Northeast Ohio Society for Technical Communication
We are well into our calendar of topics for the year and I want to remind everyone about our upcoming November Social Media Workshop on November 21st! Facilitated by Blake Babcock of Focal Point Social Media, this event promises to be a true learning experience, especially for those who want to learn more about how … Continue reading…
This month, Lines & Letters caught up with long-time member, Kathleen Rugerri, who recently changed roles at Rockwell Automation. Kathleen was the previous Manager of Information Development. Kathleen’s new role is Manager, Information Architecture and Content Strategy. In this role, she and her team are responsible for creating technical content strategies for Rockwell Automation’s complex … Continue reading…
The Academic Relations committee (Kade Dodds and Lynn Nickels) made their first college visit of this year on Oct. 6th to John Carroll University. The committee presented to Tom Pace’s class of writing students and were surprised at the great questions posed by them! Students were encouraged to attend a meeting to see how they … Continue reading…
Once again, NEO STC got a word in at Case Western Reserve University’s Link-State event, an annual event specifically geared toward engineering students. I was able to speak to students about volunteering and networking through organizations like NEO STC – it’s a case for a Win-Win strategy! Not only can students help the community … Continue reading…
Lillian Virginia Mountweazel was a renowned fountain designer turned photographer, famous for her definitive work on American mailbox photography, and a book titled Flags Up! Mountweazel’s life was cut tragically short in 1973 when, on assignment for Combustibles magazine, she exploded. Lillian Virginia Mountweazel is a copyright trap. She’s a made-up person who was included … Continue reading…
I recently had the privilege of attending the Intermediate Excel 2013 class at DeVore Technologies, Inc. in Beachwood, where NEO STC held its October meeting. Thanks to the wonderful folks at DeVore, attendees of that NEO STC meeting were able to attend one of a handful of classes for FREE. Yeah – you read that … Continue reading…
This look at current thinking about top emerging technologies should help us in our own work to see how we might use these technologies. Whether it is social media, wearable technologies, the latest in printers, personalization, big data, cloud computing, mobile apps, analytics, digital identity, haptic interfaces, augmented reality, or the internet of things, we … Continue reading…
A few days ago I returned from a short trip to London, England. While there, I toured Westminster Abbey and spent several minutes in an area of the abbey called Poet’s Corner, where many famous writers are either buried or commemorated with plaques on the walls and floor. With such recognition, there is no question … Continue reading…
Meet our new Vice President, Jill McCauslin! Jill left in-house employment about one year ago to work full-time at her company, WhitePoint Professionals. Right now, she works as an instructional designer for a few different clients. She says, “I’ve done work for both instructor-led training and elearning courses. I have a small office on the … Continue reading…
On September 10th, Tricia Spayer of Pressco Technology kicked off the new program year with an engaging talk about using effective visuals in technical communication. Drawing on her 20 years of experience in technical illustration, Tricia provided guidance in these areas: Making illustrations more useful How to not scream amateur Following ISO standards for icons … Continue reading…
Now is the time to join or renew your STC membership for 2016! Current members with a Classic membership can take $30 off the price of their renewal. To receive this limited-time discount, use promo code STC2016 on the payment page. This offer expires in early December, so act now. Members who renew now receive 15 … Continue reading…
Fresh off the Content Marketing World (CMW) Conference in Cleveland, full of new ideas and ways to connect our NEO Chapter’s social media theme for the year, pay homage to the National Day on Writing and include human interest stories—killing several birds with one stone—my mind turned to writing about a special person I am privileged to … Continue reading…
From Jules Verne’s moon landing in From Earth to the Moon, to the water beds that Robert Heinlein predicted in Beyond This Horizon, sci-fi writers have predicted the future in some eerily accurate ways. So when our tech caught up with their imaginations, many sci-fi authors had conveniently already come up with the words for … Continue reading…
A newsletter is a great communications tool. At The JPT Group, they’re one of our specialties. And, with the advent of the electronic newsletter, they’ve never been easier or more cost effective. But, they’re not for everyone. Before you start down that road, there are (at least) three questions that you need to ask yourself. … Continue reading…
Our chapter president, Brian Smith, recently asked us to think about the National Day on Writing. Here are some thoughts about what writing means to some of us in NEO STC. Please let us know your thoughts on how you would complete the phrase. Contact us as newsletter@neostc.org. To me writing means… empowering people … Continue reading…
October 20 of this year (and every year) is the National Day on Writing. “Lines & Letters” is looking for articles about this topic. Please contact us at newsletter@neostc.org with your ideas or drafts. Let’s honor this year’s social media theme, and combine that with writing to extend the National Day on Writing to a year … Continue reading…
Technical writers can bring their skills of communicating clearly about technical topics to today’s world of digital marketing. This can apply to communication about important current topics in the field including programmatic ads, B2B digital marketing, mobile applications, and skills digital marketers need today to be successful. Going along with this idea of communicating clearly … Continue reading…
The site at http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting explains that the National Day on Writing recognizes “the significance of writing in our national life, draws attention to the remarkable variety of writing we engage in, and helps writers from all walks of life recognize how important writing is to their lives.” The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) established the … Continue reading…
Submit an article to this newsletter via newsletter@neostc.org to be eligible for our drawing for a $50 gift card. Angie Dianetti and Janean Voss were the winners of our 2014-2015 drawing. Barb Philbrick won for the 2013-2014 drawing. Book reviews, article reviews, event and meeting reviews, and articles on any topic of interest to our … Continue reading…
When you read the Acknowledgement section in a book, you always see a big, heartfelt note to the author’s editor. “This book wouldn’t have been possible without the patience and help of my dear editor…” However, have you ever received comments back from your editor and thought that he bled all over your writing because … Continue reading…