April Chapter Meeting Details

When? Friday, April 20, 2007 (Noon to 1:30pm) (Networking @ 11:30am)
Where? The Great Dane, 2980 Cahill Main in Fitchburg
Who? All STC 4 Lakes members (and potential new members that want to check out STC and a local chapter meeting.)

This meeting will be a joint meeting between our STC 4 Lakes chapter and the ARMA; the meeting will consist of a panel discussion on enterprise content management systems. For a lot more information about the chapter meeting, view this PDF file on our chapter site.

PLEASE RSVP by posting a comment to this blog entry -- we'd like to give an accurate count to The Great Dane NO LATER THAN NOON, TUESDAY, APRIL 17th. When you RSVP, please indicate the following:

• Your first name
• One meal choice: Fish, Pasta, or Vegetarian (additional meal information is located in the PDF file referenced above)

You can also RSVP by emailing the STC 4 Lakes board at board@stc4lakes.org.

Cisco Systems CEO Tells Partners to Embrace Web 2.0

You've all heard me babble about this before, but the big technology companies are fully embracing Web 2.0 concepts. Here's what John Chambers from Cisco had to say this week:


http://www.crn.com/networking/198800672
"Web 2.0 is here, and it's going to change the way we all do business, according to Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO John Chambers.

In several appearances at the Cisco Partner Summit this week in Las Vegas, Chambers hammered home the concept that Web 2.0 -- which he defines as the technologies that enable collaboration -- represents the next big opportunity for Cisco and its solution providers.

"I don't think there's ever been a better opportunity to be in this industry, a better time," Chambers said during a keynote address Thursday at the conference. "If you take away only one message from this conference, it's that we are committed to you. And if you take away a second message, it's that this is a transition to collaboration and Web 2.0 that gives us all an opportunity to achieve things that before we only got to dream about."

This seems to solidify Web 2.0 concepts as more than just a passing fad. The big IT players seem to be embracing the technology, which will have a big impact on how we write, edit, and display content.

From Writer to Communicator

Hi everyone,
If you haven't heard about STC's initiative to broaden the definition of the "Technical Writing" profession, I encourage you to check out this article.

http://www.stc-cdx.org/newsnotes/2007/02/a2

I certainly feel it's a necessary step, and more accurately defines the nature of the job.

Here's how STC would like the Government to define our career:

Develop and design instructional and informational tools needed to assure
safe, appropriate and effective use of science and technology, intellectual
property, and manufactured products and services. Combines multimedia
knowledge and strong communication skills with technical
expertise to educate across the entire spectrum of users’ abilities, technical
experience, and visual and auditory capabilities.

Technical Writers #13 on Money's "Best Jobs in America"

Certainly nice to see this:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/snapshots/13.html

Keith Hoffman

January Chapter Meeting Details

FREE Lunch and parking!!!

Epic Documentation 101; Join us to hear Maria Herro discuss the processes for producing administrator's guides for Epic's software, including creation of content, review processes, and publication. Future plans for improvement and moving into the global marketplace will also be included.

Maria Herro works on the Content Management Tools team at Epic Systems Corporation. She uses her experience as a technical writer to help developers create software for Epic's writers. Functional specifications, software design, project prioritization, information architecture, and content management best practices all fall under her purview, as does providing the Writing team with general content management and single sourcing education. Her future plans include proclaiming the gospel of content management to the rest of the company.

When? Thursday, January, 25 2007 (11:30am to 1:00pm)

Where? Monona Terrace (in the Hall of Fame room)

Who? All STC 4 Lakes members (and potential new members that want to check out STC and a local chapter meeting.)

PLEASE RSVP by posting a comment to this blog entry; we'd like to give a somewhat accurate count to the catering staff. All you need to do is post a comment stating that you can make it -- no name or other contact information is required (just leave an anonymous post). You can also RSVP by emailing the STC 4 Lakes board at board@stc4lakes.org.

STC Four Lakes Podcast Series - STC Executive Director Susan Burton

Four Lakes President Keith Hoffman interviews STC Executive Director Susan Burton
Listen by clicking the link above. No iPod required. Susan discusses the big things happening with STC, gives an overview of the annual conference in Minneapolis, and shares her view on the future of the technical communication profession.

Two new Job postings: 1 in Madison; 1 telecommute

Several new jobs have been posted to the STC 4 Lakes web site employment section. Codeworks Inc is looking for up to 3 technical writers for a client on the West Side of Madison. Also, Sylantro Systems out of the Bay area is looking for a technical writer - this is a telecommute position.

Thanks!

Chad Beery
STC 4 Lakes Board Member
IBM - Rational Software

Listen to Our First Edition of the STC 4 Lakes Podcast!

STC 4 Lakes Podcast Series
Podcast - Interview with Traci Kelly from UW 11/02/2006
My interview with Traci Kelly from the University of Wisconsin Technical Communication certificate program.

Listen in by clicking the link above. No iPod required. Traci is helping the studens organize their own technical communication organization, which will eventually be affiliated with STC, and is also looking for help. In the spring semester, she is teaching a class titled "User Manuals and Software Documentation." She has four things in mind:

1. Would any members be willing to contribute hardcopy examples of user manuals/software docs that I could use as examples in class?
2. Are there any small projects that members might be willing to share and let a team of students work on as a "real" case?
3. Could members donate any time to speak to my students about the processes that they follow to develop docs for manuals or software support?
4. Would any member be willing to speak to the TCOM folks about globalization, global Englishes, patent writing, or grant writing?

Keith Hoffman - President, STC Four Lakes