Events
DITA 101: Introduction to Structured Authoring and DITA
DITA, the Darwin Information Typing Architecture, is the new buzzword in technical communication. But why? Find out in this free webinar co-hosted... Read the full story
Community Blog
Have Fun...Introduce Yourself!
We've come up with a simple, quick, and fun way for our chapter members to introduce themselves to each other. Find out how!
You Can Blog Here!
Any STC Chapter member is welcome to blog here. If you're back from a conference, or you read an article online, or heard something useful, please share it here. The Quick Start guide shows how to blog. If you need access to the publishing tool, send an email to web_site@stc-phoenix.com.
How Did We Do in 2009?
March 8th, 2010 by Karen Zorn
Maura Betler, our member survey manager, submitted the summary of the 2009 survey results. You can read all about it here: http://www.stc-phoenix.com/2010-caa/Survey_results2009_summary.pdf
Local Social Media Expert Provides Practical Advice
February 17th, 2010 by JanKruse
At the February 9th chapter meeting, Jack Smith, A.K.A The Social Media Barista, fueled creativity and countered any skepticism by providing numerous examples of how social media can be used successfully. From Dunkin Doughnuts’ innovative response to customer needs brought to light on Twitter, to our Membership Manager’s use of her site to showcase her skills, it’s clear that social media isn’t just a passing fad. It’s something you can capitalize on— if you have a sound plan and clear-cut goals.
Jack currently revamped his blog, thesocialatte.com, and talks about what he hoped to accomplish by doing so. I encourage you to visit his site for slide presentations and more…
To see chapter members’ responses to Jack’s presentation, click Chapter-Meeting-Evaluation-Results.
Grammar Anyone?
January 29th, 2010 by Ms. Grammar
Helping your company’s branding efforts
by Ms. Grammar
Do you help your company maintain its corporate and brand identity? Despite the economy and company events that may have left you with a bitter taste in your mouth, if you appreciate your job, you need to do what you can to help your company succeed. Brand identity equals consumer recognition and helps your company differentiate itself from competitors.
Company guidelines
If your company has brand identity guidelines, make sure you follow them. Are certain placements required for the company logo? Is there an informal name for your company or a product that should not be used in formal publications? Make sure you follow these rules. And if your company does not have identity guidelines, you might offer to write them!
Trademarks
Use trademarks properly:
- Give notice that a mark is registered. The frontmatter of technical documents often includes notices, including trademark statements such as “Doc-o-Mat is a trademark (or registered trademark) of the Dynamo Corporation.” In addition, the first appearance of a trademarked term in the body of the document should include the TM or ® symbol.
- A trademarked term should never be used as a noun. It should be an adjective preceding a generic product noun. For example, the “Doc-Mat document generator.” That being said, one large corporation’s legal department approved the use of the trademarked term as a noun in user documentation as long as the trademark statement appeared at the front of the document and the correct presentation was used in the introduction.
- Use the mark distinctively. Initial capital letters, all capital letters, italics, boldface, are all ways of distinguishing the mark from surrounding text.
Do the little things
For example:
» Include the company name in the first paragraph of the introduction of your document or training materials, not just the product name.
» If you create online Help, include the company name in the Help title – so that it appears in the Help title bar. For example, “Dynamo Doc-o-Mat Help.”
If your product developers are not following branding standards in the product, encourage them to follow suit. For example:
» The product’s title bar should include the company name along with the product name.
» Start menu items should begin with the company name.
» The splash screen and Help > About dialog box should include the company and product name, as well as version, copyright and trademark information.
» And certainly the correct product terms (typically determined by Marketing) should be used within the product. Developers are not always careful.
You can gain an ally in Marketing and expand your role in the development team by watching for these brand identity issues in the product.
Seeking A’s in a C World
January 28th, 2010 by Gloria McConnell
by Gloria McConnell
Did you read Neil Perlin’s article in the December 2009 Intercom? If not, make the time. It is well worth it: “Perfect vs. Good Enough”— Writing Quality in the Online Age.
Neil first wrote the article nine years ago, and updated it in 2009. In 2007, Paul Davies of Sun Microsystem also discussed this topic in his weblog. The article is Time to Go Home.
If you are ready to lower your standards effectively but aren’t sure how to go about it, you might want to check into the Good Enough Documentation Workshop from Gordon and Gordon. They state:
Today’s successful software publishers release “good-enough” software, and writers need to produce “good-enough” documentation to ship with it.
What do you think of the “good enough” approach? Log in to our site and leave a comment.
Around the Web
January 27th, 2010 by Gloria McConnell
Compiled by Gloria McConnell
Plain Language Examples Needed
The Center for Plain Language is looking for examples of great communication…and for some that aren’t so great for new awards. Deadline for submission is Feb 15. Awards announcement will be April 29 in Washington DC. See ClearMark Award.
For Usability Buffs
Interested in user experience design? Check these two resources:
» Arizona chapter of the Usability Professionals Association
» Rosenfeld Media
Style Guide
Of Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Sun Microsystems says: “The must-have reference for every technical writer, editor, and documentation manager – now fully updated!” From Sun Technical Publications.
Font Conference
Take a few minutes to view “Font Conference,” a thoroughly delightful video from collegehumor.com. Make sure your sound is on.