Chapter Meeting Wednesday October 28, 2015

Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00ish (CDT)
Agenda items:

• Topics for the 2015-2016 season
• How can we increase our membership?
• Possible locations for South Austin meetings
• What our new alliance with STC Lone Star and STC Houston will do for our chapter

Location:
The Continental Building
9101 Burnet Rd., Suite 105
Austin, TX 78758
Join us for networking at 6:00 p.m. with chapter business 6:15 p.m.

STC Summit 2015

Message from Christopher Ward, STC Austin President
(lightly edited by Wanda Hill)

We have had some crazy weather here in Texas, so I am tired of it and getting out of town! I am heading to Columbus, OH. to attend the National STC Summit 2015 conference. I will be there representing my company WebWorks, and you, STC Austin. I understand that not everyone will get the chance to attend, but I want to see about bringing some of the conference back to you.

Take a look at the STC summit presentation schedule, and post in our STC Austin LinkedIn group about topics that interest you and why. This is going to let us do a couple of things:

1. Start conversations over topics that interest us.
2. Scout out those presentations and bring back some information.

Let me know whom you might like to come to Austin and present.

I can also check speaker's schedules and let you know where they are going to speak next. So check the link below and look at the presentations, then reply to this post. The dates for the conference are the 21st to the 24th of June, so try and post before then.

STC Summit schedule—http://lanyrd.com/2015/stc15/ (Scroll down to see the presentations.)

What happened at the May 2015 STC Austin Events?

On May 9, professional recruiter Jack Molisani presented his virtual workship Be The Captain of Your Career! This presentation is available at http://www.slideshare.net/JackMolisani/be-the-captain-of-your-career-stc?qid=0ef544f0-058b-4742-8570-bdbb00f4d0ee&v=default&b=&from_search=4.

On May 11, Cruce Saunders, founder and principal consultant at Simple [A] presented The Emerging Role of the Content Engineer. This presentation is not available on the web.

What happened at the April 28 2015 STC Austin Meeting?

Christopher Ward, Director of Sales at Webworks, presented Generating Revenue: A New Way to Look at Documentation. This presentation is not available on the web.

Upcoming Events: Workshop--Houston May 9, STC Chapter meeting--Austin May 11

Free Career Makeover Workshop, by Jack Molisani on Saturday May 9 2015

In this hands-on learning event, professional recruiter and STC Fellow Jack Molisani will lead you through a series of informative and entertaining sessions to give you the tools needed to land that dream job and increase your standard of living.…

This on-site virtual workshop, done live and online, is free to STC members, and closed to non-members. Visit http://www.stc-houston.org/dont-miss-this-a-free-career-makeover-workshop/ for full details and to register.

**May 6, 2015 (from Houston chapter): Good News! We have made our career workshop virtual so more people can attend! Join us on Saturday, May 9th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

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Chapter Meeting Monday May 11, 2015

Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (CDT)

Title: The Emerging Role of the Content Engineer

Presenter: Cruce Saunders, founder and principal consultant at Simple [A]
 
Summary: The era of customer experience management (CEM) is upon us. The customer is calling the shots and technical communicators are scrambling to deliver the goods across an expanding buffet of audiences, devices, and channels.

Executive teams are beginning to realize that positioning strategy involves storytelling and the means to deliver the organization's story and promise to customers, and to involve customers as players in the organization's story. As always, there is also a strong need for content engineers to deliver content in the best way possible to users.

In his discussion, Cruce explains the differences between content strategy and content engineering, and explains why both must co-exist in our workplaces to effectively generate business value.

Join us for networking at 6:00 p.m. with chapter business and the program starting around 6:15 p.m.

Location:
The Continental Building
9101 Burnet Rd., Suite 105
Austin, TX 78758

Cost: No charge, free for all on-site and Internet attendees.

The Adobe presentation link goes directly to the meeting room. Christopher Ward will open the room about 5:45 P.M.—a few minutes before the networking part of the meeting. The link is provided for those who want to watch the presentation, but cannot make it to the physical location. Please try and make it to the Continental Building. Note: This meeting is the last one of the season until the new season starts up in SeptemberOctober.

Chapter Meeting Tuesday April 28, 2015

Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (CDT)

Title: Generating Revenue: A New Way to Look at Documentation

Presenter: Christopher Ward

Summary: In today's market, content is more important to the consumer. They demand it. So, how can businesses be confused as to how they will meet that need? They need to look at content with a new mindset. In this presentation, we will discuss why the value of content has increased for the consumers, how content can generate revenue, and revenue documentation workflow. If you want that budget, create your own job title, or just want to adequately describe your value to the company, this presentation is for you.

Location: 9101 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78758

Cost: STC Members - Free, Non-members - $20.00

What happened at the Mar 27 2015 STC Austin Meeting?

The meetup was virtual. Bernard Ashwanden, CEO of Publishing Smarter, presented a webinar titled DITA Conversion Best Practices. The presentation included a list of tools as well as some additional information. This recording of the presentation is availble to current STC members only.

Chapter Meeting (Webinar) Friday March 27, 2015

Time: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM (CDT)

Title: DITA Conversion Best Practices

Summary: A presentation on how best to move to a topic authoring environment. There are many advantages authoring in a topic based environment. It can be more efficient, the structure helps produce better content, and it takes advantage of new technologies for delivering content. Moving from your current environment to a topic based environment can be very difficult. Bernard Ashwanden, CEO of Publishing Smarter, has been hired by Fortune 500 companies to help plan and make this complex move. In this presentation, he will share the best way to assess your current situation, plan for your future and execute to the plan. After the presentation, you will:

• Understand what topic–based writing is and its advantages
• Follow best–practices for organizing new material into topic–based content
• Understand the place of XML and DITA and how they may relate to your needs

Please to go Eventbrite to register for the event. Only registered attendees will receive link information - http://bit.ly/1Mu1KsL

STC Austin LinkedIn Group

Join the STC Austin LinkedIn group. Start and participate in discussions, get information, and reach possible future members. If you have not yet joined, please do so.

What happened at the Feb 18 2015 STC Austin Meeting?

Read all about it! Notes from the February 18, 2015 STC Austin meeting (PDF).

Chapter Meeting Wednesday February 18, 2015

Location

Central Market
4001 N. Lamar Blvd. (38th/Lamar)
Austin, TX 78756

Map
Meet on the upper deck of the cafe.

When
6 PM (first 30 minutes for meet and greet)

Agenda

1. Introduce the new board members.
2. Discuss alternate Meeting Locations and times.
3. Discuss the direction of the Chapter for the rest of the year, and next season.

What Happened at the Dec 9 2014 STC Austin Meeting?

Read all about it! Notes from the December 9, 2014 STC Austin meeting (PDF).