Writers and Editors

Presented by Alan Yoshioka, PhD (University of Waterloo alumnus, Chair of the Toronto Branch of the Editors' Association of Canada)

When is it okay to boldly split an infinitive? To use a sentence fragment? Even if you were lucky enough to be taught much grammar in school, you might not know which rules are still considered current and which have gone the way of the rotary phone. Sometimes there are several correct ways to make a point, and the choice between them is just a matter of emphasis, while at other times the main concern is to maintain internal consistency within a document. Then there are usages that are unsuitable for a given context and audience.

Learn to distinguish matters of editorial taste from rules that should really be followed all the time. Also get tips for dealing tactfully with team members when there’s a usage point on which they’re dead certain, and dead wrong. Come with questions about the rules you’re anxious about—or about which you’re anxious.

Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Time: Presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. / Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for networking

Where: Room DC1304 at the Davis Centre, University of Waterloo

Cost: Free

View details.

STC/Seneca Breakfast Social - Sat., Sept 26

This month's STC/Seneca Breakfast Social will be at the Muddy Duck Restaurant in Mississauga. The event is open to both STC members and non-members.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 to stctoronto.membership@gmail.com

Details:

Location: Muddy Duck Restaurant - 2200 Dundas Street East, Mississauga (near the Kipling
Subway TTC) - Tel: 905.275.9430

Date and Time: 10am - 12pm on Saturday, September 26th, 2009

View location on Google Maps.
View the restaurant buffet menu.

Career Day and Resume Workshop

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 8:00am - 4:30pm

STC Toronto hosts this event to provide opportunities for professional development, create a sense of community, promote technical communication and technical communicators, and communicate professional opportunities to its members. (Download the flyer with details from our Community Docs page.)

• Registration and Welcome 8am – 9am

• Self Directed Development 9am – 10 Start Career Day with questions about how we make ourselves into technical communicators (or information developers, content strategists, and so on.) To what extent do we make it happen ourselves? To what extent does it just happen? And to what extent do others make it happen? And if we are in charge of our own development, what can we do about it?

• Personal Branding 10:15am – 11:30 It’s obvious that we live in a world inundated by corporate and product branding. But what is personal branding? What does it mean? Do you know what it can do for you? Have you invested time to define your own brand? Personal branding is a way of communicating your core values to the world and serves as a guide to your professional behaviour.

• Job Hunting Secrets That Might Surprise You 1pm – 2 For years I resisted speaking about resumes, thinking everything that could be said has already been covered. After seeing candidate after candidate rejected based on what they had—or didn’t have—in a resume, I realized it’s time to step up and share what I have observed over the years: Job hunting secrets that might surprise you.

• WORKSHOP: What Makes an Excellent Résumé 2:15pm – 4:30 What puts your resume to the top of search engines or in front of HR managers? What sets you apart? This seemingly simple document is really a marketing tool that capitalizes on usability, technology, and psychology to be truly effective. Participate in an interactive workshop to build a winning résumé to identify you as the best of the best. Bring along and update your current resume or create one during this interactive session.

For more information or to register, please visit our website.

FrontRunner FrameMaker User Network

Join the next F.U.N. (FrameMaker User Network) meeting at FrontRunner.

Date: Thursday, September 24th, 2009, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Place: Front Runner Training Conference Room, 21 St. Clair Ave E.

Topics:
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.

This is an excellent opportunity to network with other FrameMaker users in your area. There's also a chance to win door prizes, but you must be there to win!

Refreshments will be served.

See the website for details or to register.

STC/Seneca Breakfast Social - Free Magazine Giveway!

We'll be meeting at Milestones this month. The event is open to all whether or not you are a STC member or a Seneca Student or Alumni.

Free Giveway! Chapter Vice President Andrew Brooke will be donating back issues of Intercom, the STC monthly magazine, to those in attendance!

Please RSVP by Wednesday August 26th, 2009 to noorhussain1@gmail.com.

• Date: Saturday August 29th, 2009 - 10am – 12pm
  
  
• Location: Milestones - 5095 Yonge St Toronto, ON (Yonge between Finch/Sheppard, Toronto - North York TTC Subway) - Unit A13 - Tel: 416.225.2552
  
  
• Brunch Menu

Upcoming Front Runner Training courses

For over 12 years, Front Runner Training has provided technical writers and documentation specialists the skills to work efficiently - saving both the writers and their companies time and money. Our instructors are from various fields such as; desktop publishing, XML/DITA development, graphic design, where they work and teach the software on a daily basis.

Last Chance to Register Deal
Act now and you can receive up to a 25% discount on selected courses in August and September (some restrictions apply)...

Here are courses scheduled at Front Runner Training in Toronto, Canada.

Microsoft Project Introductory
Monday, August 31st, 2009
$350 CDN per person

Adobe Acrobat LiveCycle Designer
Tuesday September 15th
$390 CDN per person

Adobe Structured FrameMaker version 9: EDD Development
Wednesday September 30th to Friday October 2nd $1,690 CDN per person

Note: For our American and European friends, please note that the above prices are in Canadian dollars, therefore you will enjoy an additional cost savings due to the current exchange rate. (Actual $USD price will be determined at time of invoice.)

Please register for any of our courses using our online registration form.

Please call if you have any questions and are ready to register.

We look forward to helping with your training needs.

Sincerely,

Veronica Kütt
President
Front Runner Training, a Div. of Front Runner Publishing Solutions Inc.
416-515-0155
Call Toll free: 1-877-999-0155
veronica@front-runner.com

CSS Webinars

MadCap Software is running free tools-neutral webinars.

They are doing a five part series on CSS Cascading Style Sheets. Part 3 us next! Here is the info:

Title: Cascading Style Sheets (Part 3): Images
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PDT
Presenter: Mike Hamilton, VP MadCap Software
Signup link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/634573130

AGM - A Great Meeting!

Our AGM (Annual General Meeting) was a resounding success!

Over 60 people were in attendance at the Mandarin restaurant in the Yonge and Eglinton area on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Vice President Anna Parker Richards (who is now the President) led the event. Everyone enjoyed a sumptuous "all-you-can-eat" buffet. Community President Bernard Aschwanden gave an informative summary of last year's events, and spoke about the challenges the STC faces and how we, as a community, are working hard to address them. Blog Editor Andrew Brooke (who is now the VP) gave a visual tour of the newly redesigned website. This was followed by the treasurer's report, leadership nominations, elections and the introduction of the new community council.

Competition and chapter leadership awards were presented to various individuals and a special award was presented to Ralph Robinson by Ann Rockley for his many years of service. The event closed with a review of our exciting plans for the upcoming year.

We thank everyone who attended and look forward to seeing you all at the next STC event!

Looking for others who are also looking for technical communication work

Hi -- those of you who know me probably know about this by now. And those of you who knew me before I got that job may remember that one of the things I did as part of my first job search was to put together a group of fellow seekers to exchange information and ideas, provide mutual support, and share in a common cause.

Interested in putting together a new group with me? Drop me a line at milan.stc.toronto@gmail.com and let's talk.

By the way, my area of operations is pretty central: if I can get to it from Yonge & Bloor by TTC within an hour, it'll work for me.

Looking forward to hearing from someone...

2009 STC Summit in Atlanta – My Top 10 List

I was fortunate this year to attend the STC Summit in Atlanta this year. Attendance this year was much lower than last year, due to the economy, but somehow the experience seemed much more intense than last year's. Here were some of the highlights for me, in no particular order:

• The Opening Keynote Speaker, David Pogue. He’s perhaps the most famous tech writer, a reviewer of gadgets for the New York Times. His talk was hilarious, inspiring, and useful all at the same time. His basic message was that simplicity sells. This is an important lesson for us writers, who often get caught up in the jargon that surrounds us. Here’s his list of jargon that we should avoid in our documentation: content, dialog, enable, user, support (verb), and URL. You can see a similar presentation to the keynote at: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_pogue_says_simplicity_sells.html.

• The Usability and User Experience SIG lunch. I was fortunate to sit with a bunch of interesting people, including Whitney Quesenberry. She was full of good ideas of how to do usability testing when you don’t have access to your audience. Later in the day she gave a presentation about choosing the right usability techniques filled with lots of practical information. Her site is http://www.wqusability.com.

• A presentation about game-based learning. This was presented by Mark Oehlert, who develops game-based learning for the American Department of Defense. I’ll admit it: I picked this session for non-professional reasons -- my 7 ½-year-old son aspires to being a game developer one day, and he is already developing his own games. But the session was fascinating. And we learn best when we don’t realize we’re learning. Here’s a good learning game that illustrates this: http://itmanager3.intel.com/en-us/default.aspx.

• A presentation about comics. Continuing with the youthful theme, I went to an interesting presentation by Alan Porter, VP of Quadralay (publisher of WebWorks) about what tech docs can learn from comics. It turns out that in addition to his day job, Alan is an accomplished comic writer. WebWorks came out with its own comic book at the conference, and Google’s Chrome comic is also well known. I co-authored a comic about technology, which you can see at http://www.sericontech.com/solution/read-the-autossl-comic.

• A fun workshop. By far the most fun education session I went to was one where I wasn’t allowed to talk. (My husband will be very surprised.) This was called Building Cardboard Castles, and it was organized by leaders of the North East Ohio STC chapter. We divided into teams and built cardboard castles (supplies provided) without talking with our teammates. It was lots of fun, and taught us that there are other ways to communicate. In my opinion, we made more progress this way than if we’d actually been discussing everything first. Did I mention I was on the winning team? The picture at the top of this post has our winning entry, me (in the middle), and some team members.

• Facebook time. The Summit was full of education sessions about Web 2.0 and related topics. I got a bit overloaded. I enjoyed a refreshing presentation by 2 student members about the benefits and pitfalls of social networking sites. It was educational and full of practical tips for using these sites to your personal and professional advantage. I’ll admit I have some interest in this topic. A recent venture is http://www.testfacebook.com.

• A presentation about Amazon.com. One of the best sessions I went to was “Revealing Design Treasures from the Amazon,” an amazing presentation by Jared Spool, a leading UI designer. He talked about why Amazon is so successful, how they have managed to create a community, and how they test new ideas. If you ever feel that your creative writing talents are slowly draining out of you as you document boring technical stuff, then take a break, go to http://www.amazon.com, search for “Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz.”, and read some of the 1,076 reviews. This will inspire you and wake you up. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

• Useful info about topic-based authoring. I went to a session by our own Rob Hanna full of practical tips for getting started with topic-based authoring. Rob’s presentation was excellent and full of useful information.

• Knowing that I'm not alone. Meeting and talking to other writers all day long was great! Working as the lone writer on a project, where documentation is forgotten by my colleagues or at best an afterthought – it’s so good to be able to connect with so many other people who face the same issues. It’s like going to one of our chapter socials but on steroids.

• New ideas. Getting energized by hearing new ideas about how other people are organizing information, and solving the problems that we all encounter everyday.

And though I'm through my top 10, on a more personal note... when I was in Atlanta I had some free time to connect with an old friend and colleague from my days at Mercury. This was great.

My only regret was that I was so busy with the conference was that I didn't have a chance to see Atlanta. Next time.

Our new website!

We have completely redesigned our website, currently in beta at:
http://www2.stctoronto.org

We hope you like our new look and welcome all feedback!

Please send your comments using this form.

(Our current website will stay up for a while.)

Our New Website!

We completely redesigned our website and hope you enjoy our new design!

Please see the new site at here.

We've developed the site using Google Sites and some of the bells and whistles that go with it. One of the reasons we moved to this tool is for the collaborative authoring capabilities. This way mutiple members of the community council can update their own content rather than depending on the webmaster.

One of our goals is to keep our website current from a content, technology, and social networking perspective. If you have any ideas for services we can provide our members or nifty web-based tools that would benefit our membership, please take initiative and volunteer your services.

We want your feedback and ideas. Please email our chapter president.

Staying Employed--What I've Learnt

Intro
Times are tough for all. Especially for Lone Technical Writers in small-to-medium sized companies. We are most vulnerable in these times and also when the management is deciding on their next budget. I am the only technical writer at my current company and I work within the Product Development team. I’ve been here as a sub-contractor for almost ten months now.

The Story
At the beginning of March my client informed through my agent that they’ll not be able to extend my contract beyond March 31 due to budget shortages. They were kind enough to give me a month’s notice and also there were pending items to be completed for which a month’s time seemed right.

But something happened last week in regards to my contract that made me decide to write this article to tell other technical writers that there are ways to find to keep yourself employed, either contract or full-time. During the last ten months as always I’ve used all my skills both as a writer and a self-marketer to do a good job and to keep myself in the light of all groups. I did this by always talking to people from all groups both formally in meetings and informally in hallways.

By now, most of them knew me by face and name, and that I was the technical writer in the Product group. I’ve helped other groups even in areas that were unrelated to writing, Once, I had called upon my previous experience as a database programmer to help a QA person. I wrote a code snippet to help her with tallying pass/fail test cases in an Excel spreadsheet.

The Surprise
So, coming back to what happened last week, it was business as usual and I was at the printer picking up a document I had just printed and there was the Implementations and QA group’s manager standing beside me and to my surprise he asked if I was available to work for a month for their group. Since, I hadn’t really found anything concrete elsewhere I said “yes”. He smilingly said that he had already spoken to my agent and was initiating an extension.

It was a pleasant surprise that all that work during the last ten months did get noticed and they didn’t want to lose a resource unless they really had to.

Story Continued …
Meanwhile, my current manager wanted me to create a New Employee Orientation presentation which we had been talking about for a while. I had suggested some reading material and using that as a starting point I began creating the presentation.

During this process I had to talk to managers of different teams to identify:

• The various processes/procedures specific to their team.
• Any applicable training their team had to go through.
• If they had any reading material that was provided to the new employee within their team.

What this process revealed was that each team had certain amount of content or processes that were either not documented anywhere or not current. I conveyed this information to my current manager who in turn told me that she will do her best to keep me longer there and see if the other groups want use my skills to get their documentation up-to-date.

Conclusion
Well, I know what you are thinking “what has this got to do with my situation, right?” But, as a technical writer I am sure you understand many of the points I mentioned above. My concluding points to my fellow technical writers are:

• Don’t throw away your skills you earned before you were a technical writer. They can earn you bonus points.
• Always make yourself visible to the whole company or as many teams as possible.
• Have lots of informal conversations and ask curious questions regarding their documentation and just hint that you can help them out with these documents, procedures, etc.
• Try to find out through formal or informal means if any of the other teams need help with their documents.
• And last, hang in there.

Southwestern Ontario Chapter's Annual Wine & Cheese Party

Who doesn't like a good party? There's lots of food and drink. You get to meet new people. You make connections.

The Southwestern Ontario Chapter's annual Wine and Cheese is no exception. In fact, there is all the usual fun of a party plus so much more.

When: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Where: University of Waterloo, Davis Centre, Room DC 1301.

Cost: Free, just like any good party

Activities
We will be presenting some awards to celebrate the success of many people; however, unlike the Oscars, there is no red carpet and everything is informal. The rest of the time will be spent socializing.

Reason to Attend
If you ever wondered about the Society for Technical Communication or even just the field of technical communication, then this event is something you don't want to miss. For those of you already in the field, you can meet new people and see old friends.

Survey and RSVP
To help us finalize our food and drinks for the evening, please complete a survey on our home page to let us know what you would like to drink.

Publish Post

Also, to give us a general idea about how many people are attending, please send Debbie your RSVP.

More Details
For more details, go to our website. If you have any questions, contact Debbie Kerr.

Technical Communication studies now back on at George Brown College

Way back when, after I got back from Japan and decided to take up studies in technical communication, I went to George Brown College and took classes to get their Certificate in Technical Communication. A few years after, the program seemed to have disappeared.

Now, however, it's back. At the end of November and in early December (yes, I've been slow getting this onto the blog) I exchanged a few email messages with Lynne Kurylo of GBC and Scott Bootes, the lead instructor in the program. My first conversation was with Lynne:

Milan Davidovic: I see at your site that you are offering a "Revised" Technical Communications Certificate. Can you tell us about the "Revised" part?

Lynne Kurylo: We are introducing a certificate program consisting of six new courses which focus on the principles of technical communications practice and address current specializations or market niches. The courses are short (21 to 36 hours) and designed so that students can build a portfolio as they progress through the program.

MD: So would it be fair to say, then, that the course has been revised to be shorter and more concentrated?

LK: You are correct, the courses are slightly shorter and more concentrated, most are 36 hours in length with a couple at 21 hours (versus the previous 42 hours). The other difference is that all 6 courses are compulsory, no electives. The courses are structurally aligned so they fit together and address the use of multiple media. There is an additional pre-requisite now, students must be familiar with the use of Microsoft Word.

MD: Judging from the courses listed at the site, the certificate program doesn't require students to take classes in specific tools, such asFrameMaker, InDesign, and so on. This is a departure from the past,but an interesting one. Can you tell us about it?

LK: The tool requirements are integrated into each course. Courses will take place in labs using the appropriate tools as needed.

MD: What would you say differentiates GBC's Technical Communications Certificate program from other similar offerings in the GTA?

LK: This is a part-time study program offered in a classroom setting. The core courses can be completed in six semesters. The courses offer a broad exposure to important topics including managing and consulting.

MD: When I looked, I saw that half the compulsory courses are "under development". Can you tell us when you expect these to be ready?

LK: We are rolling out the first three courses between January and June, 2009. The remaining three courses will be offered between September, 2009 and April, 2010. Details of the three remaining course dates will appear in the 2009-10 Continuing Education Calendar, available in early July.

MD: Of the three courses that are ready, can you tell us about who is teaching them?

LK: Scott Bootes, our lead instructor, will teach COMM 9093 Technical Writing and Analysis starting in January. He is an experienced teacher and a practicing technical communicator. We are in the process of recruiting additional instructors.

MD: Is there anything else you'd like us in the technical communication community about this program?

LK: We are confident that this new program presents an up-to-date introduction to the key principles and skills required for planning, developing and producing publications. It is intended for those at entry level and for those who want to develop existing skills and knowledge.

My second conversation was with Scott Bootes:

MD: How is this new program different from past offerings?

SB: The new program takes a generalist approach so that learners are exposed to technical writing in a variety of markets beyond just software. The core structure has four required courses that integrate concepts and practice in a clear progression from writer, to compositor (or designer), to editor, to manager. The "focus" courses are offered to help students acclimate to specialized roles. Business process and software writing are currently offered but more specialties may be offered depending on how the program goes.

MD: How does this program seek to differentiate itself from similar offerings by other institutions (Seneca, Humber, et al.)?

SB: The George Brown program is organized for learners who want part-time studies that provide the structure and interaction of in-class experience. Some blended and on-line activity will be used to complete the learning but the focus is on face-to-face communication. Humber's program is now run entirely on-line while Seneca is a full-time program. However, no one else offers "focus" courses to orientation students into specific markets.

MD: What do you see as the most important aspect of educating new technical communicators?

SB: Production ability is the "technical" skill that new communicators learn as they go along. While it can be picked up anywhere, the core courses of this program cover skill development in a comprehensive manner. At the same time, we offer them a chance to "live the experience" so that these skills can be placed in context. Covering both dimensions helps students learn what it is they want to get out of the profession and how to negotiate for what they want.

So, if you're in the market for technical communication classes, go give these ones a look. And if you're in any of these classes, leave a comment on this blog post and share your thoughts.