Connection: Table of Contents · Title: Connection: Table of Contents Created Date: 11/16/2007...

Connection: Table of Contents

Issue: June and July 2003

Print Version

Letters | Meetings | Articles | In Every Issue

Letters

From the Outgoing Chapter President Outgoing President Beau Cain reminisces over the past year.

From the Incoming Chapter President Incoming President Fred Sampson shares a little about himself and his vision for the chapter.

From the Director-Sponsor Linda Oestreich, Director-Sponsor for Region 5, shares an overview of the actions and discussion items from the May STC board meeting.

Calendar

April Meeting: Building the Document Factory: Using Arbortext for Single Sourcing Read this meeting summary to learn how to leverage the power of XML and perform single sourcing using Arbortext software.

May Meeting: They're Here ... Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Conditional Text If you missed this presentation, read up on how Ivan Linderman applies the technique of using conditional text to Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers which has appeared in several different formats.

August Meeting: Is That Your Final Answer? Using Games in Technical Training in Silicon

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/currenttoc.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:00 AM]

http://www.stc-siliconvalley.org/

http://www.stc.org/

Connection: Table of Contents

Valley and in Santa Cruz.

Articles

Board Decisions Impact Members President Fred Sampson gives a local perspective on the STC May board decisions.

Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit Learn how tips on how to successfully write and submit articles to magazines.

USCS Career Day Read about how the Silicon Valley Chapter participated in the USCS Career Day in March.

Writer in the Workplace: Networking Networking is an important skill. Learn some tips on how to hone your networking techniques.

Recognizing Our Volunteers Thanks to those who have volunteered for the Silicon Valley Chapter over the last year.

In Every Issue

Contacting the SVC Administrative Council

Volunteer of the Month

Connection Newsletter Information

Last updated: 30 JULY 2003

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/currenttoc.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:00 AM]

April Meeting Summary: Building the Document Factory

Previous: From the Director-Sponsor | Table of Contents | Next: May Meeting Summary

April Meeting Summary: Building the Document FactoryDara Golden

What does manufacturing have in common with the generation of documentation? According to Orin Pierce and Kelli Case, of Arbortext, both can be automated. While presenting "Building the Document Factory," the April STC-SVC meeting, Pierce and Case gave a history of automation, applied it to documentation, and gave a demonstration of two Arbortext products, E3 and Epic Editor, that help writers automate generating documents.

History of Automation

Pierce began with some history of automation, starting with Eli Whitney. In addition to being the inventor of the cotton gin, in 1803 Whitney "came up with the idea of building muskets and rifles with interchangeable parts." Making interchangeable parts was more difficult than people suspected. Although Whitney gave a carefully rigged and fraudulent demonstration to the United States government, Pierce noted that after winning the bid for 4000 muskets "it took Whitney eight years to deliver them and the parts were [still] not interchangeable." Then, in 1913, Henry Ford created the "moving assembly line," but the key component was having "production workers specialize, each doing the same set of tasks over and over again," explained Pierce.

"Modern manufacturing introduced automated machinery, which built on the inventions of interchangeable parts and a moving assembly line," Pierce continued. He maintained that the term "mass production" is equivalent to "mass customization," meaning that the products can be different. "Manufacturers are learning how to reuse the same parts in multiple product designs ... reducing design times and costs," he elaborated. Although this has freed humans from the repetitive work, he reminded the audience that designing the product, machinery, and process is still the responsibility of humans.

Automating Documentation

With the history of machinery established, Pierce focused on documents and their automation history. He explained that "originally reading and writing were rare and labor-intensive." With the invention of the printing press and moveable type, manuscripts became available to everyone. Once typesetting became available, information was distributed faster to those needing it. In the 20th century, word processors and personal computers "put publishing capability on everyone's desk, and the World Wide Web reduced the distribution costs."

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/meetings/2003_04.htm (1 of 6) [11/16/2007 10:40:02 AM]


"Have we achieved the same level of automation as modern manufacturing?" asked Pierce. He noted that the process of "creating and publishing information consists of a lot of manual effort." Writers do more than "just write," he explained, adding that they organize the information including how it should be presented. He listed a number of labor-intensive tasks, including creating and updating documents, integrating content from multiple sources, and creating multiple versions in different formats. He suggested that writers look at what can be "automated" to make the writing process less labor-intensive.

What parts are important for building "the document factory?" According to Pierce, there are four:

● Automation Improves the quality of the documentation, increases the productivity of authors, eliminates inconsistencies, reduces time to market, and reduces overall costs.

● Interchangeable parts "Someone must figure out the parts that are needed and how they fit together," stated Pierce. He added that a DTD (Document Type Definition) is the most common way to implement data structure. The DTD sets the rules of a document, such as beginning with a title and having a heading, which give consistency to all documents. He added that the parts must always fit together. Following this allows for automating various processes.

● Expertise and experience When setting up the factory, Pierce reminded the audience that they need both expert and experienced personnel to assist them.

● Time As with any new process, it will require time in order to implement the documentation factory, such as selecting software and training staff members.

Why XML?

Pierce listed two main reasons for why XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the "ideal solution for creating interchangeable information parts."

1. Structure is explicit "The formatting of a word processor document makes the structure implicit, such as a short incomplete sentence in 24 point Helvetica bold usually being a title, XML makes the structure explicit [by separating content from formatting]," explained Pierce. He added that this is necessary so that automated processes can enforce the data model describing the information part and that this part is consistently processed.

2. Separation of information from products Pierce emphasized that XML is "media neutral," meaning that the information is just information and can be in a database, HTML page, instruction manual, or press release.

Pierce concluded by emphasizing that creating content directly in XML is the preferred way to a true



document factory.

Preparing for Automation

Case, taking over the presentation, explained how to "design your data model" and get documents ready for XML conversion. The most important thing, according to Case, is to set up the data model or DTD.

Case suggested two ways to get the DTD set up:

Quick Start Start with an industry standard, such as DocBook or IBM's DITA DTD, and customize them as necessary.

�❍ Advantages: low investment and quick results�❍ Disadvantages: may need to "reinvest in content" if critical items are not captured

Detailed Analysis Arbortext has a Consulting Service that will analyze existing documentation and ask usage questions, such as output and users.

�❍ Advantages: exposes additional opportunities for achieving competitive advantages and may allow capturing important differentiators

�❍ Disadvantages: high investment of not only time (it may add months to the project) but also expertise (outside and internal)

Once the DTD is created, then the stylesheets can be created. The stylesheets give the look and feel of the document, such as the font, size, and layout. Stylesheets allow the same information to have different output types, such as HTML, print, or PDF. Case cautioned that creating the XML stylesheet is "much more involved than creating stylesheets for interactive publishing."

Specialized Employee Roles

Case explained that the role of the "writer" is changing. Traditionally, writers created documents and output them onto paper. Writers had control over the look and feel (formatting) and structure. With the invention of the World Wide Web, writers started presenting documentation online in different formats, such as PDF, HTML, and XML, and for different devices, such as CD-ROM and PDAs.

Case listed four "new" writer roles:

● Subject Matter Expert Creates and maintains the information modules.

● Product Manager Decides which information products are needed and determines which information modules to include and their order.



● Style Designer Determines how to format (present) information for each media type, such as print, PDF, and online devices.

● Data Designer Designs the data model for each type of information module and product, such as adding elements and attribute values

In Action: Demonstration of E3 and Epic Editor

"Companies are moving toward [user-oriented documentation]," Case noted. She added that users want specific information, such as documentation for a specific platform and for different user levels. To demonstrate this, she opened a classic car website. The page had selection items, such as checkboxes and a drop-down menu. Case mentioned that E3 (Epic E-Content Engine) assists with single-sourcing for the web, print, PDF, and wireless device publishing, as shown by the choices out output on the web page. Demonstrating E3, she selected some items and generated an "on the fly" maintenance manual in HTML, complete with web links, a table of contents, and photos. She added that E3 helps writers

● capture content from different sources, both external (such as suppliers) and internal (such as different departments)

● quickly deploy new and changed content● automatically publish to different media types● dynamically deliver information customized to the needs of each user

Case noted that there was a math error in the page, so she opened the section needing to be fixed in Epic Editor, Arbortext's native XML authoring program. After the program opened, she explained that Epic Editor had a native XML and a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) split screen. She made the change, using the equation editor. She also added a new section, showing that due to the DTD settings some sections were automatically added, such as title, section, and paragraph. She saved the changes and relaunched the website, reran the search, and regenerated the manual, which appeared with both the new section and the corrected math formula.

Program Management

Case noted that Epic Editor has both version and access controls, which help with both project and content management. There are also adapters to content management system databases, such as Documentum. She demonstrated this by inserting a document from a management system database into the classic car document. She explained that the section was locked, meaning that she could not modify it. If changes were made to the section from the database, they would appear in the document automatically. She added that the database had information about each document, such as permission control, version control, and keywords. She showed how to create a new document (or entity) and how to set the permissions so others could use it.



Case noted some features of Epic Editor:

● Automatic email notification Editors and reviewers can be notified automatically of changes needing review.

● Change tracking Insertions and deletions are tracked

● Import existing documentation Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, and Interleaf are some of the programs that can be converted into XML.

● Different stylesheets Allows for different output, such as print, PDF, web, CD-ROM, and PDA.


"Management is usually skeptical about claims of improved revenues or reduced costs unless they're based on numbers," Pierce commented. He offered the following for getting management's buy-in:

● Make your case with measurable benefits �❍ Faster time to market

Where are the bottlenecks? How much of the development cycle depends upon on information creation and sharing? How much could be reused instead of recreating them?

�❍ Increased customer loyalty If customer satisfaction and attrition are measured, how can these be improved?

�❍ Market expansion Does the cost of translation keep the company out of international markets?

�❍ Customer self-service How many pre- and post-sales calls are not adequately addressed in published information, but are available in the company? What percentage of the total calls do these calls represent?

● Present intangible benefits Include items like increased information quality, improved information freshness, improved content flexibility, and information accuracy.

● Select "IT-friendly" vendors �❍ Select open systems�❍ Standards based, such as XML or W3C�❍ Strong partnerships with other companies, such as Oracle

Audience Questions

Does Arbortext give training or support for converting documents into XML? Yes. Case explained that Arbortext offers training on DTDs, stylesheets, the conversion process, and understanding the underlying database. Additionally, Arbortext has a consulting department, which can



create the DTDs and stylesheets and work with customers on converting their documents into Epic Editor.

How are Visio graphics handled? Currently these must be saved out into one of the supported formats, such as JPEG, TIFF, or EPS.

How are screen captures handled? These cannot be pasted and embedded into Epic Editor. They must be stored in a package that stores information on the file format.

How are graphics handled in print versus HTML? There are multiple ways to handle this. One way is to refer to the EPS format for the print version, but convert the image to either GIF or JPEG for the web. Another way is by profiling, such as referring to the low-resolution version for online viewing, but the high-resolution version for printing.

Where can I get more information? Go to the Arbortext website (www.arbortext.com).

Previous: From the Director-Sponsor | Table of Contents | Next: May Meeting Summary


http://www.arbortext.com/

May Meeting Summary: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Conditional Text

Previous: April Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: August Chapter Meeting

May Meeting Summary: They're Here ... They're Changed ... They're ConditionalizedDara Golden

What does science fiction have in common with conditional text? According to R. Ivan Linderman, a lot, if the science fiction book is Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Linderman, the 2003-2004 Silicon Valley Chapter Vice President, presented They're Here ... Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Conditional Text in XHTML, Word 2002, and FrameMaker 7 at the May chapter meeting.

Why The Body Snatchers?

Ivan explained that there are multiple versions of The Body Snatchers, including the original serial (1954), the original book (1955), the original movie (1956), and the revised book (1978). He explained that comparing these versions had many redeeming values to him, including:

● the ability to study another writer (Jack Finney)● honing skills (including XHTML, XML, and JavaScript), and● doing the project "any way I want and set my own due date."

The history of The Body Snatchers is interesting. It is uncommon for books to be rewritten by the original authors, as Finney did with the 1978 version of The Body Snatchers. Although the story line of the book is the same, some of the details are different. He noted that the 1956 movie was based upon the serial, not the full length 1955 book.

Behind the Scenes: The Snatcher Concordance

The Snatcher Concordance, Ivan's soon-to-be-published electronic book, is an HTML Help file containing text versions of the original series, original book, orginal movie, and revised book. There is a table of contents, search engine, and bookmarks. He selected HTML Help because it is free and comes with table of content, indexing, searching, and bookmark capabilities. Additionally, it is customizable, works with Internet Explorer, and runs on the Windows platform. He demonstrated The Snatcher Concordance to the audience, showing how to do a search and then pressing a button to toggle between the different book versions. Unchanged text was black, but changes were colored either brown (1955) or purple (1978).



Ivan noted that he needed to determine how to compare the different versions, such as chunking, navigating, searching, and indexing.

● Chunking For example, a book has chapters and paragraphs, the film had chapters, shots, events, and paragraphs. Determining how to group the information into manageable chunks was vital to the comparison.

● Navigating What should be included to aide the reader? Ivan decided having a summary of each section, such as in which chapter and the first line on the page for the books.

● Searching While a full-text search was important, Ivan also wanted Boolean search capabilities.

● Indexing Ivan created his own index for this project. He realized that he must have more than just keywords, and enhanced the index to including text from the different versions. This allows the reader to determine if the same information was presented.

Conditionalizing Text

Ivan noted that creating conditionalized text is different in XHTML, Word, and FrameMaker.

● XHTML �❍ The Cascading Style Sheet contains the display property, which "toggles" the text on and

off�❍ Any non-head element may be conditionalized

● Word 2002 �❍ Create the style, giving it the Hidden effect, and apply it. Word allows for viewing hidden

text, but it will not print unless specificed�❍ Any inline character may be conditionalized

● FrameMaker �❍ Create the style, then apply it�❍ Anything except anchors may be conditionalized

XHTML

Continuing the behind the scenes peak at The Snatcher Concordance, Ivan showed the audience an example of the XHTML for The Snatcher Concordance. It contained text from both the 1955 and 1978 versions of The Body Snatchers. The original text is surrounded by class tags labelled original and revised. He reminded the audience that "how something looks is far less important than what it means." Style is defined in the style sheet, which he showed included the highlighted color used in the website. He also showed script for toggling between different versions. These examples can be found at



http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_xhtml.htm.

Word 2002

Ivan explained how to view hidden text, create conditionalized styles, apply the styles, and print the hidden text. Additionally, he explained how to create macros to hide and show the content. The how-to examples are available at: Word 2002 http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word.htm Macros http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word_macros.htm

FrameMaker

Ivan reviewed creating conditional tags, applying them to text, and hiding or showing the text. The how-to examples are available at http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_framemaker.htm

Dara Golden admits to never having seen the The Body Snatchers but when the Stanford Theatre shows the 1956 original, she'll be there with her husband and son.

Previous: April Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: August Chapter Meeting


http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_xhtml.htm

http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word.htm

http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word_macros.htm

http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_framemaker.htm

August Chapter Meeting: Is That Your Final Answer? Using Games in Technical Training

Previous: May Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: August Santa Cruz Meeting


Meeting Topic | Schedule | Reserve Online | Reserve by Mail | Directions

Games make learning fun. They are effective as long as they relate to learning points and include tie-backs to job applications. Learn the fundamentals of developing learner-based games that reinforce learning points in ways that will be remembered. Learn where to find, how to select, and how to customize games for your computer-based training. You will walk away with resources and a game-development job aid.

Speaker Biography

After 13 years in Corporate Financial Analysis crunching numbers that no one ever read, Paul Sinasohn took some time off to figure out he really wanted to do. He didn't know exactly what that would be, but he hoped it would involve meeting with people to get information and following up with written analyses of work he would perform. At the suggestion of a marcom writer Paul met through his acappella group, he launched a new career in technical writing, eventually following his heart into curriculum development.

Note: Reserve your seat by August 24th to avoid the $5 late fee!

Schedule

August 28 6:00 p.m. Networking, Jobs Corner, Beverages, Dinner Buffet7:00 p.m. Announcements7:15 p.m. Presentation

Reservations

Reserve online using PayPal.



Reserve by Mail

Print out the reservation form and mail it in with your check (payable to "STC-SVC") to:

STC SVC Dinner Reservations P.O. Box 1224 Mountain View, CA 94042-1224

To guarantee your space for any chapter dinner meeting, mail your reservation, paid in full, at least one week before the scheduled meeting date. Your reservation is guaranteed only if payment is received 4 days prior to the scheduled meeting date (that is the Sunday before the meeting). A $5 late fee will be charged for any reservation received after the deadline. The late fee also applies to walk-ins. See Restrictions for more details.

The prices for meeting attendance are as follows:

Buffet Coffee and Tea Only

Members $20 $12

Non-members $30 $15

Students $15 $ 8

Directions to Chapter Meetings at the Four Points Sheraton

The hotel's address is:

Four Points Sheraton 1250 Lakeside Drive Sunnyvale, California 94085-4010

From 101, going south:

1. Exit at Lawrence Expressway and take the middle right turn lane. (There are two left turn lanes and two right turn lanes.)

2. Turn right at the light and move into the left turn lane.3. Turn left onto Oakmead.4. Go one block to Lakeside Drive.



5. Turn left.6. Ignore the first driveway--it leads to the Faultline Brewing Company.7. Enter the hotel parking lot by turning right into the second (across from the Avalon Silicon

Valley Apartments) or third driveway (past the Avalon Silicon Valley apartments).8. Park, and go to the main lobby. Look for a sign directing you to the meeting.

From 101, going north:

1. Exit at Bowers/Great America Parkway.2. Turn left at the end of the offramp.3. Cross over 101 and make the first right at Augustine Drive.4. Turn right at the next corner, which is Lakeside Drive.5. Follow around (paralleling 101) to the Four Points Sheraton.6. Turn left into the parking lot just before the Avalon Silicon Valley Apartments.7. Park, and go to the main lobby. Look for a sign directing you to the meeting.

Extra Parking

If the hotel parking lot is full, additional parking is available behind the hotel.

1. Take Lakeside Drive to Oakmead and turn left.2. Go down three or four buildings.3. You will see a big sign on the left: Oakmead Village Office Park 1255 - 1263.4. Turn left into the parking lot.

The entrance to the Four Points Sheraton is between Buildings 1259 (Widata) and 1261 (Digital Market).

Find the meeting location by looking on the hotel events directory or by asking the concierge for directions.

Previous: May Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: August Santa Cruz Meeting


August Santa Cruz Meeting: Is That Your Final Answer? Using Games in Technical Training

Previous: August Chapter Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: Board Decisions Impact Members




Speaker Biography



Schedule


Reservations

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/meetings/2003_08_sc.htm (1 of 3) [11/16/2007 10:40:06 AM]



Reserve by Mail



To guarantee your space for any Santa Cruz dinner meeting, mail your reservation, paid in full, at least one week before the scheduled meeting date. Your reservation is guaranteed only if payment is received 4 days prior to the scheduled meeting date (that is the Sunday before the meeting). A $5 late fee will be charged for any reservation received after the deadline. The late fee also applies to walk-ins. See Restrictions for more details.



Members $20 $12

Non-members $30 $15

Students $15 $ 8

Directions to Chapter Meetings at Peachwood's Steakhouse

The restaurant's address is:

Peachwood's Steakhouse 555 Highway 17 Santa Cruz, California 95060

From Santa Cruz:

1. Take Highway 17 North, toward San Jose; exit at Pasatiempo.2. Proceed left over the highway, and left again.3. Peachwood's Steakhouse is on the right.



From San Jose:

1. Take Highway 17 South, toward Santa Cruz; exit at Pasatiempo.2. Peachwood's Steakhouse is a quarter mile ahead on the right.

Previous: August Chapter Meeting Summary | Table of Contents | Next: Board Decisions Impact Members


STC Board Decisions Impact Members

Previous: August Santa Cruz Meeting | Table of Contents | Next: Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit

STC Board Decisions Impact MembersFred Sampson, Silicon Valley Chapter Vice-President

Members of the Silicon Valley chapter of STC will be interested in three items in Linda's report:

● An increase in membership dues, effective January 1, 2004.● A decrease in the dues rebate returned to each chapter.● An initiative to transform the Society around a focus on "communities of practice."

Why are these decisions important to us at the Silicon Valley chapter?

Clearly, an increase in dues will affect every member at every membership level. Your administrative council is well aware that many employers no longer pay for STC membership, and that many members have chosen not to renew, even at the current membership dues. Will STC lose membership as a result of increasing dues? And will lost membership translate into tighter chapter budgets? Your administrative council must consider these questions in planning for the coming year.

A decreased dues rebate to the chapter means the Silicon Valley chapter will have less money to work with during this fiscal year. Will we have to cut back on programs and dinner meetings? Can we move forward with ambitious plans, or must we be conservative in our planning? Again, your administrative council must consider the impact of reduced funding while we plan for the next year.

These first two decisions clearly present us with challenges for the coming year. The third item, however, I believe to be an exciting proposal, one that gives us an opportunity to bring the Society more in touch with members' work lives and concerns. The Society is looking at a reorganization, a transformation, a realignment of STC's operations. The focus here is on organizing around communities of interest rather than geographic regions. It's too early to know just how this proposal will pan out, but it may mean that special interest groups (SIGs) take on a new and more powerful role in STC operations. It may also mean that we place new emphasis on cooperating with other professional organizations and societies, a prospect about which you will be hearing more from me in the coming months.

What do you think of the Board's decisions? What priorities do you think we should place on spending this year? How can STC transform itself to better address your interests? Let us know, we're here to serve-but be warned, if you come up with a good idea, we may ask you to volunteer to implement it!

Previous: August Santa Cruz Meeting | Table of Contents | Next: Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/boardimpact.htm [11/16/2007 10:40:07 AM]

STC Silicon Valley Chapter: Leadership Contact Directory

Previous: Recognizing Our Volunteers | Table of Contents | Next: Volunteer of the Month

Silicon Valley Chapter Leadership Contact DirectoryThis page contains the contact information for the STC Silicon Valley Chapter Administrative Council, Committee Managers, and Newsletter Staff.

Administrative Council

President

Fred Sampson [email protected]

Vice President

Ivan Linderman [email protected]

Secretary

Wendy Tung [email protected]

Treasurer

Brian Gonzales [email protected]

Membership & Volunteers Manager

Vicki Blodgett [email protected]

Nominations Manager

Marie Highby

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/leadershiplist.htm (1 of 3) [11/16/2007 10:40:08 AM]

mailto:[email protected]






Programs & Events Manager

John Baer [email protected]

SIGs Manager

Thomas Leah-Martin [email protected]

Regional Activities Manager

Anne Mehaffey [email protected]

Public Relations Manager

Ana Pineda [email protected]

Employment Information Manager

Beau Cain

Immediate Past President

Beau Cain [email protected]

Newsletter Managing Editor

Skyla Loomis [email protected]

Regional Director-Sponsor

Bonni Graham [email protected] (619) 291-0050 x101










Committee Managers

Reservations Manager

Patrick Harvey [email protected] (408) 945-1859

Web Master

Virginia Beecher [email protected]

Newsletter Staff



Newsletter Staff

Dara Golden Vera Kostiouk Fred Sampson

Contributors

Jeff Beeler Linda Oestrich Rashmi Shah

Previous: Recognizing Our Volunteers | Table of Contents | Next: Volunteer of the Month





Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit

Previous: Board Decisions Impact Members | Table of Contents | Next: USCS Career Day

Magazine Writing for Fun and ProfitJeff Beeler

Working or not, most technical communicators yearn to make extra money, raise their visibility and bolster their resumes. One way to achieve all those objectives at once-and have fun to boot-is to write for magazines, technical or otherwise.

But how do you proceed, especially if you're new to the game? Some useful, step-by-step recommendations emerged during a recent STC-sponsored audio teleconference called "Writing for Magazines," presented on June 18 by published technical writer and Hoosier Chapter President John Hedtke

Step One: Hatching Saleable Ideas

Before you can write a magazine article, you need an appealing idea that addresses at least one of four perennial themes:

● How to make or save money● How to save time● How to be loved● How to have fun

Within those broad headings, of course, the possibilities for magazine article ideas are endless and reflect your own interests, skills and life experiences. Some of the most engaging features spring from the unexpected but happy intersection of two typically unrelated subjects. Example: travel and soccer, Hedtke said.

Step Two: Targeting Suitable Magazines

Once you select an idea, your next task is to find a magazine that might publish your submission. For suitable candidates, check reference sources such as the Writer's Digest and the Writer's Market. Both guides list hundreds of publications and their editors, describe their editorial guidelines and focus, and specify pay rates.

But neither compilation is exhaustive. For additional listings, check newsstands, Web sites and libraries, both public and corporate. And remember, many periodicals now have electronic publishing arms that

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/magazine.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:10 AM]

Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit

afford freelancing opportunities quite apart from printed forms of distribution.

Step Three: Selling to Editors

Having chosen a magazine, you then need to approach its editor with a proposal. Your chief tool for doing so is a one-page, personal query letter that effectively sells your idea in the opening paragraph. A query letter communicates the gist of your planned article and should reflect an understanding of a magazine's mission and readership, Hedtke said. Always mail your letter and enclose a stamped return envelope with a clip or two, if necessary.

When crafting your query, also heed the following additional tips:

● Never direct editorial queries to subscription offices-an amateurish goof● Never pitch the same article to different magazines simultaneously-the shotgun approach to

querying alienates exclusivity-loving editors

Step Four: Meeting Editorial Expectations

The long-awaited approval of your article arrives. Congratulations! Now comes the fun part-composition. As you write, scrupulously follow editorial directions. Avoid surprises; editors hate them. If you have questions, ask. And above all, meet deadlines. If you must change your work, do so, even if requested edits make you wince. "Editors are always right," Hedtke said, tongue in cheek.

Finally, send a bill immediately after your proposal's acceptance. Because magazines sometimes fold, delayed invoices can mean forfeited checks, Hedtke warned.

Jeff Beeler, a member of the STC's Silicon Valley Chapter, is a freelance magazine writer in his own right.

Previous: Board Decisions Impact Members | Table of Contents | Next: USCS Career Day

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/magazine.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:10 AM]

SVC Adds New Members for September

Previous: Contacting the SVC Administrative Council | Table of Contents | Next: Connection Newsletter Information

SVC Adds New Members for December and January

December

New Members Reinstated Transfers

Linda Almond Mimi Amutan Tom Berkin Laura Burkard John Carr Chris Dresden Ansley Jentz Audrey Landgraf Susan Larsen Kevin Lim Richard Osborne Richard Pellicone Janet Ring Melissa Wiborn

Barbara Bauer Nadya Cook Andrew Stark Lisa Tesler

Tikhon Gilson Melanie Dell'Oca William Mullins

January

New Members Reinstated Transfers

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/membership.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:11 AM]

SVC Adds New Members for September

Jeffry Beeler Maril Blanchard Jeri Bockian Christine Diamond James Hom Jeffrey Lee Trish McBride Tom McCubbin Amanda Mills Roger Mullane Grace Murao Katherine Ogg Manju Ramachandran Arvita Tripati Vicki Wolfe

Dawn Fitzpatrick Jennifer Foster Katie Johnson Stephanie Johnston Nadini Purna Hari Rao Ann Sasso Catherine Skrbina Dorcas Taylor Amy Terrill

Meenu Bhatia Shirley Hendrickson


file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/membership.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:11 AM]

STC Silicon Valley Chapter: Connection Newsletter Information

Previous: Volunteer of the Month | Table of Contents

Connection Newsletter InformationArchive | Submissions | Reprint Policy

Archive

In the interest of conserving chapter funds and saving trees, we no longer print and mail the Connection newsletter. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 to read archived issues of Connection.

Submissions

We solicit your contributions on topics regarding technical communication tools of the trade, challenges in the workplace, contracting, deadline management, and so on. We also welcome letters to the editor, information on and reviews of meetings and workshops, and calendar entries.

Submit your contributions by the 20th of the month preceding publication to:

Connection Editor P.O. Box 1224 Mountain View, CA 94042-1224

Or you can e-mail your submissions to Skyla Loomis at [email protected].

Please limit articles to 450 words, and submit them in ASCII text, in the body of an e-mail, or as a Microsoft Word document attached to the e-mail. Include a title for your article, your name, phone number, and a brief biography. Articles might be edited for space and content.

Reprint Policy

Material appearing in Connection may be reprinted if credit is given and copy is sent to the Newsletter Managing Editor.

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/news.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:12 AM]

http://www.adobe.com/


STC Silicon Valley Chapter: Connection Newsletter Information

Previous: Volunteer of the Month | Table of Contents

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/news.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:12 AM]

Letter from the Silicon Valley Chapter President

Previous: Letter from the Outgoing President | Table of Contents | Next: Letter from the Director-Sponsor

Letter from the Silicon Valley Chapter PresidentFred Sampson, Incoming Silicon Valley Chapter President

Greetings, and happy summer!

I'm Fred Sampson, your chapter president for the next year. I've been asked to write a little introduction, so here goes.

In a previous life, I entered the world of small business management armed with degrees in literature and English and a teaching credential and no clue about what I wanted to do. I fell into office work, and after far too many years in finance and inventory management, I switched careers and began a new life in technical communication. I completed the certificate program in Technical Writing and Communication at the UC Santa Cruz Extension three years ago-yes, I'm one of Andrea Ames' star students-and I'm working toward the second certificate. I stumbled through some starter jobs, then landed a position with PeopleSoft. I've worked at PeopleSoft for three years now, writing documentation and developing curriculum for some of the new PeopleTools features.

In my copious spare time I volunteer as web master for the Designing for User Experiences (DUX2003) and CHI2004 conferences, which keeps me in contact with professionals in human-computer interaction (HCI), interface design, interaction design, user experience, and other related disciplines. These are the people designing the products that we will be documenting and using in coming years. The closer we work with these influential disciplines, the better the chance we can influence designs and contribute value.

In fact, part of my vision for the Silicon Valley chapter of STC this coming year is to increase our visibility, as an organization and as professionals, with other organizations. We all work with or come in contact with professionals in disciplines different from our own. I believe that we can increase our value to employers by interacting more closely with other professions-development, design, marketing, finance, management. These are folks who not only influence the work that we as technical communicators do, they influence whether we have work at all.

Many STC members are also involved in other organizations, such as BayCHI, SIGCHI, SIGDOC, UPA, IEEE, ASTD, and many others. Here's my challenge to you: think about the organizations you belong to, the organizations that you volunteer for. Now, think about how technical communication is or can be part of those organizations. Think about how STC can interact with those organizations. Think about meetings at which STC members might make presentations about what we do. Think about

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/pres_in.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:13 AM]

http://www.dux2003.org/

http://www.chi2004.org/

http://www.baychi.org/

http://www.sigchi.org/

http://www.acm.org/sigdoc/

http://www.upassoc.org/

http://www.ieee.org/

http://www.astd.org/


organizations that might make presentations to us. Think about conferences that STC members should attend, or that might give us a discount, or organizations whose members might be interested in coming to our meetings. Think about the ways in which our interests intersect. Think about activities we could do together to promote our common interests, to promote and increase our value to employers, to help STC members expand their horizons, to help us all find work.

Now that you've thought of all these possibilities, bring them to your administrative council. Email or call us, corner us at a dinner meeting, come to a council meeting. Let us know what we can do, and tell us how you can help make it happen. Yes, volunteer. Your efforts will make STC a better value for all of us. Your efforts will increase our value to employers. We can't do it without you.

Thanks! Fred Sampson, 2003-2004 President Silicon Valley Chapter Society for Technical Communication

Previous: Letter from the Outgoing President | Table of Contents | Next: Letter from the Director-Sponsor

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/pres_in.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:13 AM]


Table of Contents | Next: Letter from the Incoming President

Letter from the Outgoing Silicon Valley Chapter President

Joyously Moving AlongBeau Cain, Outgoing Silicon Valley Chapter President

Reminiscing about my year as the chapter's President, I find I owe a lot of thanks to other volunteers whose efforts helped garner an Award of Excellence and a prestigious Pacesetter Award for our chapter. After the June meeting, several people told me they could tell that I was experiencing great joy while I gave those beautiful certificates of appreciation to the talented and generous volunteers who were there.

Hey, how could I not feel great joy? Everyone at that meeting was smiling at me and at each other! There was generous laughter and applause throughout the evening's events.

However, I neglected to recognize some people at that event, and I feel like I can't move on with a good conscience without lauding their efforts. I'll do that now.

First, Peter Michaels has quietly supported our SIG managers' efforts to serve our members' special interests. As our chapter's elected SIGs Manager, Peter eagerly participated in the council's deliberations about how to serve our members better. He frequently recognized other peoples' outstanding contributions to the chapter, the Society, and the profession. Most of all, he assisted our chapter's Special Interest Groups' managers in serving the more focused needs of our chapter's members. Thanks, Peter! You've given lots of people reason to smile!

Second, although I did recognize Doreen Van Alstyne for her long-time stint assisting with registration at the Silicon Valley meetings, I didn't recognize her for having drafted and submitted a proposal that became the basis for my new office, that of Employment Information Manager. Doreen's frank expression of her employment needs, combined with her focused organization of how to meet them, served as both a strategic and tactical model for meeting our members' employment needs. Thanks, Doreen, for giving me a way to continue to serve as an elected official! You know I'm a council junkie, and you've given me a reason to keep smiling!

Third, I didn't ask the entire outgoing council to stand and be applauded. What a collection of talent and dedication! Together, we deliberated how to best fulfill our charter to serve the members. Each council member generously contributed ideas, effort, and time to help the chapter meet every challenge we encountered. Thanks, council members! I'll smile every time I remember how we enjoyed working together!

After that rousing June meeting, STC NorCal Director Viki Maki asked me if I was sad about no longer

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/pres_out.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:14 AM]


being the chapter's President. I was so elated from being in the spotlight most of the evening that I couldn't imagine being sad about the end of my term as President. Beside, I told her, I was moving on to establish a much-needed office on the council, that of Employment Information Manager. What's to be sad about?

But as with all major changes in my life, I've recognized a bit of depression haunting me this past week. Low energy, disinterest, even nostalgia. Like so many of you who've lost jobs and had to drastically alter your lifestyles, I'm grieving for a beloved part of me that, in effect, has died.

I know how to recognize depression, and I know how to manage it. I need to find again that great joy I felt in giving something to others, just like I did while I was handing out certificates of appreciation at the Volunteers Recognition Dinner in June. In my new capacity as Employment Information Manager, I have unprecedented opportunities to help members smile. That's just what I need to feel good about myself again!

If you feel the need to feel good about yourself, consider volunteering. Whether you volunteer to help our chapter, or you volunteer to help with other organizations, you can share a well-honed skill or learn something new, create self-esteem and enhance your resume, and know that you're doing something to promote joy. In the final analysis, isn't joy what we're all pursuing?

Thank you, everyone, for your involvement, your support, and your smiles during my term as Silicon Valley Chapter's President. Enjoy!

Thanks! Beau Cain, 2002-2003 President Silicon Valley Chapter Society for Technical Communication

Table of Contents | Next: Letter from the Incoming President

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/pres_out.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:14 AM]

Connection Newsletter

Issue: June and July 2003

This is the printable version. Click to return the regular version.

Letters

From the Outgoing Chapter President Outgoing President Beau Cain reminisces over the past year.

From the Incoming Chapter President Incoming President Fred Sampson shares a little about himself and his vision for the chapter.

From the Director-Sponsor Linda Oestreich, Director-Sponsor for Region 5, shares an overview of the actions and discussion items from the May STC board meeting.

Calendar

April Meeting: Building the Document Factory: Using Arbortext for Single Sourcing Read this meeting summary to learn how to leverage the power of XML and perform single sourcing using Arbortext software.

May Meeting: They're Here ... Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Conditional Text If you missed this presentation, read up on how Ivan Linderman applies the technique of using conditional text to Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers which has appeared in several different formats.

August Meeting: Is That Your Final Answer? Using Games in Technical Training in Silicon Valley and in Santa Cruz.

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/print.htm (1 of 32) [11/16/2007 10:40:26 AM]


http://www.stc.org/


Articles

Board Decisions Impact Members President Fred Sampson gives a local perspective on the STC May board decisions.

Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit Learn how tips on how to successfully write and submit articles to magazines.

USCS Career Day Read about how the Silicon Valley Chapter participated in the USCS Career Day in March.

Writer in the Workplace: Networking Networking is an important skill. Learn some tips on how to hone your networking techniques.

Recognizing Our Volunteers Thanks to those who have volunteered for the Silicon Valley Chapter over the last year.

In Every Issue

Contacting the SVC Administrative Council


Connection Newsletter Information

Letter from the Outgoing Silicon Valley Chapter President

Joyously Moving AlongBeau Cain, Outgoing Silicon Valley Chapter President

Reminiscing about my year as the chapter's President, I find I owe a lot of thanks to other volunteers whose efforts helped garner an Award of Excellence and a prestigious Pacesetter Award for our chapter. After the June meeting, several people told me they could tell that I was experiencing great joy while I gave those beautiful certificates of appreciation to the talented and generous volunteers who were there.

Hey, how could I not feel great joy? Everyone at that meeting was smiling at me and at each other! There



was generous laughter and applause throughout the evening's events.

However, I neglected to recognize some people at that event, and I feel like I can't move on with a good conscience without lauding their efforts. I'll do that now.

First, Peter Michaels has quietly supported our SIG managers' efforts to serve our members' special interests. As our chapter's elected SIGs Manager, Peter eagerly participated in the council's deliberations about how to serve our members better. He frequently recognized other peoples' outstanding contributions to the chapter, the Society, and the profession. Most of all, he assisted our chapter's Special Interest Groups' managers in serving the more focused needs of our chapter's members. Thanks, Peter! You've given lots of people reason to smile!

Second, although I did recognize Doreen Van Alstyne for her long-time stint assisting with registration at the Silicon Valley meetings, I didn't recognize her for having drafted and submitted a proposal that became the basis for my new office, that of Employment Information Manager. Doreen's frank expression of her employment needs, combined with her focused organization of how to meet them, served as both a strategic and tactical model for meeting our members' employment needs. Thanks, Doreen, for giving me a way to continue to serve as an elected official! You know I'm a council junkie, and you've given me a reason to keep smiling!

Third, I didn't ask the entire outgoing council to stand and be applauded. What a collection of talent and dedication! Together, we deliberated how to best fulfill our charter to serve the members. Each council member generously contributed ideas, effort, and time to help the chapter meet every challenge we encountered. Thanks, council members! I'll smile every time I remember how we enjoyed working together!

After that rousing June meeting, STC NorCal Director Viki Maki asked me if I was sad about no longer being the chapter's President. I was so elated from being in the spotlight most of the evening that I couldn't imagine being sad about the end of my term as President. Beside, I told her, I was moving on to establish a much-needed office on the council, that of Employment Information Manager. What's to be sad about?

But as with all major changes in my life, I've recognized a bit of depression haunting me this past week. Low energy, disinterest, even nostalgia. Like so many of you who've lost jobs and had to drastically alter your lifestyles, I'm grieving for a beloved part of me that, in effect, has died.

I know how to recognize depression, and I know how to manage it. I need to find again that great joy I felt in giving something to others, just like I did while I was handing out certificates of appreciation at the Volunteers Recognition Dinner in June. In my new capacity as Employment Information Manager, I have unprecedented opportunities to help members smile. That's just what I need to feel good about myself again!

If you feel the need to feel good about yourself, consider volunteering. Whether you volunteer to help our chapter, or you volunteer to help with other organizations, you can share a well-honed skill or learn something new, create self-esteem and enhance your resume, and know that you're doing something to promote joy. In the final analysis, isn't joy what we're all pursuing?



Thank you, everyone, for your involvement, your support, and your smiles during my term as Silicon Valley Chapter's President. Enjoy!

Thanks! Beau Cain, 2002-2003 President Silicon Valley Chapter Society for Technical Communication

Table of Contents

Letter from the Silicon Valley Chapter PresidentFred Sampson, Incoming Silicon Valley Chapter President

Greetings, and happy summer!

I'm Fred Sampson, your chapter president for the next year. I've been asked to write a little introduction, so here goes.

In a previous life, I entered the world of small business management armed with degrees in literature and English and a teaching credential and no clue about what I wanted to do. I fell into office work, and after far too many years in finance and inventory management, I switched careers and began a new life in technical communication. I completed the certificate program in Technical Writing and Communication at the UC Santa Cruz Extension three years ago-yes, I'm one of Andrea Ames' star students-and I'm working toward the second certificate. I stumbled through some starter jobs, then landed a position with PeopleSoft. I've worked at PeopleSoft for three years now, writing documentation and developing curriculum for some of the new PeopleTools features.

In my copious spare time I volunteer as web master for the Designing for User Experiences (DUX2003) and CHI2004 conferences, which keeps me in contact with professionals in human-computer interaction (HCI), interface design, interaction design, user experience, and other related disciplines. These are the people designing the products that we will be documenting and using in coming years. The closer we work with these influential disciplines, the better the chance we can influence designs and contribute value.

In fact, part of my vision for the Silicon Valley chapter of STC this coming year is to increase our visibility, as an organization and as professionals, with other organizations. We all work with or come in contact with professionals in disciplines different from our own. I believe that we can increase our value to employers by interacting more closely with other professions-development, design, marketing, finance, management. These are folks who not only influence the work that we as technical communicators do, they influence



whether we have work at all.

Many STC members are also involved in other organizations, such as BayCHI, SIGCHI, SIGDOC, UPA, IEEE, ASTD, and many others. Here's my challenge to you: think about the organizations you belong to, the organizations that you volunteer for. Now, think about how technical communication is or can be part of those organizations. Think about how STC can interact with those organizations. Think about meetings at which STC members might make presentations about what we do. Think about organizations that might make presentations to us. Think about conferences that STC members should attend, or that might give us a discount, or organizations whose members might be interested in coming to our meetings. Think about the ways in which our interests intersect. Think about activities we could do together to promote our common interests, to promote and increase our value to employers, to help STC members expand their horizons, to help us all find work.

Now that you've thought of all these possibilities, bring them to your administrative council. Email or call us, corner us at a dinner meeting, come to a council meeting. Let us know what we can do, and tell us how you can help make it happen. Yes, volunteer. Your efforts will make STC a better value for all of us. Your efforts will increase our value to employers. We can't do it without you.

Thanks! Fred Sampson, 2003-2004 President Silicon Valley Chapter Society for Technical Communication

Table of Contents

Letter from Linda

May Board Meeting Held in DallasLinda Oestreich, Director-Sponsor Region 5

Wow! What a conference, and what a board meeting (held on Saturday, May 17, in Dallas, Texas) to precede it! The general topics of discussion included the upcoming retirement of STC executive director, Bill Stolgitis, and the selection of Peter Herbst as his successor, realignment of membership dues and rebate structure, chapter loans and grants, and the state of the Society in relation to the changing world we live in.

Ed See, now our immediate past president, shared his thoughts about the past year and extended his heartfelt thanks to the board for successfully navigating a tough year that included budgetary reductions, decreases in expected conference attendance, and the selection of a new executive director for the Society.



The following actions were taken at the May board meeting:

● Approved the minutes from the previous two board meetings.● Approved chapter rebates as follows: Each chapter will receive $30.00 USD per member for the first

150 members on their rosters; $20.00 USD per member for each member over 150; $13.50 USD per member for student members, and $100 USD per sustaining member.

● Approved membership dues as follows: regular membership per year will be $140; student membership dues will be 40% of regular membership dues; and retired membership dues will be 50% of regular membership dues, effective with the dues for the year beginning January 1, 2004.

● Approved a chapter loan in the amount of $3,000 to the Alberta chapter for the 2003 Region 7 conference, with repayment to begin no more than 60 days after the conference.

● Accepted the Society treasurer’s financial report.● Approved the formation of a special committee to recommend to the board a means of transforming

STC’s operational model so that the Society can better support its many communities of practice, enable growth, and stabilize revenue. This ad hoc "transformation committee" is managed by Mary Jo Stark, STC treasurer.

● In addition, the board, in executive session, selected recipients of Chapter of Distinction and Chapter Pacesetter Awards.

The following items were discussed at the board meeting:

● During the discussion that led to the appointment of the transformation committee, the board insisted that the foremost principle of any new approach to STC governance would be to "do no harm" to current processes and entities. Rather, the objective is to look at ways to strengthen the communities of practice within STC and explore how the Society can respond to and support those communities, including the geographical communities represented by STC chapters.

● Because of the present global economy and the importance of membership growth to the Society’s strength and stability, the Board discussed several tactics for increasing membership-both on the Society level and by helping chapters work toward that goal locally.

If you have questions or comments about the STC board of directors or any of the items mentioned in this article, please contact your director-sponsor or the STC office.

Regards, Linda O.

Table of Contents

Silicon Valley STC Co-Sponsors DUX2003 ReceptionFred Sampson, Silicon Valley Chapter Vice-President



DUX2003 (Designing for User Experiences) is the first joint conference sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM), SIGCHI (Computer-Human Interaction SIG), SIGGRAPH (Graphics SIG), and AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists). The conference, scheduled for June 5-7, 2003, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, will look at how different disciplines and professionals work together to design digital user experiences, including hardware and software user interfaces. STC members interested in human-computer interaction (HCI), computer graphics, interface design, and usability might find DUX2003 of interest.

DUX2003 recognizes that design for user experience is a multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary undertaking that requires the participation of many disciplines and professionals in order to deeply understand who users are, what a quality user experience is, and how to deliver and execute design that truly meets user needs and goals. This conference will look at all facets of the product/service development lifecycle and at other facets of a business as decisions are made that affect the user experience. The results from the conference will add to the growing body of knowledge and best practices in design for user experience.

STC supports DUX2003 as a cooperating society, which earns STC members a registration discount. We are also co-sponsoring a reception following the closing plenary session Saturday night, 5:30 to 7:30 pm, at the Academy of Arts College. Silicon Valley STC members are invited to attend the reception and talk with DUX2003 participants about how our interests intersect.

Attendance at the STC-sponsored reception is limited, so please contact Fred Sampson if you plan to attend. For more information see the DUX2003 Web site.

Table of Contents

April Meeting Summary: Building the Document FactoryDara Golden

What does manufacturing have in common with the generation of documentation? According to Orin Pierce and Kelli Case, of Arbortext, both can be automated. While presenting "Building the Document Factory," the April STC-SVC meeting, Pierce and Case gave a history of automation, applied it to documentation, and gave a demonstration of two Arbortext products, E3 and Epic Editor, that help writers automate generating documents.

History of Automation



http://www.sigchi.org/

http://www.siggraph.org/

http://www.aiga.org/




Pierce began with some history of automation, starting with Eli Whitney. In addition to being the inventor of the cotton gin, in 1803 Whitney "came up with the idea of building muskets and rifles with interchangeable parts." Making interchangeable parts was more difficult than people suspected. Although Whitney gave a carefully rigged and fraudulent demonstration to the United States government, Pierce noted that after winning the bid for 4000 muskets "it took Whitney eight years to deliver them and the parts were [still] not interchangeable." Then, in 1913, Henry Ford created the "moving assembly line," but the key component was having "production workers specialize, each doing the same set of tasks over and over again," explained Pierce.

"Modern manufacturing introduced automated machinery, which built on the inventions of interchangeable parts and a moving assembly line," Pierce continued. He maintained that the term "mass production" is equivalent to "mass customization," meaning that the products can be different. "Manufacturers are learning how to reuse the same parts in multiple product designs ... reducing design times and costs," he elaborated. Although this has freed humans from the repetitive work, he reminded the audience that designing the product, machinery, and process is still the responsibility of humans.

Automating Documentation

With the history of machinery established, Pierce focused on documents and their automation history. He explained that "originally reading and writing were rare and labor-intensive." With the invention of the printing press and moveable type, manuscripts became available to everyone. Once typesetting became available, information was distributed faster to those needing it. In the 20th century, word processors and personal computers "put publishing capability on everyone's desk, and the World Wide Web reduced the distribution costs."

"Have we achieved the same level of automation as modern manufacturing?" asked Pierce. He noted that the process of "creating and publishing information consists of a lot of manual effort." Writers do more than "just write," he explained, adding that they organize the information including how it should be presented. He listed a number of labor-intensive tasks, including creating and updating documents, integrating content from multiple sources, and creating multiple versions in different formats. He suggested that writers look at what can be "automated" to make the writing process less labor-intensive.

What parts are important for building "the document factory?" According to Pierce, there are four:

● Automation Improves the quality of the documentation, increases the productivity of authors, eliminates inconsistencies, reduces time to market, and reduces overall costs.

● Interchangeable parts "Someone must figure out the parts that are needed and how they fit together," stated Pierce. He added that a DTD (Document Type Definition) is the most common way to implement data structure. The DTD sets the rules of a document, such as beginning with a title and having a heading, which give consistency to all documents. He added that the parts must always fit together. Following this allows for automating various processes.



● Expertise and experience When setting up the factory, Pierce reminded the audience that they need both expert and experienced personnel to assist them.

● Time As with any new process, it will require time in order to implement the documentation factory, such as selecting software and training staff members.

Why XML?

Pierce listed two main reasons for why XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the "ideal solution for creating interchangeable information parts."

1. Structure is explicit "The formatting of a word processor document makes the structure implicit, such as a short incomplete sentence in 24 point Helvetica bold usually being a title, XML makes the structure explicit [by separating content from formatting]," explained Pierce. He added that this is necessary so that automated processes can enforce the data model describing the information part and that this part is consistently processed.

2. Separation of information from products Pierce emphasized that XML is "media neutral," meaning that the information is just information and can be in a database, HTML page, instruction manual, or press release.

Pierce concluded by emphasizing that creating content directly in XML is the preferred way to a true document factory.


Case, taking over the presentation, explained how to "design your data model" and get documents ready for XML conversion. The most important thing, according to Case, is to set up the data model or DTD.

Case suggested two ways to get the DTD set up:

● Quick Start Start with an industry standard, such as DocBook or IBM's DITA DTD, and customize them as necessary.

�❍ Advantages: low investment and quick results�❍ Disadvantages: may need to "reinvest in content" if critical items are not captured

Detailed Analysis Arbortext has a Consulting Service that will analyze existing documentation and ask usage questions, such as output and users.

�❍ Advantages: exposes additional opportunities for achieving competitive advantages and may allow capturing important differentiators

�❍ Disadvantages: high investment of not only time (it may add months to the project) but also



expertise (outside and internal)

Once the DTD is created, then the stylesheets can be created. The stylesheets give the look and feel of the document, such as the font, size, and layout. Stylesheets allow the same information to have different output types, such as HTML, print, or PDF. Case cautioned that creating the XML stylesheet is "much more involved than creating stylesheets for interactive publishing."

Specialized Employee Roles

Case explained that the role of the "writer" is changing. Traditionally, writers created documents and output them onto paper. Writers had control over the look and feel (formatting) and structure. With the invention of the World Wide Web, writers started presenting documentation online in different formats, such as PDF, HTML, and XML, and for different devices, such as CD-ROM and PDAs.

Case listed four "new" writer roles:

● Subject Matter Expert Creates and maintains the information modules.

● Product Manager Decides which information products are needed and determines which information modules to include and their order.

● Style Designer Determines how to format (present) information for each media type, such as print, PDF, and online devices.

● Data Designer Designs the data model for each type of information module and product, such as adding elements and attribute values

In Action: Demonstration of E3 and Epic Editor

"Companies are moving toward [user-oriented documentation]," Case noted. She added that users want specific information, such as documentation for a specific platform and for different user levels. To demonstrate this, she opened a classic car website. The page had selection items, such as checkboxes and a drop-down menu. Case mentioned that E3 (Epic E-Content Engine) assists with single-sourcing for the web, print, PDF, and wireless device publishing, as shown by the choices out output on the web page. Demonstrating E3, she selected some items and generated an "on the fly" maintenance manual in HTML, complete with web links, a table of contents, and photos. She added that E3 helps writers

● capture content from different sources, both external (such as suppliers) and internal (such as different departments)

● quickly deploy new and changed content● automatically publish to different media types● dynamically deliver information customized to the needs of each user



Case noted that there was a math error in the page, so she opened the section needing to be fixed in Epic Editor, Arbortext's native XML authoring program. After the program opened, she explained that Epic Editor had a native XML and a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) split screen. She made the change, using the equation editor. She also added a new section, showing that due to the DTD settings some sections were automatically added, such as title, section, and paragraph. She saved the changes and relaunched the website, reran the search, and regenerated the manual, which appeared with both the new section and the corrected math formula.

Program Management

Case noted that Epic Editor has both version and access controls, which help with both project and content management. There are also adapters to content management system databases, such as Documentum. She demonstrated this by inserting a document from a management system database into the classic car document. She explained that the section was locked, meaning that she could not modify it. If changes were made to the section from the database, they would appear in the document automatically. She added that the database had information about each document, such as permission control, version control, and keywords. She showed how to create a new document (or entity) and how to set the permissions so others could use it.

Case noted some features of Epic Editor:

● Automatic email notification Editors and reviewers can be notified automatically of changes needing review.

● Change tracking Insertions and deletions are tracked

● Import existing documentation Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, and Interleaf are some of the programs that can be converted into XML.

● Different stylesheets Allows for different output, such as print, PDF, web, CD-ROM, and PDA.


"Management is usually skeptical about claims of improved revenues or reduced costs unless they're based on numbers," Pierce commented. He offered the following for getting management's buy-in:

● Make your case with measurable benefits �❍ Faster time to market

Where are the bottlenecks? How much of the development cycle depends upon on information creation and sharing? How much could be reused instead of recreating them?

�❍ Increased customer loyalty If customer satisfaction and attrition are measured, how can these be improved?

�❍ Market expansion



Does the cost of translation keep the company out of international markets?�❍ Customer self-service

How many pre- and post-sales calls are not adequately addressed in published information, but are available in the company? What percentage of the total calls do these calls represent?

● Present intangible benefits Include items like increased information quality, improved information freshness, improved content flexibility, and information accuracy.

● Select "IT-friendly" vendors �❍ Select open systems�❍ Standards based, such as XML or W3C�❍ Strong partnerships with other companies, such as Oracle

Audience Questions

Does Arbortext give training or support for converting documents into XML? Yes. Case explained that Arbortext offers training on DTDs, stylesheets, the conversion process, and understanding the underlying database. Additionally, Arbortext has a consulting department, which can create the DTDs and stylesheets and work with customers on converting their documents into Epic Editor.

How are Visio graphics handled? Currently these must be saved out into one of the supported formats, such as JPEG, TIFF, or EPS.

How are screen captures handled? These cannot be pasted and embedded into Epic Editor. They must be stored in a package that stores information on the file format.

How are graphics handled in print versus HTML? There are multiple ways to handle this. One way is to refer to the EPS format for the print version, but convert the image to either GIF or JPEG for the web. Another way is by profiling, such as referring to the low-resolution version for online viewing, but the high-resolution version for printing.

Where can I get more information? Go to the Arbortext website (www.arbortext.com).

Table of Contents

May Meeting Summary: They're Here ... They're Changed ... They're Conditionalized


http://www.arbortext.com/


Dara Golden

What does science fiction have in common with conditional text? According to R. Ivan Linderman, a lot, if the science fiction book is Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Linderman, the 2003-2004 Silicon Valley Chapter Vice President, presented They're Here ... Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Conditional Text in XHTML, Word 2002, and FrameMaker 7 at the May chapter meeting.

Why The Body Snatchers?

Ivan explained that there are multiple versions of The Body Snatchers, including the original serial (1954), the original book (1955), the original movie (1956), and the revised book (1978). He explained that comparing these versions had many redeeming values to him, including:

● the ability to study another writer (Jack Finney)● honing skills (including XHTML, XML, and JavaScript), and● doing the project "any way I want and set my own due date."

The history of The Body Snatchers is interesting. It is uncommon for books to be rewritten by the original authors, as Finney did with the 1978 version of The Body Snatchers. Although the story line of the book is the same, some of the details are different. He noted that the 1956 movie was based upon the serial, not the full length 1955 book.

Behind the Scenes: The Snatcher Concordance

The Snatcher Concordance, Ivan's soon-to-be-published electronic book, is an HTML Help file containing text versions of the original series, original book, orginal movie, and revised book. There is a table of contents, search engine, and bookmarks. He selected HTML Help because it is free and comes with table of content, indexing, searching, and bookmark capabilities. Additionally, it is customizable, works with Internet Explorer, and runs on the Windows platform. He demonstrated The Snatcher Concordance to the audience, showing how to do a search and then pressing a button to toggle between the different book versions. Unchanged text was black, but changes were colored either brown (1955) or purple (1978).

Ivan noted that he needed to determine how to compare the different versions, such as chunking, navigating, searching, and indexing.

● Chunking For example, a book has chapters and paragraphs, the film had chapters, shots, events, and paragraphs. Determining how to group the information into manageable chunks was vital to the comparison.

● Navigating What should be included to aide the reader? Ivan decided having a summary of each section, such as in which chapter and the first line on the page for the books.

● Searching



While a full-text search was important, Ivan also wanted Boolean search capabilities.● Indexing

Ivan created his own index for this project. He realized that he must have more than just keywords, and enhanced the index to including text from the different versions. This allows the reader to determine if the same information was presented.

Conditionalizing Text

Ivan noted that creating conditionalized text is different in XHTML, Word, and FrameMaker.

● XHTML �❍ The Cascading Style Sheet contains the display property, which "toggles" the text on and off�❍ Any non-head element may be conditionalized

● Word 2002 �❍ Create the style, giving it the Hidden effect, and apply it. Word allows for viewing hidden

text, but it will not print unless specificed�❍ Any inline character may be conditionalized

● FrameMaker �❍ Create the style, then apply it�❍ Anything except anchors may be conditionalized

XHTML

Continuing the behind the scenes peak at The Snatcher Concordance, Ivan showed the audience an example of the XHTML for The Snatcher Concordance. It contained text from both the 1955 and 1978 versions of The Body Snatchers. The original text is surrounded by class tags labelled original and revised. He reminded the audience that "how something looks is far less important than what it means." Style is defined in the style sheet, which he showed included the highlighted color used in the website. He also showed script for toggling between different versions. These examples can be found at http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_xhtml.htm.

Word 2002

Ivan explained how to view hidden text, create conditionalized styles, apply the styles, and print the hidden text. Additionally, he explained how to create macros to hide and show the content. The how-to examples are available at: Word 2002 http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word.htm Macros http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word_macros.htm

FrameMaker

Ivan reviewed creating conditional tags, applying them to text, and hiding or showing the text. The how-to




http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word.htm

http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_word_macros.htm


examples are available at http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_framemaker.htm

Dara Golden admits to never having seen the The Body Snatchers but when the Stanford Theatre shows the 1956 original, she'll be there with her husband and son.

Table of Contents




Speaker Biography



Schedule



http://www.xhtmlchef.com/th_example_framemaker.htm


Reservations


Reserve by Mail



To guarantee your space for any chapter dinner meeting, mail your reservation, paid in full, at least one week before the scheduled meeting date. Your reservation is guaranteed only if payment is received 4 days prior to the scheduled meeting date (that is the Sunday before the meeting). A $5 late fee will be charged for any reservation received after the deadline. The late fee also applies to walk-ins. See Restrictions for more details.



Members $20 $12

Non-members $30 $15

Students $15 $ 8

Directions to Chapter Meetings at the Four Points Sheraton

The hotel's address is:

Four Points Sheraton 1250 Lakeside Drive Sunnyvale, California 94085-4010

From 101, going south:

1. Exit at Lawrence Expressway and take the middle right turn lane. (There are two left turn lanes and two right turn lanes.)



2. Turn right at the light and move into the left turn lane.3. Turn left onto Oakmead.4. Go one block to Lakeside Drive.5. Turn left.6. Ignore the first driveway--it leads to the Faultline Brewing Company.7. Enter the hotel parking lot by turning right into the second (across from the Avalon Silicon Valley

Apartments) or third driveway (past the Avalon Silicon Valley apartments).8. Park, and go to the main lobby. Look for a sign directing you to the meeting.

From 101, going north:

1. Exit at Bowers/Great America Parkway.2. Turn left at the end of the offramp.3. Cross over 101 and make the first right at Augustine Drive.4. Turn right at the next corner, which is Lakeside Drive.5. Follow around (paralleling 101) to the Four Points Sheraton.6. Turn left into the parking lot just before the Avalon Silicon Valley Apartments.7. Park, and go to the main lobby. Look for a sign directing you to the meeting.

Extra Parking

If the hotel parking lot is full, additional parking is available behind the hotel.

1. Take Lakeside Drive to Oakmead and turn left.2. Go down three or four buildings.3. You will see a big sign on the left: Oakmead Village Office Park 1255 - 1263.4. Turn left into the parking lot.

The entrance to the Four Points Sheraton is between Buildings 1259 (Widata) and 1261 (Digital Market).

Find the meeting location by looking on the hotel events directory or by asking the concierge for directions.

Table of Contents






Speaker Biography



Schedule


Reservations


Reserve by Mail



To guarantee your space for any Santa Cruz dinner meeting, mail your reservation, paid in full, at least one week before the scheduled meeting date. Your reservation is guaranteed only if payment is received 4 days



prior to the scheduled meeting date (that is the Sunday before the meeting). A $5 late fee will be charged for any reservation received after the deadline. The late fee also applies to walk-ins. See Restrictions for more details.



Members $20 $12

Non-members $30 $15

Students $15 $ 8

Directions to Chapter Meetings at Peachwood's Steakhouse

The restaurant's address is:

Peachwood's Steakhouse 555 Highway 17 Santa Cruz, California 95060

From Santa Cruz:

1. Take Highway 17 North, toward San Jose; exit at Pasatiempo.2. Proceed left over the highway, and left again.3. Peachwood's Steakhouse is on the right.

From San Jose:

1. Take Highway 17 South, toward Santa Cruz; exit at Pasatiempo.2. Peachwood's Steakhouse is a quarter mile ahead on the right.

Table of Contents

STC Board Decisions Impact MembersFred Sampson, Silicon Valley Chapter Vice-President



Members of the Silicon Valley chapter of STC will be interested in three items in Linda's report:

● An increase in membership dues, effective January 1, 2004.● A decrease in the dues rebate returned to each chapter.● An initiative to transform the Society around a focus on "communities of practice."

Why are these decisions important to us at the Silicon Valley chapter?

Clearly, an increase in dues will affect every member at every membership level. Your administrative council is well aware that many employers no longer pay for STC membership, and that many members have chosen not to renew, even at the current membership dues. Will STC lose membership as a result of increasing dues? And will lost membership translate into tighter chapter budgets? Your administrative council must consider these questions in planning for the coming year.

A decreased dues rebate to the chapter means the Silicon Valley chapter will have less money to work with during this fiscal year. Will we have to cut back on programs and dinner meetings? Can we move forward with ambitious plans, or must we be conservative in our planning? Again, your administrative council must consider the impact of reduced funding while we plan for the next year.

These first two decisions clearly present us with challenges for the coming year. The third item, however, I believe to be an exciting proposal, one that gives us an opportunity to bring the Society more in touch with members' work lives and concerns. The Society is looking at a reorganization, a transformation, a realignment of STC's operations. The focus here is on organizing around communities of interest rather than geographic regions. It's too early to know just how this proposal will pan out, but it may mean that special interest groups (SIGs) take on a new and more powerful role in STC operations. It may also mean that we place new emphasis on cooperating with other professional organizations and societies, a prospect about which you will be hearing more from me in the coming months.

What do you think of the Board's decisions? What priorities do you think we should place on spending this year? How can STC transform itself to better address your interests? Let us know, we're here to serve-but be warned, if you come up with a good idea, we may ask you to volunteer to implement it!

Table of Contents

Magazine Writing for Fun and ProfitJeff Beeler

Working or not, most technical communicators yearn to make extra money, raise their visibility and bolster



their resumes. One way to achieve all those objectives at once-and have fun to boot-is to write for magazines, technical or otherwise.

But how do you proceed, especially if you're new to the game? Some useful, step-by-step recommendations emerged during a recent STC-sponsored audio teleconference called "Writing for Magazines," presented on June 18 by published technical writer and Hoosier Chapter President John Hedtke

Step One: Hatching Saleable Ideas

Before you can write a magazine article, you need an appealing idea that addresses at least one of four perennial themes:

● How to make or save money● How to save time● How to be loved● How to have fun

Within those broad headings, of course, the possibilities for magazine article ideas are endless and reflect your own interests, skills and life experiences. Some of the most engaging features spring from the unexpected but happy intersection of two typically unrelated subjects. Example: travel and soccer, Hedtke said.

Step Two: Targeting Suitable Magazines

Once you select an idea, your next task is to find a magazine that might publish your submission. For suitable candidates, check reference sources such as the Writer's Digest and the Writer's Market. Both guides list hundreds of publications and their editors, describe their editorial guidelines and focus, and specify pay rates.

But neither compilation is exhaustive. For additional listings, check newsstands, Web sites and libraries, both public and corporate. And remember, many periodicals now have electronic publishing arms that afford freelancing opportunities quite apart from printed forms of distribution.

Step Three: Selling to Editors

Having chosen a magazine, you then need to approach its editor with a proposal. Your chief tool for doing so is a one-page, personal query letter that effectively sells your idea in the opening paragraph. A query letter communicates the gist of your planned article and should reflect an understanding of a magazine's mission and readership, Hedtke said. Always mail your letter and enclose a stamped return envelope with a clip or two, if necessary.

When crafting your query, also heed the following additional tips:



● Never direct editorial queries to subscription offices-an amateurish goof● Never pitch the same article to different magazines simultaneously-the shotgun approach to querying

alienates exclusivity-loving editors

Step Four: Meeting Editorial Expectations

The long-awaited approval of your article arrives. Congratulations! Now comes the fun part-composition. As you write, scrupulously follow editorial directions. Avoid surprises; editors hate them. If you have questions, ask. And above all, meet deadlines. If you must change your work, do so, even if requested edits make you wince. "Editors are always right," Hedtke said, tongue in cheek.

Finally, send a bill immediately after your proposal's acceptance. Because magazines sometimes fold, delayed invoices can mean forfeited checks, Hedtke warned.

Jeff Beeler, a member of the STC's Silicon Valley Chapter, is a freelance magazine writer in his own right.

Table of Contents

Report on UCSC Career Day-March, 2003Rashmi Shah Community Involvement Manager, Silicon Valley Chapter

The STC Silicon Valley Chapter's participation at the UCSC Career Day, on March 30, 2003 was a success!

The event was held from 8:30 am to 1:45 pm, at University of California Santa Cruz's Extension (USCS-E) in Cupertino, California.

STC had committed for President Beau Cain to attend this event. Usually, there are more volunteers to help out, but this time the burden fell on our President alone.

Since STC promotes high quality communication, it is proud to support UCSC's technical communication programs. Participation in such events also assists STC in enrolling new members. Career events are a very effective way to introduce STC to the local community and STC typically experiences a spike in enrollments after hosting one of these information sessions.

The event went well with Beau giving a presentation that covered job prospects, job trends, and successful career-planning techniques for technical writers.



Beau set up the chapter's banner behind a table in a prominent location directly across from the main entrance to the room. He also displayed Silicon Valley's Chapter of Excellence Award and the 49th Annual Conference Proceedings. Beau also offered stacks of society brochures and membership applications.

Our President spoke with the attendees during a question and answer session, about the following topics:

● Displaying the Society's international competition winners at a chapter meeting● How the local economy has affected the profession● How a Physics teacher that is Chinese and teaches Mandarin can benefit from an association with

STC● How UCSC-E can market their classes to STC's membership

At noon, Beau joined chapter Vice President, Fred Sampson and former chapter President, Andrea Ames in a presentation room to address a small audience. Their session centered on the benefits of participating in UCSC-E's certification program for technical communication, and answered questions about how STC can help the students with their academic and professional efforts.

All communications about the arrangements at the event were conducted with the friendly Lynne Steele, Advertising & Special Events Manager in the Marketing Department at UCSC.

The Career Day was not overly busy and this proved to be a perfect situation for Beau. It enabled him to spend more time with each person that was present.

The UCSC Career Day was a success. Beau's presentations were well-received, he answered some important questions for attendees, and because the Silicon Valley Chapter displayed their materials in a very prominent location during the event, attendees interest was sparked

Rashmi Shah is the Community Involvement Manager for the Silicon Valley Chapter.

Table of Contents

Writer in the Workplace: Secrets to Successful NetworkingDara Golden

How important is networking? Are there wrong ways to network? How do you start networking? Where can you find information on networking? These questions were answered in Secrets to Successful Networking



presented by Dana Frazio, Recruiting Services Manager for InfoPros, at April's 2003 Writer in the Workplace seminar held in Sacramento, California.

What is networking

Dana Frazio defined networking as "meeting new people (making contacts) and creating rapport (building relationships)." She reminded the audience that networking is "a two-way street [and it] ideally starts long before a job search." She emphasized that exploring options, gathering information, and making contacts are the main objectives of networking, not aiming for specific positions. She added that networking is not cold-calling, contacting everyone you know to ask about job openings, or handing your business card to everyone you meet "upon entering a room."

Why network

Frazio noted that according to a 1999 study, 64% of new jobs were found through networking. Additionally, most companies and organizations prefer to "hire someone they know or who comes recommended [by someone they know]." She added that networking may "give you an earlier chance at an opportunity."

So, why do some people fear networking? Frazio explained that networking is easier when people know how to do it. For example, some people are afraid to ask for help, some might consider it imposing upon others, or some do not know what to say. She added that, with steps on how to network, these fears could be ameliorated.

How to network

Frazio presented six steps on how to make networking successful.

1. Define your networking goals. "Successful networking is purposeful," explained Frazio. She suggested discovering "more about the fields in which others with your degree or major are working." For a more targeted goal, she suggested getting "your resume into the right person's hands" at a specific company.

2. Create your "infomercial." Frazio explained that this as a 25 word or less, 20 to 30 second "verbal business card." She emphasized that in addition to making it memorable, include "who you are, what makes you unique, and what you are looking for."

3. Identify who you know Frazio suggested making a list of your contacts, but going beyond the basic "family, friends, and co-workers." She urged contacting former bosses, classmates, and people from organizations such as clubs and associations.

4. Contact your contacts Once your contact list is created, the next step is to actually contact them. Frazio noted that the contact can be either "formal or informal, depending upon who the contact is." She suggested writing



a preliminary letter of introduction for formal contacts. When calling contacts, have a clear idea of what to say. If a meeting seems prudent, she suggested requesting 30 minutes of the person's time to discuss your qualifications.

5. Keep track of your activities Frazio stressed that keeping "a record of names, titles, email addresses and other contact information" is important. She recommended keeping both a record of dates of contact and notes from conversations.

6. Follow up "Follow-up is your responsibility," Frazio reminded the audience. She added that every meeting requires follow-up. She urged keeping "in touch with everyone in your network" and that one "follow-up only with those who seem interested and willing."

Where to network

Trade or professional association events are typical places to network, but Frazio recommended additional networking places. She suggested networking at cultural events, civic organizations, charities, volunteer organizations, clubs, and at any "classes you take to learn more [and to] improve yourself."

Networing: tips, do's and dont's

Frazio presented her top networking tips and provided a list of things to do to ensure successful networking.

Tips

● Develop a referral list of your own● Develop the right attitude● Have business cards● Dress to impress● Use eye contact● Perfect your handshake● Always say hello and goodbye

Dos and Dont's:

● Do make the first move● Do ask questions; be curious about people● Do listen● Do sit with people whom you don't know at conferences, meetings, and workshops● Do volunteer to work at registration desks at conferences or workshops● Don't dominate the conversation● Don't ask for a job● Don't push yourself on someone who isn't interested or able to speak with you



● Don't pass your business card or resume out to everyone you come into contact with● Don't ask the person to circulate your resume● Don't become a pest● Don't conduct an email or letter campaign● Don't get surly when people don't give you help

Getting additional help

Frazio suggested the following books for obtaining information about networking:

● How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Savvy Socializing in Person and Online by Susan RoAne

● Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck, and Career by Andrea Nierenberg● Power Networking Second Edition: 59 Secrets for Personal and Professional Success by Donna

Fisher, Sandy Vilas, and Marilyn Hermance● Professional Networking for Dummies by Donna Fisher

Frazio reminded the audience that networking is a lifelong process and to not "ignore or drop your network once you accomplish your goal." She added that "you never know when you will want to change professions or companies again" so she urged the audience to keep their contacts current and to keep in touch with them.

Table of Contents

2002-2003 VolunteersSkyla Loomis

At the June chapter meeting, the Administrative Council recognized those individuals who have volunteered over the past year. Without the tireless efforts of our volunteers, many chapter projects would simply not be possible. Thanks to the following people who have helped out over the past year:



Pam Araki Ana Araneta Emmy Aricioglu David Armstrong Don Baldwin Laura Bayer Virginia Beecher Deborah Britt Vickie Brown DJ Cline Jim Desmond Gary Faircloth Nimisha Garg

Dara Golden Patrick Harrington Elizabeth Hidalgo Catherine Howland Jenny Hutton Roxanne Jones Richard Katz Vera Kostiouk Kristin Kosumoto Thomas Leah-Martin Harlo Lenning Ivan Linderman Shawna Lisk-Sprester

Daniel Matthews Anne Mehaffey Thomas Mehrens Linda O'Maley JR Orlando Bruce Roberts Aaron Rother Rashmi Shah Ana Stagnaro Wallace Sueyoshi Wendy Tung Doreen Van Alstyne Mark Whisler Patty Wong

Table of Contents

Silicon Valley Chapter Leadership Contact DirectoryThis page contains the contact information for the STC Silicon Valley Chapter Administrative Council, Committee Managers, and Newsletter Staff.

Administrative Council

President

Fred Sampson [email protected]

Vice President

Ivan Linderman [email protected]

Secretary





Wendy Tung [email protected]

Treasurer

Brian Gonzales [email protected]

Membership & Volunteers Manager

Vicki Blodgett [email protected]

Nominations Manager

Marie Highby

Programs & Events Manager

John Baer [email protected]

SIGs Manager

Thomas Leah-Martin [email protected]

Regional Activities Manager

Anne Mehaffey [email protected]

Public Relations Manager

Ana Pineda [email protected]

Employment Information Manager

Beau Cain










Immediate Past President

Beau Cain [email protected]



Regional Director-Sponsor

Bonni Graham [email protected] (619) 291-0050 x101

Committee Managers

Reservations Manager

Patrick Harvey [email protected] (408) 945-1859

Web Master

Virginia Beecher [email protected]

Newsletter Staff



Newsletter Staff

Dara Golden Vera Kostiouk Fred Sampson









Contributors

Jeff Beeler Linda Oestrich Rashmi Shah

Table of Contents

Volunteer of the MonthThe Silicon Valley chapter is always looking for volunteers to help us support our community. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our Volunteer Manager, Barbara Kilburn. You can find her contact information in the Silicon Valley Chapter Leadership Contact Directory section of Connection or on the chapter Web site at http://www.stc-siliconvalley.org.

June - David Armstrong

David Armstrong was selected as the Volunteer of the Month for June for his work on the SVC Council Handbook. David volunteered in March to help the council complete their work in documenting the various processes used by the council members in running the local chapter. In a short amount of time, David turned disparate pieces of information into a unified whole. Not only did he complile an indexed, edited handbook per the originial request, but he went above and beyond by designing and writing individual "quick reference cards" for each position, and designing an online web document as well. Thanks to David for all his excellent work and his initiative in exceeding our wildest expectations!

July - Harlo Lenning

Harlo is a Senior STC member, and has worked as a technical communicator for over 14 years. His specialty is writing technical and marketing communications for manufactures of Enterprise Requirement Planning software. He grew up in Southern California and relocated to the Bay Area in 1996. Besides volunteering with the STC, Harlo is a political activist and volunteer for the Sierra Club, where he serves as Secretary for the Steering Committee of the California / Nevada Regional Conservation Committee. He is currently working on putting together a web site for this Committee.

Harlo currently serves as Co-Chair for our chapter's Networking SIG. The purpose of the SIG is to facilitate communication between members working in technical communications in the Silicon Valley. The thing he likes best about the job is the people it has allowed him to meet. "The folks who attend the SIG are wonderful and we have a great time. We have writers of every sort: from those specializing in hardware and software to experts in marketing and journalism. I have learned a lot about technical writing from the group,




and I’m sure others have too."

Harlo has been selected as the July VOM because of his devotion and contribution to the Networking SIG. Please join the Administrative Council in our appreciation for his dedication and support to the Silicon Valley Chapter.

Table of Contents

Connection Newsletter InformationArchive | Submissions | Reprint Policy

Archive

In the interest of conserving chapter funds and saving trees, we no longer print and mail the Connection newsletter. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 to read archived issues of Connection.

Submissions

We solicit your contributions on topics regarding technical communication tools of the trade, challenges in the workplace, contracting, deadline management, and so on. We also welcome letters to the editor, information on and reviews of meetings and workshops, and calendar entries.

Submit your contributions by the 20th of the month preceding publication to:

Connection Editor P.O. Box 1224 Mountain View, CA 94042-1224

Or you can e-mail your submissions to Skyla Loomis at [email protected].

Please limit articles to 450 words, and submit them in ASCII text, in the body of an e-mail, or as a Microsoft Word document attached to the e-mail. Include a title for your article, your name, phone number, and a brief biography. Articles might be edited for space and content.

Reprint Policy


http://www.adobe.com/



Material appearing in Connection may be reprinted if credit is given and copy is sent to the Newsletter Managing Editor.

Table of Contents


Region 8 Conference in Las Vegas

Previous: Letter from the Chapter President | Table of Contents | Next: Am I Still a Manager?

Do you feel lucky?

You will when you attend the Region 8 Conference in Las Vegas

Michael Stern Publicity Chair, Region 8 Conference - Las Vegas

Las Vegas has seen fortunes won or lost in the turn of a card or the roll of the dice. The excitement of gambling keeps people coming back to the tables. Maybe this time you could win everything, maybe this time is the big payoff.

For three days in July 2003, there is no gamble. If you attend the Region 8 conference, you can win every day. On July 20 to July 22, 2003, at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas, up to several hundred people will gather to learn new technologies, hone their skills, and hear new ideas. The best way to keep up with this field is to attend conferences. The Region 8 conference is the most affordable way to stay up to date. $205.00 (US) for STC members and $225.00 (US) for non STC members buys you three days of information filled talks and presentations that will move your career in the directions that you want to go.

For much of the region, Las Vegas is an easy drive. If you don't want to drive, airfare is inexpensive. The Imperial Palace is affordably priced. Friday and Saturday nights are $99.00 a night. Sunday through Thursday nights are $69.00 a night. Attend the Region 8 conference. Don't miss this chance. It can be the big payoff for your career. For more information, to reserve your spot, or to make the hotel reservation, see http://www.stcregion8conference.org.

Previous: Letter from the Chapter President | Table of Contents | Next: Am I Still a Manager?

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/meetings/reg8conf.htm [11/16/2007 10:40:27 AM]

http://www.stcregion8conference.org/

Letter from Linda

Previous: From the Incoming Chapter President | Table of Contents | Next: Building the Document Factory: Using Arbortext for Single Sourcing

Letter from Linda

May Board Meeting Held in DallasLinda Oestreich, Director-Sponsor Region 5

Wow! What a conference, and what a board meeting (held on Saturday, May 17, in Dallas, Texas) to precede it! The general topics of discussion included the upcoming retirement of STC executive director, Bill Stolgitis, and the selection of Peter Herbst as his successor, realignment of membership dues and rebate structure, chapter loans and grants, and the state of the Society in relation to the changing world we live in.

Ed See, now our immediate past president, shared his thoughts about the past year and extended his heartfelt thanks to the board for successfully navigating a tough year that included budgetary reductions, decreases in expected conference attendance, and the selection of a new executive director for the Society.

The following actions were taken at the May board meeting:

● Approved the minutes from the previous two board meetings.● Approved chapter rebates as follows: Each chapter will receive $30.00 USD per member for the

first 150 members on their rosters; $20.00 USD per member for each member over 150; $13.50 USD per member for student members, and $100 USD per sustaining member.

● Approved membership dues as follows: regular membership per year will be $140; student membership dues will be 40% of regular membership dues; and retired membership dues will be 50% of regular membership dues, effective with the dues for the year beginning January 1, 2004.

● Approved a chapter loan in the amount of $3,000 to the Alberta chapter for the 2003 Region 7 conference, with repayment to begin no more than 60 days after the conference.

● Accepted the Society treasurer’s financial report.● Approved the formation of a special committee to recommend to the board a means of

transforming STC’s operational model so that the Society can better support its many communities of practice, enable growth, and stabilize revenue. This ad hoc "transformation committee" is managed by Mary Jo Stark, STC treasurer.

● In addition, the board, in executive session, selected recipients of Chapter of Distinction and Chapter Pacesetter Awards.

The following items were discussed at the board meeting:

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/region.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:28 AM]

Letter from Linda

● During the discussion that led to the appointment of the transformation committee, the board insisted that the foremost principle of any new approach to STC governance would be to "do no harm" to current processes and entities. Rather, the objective is to look at ways to strengthen the communities of practice within STC and explore how the Society can respond to and support those communities, including the geographical communities represented by STC chapters.

● Because of the present global economy and the importance of membership growth to the Society’s strength and stability, the Board discussed several tactics for increasing membership-both on the Society level and by helping chapters work toward that goal locally.

If you have questions or comments about the STC board of directors or any of the items mentioned in this article, please contact your director-sponsor or the STC office.

Regards, Linda O.

Previous: From the Incoming Chapter President | Table of Contents | Next: Building the Document Factory: Using Arbortext for Single Sourcing

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/letters/region.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:28 AM]

Report on UCSC Career Day-March, 2003

Previous: Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit | Table of Contents | Next: Writer in the Workplace: Networking

Report on UCSC Career Day-March, 2003Rashmi Shah Community Involvement Manager, Silicon Valley Chapter

The STC Silicon Valley Chapter's participation at the UCSC Career Day, on March 30, 2003 was a success!

The event was held from 8:30 am to 1:45 pm, at University of California Santa Cruz's Extension (USCS-E) in Cupertino, California.

STC had committed for President Beau Cain to attend this event. Usually, there are more volunteers to help out, but this time the burden fell on our President alone.

Since STC promotes high quality communication, it is proud to support UCSC's technical communication programs. Participation in such events also assists STC in enrolling new members. Career events are a very effective way to introduce STC to the local community and STC typically experiences a spike in enrollments after hosting one of these information sessions.

The event went well with Beau giving a presentation that covered job prospects, job trends, and successful career-planning techniques for technical writers.

Beau set up the chapter's banner behind a table in a prominent location directly across from the main entrance to the room. He also displayed Silicon Valley's Chapter of Excellence Award and the 49th Annual Conference Proceedings. Beau also offered stacks of society brochures and membership applications.

Our President spoke with the attendees during a question and answer session, about the following topics:

● Displaying the Society's international competition winners at a chapter meeting● How the local economy has affected the profession● How a Physics teacher that is Chinese and teaches Mandarin can benefit from an association with

STC● How UCSC-E can market their classes to STC's membership

At noon, Beau joined chapter Vice President, Fred Sampson and former chapter President, Andrea Ames in a presentation room to address a small audience. Their session centered on the benefits of

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/uscs.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:29 AM]

Report on UCSC Career Day-March, 2003

participating in UCSC-E's certification program for technical communication, and answered questions about how STC can help the students with their academic and professional efforts.

All communications about the arrangements at the event were conducted with the friendly Lynne Steele, Advertising & Special Events Manager in the Marketing Department at UCSC.

The Career Day was not overly busy and this proved to be a perfect situation for Beau. It enabled him to spend more time with each person that was present.

The UCSC Career Day was a success. Beau's presentations were well-received, he answered some important questions for attendees, and because the Silicon Valley Chapter displayed their materials in a very prominent location during the event, attendees interest was sparked

Rashmi Shah is the Community Involvement Manager for the Silicon Valley Chapter.

Previous: Magazine Writing for Fun and Profit | Table of Contents | Next: Writer in the Workplace: Networking

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/uscs.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:29 AM]

2002-2003 Volunteers

Previous: Writer in the Workplace: Networking | Table of Contents | Next: SVC Administrative Council

2002-2003 VolunteersSkyla Loomis

At the June chapter meeting, the Administrative Council recognized those individuals who have volunteered over the past year. Without the tireless efforts of our volunteers, many chapter projects would simply not be possible. Thanks to the following people who have helped out over the past year:

Pam Araki Ana Araneta Emmy Aricioglu David Armstrong Don Baldwin Laura Bayer Virginia Beecher Deborah Britt Vickie Brown DJ Cline Jim Desmond Gary Faircloth Nimisha Garg

Dara Golden Patrick Harrington Elizabeth Hidalgo Catherine Howland Jenny Hutton Roxanne Jones Richard Katz Vera Kostiouk Kristin Kosumoto Thomas Leah-Martin Harlo Lenning Ivan Linderman Shawna Lisk-Sprester

Daniel Matthews Anne Mehaffey Thomas Mehrens Linda O'Maley JR Orlando Bruce Roberts Aaron Rother Rashmi Shah Ana Stagnaro Wallace Sueyoshi Wendy Tung Doreen Van Alstyne Mark Whisler Patty Wong

Skyla Loomis is the Managing Editor of Connection.

Previous: Writer in the Workplace: Networking | Table of Contents | Next: SVC Administrative Council

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/volunteers.htm [11/16/2007 10:40:30 AM]



Volunteer of the MonthThe Silicon Valley chapter is always looking for volunteers to help us support our community. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our Volunteer Manager, Barbara Kilburn. You can find her contact information in the Silicon Valley Chapter Leadership Contact Directory section of Connection or on the chapter Web site at http://www.stc-siliconvalley.org.

June - David Armstrong

David Armstrong was selected as the Volunteer of the Month for June for his work on the SVC Council Handbook. David volunteered in March to help the council complete their work in documenting the various processes used by the council members in running the local chapter. In a short amount of time, David turned disparate pieces of information into a unified whole. Not only did he complile an indexed, edited handbook per the originial request, but he went above and beyond by designing and writing individual "quick reference cards" for each position, and designing an online web document as well. Thanks to David for all his excellent work and his initiative in exceeding our wildest expectations!

July - Harlo Lenning

Harlo is a Senior STC member, and has worked as a technical communicator for over 14 years. His specialty is writing technical and marketing communications for manufactures of Enterprise Requirement Planning software. He grew up in Southern California and relocated to the Bay Area in 1996. Besides volunteering with the STC, Harlo is a political activist and volunteer for the Sierra Club, where he serves as Secretary for the Steering Committee of the California / Nevada Regional Conservation Committee. He is currently working on putting together a web site for this Committee.

Harlo currently serves as Co-Chair for our chapter's Networking SIG. The purpose of the SIG is to facilitate communication between members working in technical communications in the Silicon Valley. The thing he likes best about the job is the people it has allowed him to meet. "The folks who attend the SIG are wonderful and we have a great time. We have writers of every sort: from those specializing in hardware and software to experts in marketing and journalism. I have learned a lot about technical writing from the group, and I’m sure others have too."

Harlo has been selected as the July VOM because of his devotion and contribution to the Networking SIG. Please join the Administrative Council in our appreciation for his dedication and support to the Silicon Valley Chapter.

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/vom.htm (1 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:31 AM]




file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/everyissue/vom.htm (2 of 2) [11/16/2007 10:40:31 AM]

Writer in the Workplace: Secrets to Successful Networking

Previous: USCS Career Day | Table of Contents | Next: Recognizing Our Volunteers

Writer in the Workplace: Secrets to Successful NetworkingDara Golden

How important is networking? Are there wrong ways to network? How do you start networking? Where can you find information on networking? These questions were answered in Secrets to Successful Networking presented by Dana Frazio, Recruiting Services Manager for InfoPros, at April's 2003 Writer in the Workplace seminar held in Sacramento, California.

What is networking

Dana Frazio defined networking as "meeting new people (making contacts) and creating rapport (building relationships)." She reminded the audience that networking is "a two-way street [and it] ideally starts long before a job search." She emphasized that exploring options, gathering information, and making contacts are the main objectives of networking, not aiming for specific positions. She added that networking is not cold-calling, contacting everyone you know to ask about job openings, or handing your business card to everyone you meet "upon entering a room."

Why network

Frazio noted that according to a 1999 study, 64% of new jobs were found through networking. Additionally, most companies and organizations prefer to "hire someone they know or who comes recommended [by someone they know]." She added that networking may "give you an earlier chance at an opportunity."

So, why do some people fear networking? Frazio explained that networking is easier when people know how to do it. For example, some people are afraid to ask for help, some might consider it imposing upon others, or some do not know what to say. She added that, with steps on how to network, these fears could be ameliorated.

How to network

Frazio presented six steps on how to make networking successful.

1. Define your networking goals.

file:///C|/STCSVCsite/newsletter/2003_06/articles/witwnetwork.htm (1 of 4) [11/16/2007 10:40:32 AM]


"Successful networking is purposeful," explained Frazio. She suggested discovering "more about the fields in which others with your degree or major are working." For a more targeted goal, she suggested getting "your resume into the right person's hands" at a specific company.

2. Create your "infomercial." Frazio explained that this as a 25 word or less, 20 to 30 second "verbal business card." She emphasized that in addition to making it memorable, include "who you are, what makes you unique, and what you are looking for."

3. Identify who you know Frazio suggested making a list of your contacts, but going beyond the basic "family, friends, and co-workers." She urged contacting former bosses, classmates, and people from organizations such as clubs and associations.

4. Contact your contacts Once your contact list is created, the next step is to actually contact them. Frazio noted that the contact can be either "formal or informal, depending upon who the contact is." She suggested writing a preliminary letter of introduction for formal contacts. When calling contacts, have a clear idea of what to say. If a meeting seems prudent, she suggested requesting 30 minutes of the person's time to discuss your qualifications.

5. Keep track of your activities Frazio stressed that keeping "a record of names, titles, email addresses and other contact information" is important. She recommended keeping both a record of dates of contact and notes from conversations.

6. Follow up "Follow-up is your responsibility," Frazio reminded the audience. She added that every meeting requires follow-up. She urged keeping "in touch with everyone in your network" and that one "follow-up only with those who seem interested and willing."

Where to network

Trade or professional association events are typical places to network, but Frazio recommended additional networking places. She suggested networking at cultural events, civic organizations, charities, volunteer organizations, clubs, and at any "classes you take to learn more [and to] improve yourself."

Networing: tips, do's and dont's

Frazio presented her top networking tips and provided a list of things to do to ensure successful networking.

Tips

● Develop a referral list of your own● Develop the right attitude



● Have business cards● Dress to impress● Use eye contact● Perfect your handshake● Always say hello and goodbye

Dos and Dont's:

● Do make the first move● Do ask questions; be curious about people● Do listen● Do sit with people whom you don't know at conferences, meetings, and workshops● Do volunteer to work at registration desks at conferences or workshops● Don't dominate the conversation● Don't ask for a job● Don't push yourself on someone who isn't interested or able to speak with you● Don't pass your business card or resume out to everyone you come into contact with● Don't ask the person to circulate your resume● Don't become a pest● Don't conduct an email or letter campaign● Don't get surly when people don't give you help

Getting additional help

Frazio suggested the following books for obtaining information about networking:

● How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Savvy Socializing in Person and Online by Susan RoAne

● Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck, and Career by Andrea Nierenberg● Power Networking Second Edition: 59 Secrets for Personal and Professional Success by Donna

Fisher, Sandy Vilas, and Marilyn Hermance● Professional Networking for Dummies by Donna Fisher

Frazio reminded the audience that networking is a lifelong process and to not "ignore or drop your network once you accomplish your goal." She added that "you never know when you will want to change professions or companies again" so she urged the audience to keep their contacts current and to keep in touch with them.

Dara Golden is a freelance writer and finds that networking is an acquired skill.



Previous: USCS Career Day | Table of Contents | Next: Recognizing Our Volunteers


Connection: Table of Contents · Title: Connection: Table of Contents Created Date: 11/16/2007...

Documents

Transcript of Connection: Table of Contents · Title: Connection: Table of Contents Created Date: 11/16/2007...