Welcome to the Website of the Connecticut Chapter of the STC
Our purpose is to introduce you to our Connecticut chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and provide information to keep you well informed about Technical Communication and related fields.
"STC is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world" (http://stc.org/about).
March Meeting at Tangoe in Orange
On March 24 Greg Smith hosted a chapter meeting at Tangoe in Orange, where he is Manager of Technical Publications. Tangoe offers expense management services to improve the cost, visibility, and control of global communications. The company analyzes a client’s expenses for both fixed and mobile telecom products and services, identifies potential savings and negotiates new agreements with vendors.
Greg gave a demonstration of Tangoepedia, a system he has developed to give Tangoe employees easy access to help systems, databases and other tools they need to do their jobs. As the name implies, it is modeled on Wikipedia and uses Wiki technology to allow users to add content. The layout of the screen is very similar to Wikipedia, with featured articles, language options and search boxes. There are links to other systems, such as help systems. Greg said it took him some time to get approval to do Tangoepedia but in the limited time he has been able to put into it (when he’s not writing documentation) he has developed a robust, popular system. He has many requests for training in the system. Tangoepedia guards against duplication of content by having the user who wishes to contribute a topic do a search for that topic first. Users who contribute a topic are notified when another user makes changes to it.
To learn about Wiki technology, Greg recommends Wikipedia itself (it’s easy to view the source code for a page and copy what you need from it) and doing Google searches on Wiki-related topics. He has found it easy to get up to speed and users find it easy to contribute content. Tangoepedia is catching on fast throughout the company.
Renew Your Connecticut STC Membership for 2010!
The STC has revamped the renewal options for 2010. Please visit the chapter blog to discuss your thoughts: http://stcct.wordpress.com.
(Note, if you've never blogged before, your first entry will be moderated, so it won't appear right away.)
MOST IMPORTANTLY, please renew your Connecticut Chapter STC membership for 2010.
Fall Kick Off
On September 18th, we had our fall kick-off event at Eli’s on Whitney in Hamden. Rich Maggiani, an STC Fellow and Board Director, gave a presentation titled Social Media and Its Effect on Communication. The topic covered not only how these new methods of communication are changing the nature of our profession, but also their impact on global and personal interactions. Rich’s presentation sparked a robust discussion about the implications of social media that engaged the entire audience.
Rich Maggiani views the world as metaphor. Through the solitude of mountaineering excursions, he gains the clarity that metaphors bring to an otherwise noisy world. Rich applies these insights to attain the simple, clear communication necessary to enlighten and bring people together toward a common goal (which is why he is so keen on social media). Rich, a Communication Consultant with over 25 years experience, is the founder of Solari Communication (www.solari.net), a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Director on STC’s Board. He writes, consults, teaches, and speaks on a variety of communication topics across the country.
You can read his blog, Toward Humanity, at www.solari.net/toward-humanity; and read other free goodies by going to www.solari.net/free-resources.php.
STC Online Communities
The STC has been reshuffling its online communities.
For more information or for a way to communicate with former STC forum volunteers and participants, see http://stcideas.ning.com.
Membership to STC Ideas is by invitation only, and only open to current STC members. Current STC members can request access to STC Ideas on the STC Ideas site.
Have you contributed to our chapter blog? http://stcct.wordpress.com