Hyperviews Online

The London website, http://www.london.gov.uk is being developed as a “one-stop-shop for all Londoners and visitors” with the help of a new content management system being implemented as a shared service throughout the city: http://news.iwebtool.com/article_23724.html?mp=1

The ITBusiness site has published “Wiki Implementation Challenging, Not Overwhelming” (http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=31546&sr=1) Novell IT manager Lee Romero reports on use of Wikis by engineering and enterprise-wide. An engineering Wiki runs on Twiki, chosen because it provides access control for pieces of content.

Romero advises conducing a pilot test when implementing a Wiki, attention to needed security, and plenty of time for training and acclimating employees to the technology. Typical releuctance to embrace new tools caan impeded adoption even though Wiki software is easy to use.

A new and (the authors hope) extremely useful set of accessibility prinicples and checkpoints is now available for download: http://www.mscui.net/DesignGuide/AccessibilityPrinciples.aspx and http://www.mscui.net/DesignGuide/AccessibilityChecklist.aspx

These documents were produced as part of the NHS Common User Interface program, a collaboration between England’s National Health Service (NHS) and Microsoft. The goal is to create design standards for point-of-care IT systems used by doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

This work focuses on complex clinical IT systems, and is drawn from analysis of eight industry-standard accessibility standards, including W3C, ISO and the US Access Board. The work is intended to be applicable to any rich application. Jon Dodd ( http://www.bunnyfoot.com/about/people.html) is the primary author – this work would not have been possible without his experience and expertise in the field. The NHS CUI seeks feedback in order to improve the guidance and thence the accessibility of IT applications within the NHS (the UK’s largest employer). Please direct comments to: cuistakeholder.mailbox@nhs.net

Online SIG Education Lead Tom Johnson has published articles on using WordPress as a CMS and providing other tips too.

Tom explains WordPress plugins here: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/04/17/wordpress-plugins-extending-your-blogs-features-and-capabilities/

Tom’s post on how to use WordPress as a CMS is published at http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/07/01/converting-your-wordpress-blog-into-a-cms-content-management-system/

Tom gave a presentation on WordPress that is posted here: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/doctrain

In a message to STC leaders who use WordPress for chapter and SIG sites, Tom also recommends the WordPres podcast: http://wordpresspodcast.org

Whether it’s accurate to say that just a few people write Wikipedia, or a large number of people do, depends on the kind of analysis that’s done: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/whowriteswikipedia

The Scientific Communication SIG newsletter, The Exchange, is published in HTML in a new and old format and in PDF format. The newsletter is announced to members of the SIG each time it is posted. The summer 2007 issue is at http://www.stcsig.org/sc/newsletter/html/html2007-2.htm and http://www.stcsig.org/sc/newsletter/pdf/2007-2.pdf

In this issue, Geoff Hart reports on numerous sessions at the 2007 STC annual conference, and Jean Hollis Weber has an article on ethics in scientific and technical communication. There is a book review on writing in the health professions by past STC president David Armbruster.

Editor Geoff Hart was elected an STC Fellow in 2007. Congratulations, Geoff.

The Policies and Procedures SIG has an HTML newsletter that is available also as a PDF.

Each issue is announced to SIG members, and the current issue is available on the SIG website for members only (you enter your member number and password). The second quarter 2007 issue has just been posted. It includes a report from the conference by the SIG manager, volunteer opportunites, volunteer news, a profile of a member who works in the financial services sector, and a feature by past SIG manager Audrey Kessler on use of graphics in policies and procedures.

The newsletter archive is at http://www.stcsig.org/pp/newsletter/index.php

A “Web Trend Map for 2007″ has been posted and is reported at http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/20/information-architects-2007-web-trend-map/

The map depicts the 200 “most successful” websites on the Internet, shown by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective. The map is meant to show the relationship among sites, and the focus is on Web 2.0.

The Web Trend Map is based on the Tokyo metro subway map. Posters are available and there is a PDF for download.

The STC editors conduct a newsletter exchange on the newsletter editors’ list. Many editors publish a link to each issue as it is posted. This article accumulated links to recent issues and information about some of the chapter and SIG newsletters. Beginning July 28, 2007 links are being accumulated in separate posts, and there is a category “STC Newsletter Exchange.” There is also an STC Forum post where great articles in chapter and SIG newsletters are highlighted: http://stcforum.org/viewtopic.php?pid=3423#p3423 RSS feeds from STC newsletters are aggregated in the sidebar of Hyperviews Online.

Carolina Chapter. Communique. This online newsletter has its own site, http://stc-carolina.org/newsletter/tiki-index.php The home page lists the contents of the most recent issue, and there is an archive of past issues. It is easy to print all or some of the articles in each issue, and to search for articles on a topic. There is an RSS feed. You can rate articles and discuss them. Don’t miss “Is Technical Writing Your Calling” in the Carolina Communique for first quarter 2007: http://stc-carolina.org/newsletter/tiki-index.php?page=Pith+and+Vinegar%3A+Is+Technical+Writing+Your+Calling%3F June 7, 2007.

Northeast Ohio Chapter. Lines and Letters. A summary of the newsletter is emailed to members and the newsletter editors’ list, and the full issue is posted on the web. The June issue is at http://www.neostc.org/lines/#story4 The chapter is hosting a regional conference in the fall: http://www.neostc.org/lines/#story3 Chapter members have reported their experiences at the STC Annual Conference: http://www.neostc.org/lines/#story18 June 17, 2007.

Orange County Chapter. TechniScribe. The current issue and back issues are accessible from http://www.ocstc.org/newsltr.asp This is a traditional newsletter published as a navigable PDF. Chapter members receive a printed copy and the current issue is uploaded at the same time. The chapter posts a link on the Newsletter Editors’ list. The June 2007 issue has an excellent summary of the STC Annual Conference from the viewpoint of the incoming chapter president. June 11, 2007

Technical Editing SIG. Corrigo. The newsletter is distributed monthly to SIG members as an email summary of the articles on the SIG blog site, http://www.stc-techedit.org/ The month’s issue is also compiled in a PDF file that anyone can download: http://www.stc-techedit.org/newsletter/newsletter-archives/ The April, 2007 issue included “Is Consistency Boring,” http://www.stc-techedit.org/2007/04/03/is-consistency-boring/ –an article on a key aspect of reuse which appeared originally in the Carolina Communique. June 7, 2007.

Usuability and User Experience SIG. Usability Interface. The newsletter is published quarterly on the SIG website. It is announced on the SIG email list. The June, 2007 issue is posted at www.stcsig.org/usability/index.html In this issue, Alice Preston reviews Designing Interactions by Bill Moggridge: http://www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/0706-moggridge.html June 15, 2007.

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.

Dr. JoAnn Hackos, content management expert, advises on what organizations need to know to move legacy documentation to DITA in an exclusive interview: http://www.dclab.com/DCLNews0903.asp#LSTORY2

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