Listen here: Brad, a graduate student in the Rhetoric and Technical Communication program at Iowa State University, talks about the issue of academic knowledge versus real world experience. He says it is importance for technical communicators to be more than scribes. Brad also shares his feedback on RoboHelp 7, and provides tips for students to gain the tool knowledge they need for the workplace.
Listen here: Michael says his favorite session was Web 2.0, and explains the difficulty of getting a large organization to adopt some of the Web 2.0 technologies. He comments on the challenge of getting your voice heard in a large organization.
Listen here: Jackie talks about the Learning Resource Center's new online training modules for chapter leaders. These modules will give guidance to anyone coming into a community leadership position. Rachel talks about using XML in a command-line structure and also gives feedback on RoboHelp 7.
Listen here: Jeanette, based in Seattle and part of the IDL SIG, talks about the importance of applying learning theory to e-learning and other multimedia deliverables. She compares Captivate versus Mimic, and expands on ways that SIGs go beyond simple listservs.
Listen here: Next year's conference is in Philadelphia. Lorrie gives some tips for recruiting volunteers and preventing existing volunteers from burning out. She also talks about the importance of modernizing the STC office's technology, and provides her reaction to the new definition of the technical writer.
Listen here: Hillary says she's taking home a new perception about the STC's support of chapters (which was previously questionable). As a professor at the University of Texas, she's also interested in the collaborations between academic and industry practitioners, and is excited about getting the profession defined, accepted, and more valued. She also says she hasn't noticed any attrition among tech comm. students in th...
Listen here: Todd explains some of the issues involved with the Canadian Issues group. He explains why chapter PR is so important, and how getting a list of local media together to give newspapers and other local media can help increase awareness of chapter events.
Listen here: The Chicago chapter won a prestigious chapter of distinction award this year (they won the award at their membership level, 301 to 600 members). Dan, the chapter's treasurer, talks about a critical turning point in their chapter, in which they moved from a point of dependent frustration to independent liberation. In addition to learning to act for themselves, Dan also talks about their chapter's impromptu me...
Listen here: Living in Nanjing, China, for the past two years, Melanie has some unique experiences and challenges as a technical communicator. She talks about China's growing IT industry and comments on the emerging technical communications scene. Beau Cain, finishing his last year on the board of directors, discusses the difficulty of starting a chapter in such a broad geographic area, and also shares the greatest thing...
Listen here: Paul comments on STC's new chapter funding model, which he says is based on the zero-based budgeting model. Paul also offers some rationale behind the startling STC attrition rate (membership dropped from 20,000 members in 2000 to 14,000 members in 2007). He also explains why interacting with the brain trust of the IDL SIG provides the greatest value for him.
Listen here: I've been following Holly's blog for the past year, so it was great to finally meet her. In this short interview, Holly (outgoing Atlanta president), Al (incoming president), and Howard (newsletter guru) talk about retention strategies for members. They plan to interview ex-chapter members about why they didn't renew. They also talk about non-traditional meetings their chapter is having, such as software Sat...
Listen here: Rhevati shares what she's taking away from leadership day. To motivate others, you must participate in activities in beneficial ways. She also explains the challenges her chapter faces, such as balancing time and resources. She plans to mix in virtual activities with traditional activities. Her colleague, Wendy Tung, in the same chapter, says she's interested in emerging technologies and networking sessions....
Listen here: Kelly, the newsletter editor for her chapter, shares ideas for volunteer recruitment. She says attending the conference renews her enthusiasm for the profession. Lou talks about the value of exchanging ideas and networking, and also shares her desire to apply Web 2.0 technology to handheld devices such as phones and PDAs.
Listen here: Sue, the incoming president of the Willamette Valley chapter, talks about how getting to know members individually can help with recruiting efforts. She also talks about their chapter's need to improve their programs, and discusses the value of chapter PR.
I've been roaming around interviewing people at the STC Conference (yesterday I posted about 10 short interviews on Tech Writer Voices). When doing live, face-to-face interview podcasts, I've learned several things you should definitely not do when podcasting: Never let the subject hold the microphone. I brought two mics -- one for the subject, one for me. But interviewees never hold the mic in the right spot. They either hold it too fa...
