STC Tryout 2012 and Member Get a Member Programs

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In August of this year, the Society for Technical Communication introduced their STC Tryout Program to recruit non-members to join STC for the remainder of 2012 and use their dues forward for a 2013 membership.

STC - Society for Technical Communication

STC – Society for Technical Communication

The program was an effort for current STC members to recruit new members to sign up for a STC membership for the remainder of 2012. In return, members can use their paid dues for 2013 membership renewal. Members who referred their colleagues to sign up for the tryout program were entered in a drawing to win a complimentary STC Membership for 2013.

I was happy to hear that Samantha Miranda, a technical communication student from New Mexico Tech, signed up for the STC Tryout Program and added my name for the drawing. Last week, the STC Office randomly selected me for the 2013 membership. As part of STC’s ongoing marketing and outreach strategy, they interviewed Samantha and me about our thoughts on the STC Tryout Program. Read our interview on STC’s Notebook Blog.

Member Get a Member Program

If you were unable to recruit members this year for the STC Tryout Program, current members can receive a $25 credit for each new member they recruit from now until January 15, 2013. Visit the Member Get a Member Program site for details.

STC - Member Get A Member

STC – Member Get A Member

I highly encourage current members to find a new member to sign up–it only takes a few minutes and you might save on 2013 membership dues.

Is TechComm Art? Yes!

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What does technical communication have in common with art? A lot, but do they go hand-in-hand like two peas in a pod or like peanut butter and jelly?

Is it art or technical communication?

Is it art or technical communication?

In the article, “Resolved: Technical Communication IS Art,” co-written with Wanda Phillips and published by TechWhirl, we argue that technical communication is an art. While these thoughts are, admittedly, positive and forward-thinking, we reinforce the idea that technical communication is a unique and dynamic art with historical and everyday examples.

In contrast to Yehoshua Paul’s article, “Resolved: Technical Communication is NOT art,” from the previous week that our profession is not an art, both Wanda and I share our own opinions that we believe technical communication is an art. While our line of work may not make it to the museum, it still is art.

Painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Will TechComm make it as a display piece?

What was really neat about our article was we originally wrote our pieces separately and had the awesome task of merging it together as one uniform article. The result was a conversation piece between me and Wanda about how we believe TechComm combines together a variety of arts, such as graphics, visual and document design, content strategy, etc.

This article and many more are found at TechWhirl.com.

LavaCon 2012 Recap

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Having returned from LavaCon Conference on Content Strategies and Digital Media, I feel much more confident within the field of technical communication. I have a list of colleagues I need to connect with after the conference and reconnect with others I saw too!

It is always a pleasure to meet up with conference attendees and this was the second time attending LavaCon. I have met most of my colleagues from previous STC Summits and it’s awesome that I get to see them twice a year.

Keep Calm and Back Up

Keep Calm and Back Up Slide – Photo by David Caruso

At this conference, I presented during the lightning talk session along with Kit Brown-Hoekstra, Brenda Huettner, and David Caruso. We each presented on a variety of inspirational topics about our field. Usually during a lightning talk, we each speak for 10 minutes with 20 slides that auto-advance every 30 seconds. We had enough time in our session to add a “ninja talk,” which follows the same format, except the presenter does not have access to the slides in advance to prepare for their talk. David Caruso was the lucky presenter to speak about “The Art of the Lightning Talk,” which Rachel Houghton recorded the presentation.

In addition to the conference, I enjoyed Adobe Day as well as the pre-conference workshop session on change management. Many thanks go out to my colleagues who I met at LavaCon. I greatly appreciate the help and advice they provided while socializing with them between sessions.

I also want to thank Jack Molisani, the Executive Director of the LavaCon Conference for opening up new opportunities in the technical communication field. The experience at LavaCon is rather unique due to his awesome conference hotel location choice; amazing food options and entertainment; and fantastic selection of professionals he invites to present during this conference.

Among my adventures in Portland, here are some numbers

  • Stayed in Portland for 5 days
  • Ate 3 Voodoo Doughnuts (yum!)
  • Visited Powell’s City of Books, which contain over 1 million volumes
  • Spent $10 to enjoy the Internet access for about 5 hours on Southwest Airlines (you have no idea how awesome internet is on a plane).
  • Walked over 10 miles in one day

Be sure to read coverage of LavaCon on TechWhirl Online Magazine for Tech Writers, follow #LavaCon as well as @LavaCon, and attend LavaCon next year!