http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/TC/Community-Building/STC A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and TC and Community Building and STC in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/TC/Community-Building/STC http://tc.eserver.org/35757.html http://tc.eserver.org/35757.html STC SIGs are like areas where outside professions insert specialized instances of their expertise into our profession. But what if we could reverse that gateway? Our SIGs could be an excellent outreach channel to market our specialized knowledge into those other professions. http://tc.eserver.org/35540.html http://tc.eserver.org/35540.html Much has been said about the problem the Society for Technical Communication has found itself in, including on blogs, Twitter, and email listservs. I’ve deliberately kept quiet here until I had some semblance of perspective to offer. But I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe this is a crisis STC needed—an impetus to get us all thinking together about how to improve the model, how to offer more direct benefits to the members. http://tc.eserver.org/34651.html http://tc.eserver.org/34651.html Perhaps the time has come to wrap up the STC and let a new organisation grow from the ashes. Those who are interested, and who believe our profession needs such an organisation will rally round and rebuild something. If there is not enough interest then perhaps that is a further indication that the STC has had its time. http://tc.eserver.org/34636.html http://tc.eserver.org/34636.html It's been pretty clear over the last few months that the Society for Technical Communication (STC) is facing some hard times. Attendance at this year's conference was way down (below 1,000) and memberships, the other major source of revenue, are falling too. The STC has been sponsoring a series of webinars to discuss future directions and has acknowledged that unless they can turn things around, and quickly, the organization will run out of money in a couple of years. http://tc.eserver.org/34625.html http://tc.eserver.org/34625.html In case you haven’t heard, the STC’s finances are facing crisis proportions. Unless membership stabilizes, it could go out of business in a couple of years. Here are a few recommendations to help solve the problems of the STC. http://tc.eserver.org/34626.html http://tc.eserver.org/34626.html STC represents two conflicting groups: academics and actual business world employees. These are complimentary roles for building theory but they are conflicting for actual execution. http://tc.eserver.org/34627.html http://tc.eserver.org/34627.html As you may have heard, STC is in a financial crisis. According to the board of directors meeting minutes from May 5, 2009, STC must retain membership "for the next year or STC will be out of business in two years." I believe that STC needs to make some significant changes in the following areas. http://tc.eserver.org/34628.html http://tc.eserver.org/34628.html Recently, I have begun to feel that there is not much value left in STC as it stands today, and it is in need of a radical overhaul in order to survive. I believe that outside the rarefied atmosphere of the STC Board and Head Office, this view is widely shared. http://tc.eserver.org/34519.html http://tc.eserver.org/34519.html There was a time when organizations did offer a value proposition. Once upon a time, there was some prestige attached to being part of a professional organization. Being a member marked you as a professional. The potential was there for membership in an organization to open a more than a few doors. And organizations offered training, courses, information, and even pointers to jobs that you couldn’t find anywhere else. The Web, though, hasn’t just leveled the playing field. The Web has flattened the playing field, paved it over, and moved the goal posts. http://tc.eserver.org/33714.html http://tc.eserver.org/33714.html Innovation is important in any area of life, and STC communities are no exception. Last year, STC Chicago and STC-NIU (Northern Illinois University) combined their strengths to facilitate innovation and to help revive a student chapter. http://tc.eserver.org/32701.html http://tc.eserver.org/32701.html In addition to providing a welcoming atmosphere, SIN SIG offers newcomers a jump-start to networking. As a new member, Thuy Vu took advantage of SIN SIG for exactly that purpose. She says, "To have the support and resources of SIN SIG from day one was very valuable to me as a new member. SIN SIG made it much easier to connect with the group and to learn my way around." We've found that the casual SIN SIG meeting with its small group provides an avenue to get to know a few faces and learn about opportunities for involvement without intimidating new people. http://tc.eserver.org/32158.html http://tc.eserver.org/32158.html To reinvigorate the chapter, former chapter president, Theresa Putkey suggested that the chapter move to a member-driven, online community. Instead of the eight volunteers currently pulling the chapter along, the chapter’s 250 members can set the pace, build momentum, and provide more value than a handful of volunteers are able to provide. http://tc.eserver.org/31851.html http://tc.eserver.org/31851.html Once you prioritize time for involvement in STC activities, you have good opportunities to show your talents to your peers. Yes, it is scary. The technical communication community is a very difficult audience. But isn't that a fantastic learning opportunity? http://tc.eserver.org/31850.html http://tc.eserver.org/31850.html Using Constant Contact helped us distribute mass emails to (the former Region 4) STC members to promote a regional conference that we held in October 2007. This was a successful and professional-looking campaign. We signed up for a 60 day trial account to evaluate the Constant Contact service. The trial was so successful that our board voted to purchase an account for the NEO STC Community. http://tc.eserver.org/31770.html http://tc.eserver.org/31770.html Over the last few months as I've settled into my new employment arrangement and my STC administrative duties, I've occasionally reflected on my decision to join STC. I can easily see how much of an impact STC membership has had on my personal and professional life. Further, I can easily see how I will continue reaping the numerous rewards associated with membership in this organization. http://tc.eserver.org/30748.html http://tc.eserver.org/30748.html The Define-a-Thon is a new word game from the editors of The American Heritage Dictionary. The idea is that you can spell a word without knowing its meaning. So why not develop a competition where the contestant has to pick the right word after its definition has been given? http://tc.eserver.org/30747.html http://tc.eserver.org/30747.html Make the meetings fun--after a long day at work, we need to relax. If you can help them relax at the meeting, you are a step ahead. Some chapters use a relaxation technique at the beginning of their meeting. One California chapter president responded on the listserv that he wears a Santa suit at his chapter's December meeting, so don't be afraid to try something new! http://tc.eserver.org/30746.html http://tc.eserver.org/30746.html Thanks to the Orlando Chapter, we now have a program that our volunteers enjoy. Whether or not you decide to do something like this for your community is up to you. But remember this: someone out in the world of STC has tried something. Rely on their expertise. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. http://tc.eserver.org/30749.html http://tc.eserver.org/30749.html In March 2007, the Chicago Chapter STC started a program that has become quite popular with its members. If your community covers a large geographic area, or has a large number of members, this program may work well for you too. http://tc.eserver.org/30498.html http://tc.eserver.org/30498.html To improve your chapter meetings, begin by forming a vivid ideal of how you would like the meetings to be. You can realize your dream if you: (1) find out what chapter members want, (2) form an enthusiastic team to do the many tasks involved, (3) publicize meetings beyond your membership list, (4) ensure good presentations, (5) energize the audience for lively meetings, and (6) keep looking for ways to meet your members' wants. For advice and encouragement in doing these things, participate in a support group with leaders of other chapters. http://tc.eserver.org/30073.html http://tc.eserver.org/30073.html You don't have to be an officer to benefit professionally from your local STC chapter meetings. Start attending your local chapter meetings and discover the many forms of buried treasure. These treasures will result in a new perspective of your writing, an increased library of professional resources, professional writers being hired at your workplace, and the chance to view the 'Best of Show' writing. You can reap rewards such as these with a small investment of personal time. http://tc.eserver.org/29947.html http://tc.eserver.org/29947.html In order for chapters to stay relevant to their members, they must provide intrinsic value to their members and show themselves as professional and authoritative leaders in the field of technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/29633.html http://tc.eserver.org/29633.html Boston, one of the founding chapters of STC, has a distinguished 50-year record of accomplishments. Boston recently won its third consecutive Chapter of Achievement award. We strive to consistently provide an outstanding level and value of services to our members. http://tc.eserver.org/28163.html http://tc.eserver.org/28163.html To get the most out of your STC membership--take action. Join a committee, write an article for the newsletter, go to a workshop, volunteer for the chapter conference. http://tc.eserver.org/26252.html http://tc.eserver.org/26252.html he recognition activities of STC generate a key component of the value provided to its members. Establishing a Technical Communication Week celebration can help boost your community’s profile and the perceived value of our work. http://tc.eserver.org/26251.html http://tc.eserver.org/26251.html In April 2005 the Vermont Chapter STC hosted the STC traveling exhibits, which include award-winning entries from the five major STC competitions: the international technical art competition (ITAC), international technical publications competition (ITPC), international online communication competition (IOCC), Society newsletter competition, and Society public relations competition. If your chapter, like ours, is in a small market, you probably don’t get the opportunity to network with technical writers from different industries or to see documentation for other markets. Hosting the traveling exhibits is a great way to see what other technical writers are doing in the field. http://tc.eserver.org/26253.html http://tc.eserver.org/26253.html All STC community leaders know the difficulty of finding volunteers. In recent years, the Orlando chapter has seen steadily increasing membership counts and meeting attendance figures, implemented creative and successful chapter initiatives, and even won consecutive Chapter of Distinction awards. But when it comes to soliciting volunteers for chapter leadership positions, you may as well be asking them to wrestle the sharks at SeaWorld! On the other hand, there are some things you can do to at least lessen the pain. http://tc.eserver.org/26255.html http://tc.eserver.org/26255.html Rechartering, as many of you know, means examining and refining your community’s purpose, mission, goals, and plan for delivering value to your members. Through the recommendations of STC’s regional directors and of the communities transformation committee, the board approached about thirty communities and asked them to participate in the pilot program. Twenty-four communities (eighteen professional chapters, three student chapters, and three SIGs) agreed to the experiment. http://tc.eserver.org/26256.html http://tc.eserver.org/26256.html If your chapter has never created a strategic plan, or if it has been a long time since plans were updated, it's a good idea to develop one now. Those first plans can require one or two years to create, but don't be intimidated by the commitment. The phases of the plan are easily broken down into small, manageable sessions for which you can set reasonable or flexible completion dates. http://tc.eserver.org/26254.html http://tc.eserver.org/26254.html Although the economy in Northern California has improved, people are not clamoring to become technical communicators the way they were in the boom days of the late 1990s. Finding volunteers for chapter positions is difficult, and those who do volunteer often have to do more with less. An organization of local chapters can facilitate inter-chapter communication and sharing of resources. http://tc.eserver.org/25019.html http://tc.eserver.org/25019.html Every chapter relies on volunteers for its success. The secret to successful chapters, then, starts with recruiting the right people, training them well, delegating to them carefully, nurturing them along the way, and rewarding them for a job well done. http://tc.eserver.org/24886.html http://tc.eserver.org/24886.html STC's local, regional, and international-level Technical Publications, Art, and Video competitions provide the society with the opportunity to showcase its members' talents. A great deal of work goes into making these competition successful, and an open dialogue between participants, competition managers and judges is important at all levels. This forum give local, regional, and international competition managers, and anyone else interested in competitions, the chance to discuss all aspects of STC competitions. http://tc.eserver.org/23855.html http://tc.eserver.org/23855.html STC has been challenged by the changing economy and the evolving nature of our work and career development. These challenges have required Society leaders to look carefully into how the STC should change to better serve a diverse and global membership. http://tc.eserver.org/23697.html http://tc.eserver.org/23697.html Many chapters have membership drives in the Fall. Not a big deal, something we’ve always done. However, today membership drives can play an important role in sustaining STC. http://tc.eserver.org/23676.html http://tc.eserver.org/23676.html The best benefit of my STC membership and leadership volunteerism is that the STC name recognition helped me get the jobs I wanted. http://tc.eserver.org/23390.html http://tc.eserver.org/23390.html I’m talking with you today because I was part of a three-person team that took the lead on thinking about communities for the STC Transformation Project. The two other members of that team were Fred Sampson and Whitney Quesenbery. Fred, Whitney, and I based our work on the goals and principles that the STC Board established for the Transformation Project. As we worked on the concepts for communities, we thought about how to apply these principles to meet the goals. http://tc.eserver.org/21237.html http://tc.eserver.org/21237.html This panel discussion takes shape as the audience molds it. Each panelist is a past STC chapter president. Issues are audience-dependent but may include topics such as handling volunteers, managing money, recruiting members, and so forth. Join this informal discussion to share ideas, quandaries, and solutions for successfully leading a chapter. http://tc.eserver.org/13551.html http://tc.eserver.org/13551.html Every year, each STC member is given the opportunity to vote twice as a member, once for the next year's Society (international-level) leaders and once for the next year's chapter (local-level) leaders. The Society and its chapters expend much effort and expense each year to recruit candidates and develop and distribute ballots; however, only about 10% of STC's members ever return those ballots. If such a small portion of members participate in elections, why bother holding them? The most fundamental reason is that STC's bylaws and the bylaws of each chapter require a duly elected leadership.