Will you be among the first to certify?

Establishing yourself as a leader in your profession and saving money are two good reasons to be among the first to embark on STC's new certification program, said STC President Dr. Hillary Hart at STC Austin's fall kick-off meeting last week. Dr. Hart also expressed appreciation for the large turnout, so thanks to all who made it a successful event.

The Certified Professional in Technical Communication credential (CPTC) requires applicants to have a few years of on-the-job experience and should not be confused with college and university certification programs which aim to train newcomers to the profession. According to Dr. Hart, all those who certify will demonstrate competency in the following areas:

• User, task & resource research
• Information product design
• Process management
• Information development
• Information production

Graduates of the program may be eligible to become part of the team that certifies future applicants, a role which earns both professional recognition and a stipend.

Since the program is new, STC is offering the certification process at a deeply discounted rate. All the details are listed on the Certification page of the STC site: http://www.stc.org/education/stc-certification/certification-main.

We would love to hear your comments. Do you think a professional certification process will help define and improve respect for the profession, as Dr. Hillary Hart suggested? Do you plan to apply for certification? Why or why not?

Win One for Austin: STC-Houston Seeks Entries for Competition

Do you have a document you'd like to show off? STC Houston invites Austin technical communicators to participate in their 2011 "Gearing Up for Value" competition. The chapter is currently accepting entries in four categories: training materials, promotional materials, informational materials, and user support materials. Deadline is October 17th. For more information, check out the STC Houston competition web page. Good luck!

Not Cool for School: Forgetting the Obvious

Lin Pernille Photography creative commons

My son left his science notebook in his locker.  Since he needed it for homework, I frantically searched the school's website to see if we had time to run back before the building closed. 

20 minutes after scanning webpages and a PDF of the school's handbook, I still could not find the Hours of Operation. 

I did find info on:

"excusing a student from reciting a portion of the Declaration of Independence,"

and

"requesting classroom assignments for multiple birth siblings." 

Maddening, and funny.

I'm curious...   What obvious things should be included in documentation that Tech Writers frequently miss?   Do you have any stories to share?

Stay Relevant with Up-To-Date Certifications: STC International President Hillary Hart Explains New Program, Sept 14th at Tech Ranch

Austin's very own Hillary Hart, President of STC International, will discuss the new STC professional certification program that was announced at the May 2011 Summit in Sacramento, CA. Click for Eventbrite registration.

STC announced the inauguration of a professional certification program. Technical Communicators (not only STC members) may apply for evaluation of their work products and processes in 6 areas of professional practice. This certification is portfolio-based rather than exam-based. The program is still in beta testing, so there is a special rate until the end of the year. So how do you decide whether or not to pursue this certification? This talk will address that question by answering these questions:

• What are the benefits STC believes can accrue to professional certification?
• What are other “models”? Who is eligible for evaluation/certification?
• What are we learning as the program begins?
• What is STC’s role in administering the program?
• Who are the evaluators and how are they trained?  

Hillary is a fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and currently serves as the Society’s president. Having long served at the community and international levels, her STC awards include a Distinguished Technical Communication Award from Technical Communication in 2007 and the President’s Award in 2008. As Distinguished Sr. Lecturer in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas, Hillary has developed in the last 24 years a multi-level program in technical communication, teaching over 165 undergraduate and graduate engineering students yearly and bringing in speakers and scholarships. She also consults with and conducts short courses and workshops for a diverse selection of clients, including public agencies (the TX Water Development Board, TX Commission on Environmental Quality) and corporations such as BP-Amoco, Gestalt, and Alcoa. Hillary has published one book (sole author) and over 20 technical articles on environmental risk communication, engineering ethics, teaching communication to engineering undergraduates, and defining technical communication. She has also presented over 35 talks at national technical conferences (including 20 at STC conferences). As a researcher at UT Austin, she has helped secure $3,000,000 in grant funding.

Hillary will be happy to answer your questions and to summarize some of the other initiatives and services STC is rolling out this fall.

Where: Tech Ranch, 9111 Jollyville Road, Austin ,TX 78759

When: September 14th

What time: 6:30-8:30

How much: $5 Members $10 Non-Members

Pre-register at http://stcaustinchaptermeeting0914.eventbrite.com/

Click here for a map to Tech Ranch.

Tech Writers and Their Role in Social Media

Being a tech writer used to be as methodical as 1-2-3 … or however many steps the procedure was that your role required you to document. However, the steps are not quite so clear and technical communicators are now tasked with anything ranging from writing white papers or product briefs , implementing content management tools that reach far beyond the docs department, developing training curriculum, and exploring the latest technologies for developing and publishing content. Social media is the next new task on some of our plates, and many of us are trying to determine the connection between our past and present roles as technical communicators and this delivery vehicle of the present and future.


Finding our niche can be as easy as 1-2-3, according to Anne Gentle, an Austin-area renowned social media expert and author of “Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation.” Gentle recently spoke at an STC Austin chapter meeting to show us how we can be relevant in our changing world of communication. The three key things we need to do, Gentle said, are 1.) listen to our users, 2.) find our role, and 3.) align with the business goals.


Listening is probably the biggest paradigm shift in our profession. After all, we’re basically paid to tell people how to do things, right? We may have mined a few call logs in an attempt to generate relevant content, but most of us have never really listened to (and helped) customers real-time. In the Web 2.0 era, though, listening to people and responding is just about everybody’s job.


Gentle provided some tips on how to listen effectively. First, get a larger picture by using listening tools, such as Google’s keyword search, Technorati, or social bookmarking and tagging through Delicious. For a more analytical look at what customers are saying, there are the free tools such as Twitter Search, or the robust tools like Radian 6 that clearly shows how your organization is trending. Secondly, let conversation flow, and don’t interrupt. Most importantly, don’t try to automate conversations.


While we all should be listening to our customers in social media, what is your role? The most visible role, of course, is that of a collaborator or instigator. Those are the folks who generate the original content and customers often play this role. For those of us who can’t think up original content, there are plenty of other roles.There are reporters/observers, who aggregate and curate content from other users. There are enablers, which are those who create a forum for comments by using tools such as JS-Kit Echo, an add-on WordPress, Blogger that easily facilitates comments. Gentle also recommended Disqus as a tool that can be used to moderate conversations and connect online communities to each other.


There is also the role of Sharing, which simply means re-Tweeting, “Liking,” or any other method of rebroadcasting or promoting content. One way to participate in sharing, Gentle said, is to offer your content as a sidebar feed. For example, as a technical communicator, you might be able to work with your organization’s user forum site and get your top 10 FAQs posted as a sidebar.


Lastly, no matter what your role in the Social Web, it has to align with the business goals of your organization. Gentle provided some guidance on goals, where the connection with social media may not be crystal clear. Some uses of social media include:

• Tracking content effectiveness.
• Creating a seamless customer experience.
• Enable customer-to-customer support.
• Decrease support response time.
• Generate leads, increase adoption.
• Collaborative product development (a.k.a. crowdsourcing)

Social media can also be a powerful tool for customer relationship management. By listening to the user community, companies can identify who the key influencers are. So, whatever you can do to listen – and respond – to those folks, the better social press you get for your company.


Yeah, this all sounds a little different than those days where we provided nothing but the facts … and on paper. For those of us from that old school of black-and-white unbiased writing (PR??!! Marketing??!! Eewww!!), some of this social media stuff goes against our basic instincts. However, those are our instincts as professional technical writers; the idea of collaborative information development and sharing is better aligned with our human nature of wanting to be part of a community and helping people.


Gentle said tech writers not already in the social mediasphere on behalf of their companies can get involved by volunteering blog entries, or using web analytics to build business cases for documentation in social media. Writers can also position their efforts in social media as a great way to build relationships with customers.

Understanding the User: Listening to Build Value

This is from our guest blogger Emmelyn Wang. Thanks, Emmelyn!

Understanding the User: Listening to Build Value

Wikis and What to Watch For

“Yeah, we need to do a Wiki,” says the boss.

Sound familiar? Those who have been in the biz a while can remember instances where similar phrases were uttered, except instead of “Wiki” it was “website,” or “social media,” or “Sharepoint.” And way back when, you probably responded internally with the same question: “What does that really mean?”

Janet Swisher was on hand to address those very questions about Wikis with her presentation at the STC Austin program meeting, Jan. 21 at Tech Ranch. Swisher, who creates developer documentation for the Mozilla Developer Network and also documents for open source software, said Wikis can be an effective solution in a number of scenarios. Internally, a Wiki can be used to capture knowledge, manage projects, perform strategic planning, and workgroup coordination. Externally, Wikis are best known for facilitating a growing customer knowledge base, and for customer documentation.

To the last point, Swisher dismissed the fears that technical communicators have that the community -- via the Wiki or other forums -- will replace our profession. Not so, she says. Jakob Nielsen, in his book “Participation Inequality,” states that 90% of users “lurk” (a term to affectionately refer to those who read only and never contribute), 9% contribute very little, and only 1% contribute regularly. So guess who still has to write content for the Wiki and update it? “Somebody has to be that 1%,” Swisher said.

Once it has been decided (by you or for you) that your organization will develop a Wiki, Swisher pointed out several things to consider:

* Will your Wiki be printable? If so, which tool will you use? Confluence PDF Export or the MediaWiki PDF Export extension were mentioned as options.

* Who stands behind the content on your Wiki? This is particularly important if you publish warranty-type information on your Wiki. This should be locked down as read-only and not open for user contribution.

* Who owns the content? The simple and PC answer is that users own the content. Yeah, that’s nice, but what about when said user who owns certain pieces of content becomes disgruntled with your product and wants “their” content back? Not only would you have to recreate that content, but because of the somewhat unstructured architecture of this format, locating all of “their” content would be very difficult. For this reason, any Wiki site needs to have explicit and irrevocable terms and conditions for contributors.

* How will you manage varying content? In a user doc scenario, some of your users might be on version 1.0 of your product, while others are on version 2.0. How can you control this? Depending on the differences in versions, you might be able to get away with inline explanations of the differences for a while, but eventually you will need a way to cordon off content for specific users. In this instance, you would need to look at solutions that use something like a DITA-based content management system that could output to a Wiki-like format.

* How will your editorial review process work? Like any other publishing effort, your organization needs a clear understanding of how the review and approval process will work. Key things to consider here is when content will be reviewed (before or after publishing, which depends on balancing the needs of timeliness vs. accuracy) and who must review and approve it.

* Is an external Wiki even feasible for your business? Depending on what’s at stake with the proper use of your product (such as the procedure for launching a missile), you need to consider that not all documentation updates should be left in the hands of the community.

Once these issues and others are solved and the Wiki gets created, the next task will be to figure out how to get others in your organization, and perhaps the community, to become part of that “1%.”

STC Austin Holiday Party Tomorrow Night

The annual STC Austin Holiday Party is tomorrow night. Attendance, food, and friendship is all yours for the low, low price of ... FREE.

Date: Thursday, Dec 16th, from 7 - 9 p.m.
Location: North by Northwest in their enclosed and heated pavilion. There will be a small band playing, spreading holiday cheer.

Enjoy the community of your fellow technical communicators. Bring your
spouses, significant others, and friends.

Please RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RSVP_Holiday_Party_STC_Austin_2010>.

If you can't RSVP, come anyway. Everyone is welcome.

Networking: Tips, tricks, and stuff all of us should know

“Oh boy! Networking!”

Unless you’re one of those folks who never got over their stint as rush chairperson for their sorority or fraternity during college, chances are that these words have never come out of your mouth ... or at least not without a strong hint of sarcasm. In the eyes of technical communicators -- typically an introverted lot -- networking seems daunting: going into a room full of 100% extroverted strangers, bragging about yourself, sucking up to others, and then asking for a job lead.

Wednesday night, Scott Ingram, founder of Network in Austin, dispelled some of those perceptions in a presentation to STC Austin members and guests titled, “Real Networking Doesn’t Happen at Networking Events.” After getting through the irony that this presentation was delivered at ... a networking event ... Mr. Ingram made some very solid points about what networking really is. In short, networking is about building relationships and helping others. Like anything else, he said, networking uses its own form of currency that puts a premium on “paying it forward.” You may not be able to directly help the person who helps you, but you certainly may be able to help others.

Some other pieces of wisdom dispensed by Mr. Ingram included the following:

• Networking events are not necessarily bad, but you need to be consistently present, and not just at the networking events. One way to ensure more consistent involvement, he said, is to find something you are passionate about and network there. It doesn’t need to be a professional organization; it can be a charity, youth sports, church group, etc. You are more likely to be consistent a venue where you have a consistent interest.
• Follow up - ALWAYS. As you meet people and discuss topics, you may mention an article that you read, or a contact that you know that can help that person. Do not forget to send the link or the contact! One recommended practice is writing these deeds to do on the back of the contact’s business card. When you deliver what you promise, you get a good reputation.
• Networking is not about instant results. On average, you have to give three times more than what you receive. For example, for every three contacts you introduce to someone, you may get one contact. Stick with it, Ingram advises, because long-term, this ratio reverses itself.

Ingram revealed other tricks of the trade, but in general the best practices are really the things that most folks should apply to all areas of their lives: Give first, and the rest will take care of itself.

With that in mind we are looking forward to seeing you at our next networking event in December. Date and location are TBD, but please keep any eye on this blog and other STC communications for more information.

New Year Kicks off New STC Programs

As a fourth-generation Texan, I cherish this time of year for one key reason. HINT: It takes place Friday nights and Saturdays and Sundays on fields that are100 yards long and the participants wear helmets and shoulder pads. But if pigskin is not your passion, there are plenty of other reasons to rejoice in September, which is somewhat of a “second new year.” Kids are back in school being productive, temperatures dip down into the mid 90’s, and groups that have taken off for the summer start to reconvene.

STC Austin is one of those groups ready to start a new year with a full slate of programs and social gatherings. There was a lot of thought in planning these events, and most of that thought came from you, the STC Austin community. As you may recall, STC conducted a survey regarding programs several months ago. If you have not had a chance to see the results, they are pretty well reflected in the lineup of programs we have for the coming year:

• October 28 -- Jack Molisani: “Job Hunting Secrets that Might Surprise You”
• November 10– Scott Ingram: Networking Doesn't Happen at Networking Events”
• January 20 – Janet Swisher: “Purposes for Wiki and When to Use Them”
• February – Networking Event: (Lion and Rose on 360, or Opal Devine’s on S. Congress) Gary and Karen O’Neal - Recruiters from Talent Branders review resumes or possibly a presentation
• March 9 – Anne Gentle: “Strategies for the Social Web for Documentation”
• April – Social Event: The Highball - karaoke, bowling, skee-ball, food, drink, and fun
• May 26 – Janet Swisher: “Annual Salary Survey Results”

The programs address two basic areas of concern: 1.) How do I market myself?, and 2.) How do I make myself more marketable? Our director of programs, Brett Youngblood, past president of Austin STC deserves a lot of credit for finding out what you wanted and then going and getting it done.

One administrative note: There will be a $5 admission fee for programs that have featured speakers. STC has mandated that we charge a nominal fee, and this helps offset the cost of food and some of the speakers’ travel expenses.

Regarding the networking events, I want to assure you that the board will do everything possible to make these a valuable use of your time. We have discussed ways to alleviate the “cliquing” that can sometimes occur at any gathering. When you leave a networking event, we want you to feel that you have achieved something. It may be a direct lead to your dream job; it may be a tip that you provided someone else. More likely, however, your biggest gain will be a new friend and a deeper connection to the community. These are the connections that sustain us in times of need and the ones that tend to last well into the next several jobs.

The STC Board hopes to see you at most, if not all, of these events!