Tom Johnson interviewed a few dozen people at the STC Conference in Minneapolis and posted the podcasts on Tech Writer Voices: http://www.techwritervoices.com
You can download the podcasts, play them directly on the site, or subscribe to the feed. Each podcast is about 5-10 minutes in length.
There is a link to Techwriter Voices from Hyperviews Online. Tom Johnson is Education Lead in the Online SIG, and Techwirter Voices extends this site.
Whew! What an eventful day!
First, we started out with the Keynote General Session, with Simon Singh as the opening keynote speaker and the 2007 Honorary Fellow. Simon closed out the session with a humorous and thoughtful presentation, but first outgoing STC President Paula Berger thanked the 2006-2007 Board of Directors, and Best of Show awards were presented in the International Competitions (Technical Art, Technical Publications, and Online Communications).
Simon Singh received a standing ovation at the end of his presentation. Here’s a crowd shot:
The annual business meeting is where the “transfer of power” from Paula Berger (outgoing) to Linda Oestreich (incoming) was completed, after the results of the election were reported by Nominating Committee Chair Suzanna Laurent.
Paula presides over the meeting:
Linda and the gavel:
While I did not attend the STC Forum right after the Business Meeting, I did attend the Open Jam! Fun was had by all, and even members of the STC Office staff were out on the dance floor. I’ll post some of those pictures tomorrow. :)
Rachel Houghton, 2006 - 2007 Online SIG Conference Activities Coordinator
It was a long day yesterday, so I didn’t have time to post last night. There will be multiple posts today.
I attended Leadership Day, and definitely had a good time. Lots of information about what the Society has been doing and what is upcoming for the Society, SIGs, and chapters.
One of the new things this year was the STC Mall, where you could take a look at services the STC provides, and get information about STC initiatives, such as the bylaws update.
There was some networking going on, with lots of mingling.
I saw most of the SIG managers (or SIG manager conference representatives, like me) at Leadership Day.
I’ll be back later with more from Sunday night’s Welcoming Reception and today’s events!
Rachel Houghton, 2006-2007 Online SIG Conference Activities Coordinator
The board meeting was a little late in getting started this morning, but not by much. Lots of topics were discussed, you can see the agenda here. Here are a couple of snapshots of the board meeting.
The Board, with Maurice Martin (Director of Communications, STC Office) speaking:
And Region 7 Director John Hedtke:
After several hours in planes, and a couple of hours for a layover, I’m finally in Minneapolis!
This picture is from my hotel room, looking towards the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Looking forward to the Welcome Reception on Sunday - thanks to all who volunteered for a shift at the Online SIG table! :)
Rachel Houghton, 2006-2007 Online SIG Conference Activities Coordinator
Of course, wouldn’t you know project managers at work managed to finagle the projects I was working on to all hit a major milestone this week, even though they’ve known for months I was headed out this Friday. Sigh.
Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help out at the Welcome Reception and the Online SIG meeting. All I need now are 4 table hosts at the SIG Networking Luncheon on Tuesday.
Table host duties are light: start introductions and keep the talk flowing. In the past, table hosts have gotten into the room a few minutes early, so they can find their table and get settled. Then you just introduce yourself to table attendees, and facilitate introductions between table members as they arrive. Basic networking skills are all that is needed. :)
If you are attending the SIG networking luncheon, don’t forget to bring your business cards and a pen. It always helps to write down on the business cards you receive exactly where you met the person whose card you have in a pile at the bottom of your conference bag. So, for the SIG luncheon, I just write “at Online SIG table on Tuesday” so that I have an idea of the context of the meeting.
Don’t forget to stop by the Welcome Reception table in Hall C of the Minneapolis Convention Center and meet other Online SIG members. If you see someone taking pictures of the SIG table, it’s probably me!
Only one week until I leave for the STC conference in Minneapolis, MN. As Ann mentioned in the last post, I am the Online SIG conference activities coordinator. In addition to coordinating the activities, I’ve been asked to blog about my conference activities. This is something I did last year, but it was only posted on the STC Forum. You can look forward to observations and photos, as I wander around the conference and my many activities with my camera.
Some of the places you’ll find me (and the Online SIG) at the conference:
Sunday, May 13:
Monday, May 14:
Tuesday, May 15:
Wednesday, May 16:
I still need volunteers who will be attending the conference!
Here are some volunteer opportunities:
If you have any interest in volunteering to help me out as a volunteer, please email me at rachelh @ rhoughton.com.
Rachel HoughtonÂ
Welcome to our 87 new and returning members who joined in March, 2007. We hope our non-renewing members will stay with STC and wish our departing members well in their affiliation with other STC SIGs.Â
As of March 31, 2007 the Online SIG has 1316 members and STC has 12,768 members.
Congratulations to Destry Wion and Rachel Houghton, recipients of the Distinguished SIG Service Award from the STC Board for the Online SIG this year. Destry is honored for his work on the STC Forum (http://stcforum.org) and the STC Wiki (http://stc-on.org) and Rachel for ongoing support of the Online SIG including organzing the Online SIG events at the annual conference this year.
As of February 28, the Online SIG had 1867 members and STC had 16,802 members.
During the renewal cycle, 99 members made other selections in December, as did 165 in January and 97 in February. We wish our departing members well.
Welcome to our 60 new members who joined in December, and to the 82 who joined in January and the 97 who joined in February.
Online SIG member Marian Grace Stone of the Phoenix chapter was elected a Fellow of STC by the Board in Feburary. Online SIG members Beth Najberg (Chicago chapter) and Frank Tagader (Aloha and Rocky Mountain chapters) were elected Associate Fellows. Congratulations Marian, Beth, and Frank!
On January 5, CM Professionals announced that Scott Abel will become its new Executive Director, starting February 9, 2007. Scott Abel is Content Management Lead in the STC Online SIG. (more…)
On December 1, the Online SIG was asked for help recruiting participants for a survey. The request cam from the Product Planner for the UA team at Microsoft that produces the Windows Help System and platform.
Microsoft was looking for help in planning the next generation of tools for user assistance, and seeking feedback about what’s needed in next-generation of Help and user assistance platforms, both online and client-based.
The Online SIG announced Microsoft’s survey on the SIG email list and the SIG announcement list, and encouraged a member at Microsoft to post the link on the STC Forum. (more…)
Please welcome the 60 new members shown as joining the Online SIG this month. We wish the 77 members shown as departing well. The Online SIG now has 1987 members. STC has 15,741 members.
The Online SIG submitted a proposal for a progression at the STC Annual Conference, and it was accepted. Only 21% of the proposals were accepted, so please thank Rachel Houghton and the presenters for this fine work.
The topics in the progression and the presenters in the proposal are:
Please welcome the 47 new members who joined the Online SIG in October; two members departed. The Online SIG has 2002 members, and STC has 15,451 members.
Please renew your membership in STC. The renewal form is posted at https://www.stc.org/duesrenewal/ Dues for SIGs have doubled to $10.00. As always, please choose your options carefully to obtain the best value for you. If you renew your membership in the Online SIG, please send a message to the manager, ann@annlwiley.com and let the leadership team know what you would like the SIG to do for you.
Please welcome our 46 new members who joined in September. We regret 13 members departed. There are 1957 members in the Online SIG and 15,202 members in STC.Â
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