Orange County STC Newsletter

www.stc.org June 2011 Vol. 50, No. 6

Back from the Sacramento SummitBy Suzanne Madison and Pat Olsen, OCSTC Senior Members

From May 15–18, several OCSTC members were among the 800 or so STC members who attended the Technical Communication Summit, STC’s

58th annual conference, in Sacramento, California. The world’s largest gather-ing of technical communi-cators offered participants opportunities to network, to learn about trends and issues in our profession, and to focus on learning specific skills applicable to their careers.

Leadership DayChapter officers spent the day before the Summit at Leadership Day. New officers attended the STC Leadership 101 and Com-munity Budgets sessions; others sat in on a number of progression sessions, including such topics as Community Sharing—What Has and Hasn’t Worked, Community Competitions and STC Summit Awards, Recruiting and Recognizing Volunteers, Communications Lift-off—How to Rocket your Community to the Stars, Growing Membership, Planning Chapter Programs, and Community Achievement Awards.

We heard about some trends in technical communication, including:

Proliferation of devices used to access information•

User-generated content•

Movement to structured authoring•

Demand for rich media in technical communication•

Need for easily searchable, personalized content•

STC board members discussed the following initiatives that have been ac-complished in 2010–2011:

The stc.org web site has been redesigned as the new, interactive • MySTC (www.stc.org/mystc).

The STC Certification Program is ready to accept its first appli-• cants.

This Issue:

Back from the Sacramento Summit 1

President’s Message 2

Next Meeting 3

Editor’s Desk 4

May Meeting Review 5

June Meeting Information 5

EduNotes 6

Member Survey Results 8

Society Pages 9

OCSTC Employment Information 9

Orange Slice: Calendar of Events 10

Continued on Page 7 >

At the Summit. (left to right) Michael Opsteegh, Adrienne Escoe, Suzanne Madison, Pat Olsen, and Lance-Robert. Photo credit: Johnny Mroz.

2  •  June 2011

President’s MessageBy Michael Opsteegh, OCSTC President

Last month, characteristic of an English major, I used a

self-deprecating joke to tell you about Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. Right-brainers like you and me. The thrust behind Pink’s argument is that the pressures of abundance, offshoring, and automation are reducing the need for left-brain knowledge

workers and increasing the need for right-brained aptitudes like play, design, empathy, and story. The MFAs are the new MBAs. Last month, I wrote about abundance. This month, I conclude with the pressures of offshoring and automation.

OffshoringThe advent of fast, reliable fiber-optic cables have enabled companies in countries like the US , Europe, Australia, and Japan, where workers command higher salaries, to ship jobs to countries where workers with similar education backgrounds earn comparatively modest wages. Call center gigs aren’t the only jobs being sent overseas. Computer programmers in India write code for a fraction of the cost. Accountants abroad prepare US tax filings for pennies on the dollar. Doc-tors in third-world countries can review MRIs online and write notes for medical records. MBAs in China can pore over financial data and offer analysis, and China now graduates more MBAs than the US. It seems that, across industries, left-brained analytical and routine jobs have been particularly hard hit by offshoring.

Some technical communication jobs have been sent offshore but not in great numbers or with any great success.

AutomationAutomation has been particularly devastating to those specializing in left-brained fields. As we saw in the aftermath of the industrial revolution, machines largely replaced blue-collar workers. So, too, computers are re-placing white-collar workers in areas once thought safe because of the analysis involved. Patients now go to the Internet to plug in symptoms and determine a prelimi-nary diagnosis. Taxpayers can input figures online by following a guided tour to file their own taxes, thereby enabling the uninitiated to navigate the tax code once reserved for the expert accountants. Likewise, online tools that perform the analysis once provided by the mystics of financial advisors have democratized invest-ing. Any job that’s transaction based or can be boiled down to a set of routines has been radically altered by technology, automation, and self-service.

Chapter Contacts

OCSTC P.O. Box 28751 Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751

Web site: http://www.ocstc.org

Administrative CouncilPresident, Michael Opsteegh, pres@ocstc.org

Past President, Betsy Malone, ipp@ocstc.org

1st Vice Presidents, Programs, Jolynn Atkins and Roger Hunnicutt, 1vp@ocstc.org

2nd Vice President, Membership, Len Poché, 2vp@ocstc.org

Treasurer, Jim Marchant, trea@ocstc.org

Assistant Treasurer, Miriam Whitman,

miriamwhitman@gmail.com

Secretary, Judy Jones, sec@ocstc.org

AppointeesTechniScribe Managing Editor, Jennifer Gardelle, techniscribe@ocstc.org

Public Relations Chair, Betsy Malone, betsybythebeach@gmail.com

Education Chair, Bill Darnall, edu.bd@ocstc.org

Scholarship Chair, Carrie Damschroder, carried@hotmail.com

Employment Manager, Betsy Malone, betsybythebeach@gmail.com

Committees Nominating Committee:

Laura Ann LoCicero, lasmiles06@hotmail.com

Suzanne Madison,

suzanne@madisonavenuepublications.com

Pat Olsen, polsen@hotmail.com

Betsy Malone, betsybythebeach@gmail.com

Continued on Page 10 >

OCSTC is seeking raffle items!

Do you have a book, a piece of software, or promotional items that can be raffled at our meetings? Please donate those items to OCSTC. Contact a council member for more information.

June 2011  •  3

Next MeetingTopic: So What’s All the Fuss About Structured

Authoring and DITA?

Speaker: Howard Schwartz

When: Tuesday, June 21, 6–9 p.m.

Where: DoubleTree Club Hotel 7 Hutton Centre Drive Santa Ana, CA 92707 714.751.2400

Cost: Members with reservations . . . . . . . . . . . $26

Students with reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . $20

STC member, speaker-only . . . . . . . . . . . $12

Nonmembers with reservations . . . . . . . $31

Walk-ins, or those registering after the deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35

No-shows billed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26

Reservations:

Due by midnight, Sunday, June 19

Registration:

Online at http://www.ocstc.org/dinres.asp

Directions to the DoubleTree Club HotelMap of the I-405 and SR-55 area. The star below indi-cates the hotel location. Parking is FREE.

Announcing the 2011–2012 STC Spotlight AwardsFor Excellence in Technical Communication

Showcase your talent!Enter your work in any of these categories: • Informational Materials • Instructional Materials • Promotional Materials • User Support MaterialsENTRY DEADLINE: September 30, 2011$75 per entry for STC members, $100 for non-membersDiscounts for multiple entriesEnter before the early entry deadline, September 15, 2011, and receive a 33% discount o� your entry fees! For more information, entry forms, and rules, see the competitionweb site at www.stcspotlightawards.orgOr contact Suzy Hosie at shosie@wote.com

Be a Judge!

See the best work ofthe year, set high standards, and make your résumé shine

Save the date for the awards banquet:Mark January 28, 2012, on your calendar today!

4  •  June 2011

Publication PoliciesTechniScribe is published 11 to 12 times a year as a benefit to the members of the Orange County Chapter of the Society for Technical Communi-cation. The goal of the publication is to reflect the interests, needs, and objectives of OCSTC members. TechniScribe strives to be an advocate for, and an inspiration to, technical communicators by keeping them connected to each other and to opportunities for professional growth.

Articles published in this newsletter may be re-printed in other STC publications if permission is obtained from the author, credit is properly given, and one copy of the reprint is sent to the Techni­Scribe managing editor.

Submission InformationThe editorial team retains and exercises the right to edit submitted and requested material for clar-ity, length, and appropriateness.

When submitting material, please remember to:

Include a 25-word biography about yourself.• 

Send articles in Word (doc, docx), Rich-Text • Format (RTF), ASCII (txt), or in the body of an email message.

Send material to the managing editor • (techni scribe@ocstc.org) five weeks before the date it will be published.

Editorial StaffManaging Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Gardelle Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Young Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Opsteegh Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suzanne Madison

Monthly Advertising Rates1/4 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40 1/3 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45 1/2 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 Full page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80

Subscriptions$10 a year to members of other STC chapters.

Editor’s DeskBy Jennifer Gardelle, TechniScribe Managing Editor

Where do you go for information when writ-

ing? Say you have a general direction that you want to head in, but you want to find some good sources so that you can write a logical paper.

It used to be that writers would get their information by reading books, magazines, or newspapers and by talking

to people (other writers, subject matter experts, and so on). While this is still done, now we also do searches on the Internet.

Google is a good place to start. There’s the general Google and Google Scholar, both of which have a wealth of information—one for the majority of us, and the other for scholars, students, etc. When doing a Google search, you just have to be careful about what term you query so you don’t get more information than you could possibly sift through. Bing, Yahoo, and the other search engines are good sources of informa-tion, too.

So, what do you do when you have too many sources of information? Each source can carry you off in a dif-ferent direction, and sometimes you have to be careful to stay focused on your original point. Part of the problem is information overload. Alvin Toffler used this term in his book, Future Shock, but Bertram Gross coined the term in his novel The Managing of Organi-zation. For more information about the term and its origins, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/­Information_overload.

Wikipedia is yet another search site where you can find all sorts of information about nearly anything. Many people say that it’s not a reliable source be-cause anyone who sets up an account can edit a page. I agree with this to an extent, but I think it’s fine to use as a source for basic information as long as you’re careful and use other sources to back up your find-ings, especially when writing a research paper, for example.

This is all leading to my original point about how people gather information when writing: We can now get our information from so many places—not only the traditional places I mentioned earlier, but also the Internet. Despite information overload, this is a great thing because of round-the-clock accessibility. No lon-ger can we claim that we’re unable to find out some-thing, as long as we take time to analyze the informa-tion we gather and make educated choices about what we use and how we disseminate our findings. Don’t you agree?

June 2011  •  5

May Meeting ReviewBy Carrie Damschroder, OCSTC Senior Member

I admit that before I attended the May meeting, I knew nothing about podcasting. Yikes—I had never

even listened to a podcast! Cornelius Fichtner, PMP and host of “The Project Management Podcast,” did a great job explaining to newbies like me what podcast-ing is, how to create and publish podcasts, and how to subscribe and listen to them. Using a very cool Prezi presentation, Cornelius described a podcast as an audio (or video) file created with computer code (don’t worry—that part is automatic!) that enables the file to be downloaded (which can also be automatic!) and listened to/viewed by subscribers. They are time-shifted, portable, and can be played using any MP3 or video player. Sounds fairly simple, right? Don’t fool yourself, though—Cornelius also said that producing podcasts is “a hell of a lot of work!” If you want to do more than just listen to podcasts and are ready to produce your own, here’s how.

Plan your podcast. Think of a theme (e.g., OC restau-rant reviews), name, content, features, jingle, location, price, target audience, length (2 minutes—2 hours), and frequency (daily, weekly, biweekly). Need help planning? Listen/watch other podcasts and then copy the ideas that you like from them! If you are inter-viewing people, make sure to plan your interviews also—send your interview questions to your subjects in advance and decide if the interviews will occur in person or via Skype.

Record an MP3 audio file or MPEG video file using an external microphone (not a computer microphone!). If you have multiple speakers, be sure to use an XLR so that you can plug multiple microphones into your computer. You want your audio files to have CD-qual-ity (142 kbps bit rate/44.1 khz sample rate).

Mix and edit your files using Audacity (PC users) or GarageBand (Mac users). Consider adding royalty free music from The Music Bakery.

Upload your podcast to an online host like Libsyn.

Post your podcast and show notes on your blog (you can create free blogs on WordPress and Blogger) so that search engines will find them. Use tools like FeedBurner and iTunes so that people can subscribe to your RSS feed and automatically get notices about your new show notes and download your podcasts.

Review your original plan and make changes, as necessary. Be wary of “podfading,” which occurs to podcasts after a while when they are less and less frequently updated and then fade out altogether.

Throughout your podcasting process, don’t forget your main goal: to engage, educate, and entertain your audience. Cornelius told us that we can reach our goal if we have passion about our topics and tell a compelling story.

To learn more about the very dynamic Cornelius Fich-tner, who started podcasting in 2005 and now works full-time as an Internet entrepreneur, check out his web site at http://www.project-management-podcast.com. While you’re there, listen to his free PM Podast!

June Meeting InformationAbout the Presentation

Have you been wondering what struc-tured content or DITA is? Why are companies talking about it and requir-ing technical communicators to have structured content job skills? Is DITA just for big companies and software projects? Is it coming to an office near you?

Bring yourself up to date on Tuesday, June 21, and hear Howard Schwartz’s introduction to why and how organizations are moving to DITA—the “flavor” of structured content that technical writers use. He’ll describe situations for which it’s most appropriate and how you can use it to help your employment appeal.

He’ll demonstrate DITA’s potential return on invest-ment for different size companies and share emerging best practices for applying it in the workplace—such as role changes, thinking in structure, and collaboration. As a bonus, he’ll treat us to a demonstration of SDL’s structured content technology suite.

About the SpeakerHoward Schwartz is senior vice president of content technologies for SDL’s Structured Content Technolo-gies division. He’s been responsible for the division’s go-to market strategies and is a lead for SDL in devel-oping the company’s DITA and XML business strate-gies. Howard has 15 years’ experience advising compa-nies on implementing technology and best practices to streamline various parts of the global content lifecycle. Before leading SDL’s XML strategies, Howard was VP of business consulting for SDL’s language technology organization. Howard joined SDL through the acqui-sition of Trados, where he played various executive roles, including VP of business consulting and market-ing. Howard has a PhD from Brown University and has taught at several universities. He’s written several books and articles (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/howard-schwartz/0/49/aa).

6  •  June 2011

EduNotesBy Bill Darnall, Education Committee Chair

Information Surveys—Part 1

The reason for conducting an information survey is

to discover specific informa-tion about a particular group or general population. Exam-ples of information surveys include paid surveys, market surveys, customer surveys, student surveys, and mem-ber surveys. For a small

group, you could ask each member of the group identical questions. After compiling the answers, you would have specific information about that particular group’s views, preferences, or opinions. However, for large groups, such individualized attention is im-practical and can be cost-prohibitive. Consequently, we usually ask questions of a target group, hopefully a representative subset of the total population. In a subsequent EduNotes article we will address sample size and touch on statistical methods.

There are numerous methods for conducting infor-mation surveys, including self-administered quizzes and telephone surveys. You probably have experi-ence with face-to-face interviews, printed question-naires, online questionnaires, and those irritating dinnertime telephone interruptions masquerading as surveys. In the United States, a major survey happens every ten years. You might be interested to know that the first census took place in 1790 when George Washington was President. Thomas Jefferson managed the process. Hand-drawn questionnaires included six columns for recording answers to each of six questions (see http://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/fast_facts/1790_fast_facts.html).

QuestionnairesA questionnaire is a fundamental data-gathering form (called an instrument). You may hear the ques-tionnaire referred to as a survey. However, the ques-tionnaire is only one element of the survey. The in-dividual responses entered on the questionnaire are raw data, not information about the group. Insightful

group information emerges only after careful compilation of the data from well-designed and properly conducted surveys.

A questionnaire includes questions and possibly clarifying instructions. Short simple question-naires should have short simple instructions, if any. Depending on the purpose, a questionnaire may be any of several types, including general survey, needs assessment, personal preferences, or speaker-evaluation. Encourage responders to complete your questionnaire by asking straightforward objective and/or quantitative questions. Maintain flow by us-ing a clear consistent style. Note that subjective and/or qualitative questions can be time-consuming, may lead to frustration, and will probably discourage many responders.

MotivationMotivate your responders to begin and to com-plete the questionnaire. Use positive motivation to encourage responders to complete the self-admin-istered questionnaire. For example, explain how answering the questions will benefit the responder. For online questionnaires, provide a progress bar or percent complete information. Examples of negative motivation include extra-long questionnaires and obviously biased questions.

Survey respondents expect and deserve anonymity for their honest answers, especially about sensitive subjects. Do not ask questions with the potential for identifying a particular responder. Many organiza-tions conduct surveys using independent consul-tants to emphasize the promise of confidentiality.

Survey DesignUse instructional design and development (IDD) methods to produce a top-notch survey. A popular approach to IDD is known as ADDIE, which means:

Analyze•

Design•

Develop•

Implement•

Evaluate•

For an interesting commentary on the obscure origin of the acronym ADDIE, see http://www.comp.dit.ie/dgordon/Courses/ILT/ILT0004/InSearchof­Elu-siveADDIE.pdf. Origins notwithstanding, the com-mon ADDIE model uses a top-down linear approach to IDD (see Figure 1 on Page 8). Linear design is perfect for well-defined one-off surveys. Some-times, you will hear linear design referred to as the waterfall process. However, for the design of more complex surveys, you may want to consider a more agile approach to IDD (see Figure 2 on Page 8). An

Continued on Page 8 >

June 2011  •  7

38 seminars from the 2010 Summit have been • archived online (free).

The Community Affairs Committee was es-• tablished as a link between communities, the STC Board of Directors, and the STC staff.

Opening SessionThe Summit opened with a keynote address by Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, one of the best-known computer book publishers in the world. Mr. O’Reilly presented “Creating a Context in Which Other People Can Think.” As technical communica-tors, we can frame words differently to make people think differently. He urged us to focus on grass roots technology, on big ideas, on things that matter, and to create more value than we capture. He said, “The future is now; it’s just not evenly distributed yet.”

Education SessionsThis year, over 80 educational sessions were offered, in the following eight tracks for technical communica-tors of all types and with varying levels of experience:

Communication and Interpersonal Skills•

Design, Architecture, and Publishing•

Education and Training•

Managing People, Projects, and Business•

Professional Development•

Usability and Accessibility•

Web Technologies•

Writing and Editing•

In addition, four institutes, designed for the more experienced technical communicators, were offered along with the education sessions on the following topics:

Business Strategy •

User Experience •

Social Media •

Content Strategy •

Speakers of Our OwnOCSTC was well represented at this year’s Summit. Five of our members were among the presenters:

Adrienne Escoe gave a presentation at the • Topics of Special Interest from STC SIGs on “Do You Have What It Takes to be an On- Demand Editor?”

Barbara Giammona participated in a panel dis-• cussion on “Expanded Roles and Added Value for Technical Communicators.”

Jack Molisani participated in the Business • Strategy Institute with “How to Build a Busi-ness Case” and in the postconference sessions with “Increasing Your Corporate Value.”

Michael Opsteegh presented “Putting Your • Best Font Forward.”

Lance-Robert presented “Embedding Flash • Movies in PDFs” as part of the Project Show-case.

Other OfferingsOver 45 vendors showcased their products and ser-vices for technical communicators in the Expo. Summit participants were given a Bingo-type card to be signed by each vendor, then entered into a drawing for a free Apple iPad. The Expo, which began with a welcome reception on the first night, also featured a Consultant’s Corner, where independent consultants could dis-cuss and promote their businesses. In addition, some vendors conducted special presentations about their products in the Vendor Showcase Theater.

As in previous years, there was a bookstore, an em-ployment booth, and STC Central—a place to learn more about STC, special interest groups (SIGs), view the works of the International Competition winners, talk with staff about STC member services, meet the STC nominating committee, and meet the editors of Intercom and Technical Communication.

Back from the Sacramento Summit< Continued from Page 1

At the Sacramento Summit. (left to right) Michael Opsteegh, Adrienne Escoe, Suzanne Madison, Barbara Giammona, Pat Olsen. Photo credit: Johnny Mroz.

Continued on Page 10 >

8  •  June 2011

Member Survey ResultsBy Roger Hunnicutt and Jolynn Atkins, VPs of Programs

Thank you for your participation in our first online mini-survey. We use your input to make OCSTC

relevant and useful. As promised, here are the results:

Out of the 75 survey recipients, 23 completed the survey, which is a statistically significant percentage! Thank you so much for your participation. However, since two thirds declined to participate, we must take these statistics with a grain of salt. Future surveys and the redesigned meeting survey and assessment form will help us to fill in the gaps and reinforce the statistics.

It looks like most of those who answered the survey have 10 years or more of technical writing experience, and many have advanced degrees.

A majority of those who responded are employed and have W2 jobs. However, a couple of those who an-swered were unemployed, but they gave their prefer-ences for employment.

Finally, most people answered that they work for large companies.

As an example of how we can use this latter sta-tistic, you may be aware that large companies are more open to using structured authoring (DITA) and Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite. These are two topics that we have scheduled this summer, so we hope you’ll find them to be useful to you.

The last question requested additional comments or suggestions. Here they are:

How collaborative writing is affecting the role • of the P&P Writer.

To clarify question #1, my technical commu-• nication experience is in editing, rather than writing.

Keep programming varied—present different • aspects of technical communication and for different levels of experience.

Would like to see joint meeting/training on • DITA.

When a new software application that im-• pacts this profession begins to show up in job requirements, a “heads-up” introduction could help keep the folks who are struggling to find work from appearing to be “behind the curve”.

Great survey. Our second mini-survey allows you to tell us what specific topics you want us to schedule. We hope you’ll let your voice be heard!

Editors Note: Contact Jolynn Atkins and Roger Hunnicutt at 1vp@ocstc.org for a copy of the survey questions and results.

agile process em-braces change. An agile process features incremental, iterative, collaborative methods. We discussed Agile methods in a series of EduNotes between September 2010 and January 2011.

Summary and ConclusionsInformation surveys are widely used to discover specific information about particular groups or general populations. Surveys employ questionnaires to gather data. To develop simple surveys, use the linear ADDIE model. For most surveys, consider us-ing the agile ADDIE model. Objective questions are more effective than subjective ones. Use an engaging common format to frame your questions. Include a promise of confidentiality as a motivating factor. Offer to inform survey participants about the results. A survey is a project with elements of scope, require-ments, goals, tasks, stakeholders. Use project man-agement methods to guide your survey.

Part 2, next month, will include more about survey design and project management.

EduNotes< Continued from Page 6

Did you know that shopping at Amazon.com is not only a great place to find books and other items,

it’s also a great way to give back to the OCSTC! The next time you shop at Amazon, please access the

site via OCSTC.org. Amazon donates a percentageof your purchase to the chapter.

Thank you!

OCSTC Employment InformationOur job listing isn’t working at this time. Until it is, go to http://twitter.com/STCSoCal, where

you’ll find employment and general information about the San Diego and Orange County chapters.

InquiriesIf you have an inquiry, email our employment manager, Betsy Malone, at betsybythebeach@gmail.com.

Society-Level Job ListingsSTC maintains job listings on the Internet. You can download the listings from the STC web site at http://jobs.

stc.org.

June 2011  •  9

Society Pages

STC Mission StatementSTC advances the theory and practice of technical communication across all user abilities and all media.

Positioning StatementSTC helps you design effective communication for a technical world through information sharing and industry leadership.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is the world’s largest organization for technical com-municators.

Its members include writers, editors, illustrators, printers, publishers, photographers, educators, and students.

Dues are $75–395 per year. Membership is open to anyone engaged in some phase of technical communi-cation, interested in the arts and sciences of technical communication, and in allied arts and sciences.

Society for Technical Communication 9401 Lee Highway, Suite 300 Fairfax, VA 22031-1803

703.522.4114 (voice); http://www.stc.org

TechniScribe Copyright and Trademark StatementOCSTC invites writers to submit articles that they wish to be considered for publication. Authors retain copyright to their work and implicitly grant a license to this newsletter to publish the work once online for an indefinite period of time. In your cover letter, please let the editor know if this article has appeared elsewhere, and if it has been submitted for consider-ation to other publications.

The design and layout of this newsletter are copy-righted as © STC, 2011.

Some articles might refer to companies or products whose names are covered by a trademark or regis-tered trademark. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Reference to a specific product does not constitute an endorsement of the product by OCSTC or by STC.

ColophonTechniScribe is written using Microsoft Word, and laid out using Adobe InDesign CS3 for Macintosh. Gill Sans and Palatino Linotype are used for heading and text fonts. PDFs are produced using Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.

TechniScribe relies on the following editorial refer-ences for style: American Heritage Dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and Words into Type.

10  •  June 2011

Orange Slice: Calendar of EventsDate Event Location TimeJune 7 OCSTC Council Meeting Airport Executive Suites, Irvine 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

June 21

OCSTC Chapter MeetingHoward Schwartz, “So What’s All the Fuss About Structured Authoring and DITA?”

DoubleTree Club Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, CA, 92707, 714.751.2400 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

July 5 OCSTC Council Meeting Airport Executive Suites, Irvine 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

July 30 (Satur-day)

OCSTC Chapter MeetingTom Aldous, “Introduction to Adobe Technical Communication Suite 3”

DoubleTree Club Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, CA, 92707, 714.751.2400 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

August 2 OCSTC Council Meeting Airport Executive Suites, Irvine 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

August 16 OCSTC Chapter MeetingMicrosoft Store Field Trip

Microsoft Store in Costa Mesa 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

New this year, 10 STC members participated in a Proj-ect Showcase session, where they shared their project solutions.

An Honors Reception and Banquet was held to rec-ognize newly elected Fellows and Associate Fellows, as well as other STC award recipients. Four OCSTC members were honored, including Virginia Janzig, who received the Distinguished Service Award from the Technical Editing SIG, and Suzanne Madison, Betsy Malone, and Lance Robert who all received Dis-tinguished Chapter Service Awards.

Numerous other events, including the student wel-come lunch, SIG meetings, the annual Society business meeting, and the Communities Reception provided ample opportunity for networking. Often, the net-working at the Summit is equally as valuable as the educational sessions.

Conclusion No matter what STC means to you—job leads, net-working, publications, or learning opportunities, attending the Summit changes your perspective. You’ll learn how the Society advocates for us and our profes-sion, how much more is included under the technical communication umbrella than just the type of work you, or any of us, at OCSTC does, and you’ll learn about cutting-edge technology and trends in technical communication.

We hope each of you will consider the career enhanc-ing benefits of attending an STC Summit. Begin now to put together a business case for your employer to justify the budget for sending you to the 2012 Summit in Chicago. Or, if you are self- employed, begin con-tributing to your own fund now to pay your way. This time next year, you’ll be glad you did.

Back from the Sacramento Summit< Continued from Page 7

Tying It All TogetherWith white-collar wages being held down by off-shoring, white-collar jobs being made redundant by automation, and companies turning to aesthetics and design to differentiate their products, Pink postulates that we’re moving away from an informational age to a conceptual age. No longer is it enough to present data and analysis, white-collar workers are expected to relate that data in a meaningful way to their audi-ences.

In the postindustrial, postinformational world, the right-brained liberal arts majors have the skills that companies will need to succeed. Such aptitudes as de-sign, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning—all the province of liberal arts majors—are now the skill sets companies are looking for in young execu-tives. Design is prized above function, story above argument, symphony above focus, empathy above logic, play above seriousness, and meaning above ac-cumulation.

Think about this as you write your own documenta-tion. It’s no longer enough to tell someone how to use a widget. You have to give the widget a story and explain why the widget should be used this way.

Not all technical communicators were liberal arts majors, but we all have these skill sets that are in-creasingly important to companies. So, the next time someone pokes fun at your English degree, accept the joke for what it is. But don’t believe a word of it.

You can order A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink through the Amazon.com link on the ocstc.org home page.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, see me at the next chapter meeting or email pres@ocstc.org.

President’s Message< Continued from Page 2