WHY Renew STC Connecticut Chapter 2010

I have posted before, my thoughts on renewal.

I renewed. My employer paid for a gold membership for me. With basic dues up to $215 and the absolute necessity of adding a chapter to that for $25 — really, what’s the use of the STC without being a chapter member? — the gold membership makes a lot of sense.

Here’s an idea of how you might broach this with your employer:

“Hi owner of the company,

As you know, I’m currently a member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Would our company reimburse me for my continued membership in this professional organization for $395? Basic dues are up this year, but the $395 is a full membership that includes access to seven Webinars plus one online course related to technical communication and writing.

I use this membership in several ways. I can network with other members about questions I have. For example, right now, we are kicking around the idea of translating our work. In addition to my own experience with translation, the STC membership gives me access, on an informal basis, to translators and technical writers who work in an environment where translation is part of the job. This will pay off by helping make our translation efforts as cost-effective and efficient as possible. Additionally, I am considering our upcoming redesign of the Website and our use of Web 2.0 for marketing (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Over the last year, I’ve been considering the idea of making our documentation XML. I know how I want to proceed but am holding off to see what becomes of our translation efforts and what needs will come about as a result of us getting more into software through our renewed Java development projects.

I also rely on this organization to ask for help on recommendations to do with communication in general (business, technical, marketing communication). Furthermore, I read continue to read their publications: Intercom and the Society’s Journal. I have copies if you are interested.

Finally, there is discounted training. The next New Horizons training looks to be using databases to create dynamic Websites using Adobe Dreamweaver. This course normally costs $395 but will cost STC members $50. (See the course here: http://www.newhorizons.com/LocalWeb/popup/ClassInfo.aspx?ClassID=300003413&ILT=300003413&OLA=500075375&OLL=&ML=300003413&GroupID=346&Mode=3&scheduleclassid=3292LGEE.) There will likely be one other course from New Horizons that gets a similar discount. Past training has included FrameMaker, XML, Microsoft Access, Adobe Flash, and Adobe Acrobat.

I think the membership is worthwhile. The national chapter is http://stc.org and the local chapter is http://stc-ct.org.”

What are your thoughts on renewal?

Dues for 2010 — Connecticut Membership

As many of you may know, the STC parent organization is struggling with debt for 2009. As a result, they have collected all the chapter reserve funds, so chapters have no rainy-day funds any more. Additionally, the STC now requires a precise budget, so they will only approve funds based on a proposed schedule of events AND the number of members a chapter has.

Furthermore, dues have increased. The new basic membership of $215 does not include membership in a chapter. To join a chapter, you need to opt in at an additional cost of $25. This $25 goes to the general STC fund that is used, in part, to fund all STC chapter programs.

As you know, our programs have included significant discounts on New Horizons training programs, top-notch sessions and guest speakers at meetings like our annual kickoff, and presentations by tool vendors, amongst other things.

We–volunteer Connecticut Chapter board members–understand how tight things are all around, but because approval of funding for chapter activities is going to be based on the number of members a chapter has, we need you to please renew your Connecticut Chapter membership this year and each year going forward.

Thank you in anticipation of your renewal of your Connecticut Chapter membership!

Connecticut Chapter Blog: Use It or Lose It – Thoughts?

Hey all,

I feel I’ve contributed 99% of everything here, but it’s not taking off.

So, I challenge you, use it or lose it. Use the blog or let’s pull it down.

If you have ideas for making the blog work for the Connecticut Chapter, please blog them here!

Thanks – Sean

What do you think of our Website’s title?

What do you think of our Website’s title?

Sound off ….

Fall Kickoff and Transition to XML

I missed the transition to XML meeting at Oracle on November 5. Would those who attended that event, or the earlier fall kickoff, please post their experiences?

Implementing XML — November 5th meeting

Checkout our Web page for details on our November 5 meeting about implementing XML for technical communication.

http://stc-ct.org

Is anyone in our chapter using XML-based documentation? If so, please post about it. If not, why not?

And Here We Are Again…

I was cleaning out a box of stuff that had been shoved in the back corner of a closet after I changed jobs, and ran across some old print issues of Imprints. One issue from 2003 caught my attention because of comment that Rahel Ann Baillie (the then-STC Director/Sponsor Region 7) made: 

Chapter meeting attendance has been down and the popularity of technical presentations has decreased, while the popularity of career cafes and career management days has increased. In any conversation between three technical communicators, at least one is unemployed, about to be unemployed, or thinking about a career change.  

The more things change, the more it feels like they stay the same.

In 2008, chapter meeting attendance is down again, and try as we might, we can’t seem to elicit comments and suggestions from chapter membership. We have more than 80 members in the chapter, and we see a small subset turning out for meetings, opening newsletters and event announcements, or trafficking this blog.

It’s possible some of these members enroll in the STC purely for SIGs that they rely on. Others may do so for society-level offerings like publications, job banks, and the like. Some on the listservs have commented that some likely are paying the membership dues simply for a bullet point on their resume and/or a business expense deduction for their self-employment taxes.

We don’t know what the case is in this chapter. I know some writers in the UTC companies have commented that the work they do is so specialized, structured, and governed by military standards that they can’t relate to the subjects of most STC meetings and Webinars — and aren’t sure they have any knowledge to share with the rest of the membership (I disagree). The few writers I’ve met from Pfizer say they’re not entirely sure if what they do is “technical writing” and that they spend their dollars on memberships to organizations that specialize in medical and scientific writing.

On an STC Forum discussion thread, Eddie McHam offered some perspective on his own continuing membership (and declining participation):

The trend is that my career morphed from writing manuals for military vehicles in WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS to developing Windows Help files in RoboHelp Office to building simple websites in HTML to (now) learning graphic design and advanced interactive multimedia/audio/video. As this evolution progressed, it seems that the relevance of STC activities in my area has somewhat proportionately diminished ~ or perhaps the other way around: maybe my job skills and titles have grown progressively irrelevant to STC activities. I’m not entirely sure which is more accurate. … to be perfectly honest, I no longer consider myself a technical writer because that accounts for probably less than 5% of my job. … I think I can count on one hand the number of local STC chapter meetings I’ve attended in the 2+ years I’ve been here. The local chapter’s leadership is doing a great job; I’m sure the topics they present are useful and beneficial to many tech writers and content developers. But those topics no longer relate to me the way they once did. Combine with my already tight schedule ~ work, church, and web-related meetings and activities ~ and you have the primary reasons for my admittedly drastically reduced STC involvement. It is no one’s fault, and I am at a loss as to ideas for addressing this.

I’m wondering how many of our chapter members feel their career evolution has had the same effect on their participation?

Intercom Is Seeking STC Member Suggestions

If you haven’t heard already, Intercom (the STC magazine) has formed an editorial advisory panel to help set the magazine’s direction and editorial calendar for the next year.  In addition to the panel members’ input, Intercom is seeking constructive, detailed feedback from STC members about what they’d like to see from the publication in the future.

Panel member Anne Gentle has posted about the panel, and published a first cut of a brainstorming list for issue themes, on her blog.

All STC members are being encouraged to read her post, reflect on the list of ideas generated thus far, and post any ideas or suggestions to that blog’s Comments section. Suggestions can also be posted in the Intercom section of STC Forums.

Sightings in the Wild

Have you seen your product in the field?

Have you found a pop reference to technical communicators other than Tina on Dilbert?

Well?

Spring Cleaning For Your Bookshelf

So you say you’ve got a bunch of writing- and communications-related books that you no longer need. You’d like for them to go to someone who could put them to use, but don’t want to deal with the work that goes into selling used books on Amazon.com Marketplace or Half.com.

Our counterparts at IABC Connecticut might have an alternative for you to consider. The Population Media Center (PMC) is sponsoring the first ever media and communication resource center in Ethiopia. The center is open to professional communicators in Ethiopia, serving the business community in Addis Ababa .

The PMC is accepting donations of communications resources – including books, manuals, CDs, and DVDs – for use by Ethiopian professionals who utilize the center’s services.  You can mail your donated books, CDs, and DVDs to:  

Population Media Center
145 Pine Haven Shores Road, Suite 2011
P. O. Box 547
Shelburne , Vermont 05482

The PMC will handle the rest.

Give your books and resources a second life by giving a new community of communicators a boost!