Archive for February, 2007

Volunteering with the Rochester Chapter of STC

Have you ever wondered why people volunteer? Why do people give of themselves when there are so many other things to do with their lives?

Personally, I believe it’s something in the water or maybe in the air – especially in Rochester, New York. Rochester is a great volunteer town! It seems like everyone you talk with is involved in something that puts demands on them beyond their 8 to 5 schedule and they seem to love talking about their experiences. They willingly give up their personal time so that they can spend an evening or the occasional Saturday or Sunday being with other like-minded people. But if it’s not in the water or air it must be something that they inherited from their parents or possibly contracted from their children. You know what I mean, all those nights and weekends helping with homework and school projects – that must have something to do with it.

So what do they get from this volunteering?

Well I can assure you it’s not anything monetary. Most volunteer jobs even seem to cost a bit; you understand – for the person to get there – with the price of fuel or at least the cup of $4 coffee while participating in the meeting. And in many volunteer organizations there is always a need for a PC or MAC so you can communicate with others, so there is that cost and of course the price on the Internet provider, that could be a small fortune. So volunteering is not a moneymaking deal, quite the opposite when you come down to it.

So why do so many people volunteer?

I believe it’s personal! It’s a lot like breathing and drinking water – you really need to do it to stay alive. Not alive in the physical sense but more of a personal pride and personal value sense of being. It gives you that feeling that you have made a difference. Like watching your children grow and succeed because you helped nurture their growth. Plus I think it’s a very selfish thing, it makes them feel good about themselves. And while they are feeling good they don’t think about the cost, they do however reflect on the value that their personal contribution has added to the good of the project they supported.

So have you volunteered lately?

If not, the Rochester Chapter of STC is a ‘great’ organization made up of very talented people who have so much to share. Your skills and experience can add so much to the chapter that it is hard to imagine not having you as part of the team. Volunteering with STC will add value to the Chapter and give you a sense of accomplishment for something you personally believe in and it would not have gotten done without your help. Plus, if you’re not careful, you may make some new friends and learn something along the way. Because when you’re involved you add value and make a significant difference.

–
Joseph Uhal is the President of the Rochester Chapter.

“An Evening with Helen Thomas: Women’s History Month Featured Speaker”

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6
Hubbell Auditorium
University of Rochester’s River Campus

ADMISSION: $3 for University undergraduates; $7 for the University Community; and $10 for the public. Tickets can be purchased at the Common Market in Wilson Commons and at the door.

Helen Thomas, the longtime White House Bureau Chief often referred to as “The First Lady of the Press,” was a pioneer for women journalists covered breaking news from the FBI to Capitol Hill. For 57 years, she also served as White House correspondent for United Press International and covered every president since John F. Kennedy.

Thomas is now a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers and has written three books, including her latest, Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House .

The event is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, UR Women’s Caucus, and Simon Association of Women MBA’s.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Common Connection at (585) 275-5911.

The March issue of Intercom, which highlights current content management topics, has been posted to www.stc.org/intercom.

In this issue:

• what a content management system (CMS) does
• the different types of systems available
• how to implement a CMS
• how technical publications groups can use content management (CM) to restructure themselves in their wider organizations.

Other features include an article on the certificate programs and institutes available at the annual conference and a guide to STC’s 2007 election.

To access Intercom articles online, you’ll need your STC member number and password.

Posted on behalf of Saul Carliner, Manager of Conferences, STC. If you have any questions please contact Lloyd Tucker, STC Director of Education at lloyd@stc.org.

Dear Members,

As you go through the program materials for the upcoming STC Annual
Conference, I thought you might be interested in checking out the
following programs of particular interest to information designers and
architects:

(1) The Information Design Institute is an in-depth
conference-within-a-conference that explores advanced topics in
information design and architecture. Sessions cover information
architecture for mobile devices, interaction design, the development of
taxonomies, wayfinding, designing for special audiences, designing
wordless instructions, and the design process.

Your conference registration includes access to sessions in all of the
Institutes at the conference.

(2) The Designing and Assessing User Experiences track explores various
topics in usability including an overview of software for usability, paper
prototyping, making the most of expert reviews, and avoiding bias in
usability testing, as well as case studies of usability in organizations,
and a session with usability expert Jared Spool.

(3) For those of you interested in cross-cultural issues, check out the
Globalization, Localization, and Translation Institute, which explores
issues ranging from topics such as automated globalization and quality
metrics for localization and translation to the homogenization of
cultures.

(4) If you are interested in knowledge management, check out the Knowledge
Management Institute, which features sessions on creating communities of
practice, design considerations for corporate intranets, “harvesting”
knowledge, identifying patterns in knowledge, and case studies of
knowledge management in organizations. This Institute also includes an
introductory session on knowledge management, for those who want a
refresher.

(5) To keep up with the latest in technology, check out the following.

– The Web 2.0 Institute, which features sessions on collaborative writing
with wikis and social computing, along with an introduction to Web 2.0.
– The Content Management Institute, which features sessions on XML, DITA
and a variety of other complex publishing technologies.
– The sessions in the Managing People, Projects, and Business Track,
which includes sessions on developing a business case for technology and
addressing the non-technical components in a technology implementation.
– The sessions in the Producing and Publishing Information track, which
include sessions on using XML and DITA, content management, cool tools
under $100, and e-learning technology.

(6) For comprehensive ideas on communicating content, check out the
Developing and Delivering Content Track sessions on modular writing, using
UML, best practices for designing Web forms, page design, the psychology
of writing style, visual rhetoric, writing for the Web, games, and
creative e-learning.

(7) For an in-depth learning experience, you might be interested in one of
our certificate programs, such as (a) The Science and Art of Effective
Interface Design, (b) “Undiscovered Country: Taking Your Information
Design Skills to the Next Level,” or (c) “Moving to Content Management:
From Justification to Implementation.”

Check out the complete conference schedule at www.stc.org/54thConf.

Note that early bird registration rates are available through February 28.

I hope to see you in Minneapolis.

Best regards,

Saul Carliner, Ph.D., CTDP
Manager of Conferences, STC
Coordinator, Information Design Institute