Kachina Chapter Secretary

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Note: This is an on-going series about my participation in the New Mexico Kachina Chapter.

Allow me to introduce myself; I have been the Secretary for the STC New Mexico Kachina Chapter for nearly a year and it has been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot and I want to kick off my series about my involvement with my local chapter.

Last year in June I contacted Larry Bonura, chapter president (2010), and asked him what I could do to participate in the New Mexico Kachina Chapter. I heard about the organization through my involvement with the New Mexico Trinitite Student Chapter at my alma mater, New Mexico Tech. At the student level, I participated as the Treasurer and mostly organized and managed the 2009 STC Summit trip to Atlanta.

Larry suggested that I could be the Secretary for the chapter and that’s where it began.

I was happy to volunteer during the summer while I was seeking employment. Additionally my skills would contribute to the organization in a positive way. If I practice TC at work, I should donate my time and skills for the Chapter as well.

Throughout the summer and fall, we had meetings and participated in chapter activities. We had some great discussion and this avenue would open up new technical communication opportunities for me and others.

When I became Chapter Secretary, I mentioned some of my recent web work and naturally I gravitated toward assisting with the website since there was no current webmaster. It was maintained by Helen Moody, past Chapter President  (2009) and long-time Kachina Chapter leader and STC member. I did some work to migrate information from the static HTML website to the dynamic WordPress site. It is currently not done but in a state of progress that will take a few more months to complete. So far it’s easier to update a WordPress website instead of a static website which required software that not everyone has access to.

After one year of acting as Chapter Secretary, I look forward to another year of contributing to the technical communication community.

Control your social network

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Recent headlines of Twitter Scandal 2011 shouldn’t stop everyone from using social networking responsibly. As for what happened to NY Rep. Weiner, it is a perfect example of what NOT to do on social networking sites especially if you are well known. Even if you are only known online by your friends and professional colleagues, it is important to take steps to control your social network.

  1. Check your privacy settings
    • almost all social networking sites have settings that you can enable to include or exclude from your posts for the rest of the world to see
  2. Ask your friends to look out for you
    • sometimes it takes a really great friend to point out that you have a run away zombie profile (remember those spam and phishing messages you get?)
  3. Google yourself
    • Search for your name and any keywords that you are associated with. There is more than one Roger Renteria out there on the internet, but I am more closely associated with Roger Renteria STC. I am ME, right?
  4. Clean up your profile
    • Most of us may know to avoid posting party photos, but you can clean up your profile. Potential clients and employers can use the internet to find more about you.

Posts stay forever. What you delete from the internet can’t be guaranteed that they will be expunged from other computers.

One last tidbit to remember–mom, dad, and grandma are also on Facebook.

Failbook - Grammar Momzi

Failbook - Grammar Momzi

TC at Home

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When I wrote “TC At Work Daily,” I realize that my profession never leaves me once I step out of the office. I never stop utilizing the skills I learned while attending New Mexico Tech.

I guess this may mean that it drives my friends and family crazy that I am always reading their work and correcting it at home. Actually, the opposite happens. They ask me for help and advice whenever possible and they are happy that I’m around to share my knowledge and experience.

For example, before and after the STC 2011 Summit, I helped my mom create retirement flyers for her friends at work. She needed something nice to present to the retirees and knows that I’ve done various deliverables for a variety of projects. Most of them consisted of classwork but they still count as professional work.

The end result was compliments forwarded from my mom.

It doesn’t stop there. I also am a resource for my friends who need help with up their resumes and cover letters for job applications. One friend asked me to review his application  in order to apply for a major wireless telecommunications company. There are a number of times which my friends ask me to proofread their homework at the last minute. I made the time to review their work and make suggestions.

What I love about doing these tasks is that I continue to use my skills beyond work. I get to improve my skill while looking for the next learning or professional opportunity.