An official chapter of the Society for Technical Communication

Contents

Lines and Letters

Volume 27, Issue 2, October 2010

October meeting: Technical communication project tracking and metrics using Microsoft Sharepoint

Rockwell Automation created a robust project tracking system using Microsoft Sharepoint. Recording over 40 pieces of metadata for every project, Rockwell Automation has created a unique system that allows them to monitor existing projects as well as future projects, with views to overall workload by individual communicator, by business unit/product groupings, and by current status.

Speakers

Kathleen Ruggeri has more than 20 years of experience in the Technical and Marketing Communication fields for Rockwell Automation, the leader in industrial automation products. Kathleen currently manages the Information Architects, Editors, and Information Developers for the Cleveland-based operations of Rockwell Automation.

Liz Gardipee has more than 15 years of experience in Technical Communication for Rockwell Automation, and manages the Information Developers for the Milwaukee and Mequon-based operations of Rockwell Automation. Liz is the curator and administrator for the Rockwell Automation Sharepoint site, and is a metrics expert.

Date: Thursday, October 14th, 2010

Time: 5:30 to 6 pm registration
          6 to 7 pm food and socialization
          7 to 8 pm presentation

Location: Rockwell Automation

Price: You can choose one of the following:

  • Members and students, meeting only $10
  • Nonmember, meeting only $20
  • Members and students, with dinner $20
  • Nonmember, with dinner $35

Food: Buffet dinner

Online registration is available at http://www.neostc.org/cms/.

Register: If you plan to attend, email the Programs Committee by October 10th. Or, call Denise at 216-251-0716.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks to our October meeting sponsors, Rockwell Automation and MadCap!

Rockwell Automation

Madcap Software

Upcoming events

NEO STC events

Unless otherwise noted, see NEO STC website for details about an event.

  • 10/14/10: October meeting: Technical communication project tracking and metrics using Microsoft Sharepoint. See http://tinyurl.com/
     
  • 10/20/10: Networking lunch. Geisen Haus — German Pub and Eatery, North Canton.
     
  • 10/30/10: Joomla workshop. This half-day workshop is free to any current chapter volunteers, $30 to chapter members, and $45 to nonmembers. Details coming soon!
     
  • 11/11/10: November NEO STC Community meeting.
     
  • 11/18/10: Networking lunch. Mavis Winkle’s Irish Pub, Twinsburg.
     
  • 11/19/10: Social event. Dinner at The South Side restaurant, 2207 West 11th Street in Cleveland (the Tremont neighborhood). Watch your email for details!
     
  • 12/9/10: December NEO STC Community meeting.
     
  • 12/17/10: Networking lunch. Creekside Restaurant, Brecksville.
     
  • 1/13/11: January NEO STC Community meeting.
     
  • 1/18/11: Networking lunch. Vieng Asian Bistro, Westlake.
     

Other events and dates of interest

President’s column:

By Ginny Haas

Bring a nonmember free to the October meeting

If you are an STC member, you can bring a nonmember as your guest! If you plan to take advantage of the two-for-one registration offer and bring a nonmember guest, let the Programs Committee know the name and email address of your guest when you RSVP. Also let them know whether you or your guest will attend the New/Potential Member Information Session.

See http://www.neostc.org/cms/ to register and pay through Paypal.

Alternatives to the NEO STC competition

Our chapter will not be sponsoring a competition this year. If you are interested in submitting, you are welcome to submit to other chapter’s competitions. The newsletter will list competition deadlines in Upcoming Events in the “Other events of interest” listing.

If you see information on other competitions, please forward the information to newsletter@neostc.org. We try to catch all the announcements, but extra eyes are helpful!

NEO STC volunteer opportunities

The Education Committee could use an additional volunteer. Contact Ginny Haas if you are interested.

Book review: Presentation zen

By Jeanette Evans (jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net)

Presentation zen: simple ideas on presentation design and delivery, by Garr Reynolds — New Riders Pub. (2008). Paperback, 229 pages. ISBN 0321525655. $19 new from Amazon. (293 reviews on Amazon when I checked.)

Author Garr Reynolds is a presentation designer and communications specialist. He is also creator of a popular website on presentation design and delivery. If you go to his site, http://www.presentationzen.com/, you can see if there is something there for you.

If you get the book, you may find, as I did, that the book exceeds expectations. The book is striking. Some of the page presentations made me gasp, but maybe I’m getting overdramatic about my appreciation for page layout.

The site and book encourage thinking creatively about the design and delivery of presentations. Simpler presentations may be better presentations.

This book and the article on effective presentations in a recent issue of Technical Communication are making me think differently about presentations.

Hmmm… four words per slide — could that really work? Then again, death by Microsoft Powerpoint is not a good thing.

Book review: The Yahoo! Style Guide

By Joann Rasmussen (joann@rasmussen.tc

The subtitle, “The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing and Creating Content for the Digital World” explains how this book is more than a style guide. It’s a body of knowledge with processes and methodolgy for developing almost any content available on the Web (notice the capitalized W). The book reads like a manual that a project manager would use to administer phases of product or service development.

The “Yahoo! Style Guide” is filled with suggestions for punctuation, capitalization and other variables as needed in a style guide, plus Yahoo’s rationale for choosing one style over alternatives. It also includes exercises for optimizing content, research instructions for analyzing your target audiences, and an entire chapter devoted to defining your voice (branding). Writing content targeted to a mobile device? You’ll find information on alternative text for images, space-saving abbreviations and SMS-appropriate verbiage.

According to the book, Yahoo standards began with a style sheet and expanded with the company. Yahoo was founded in 1994 and rose to become the most popular portal to the Internet before the dot-com bubble burst in 2002, and before Google became king of the Internet jungle.

It’s not the first Internet style guide. Two versions of the “Wired Style” guide predate this book, but they contain only principles of English usage, similar to the “AP Style Guide” and “The Chicago Manual of Style.” While “Wired Style” targets technical communicators, Yahoo! wrote this book for anyone who wishes to become a part of the Internet.

Unlike other style guides, the “Yahoo! Style Guide” contains references to scientific research that help determine how to design Web pages that attract and keep readers. A section on eye tracking explains why pages must feature the most important content in the upper left portion of the page. That research explains why headlines become organizational tools, and bullets or lists replace the paragraphs commonly found in printed material.

The book devotes an entire chapter to the issue of accessibility to the disabled and other frequently overlooked audiences. The disabled number 650 million globally, and that doesn’t count the percentage of people who care for them and the issue of accessibility. It argues that optimal accessibility is good for business.

The Yahoo! editors included a resource section with information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), basic Webpage coding, and instructions for compliance with international copyright law and the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Finally, the “Yahoo! Style Guide” complements the book with a free, online component. That content includes help from experienced editors. Other resources include tips, primers, audience measurement tools, readability measurement tools, and links to alternative style guides.

I found the “Yahoo! Style Guide” to be a helpful companion that will stay on my desktop for reference.

In the spotlight: From class schedules to corporate life

By Genelle Schedlbauer (genelle.schedlbauer@parker.com)

I did not want to be one of those college graduates who move back in with their parents. Don‘’t get me wrong, I love my parents, but I knew it was not the best post-college path for me.

Moving from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to attend Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, was a big step for me, and I wanted to continue on toward true independence. This being my attitude as second semester of my senior year got underway, I spent several hours perfecting my résumé, crafting a convincing cover letter, and scouring indeed.com and the websites of large companies that I thought would be cool to work for.

Only did I see a glimmer of hope when my advisor, Mrs. Sandi Harner, sent out an email from Kris Henige at Parker Hannifin Corporation in Cleveland. I had never heard of Parker, but after looking at their website, I knew this fascinating company was worth investigating.

I had aspirations of finding my place in a big company, helping create technical communication materials that would help reach the overall goals of the organization. I am a behind-the-scenes type of person, and I enjoy taking on responsibility while quietly blending into the background.

I knew this was what I wanted for my professional life after spending the summer of 2009 interning for Steelcase, Inc. at their global headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That large, very reputable furniture manufacturing company opened my eyes to the wonder that is a large corporation.

The email from Mrs. Harner turned into a phone interview, and the phone interview into a face-to-face interview, which meant a trip to Cleveland for me. I spent a day meeting the team, sharing my portfolio, and learning about Parker Hannifin. After some time, I found myself fortunate enough to be accepting a job offer from Kris Henige to join the Corporate IT Technical Communications team.

It has now been four months since I started at Parker, and during this time I have come across a variety of projects, several opportunities to learn, and many new faces. Although Parker does have a corporate culture that stands out from the typical workplace environment, the main reason I enjoy my job so much is because of the work I am doing, and I am proud to say that.

For four years people asked, “Your major does what? You want to write manuals for a living?” All the explanations were (and still are) worth it. Even though the world of academia presents countless opportunities to students, I will always recommend technical communication in a heartbeat. And yes, I do want to write manuals for a living.

Tip: White paper on using GREP in InDesign CS3

GREP is a means of describing patterns and conditions in text, allowing search-and-replace operations based on the patterns and condition, not the literal text. Michael Murphy of theindesigner has provided a detailed discusion of GREP in the white paper available at http://www.indesignusergroup.com/learning_center/whitepapers/2008/indesign_grep_mmurphy.pdf.

STC reminders

STC now offers a Buyers’ Guide for technical communications products and services

See http://www.stc.org/about/buyersguide.asp.

Amazon.com helps fund STC

Reaching Amazon.com through the portal on the home page of STC’s website (www.stc.org) contributes to funding programs that have no direct revenue stream, such as committee work. STC receives a small percentage from every purchase made through the portal.

Join NEO STC on LinkedIn

Our chapter has a group on LinkedIn named Northeast Ohio STC Community.

Join us on http://www.LinkedIn.com (you must be a member of LinkedIn, which is free for a basic membership). To join the group:

  1. In the left navigation, click Groups or User Groups.
  2. In Group Directories box on the right, click Find a Group.
  3. In Search Groups, enter Northeast Ohio STC Community.
  4. Click Search.
  5. Select Join this group (under the group description).
  6. Follow the instructions. There will be waiting period while your membership is approved.

NEO STC listserv

To subscribe or change your settings for the Northeast Ohio STC listserv, see http://mailman.stc.org/mailman/listinfo/stcneohio-l.

Please let Kris Henige, the NEO STC Listserv Administrator, know if you have any questions.

Premium pages for members

NEO STC has some Premium pages for NEO STC members only. These pages include links to our very own Wiki, an Employer Directory — a listing of businesses that hire technical communicators — and more.

To enter the Premium pages, you will need a user name and password — this is different from the STC International site. Please contact our Webmaster for password information.

Change of address? Remember to tell the STC office

Send new addresses to the STC office to avoid interrupted delivery of Intercom and Technical Communication. Some members assume that informing the post office of their new address is enough to ensure that all of their mail is forwarded. However, the United States Postal Service forwards only first-class mail, not publications such as Intercom and Technical Communication.

Members may also update their contact and mailing information on the STC website.

Lines & Letters information

Editors and contributors

Managing Editors: Barbara Philbrick (barb@caslonsvcs.com), newsletter co-chair

Jeanette Evans (jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net), newsletter co-chair

Additional editors and contributors:

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