tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63729010396110077202024-02-08T06:01:26.087-08:00Technically WriteTechnically Write is the official blog of the Lone Star Community (LSC) of the Society for Technical Communication. LSC serves fellow technical communicators in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area of Texas.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-47576698687075862742011-06-14T09:12:00.000-07:002011-06-14T09:38:32.926-07:00How to Be Famous in Your Profession<span style="font-family: Calibri;">by John V. Hedtke<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fame—being well-known and nothing more—can make networking easier and extend your own networking reach. Fortunately, it’s not hard to become famous and it’s a lot of fun. Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. Get online! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part of your success is your online presence, which can augment your local, regional, and international standing. This includes things like having a website, writing a blog (and contributing to other blogs), and being on LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media sites. There's a lot to know about social media and making a splash, but the basic rules are: <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nobody knows what's best, so be sure to do SOMETHING.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do a lot. Don't try just one thing. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be friendly</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Provide good content to your readers. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Share!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. Attend things.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t sit home alone watching TV. Whenever possible, go to conferences. Go to meetings. Go to lunches and picnics. Participate in group activities. You don’t need to volunteer for hard jobs—indeed, that’s the harder way to be famous; besides, you’ll be asked plenty about volunteering as time goes by and your fame increases—but do pitch in for things. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. Meet people.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fame is largely a function of who knows you. Get out and meet as many people in your profession as you can. As your network grows, you’ll discover that people know you that you don’t know and you don’t even know the people that they say they heard about you from. You don’t need to be the life of the party, but be interesting. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. Listen.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good listeners are hard to find and will make themselves welcome almost anywhere. Men in particular have a cultural tendency to interrupt. If you make a point of listening to whatever the other person in a conversation is saying until they’re all done and then replying, you will differentiate yourself from 99% of the rest of the world. (Hot tip for men: being a good listener will do you worlds of good in your relationships, too.) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. Remember peoples’ names.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone likes to think they’re special and they’ve made an impression on someone else. Try to remember as many names as you can. When you do the business card swap with people, be sure to make notes on business cards about who the person is, when you met, or what you talked about as a trigger to memory, too. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. Speak at events.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fame is largely a function of who knows you. Being a speaker at events is one excellent way of getting people to know who you are and what you think about things. Don’t forget to answer questions and talk to as many people afterwards as you can. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. Publish articles.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Articles get your name out to a wider range of people than doing public speaking. It’s also a different audience, too: the folks that hear you speak are the ones who, like you, like going to conferences. The people who read articles are going to be the ones who stay at home (and the ones who go to the conferences and enjoy learning everything they can about the profession).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. Have some opinions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having opinions is part of being human. You don’t have to tailor your opinions to what is popular, but you should be willing to discuss your point of view with other people. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. Be ready to disagree with people appropriately.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having opinions is part of what makes other people human, too. Your opinions are guaranteed to brush up against someone else’s opinions. It will broaden your horizons to hear that someone disagrees with you keenly on some fundamental issue (even if you’re sure in your heart that they’re a jerk for doing so <G>). Be professional in your disagreements and try to accept the people that disagree with you. Remember that a person who doesn’t offend somebody couldn’t possibly interest anybody. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. Make connections between people. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the values of being known by a number of people is that you can make connections between people and increase the networking. For example, as your own circle grows, people will often ask you questions like “How can I get started in this business?” or “Who do you recommend I talk to for a job?” Knowing a lot of people allows you to introduce people in your network to each other, making them happy and increasing your own prestige in the process. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11. Have fun.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being famous is really all about extending your reach. It’s great for hearing about that next job or finding someone with hard-to-get information. Fame even lets you get a free drink or lunch occasionally, but it’s not a substitute for having a life of your own. Relax and have fun with it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Summary<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fame is not a zero-sum game. Everyone can be well-known if they want to be. Because of this, never make the mistake of assuming that because you’re famous you’re entitled to more than anyone else. And remember that it’s not enough to be famous just for being famous; you need to be famous because you actually have something that you do reasonably well. If you forget to do things for yourself, you will soon discover that you don’t have anything new to offer... and you’ll become a parody of what you once were. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">John Hedtke runs JVH Communications (</span><a href="http://www.hedtke.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.hedtke.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">), a technical communications and consulting company, and is the Publisher at Double Tall Press (</span><a href="http://doubletallpress.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://doubletallpress.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">). One of his blogs is "Hey, kids! Become an author at home in your spare time and earn big bucks!" (</span><a href="http://tradebookauthor.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://tradebookauthor.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">), which is for people interested in becoming nonfiction authors. John has written 27 books and drinks a lot of coffee. <o:p></o:p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-46224072349608040062011-05-10T09:07:00.000-07:002011-06-14T09:25:35.426-07:00Election Day Resultsby Mel Haughton, 2011 Nominating Committee<br />
<br />
The LSC elections were completed online in April. The Nominating Committee is<br />
pleased to present you with your 2011-2012 officers:<br />
<br />
<table border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="background-color: white; width: 400px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td>President</td> <td>Jackie Tidwell</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>First Vice President</td> <td>Darice Lang</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Second Vice President</td> <td>Alice Leal</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Past President</td> <td>Arroxane Eber</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Parliamentarian</td> <td>Mike Hiatt</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Treasurer</td> <td>Kristy Nolan</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Secretary</td> <td>Monica Winkelman</td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"></div><br />
Thank you to these volunteers for so graciously offering to give their time to the LSC! Officers will be installed during the September meeting.<br />
<br />
Read on to familiarize yourself with our newly-installed officers!<br />
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<b>Jackie Tidwell, President</b><br />
Jackie has a BA in English from University of North Texas, with an endorsement<br />
in Technical Writing. Entering her seventh year as a technical writer, Jackie works as a Collaboration Services Lead and System Documentation Writer at Ambit Energy, a retail energy provider. Jackie's most recent accomplishment is developing and deploying her company's first intranet and collaboration portal using Microsoft SharePoint. In her spare time, she enjoys genealogy, traveling, and tattoos.<br />
<br />
<b>Darice Lang, First Vice President</b><br />
Darice Lang has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a minor in technical writing from Clarkson College of Technology. After 18 years as a technical writer for Texas Instruments, she is currently working at ASSET InterTech, Inc. as a lone writer. She has been a technical communicator for over 30 years, and a member of the Lone Star Chapter for most of those years. She’s also a gardener and quilter in her “spare” time.<br />
<br />
<b>Alice Leal, Second Vice President</b><br />
Alice has been the Technical Communications Supervisor at ViewPoint Bank in<br />
Plano for 8 years and prior to that, was a Business Process Analyst for Citizens<br />
Communications for 6 years. She has been a member of STC for 7 years.<br />
<br />
<b>Arroxane T. U. Eber, Past President</b><br />
Arroxane is a contract Technical Writer and President of Kineteka Systems, LLC. She<br />
has a master's in Technical Writing from the University of North Texas and a bachelor's in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College. Arroxane is a former U.S. Marine, member of the Dallas Future Society, community volunteer, and polyglot. She's a Senior Member of STC and has served LSC in a variety of roles over the last seven years.<br />
<br />
<b>Monica Winkelman, Secretary</b><br />
Monica is the technical writer at dataVoice International, a software-development<br />
company in Allen. She has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Master's degree in<br />
Technical Writing, both from the University of North Texas in Denton. She has been a<br />
member of LSC for six years and has attended one STC national conference.<br />
<br />
<b>Kristy Nolan, Treasurer</b><br />
Kristy is a senior member of STC. She is the Ground Ops Manager, Central Publications<br />
for Southwest Airlines, with a BA in biology from Hiram College and an MEd in<br />
environmental education from John Carroll University. Prior to joining Southwest<br />
Airlines, she was the assistant director of the SS William G. Mather Museum in<br />
Cleveland, Ohio. Kristy just returned from her fourth Eye Care mission to assist the<br />
people of El Salvador.<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Hiatt, Parliamentarian</b><br />
Mike is a senior member of STC, having been a member of the Lone Star Community<br />
since he joined. He currently is a senior technical writer with GENBAND, a telecom<br />
media gateway, signaling and switching company. He previously served three years as<br />
Treasurer of the LSC and is currently serving Parliamentarian.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-76776354668125521672011-04-08T14:46:00.001-07:002011-04-08T14:46:48.519-07:00Job Hunting Secrets that Might Surprise You<div class="article-content"><span style="font-size: small;">April's Community Meeting will be a webinar with Jack Molisani of ProSpring, entitled<br />
<strong>Job Hunting Secrets that Might Surprise You</strong>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In this session, professional recruiter and returning speaker Jack Molisani will discuss mistakes tech writers make when looking for work (whether contract, permanent or consulting), with proactive tips on how to avoid these pitfalls and increase your chances of landing that next job or contract.<br />
<br />
From Jack: "For years I’ve resisted speaking about effective resumes and job applications, thinking that everything that could possibly be said about the subject has already been covered. But after seeing candidate after candidate rejected based on what they had (and didn’t have) in their resumes and cover letters, I realized it’s time for me to step up and share what I’ve observed over the years: Job hunting secrets that might surprise you.”<br />
<br />
Have you ever submitted a resume but weren’t called for an interview? This presentation is for you! </span><br />
<a href="http://lonestarwebinar.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn" target="_blank"><img alt="Register for Job Hunting Secrets that Might Surprise You in Online on Eventbrite" border="0" src="http://www.eventbrite.com/registerbutton?eid=1543922915" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-3582788161266302262011-03-08T08:22:00.000-08:002011-04-08T15:02:41.343-07:00Resurrecting Mapping<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By Arroxane T. U. Eber</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The week after our “snowpocolypse”, I had the pleasure of attending Mappers 2011, a conference in Houston about Information Mapping. This gathering of professionals was aimed at indoctrinating new Mappers as well as updating those who have previously learned, applied, and taught the method.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The conference was sponsored and led by Information Mapping USA and its parent company Information Mapping International to revive the Information Mapping culture and promote their Information Mapping software, FSPro 4.1. FSPro is an add-on tool used to help Mappers easily create documents using the Information Mapping philosophy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The roots of Information Mapping date back to the 70’s and come from a body of publications which many Technical Communicators are familiar with. Publications in the fields of Psychology, Instructional Design, Writing, Learning and so forth by revered names such as Ben Schneiderman, George A. Miller, and, of course, the founder of Information Mapping, R. E. Horn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a name='more'></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">IM and FSPro provide a great theory and method of document writing which makes easier the tedious job of writing voluminous legal, governmental, and regulatory publications. However, for the experienced Technical Communicator, little new is presented other than the software, FSPro.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This does not mean that IM is not useful to Technical Communicators. Certainly, with the common roots, IM enhances, clarifies, and distills specific parts of TC. This means that IM training reinforces many of our field’s concepts. By using IM, the Technical Communicator can greatly improve modular documentation for single-sourcing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In its essence, IM is an approach to breaking down a mountain of text to create a reader-friendly document. The user of IM, or “Mapper,” applies six principles to create six types of information blocks. Mappers display 7 +/- 2 blocks in a table known as an Information Map. And this is where the software comes in. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Word alone can produce the table and styles which IM requires. But, creating a template can be time-consuming as can the IM styles. For these reasons and more, large organizations choose to use the Information Mapping tool known as FSPro. It’s a simple add-on that helps all writers within an organization comply with the IM standards. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although FSPro is currently only available for MS Word, Information Mapping International is working on solutions for other environments including FrameMaker, AuthorIT, and DITA. The latter is an interesting subject that the conference touched on several times. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many people contrast DITA against IM since they both use chunking and labels. However, DITA is just a framework while IM encompasses a method as well as a philosophy for writing within a framework. For that reason, DITA and IM are highly compatible. The DITA author who uses IM to break down information will likely have more precise chunks of information with more useful headings. Rob Hanna, STC Governance Committee Chair, said at the conference, "IM is complimentary to DITA in the sense that within a DITA topic might be several IM blocks."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the past, Information Mapping International focused on large organizations. This continues to be the bread-and-butter of IMI, but they are also paying attention to the individual writer. In addition to their partnership and trainer programs, they are starting to offer certification to individuals. However, these certifications do not come cheap and require ongoing membership in the community. In other words, you can learn all you want about IM in job A, but if you can’t call yourself a Mapper to get job B unless you pay up. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Information Mapping is definitely worthwhile for the Technical Communicator to learn. But, like membership in STC, one size cannot fit all—especially at such a cost. It is entirely up to the professional whether the cost of being a Mapper is worth the certification.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mappers 2011 definitely taught me a lot about Information Mapping—both the philosophy and the company. But, for me, the best part of the conference was the meeting of great TC minds. Many suggestions on how to apply IM came from questions, mingling, and the networking dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The general consensus of STC attendees was that Technical Communicators can enhance their writing by learning IM, but that most are already using the principles—they just don’t call it “information mapping.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those who’d like to learn more about Information Mapping, you can visit their websites: </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.infomap.com/">http://www.infomap.com/</a></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.informationmapping.com/">http://www.informationmapping.com/</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-29195770628552762412011-02-03T15:27:00.000-08:002011-02-03T15:30:01.737-08:00February & March Event Spectacular!Adobe contacted the Lone Star Community to see whether we would be interested in hosting a launch event for Technical Communication Suite 3 - we said, 'OF COURSE!' <br />
So we are happy to announce that in lieu of our typical meeting (Larry Kunz had a business obligation and had to reschedule), we are planning a very exciting event with Adobe. Registration is already underway, so click here for more details. Hurry! There's limited seating, and it's going to be really fun. Don't read any further - click!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://adobelonestar.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn" target="_blank"><img alt="Register for Exclusive DFW Launch Event: Adobe Technical Communication Suite 3 in Dallas, TX on Eventbrite" border="0" src="http://www.eventbrite.com/registerbutton?eid=1234144359" /> </a><br />
<br />
Additionally, we found a great setup we're trying out for our next meeting - at Pappasito's!<br />
Nicky Bleiel's presentation will cover document management in SharePoint, and you can read more about it at the link below. (more clicking!)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lonestar.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn" target="_blank"><img alt="Register for How Microsoft SharePoint Gives You a Realistic Approach to Content Management in Dallas, TX on Eventbrite" border="0" src="http://www.eventbrite.com/registerbutton?eid=1248100101" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-27735357782795106912011-01-22T17:15:00.000-08:002011-02-28T16:05:06.128-08:002010-11 Awards BanquetWe all had a wonderful time (and wonderful food) at our annual awards banquet! Congratulations again to all of our participants! Now to think of something to enter for next year...<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjnchamberlain%2Falbumid%2F5565182514913441825%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed><br />
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<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 477.9pt;" width="637"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instructional Materials</span></span></span></b></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Distinction</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clint Clausing, Fire Protection Publications</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fire Investigator Second Edition</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Excellence</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MLink Technologies, Inc.</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fundamentals of Crimping Techniques eLearning , Michaels</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Excellence</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MLink Technologies, Inc.</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nokia Device Comparison eLearning, T-Mobile</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.3in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MLink Technologies, Inc. </span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Baylor Fire and Life Safety eLearning, Baylor</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.3in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MLink Technologies, Inc.</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nokia Mode Participant Guide, Nokia</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.3in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MLink Technologies, Inc.</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lennox SunSource eLearning, Lennox</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.3in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ashley Owen, Inspirus</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.3in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recognition Basics Course Sample</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td colspan="3" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 477.9pt;" width="637"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">User Support Materials</span></span></span></b></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Edward Hartman, Evan Olson, Harvey Clark, Al Usher, Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. </span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NETSMART 2000 Version 4.1 User's Guide </span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Robert D. Brown, Agnieszka Klucinska, Phillip Getto, OraMetrix, Inc. </span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Introduction to SureSmile QT Desktop Reference</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jan Haan, Parker Brown, Abby Kline, Stryker Instruments </span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maestro Sterilization Case--Instructions for Use</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0.4in;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 1.2in;" width="115"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Award of Merit</span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 207pt;" width="276"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jan Haan, Parker Brown, Abby Kline, Stryker Instruments </span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: rgb(240,240,240); border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: rgb(240,240,240); height: 0.4in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">iVAS Inflatable Vertebral Augmentation System--Instructions for Use</span></span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-13802004906858669802011-01-04T08:04:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:07:38.284-08:00Awards Excitement & First Editor's Note<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">by Jackie Chamberlain-Tidwell</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The excitement is building as we prepare for our Annual Awards Banquet!</span><br />
<a href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?view=details&id=83%3Alsc-competition-awards-banquet&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=55"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Click here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> to read the details about the event on January 20th. Yummy food, good friends, beautiful projects - it's all so exciting! And the AWARDS! It will be a wonderful evening, and I hope to see you all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Plus, here's the new format for our newsletter! I really hope you like it - we may adjust it a bit, but it will remain essentially the same. If you have any questions about contributing to the newsletter, or any ideas to improve it, just <a href="mailto:newsletter@stc-dfw.org">email me</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Thanks!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-51386074292017149452010-12-23T17:23:00.000-08:002011-01-22T17:25:12.369-08:002010 Networking Happy Hour<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjnchamberlain%2Falbumid%2F5565182887267356337%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-67524514436043388452010-11-27T15:25:00.000-08:002011-01-03T19:44:59.715-08:00Google Analytics to Track Web-Based Documentation Usage<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">by Bob Zebian, STC member</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An ongoing question for information professionals is “Just how do users use our documentation?” There are several methods to help determine this, such as setting up use case scenarios or electronic customer feedback, but while these have some value, they are also somewhat artificial. What is needed is a tool that tells you what topics users are reading, how long are they reading, and how they navigate to the information they need</span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Web analytic tools can provide this type of data for technical information that is accessed through the Web. Even though most Web analytic tools are designed for marketing use, they can also provide valuable information for technical communicators.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There are numerous Web analytic tools available, some of which require a purchase. </span><a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Google Analytics</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> is a free Web analytics tool provided by Google. It is simple to set up and maintain. The information is access controlled. According to Google, no personally identifiable information is tracked. The information is presented in graphical format online, and can be downloaded as a spreadsheet for further manipulation or analysis.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="371" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/GAHomepage.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To set up an Analytics account, you need to open a Google account. After that, you can set up an Analytics account that specifies the Web site you want to track. Google provides custom code that must be inserted within your HTML pages to track user activity. Insertion of this code can be automated through tools such as DreamWeaver, WebWorks ePublisher or the DITA Open Toolkit. (You should always check with your company’s Legal department to verify that use of this code is in accordance with company practices.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After an Analytics account is set up and the HTML pages containing the tracking code are uploaded to your Web server, analysis can start. (There is a 24-hour lag in reporting data.) You log into your Google Analytics account and access the dashboard. This page shows the basic analytical information.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can drill down through the data for more detailed information, or navigate using the left-menu to other categories of information. You can specify date ranges for data. You can also filter data by creating segments based on product line, URL component, user location, browser type, and other data.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The type of information available includes:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Number of visits and views to a page</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">How long the user visits each page</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">How long the user visits the site</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">User navigation paths</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Types and release kevels of browsers used to visit pages</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">User location</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Does the user exit the site after viewing a page (bounce rate) or does the user visit other pages?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">User operating system and Java levels</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Example of Determining User Behavior</span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once you begin to analyze the statistics, you can get a better idea of how users use your site. For example, the Average Time on Site page shows that users average a little over 5 minutes on each visit. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="353" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/GA_Time_on_Site.jpg" width="640" />The Average Pageviews page shows that users average less than 5 pages viewed per visit.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/GA_Pageviews.jpg" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What does this tell us? First, it reinforces the latest information architecture finding that users no longer read documentation from beginning to end. The short duration visits and the few number of pages visited shows that users are looking for specific information, finding that information, and then getting back to their jobs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Also, the low number of pages visited shows that, in general, users are finding the information they need, and then exit the site. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Of course, this is a very high-level view. To be really useful, you would need to look at the Average Time on Site/Pageviews for specific URL or business functions. This might help identify what topics users are really using (indicated by longer viewing time and more pages viewed.) Also, if a user exits the site after viewing a page, it could indicate that he found the information he needs. If he goes onto other pages, it may mean that the page did not answer his question and he needs to look further. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sharing the Information</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can add more users to Google Analytics, so other technical communicators can access and download the information. You can define security levels where some users can view data, but only select users can modify analytic settings. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As mentioned earlier, the information can be downloaded into a spreadsheet, which you can then manipulate to provide data for yourself or for management reports. For example, the graphic below is part of a management summary that tracks browser type trending over a period of months. This graphic was created by downloading each month’s data into a spreadsheet and creating an Excel graph. Web developers can then use this information to determine which browsers should be supported for presentation of online documentation. Other areas of the company, such as Product Management, can also use this information to determine which browsers products should support. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="366" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/BrowserTrends.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Summary</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Web presents technical information professionals with the opportunity to present the most up-to-date information to users. It also provides tool to gather near-real time data on end user behavior. Web analytic tools such as Google Analytics provide not only the ability to capture and present data in an easy-to-understand format. The tools also provide the ability to download data that can be further analyzed offline. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Increasing use of Web analytics has been identified by as one of the top 10 trends in technical communication:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“For many people, particularly those under 30, if information is not on the Web, it doesn’t exist. … The value of technical documentation has been extremely difficult to measure. Web Analytics offers the ability to measure the effectiveness of the deliverables in new ways.” — Ellis Pratt, Cherryleaf (</span><a href="http://www.cherryleaf.com/blog/2010/01/trends-in-technical-communication-in-2010-and-beyond"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.cherryleaf.com/blog/2010/01/trends-in-technical-communication-in-2010-and-beyond</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">)</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Technical information professionals should use the opportunity that Web-based analytics tools provide to analyze user behavior with a goal to improve the quality of their documentation deliverables.</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bob Zebian is an Information Architect at Sterling Commerce, an IBM Company. He has been in the technical communication field since the first Reagan administration, yet learns something new every day. He has spoken about DITA and content management systems</span></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-36302301650625484102010-11-27T15:03:00.000-08:002011-01-03T19:45:19.965-08:00Interorganizational Cooperation<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em></em></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">by Arroxane Eber, LSC President<br />
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If you looked around any room at the STC Technical Summit, you would probably see members of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA), Interaction Design Association (IXDA), American Society of Training & Development (ASTD), and several other professional groups. No rule has prevented a professional from participating in numerous organizations. Perhaps you, yourself, have attended a conference or presentation by an organization other than STC. </span> <br />
<a name='more'></a>In the last few years, cross-pollination of professional groups has become more common as the economy has slimmed down both membership and budgets. Besides sharing speakers, workshops, and members, similar organizations often share discounts and benefits within a geographical area. <br />
<br />
Although STC does not endorse this philosophy at the international level, within Dallas/Fort Worth it is the key to survival for all these groups. When each group has only a handful of active volunteers that have finite skills, it is in the interest of these groups to reach out to one another.<br />
<br />
Think of it as the Stone Soup of professional development: alone we all have just a few scraps, but if everyone contributes a little something, the entire community feasts—in this case, on knowledge.<br />
<br />
So as President of the Lone Star Community, I'm adding our resources to those of other similar groups in this area. We're cooking up something good for December. If you'd like a taste, you're welcome to join in. Just bring whatever you've got to contribute.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-71804491713580633562010-11-27T15:01:00.000-08:002011-01-03T19:43:05.160-08:00My Last LSC Editor's Columnby Jackie Damrau<br />
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My time has come to turn the reins of the LSC <em>Technically Write</em> over to someone else. With my recent move to the state of Washington, my time is being consumed by work, other family life events, and starting in January 2011, the STC International Summit Awards.<br />
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I’ve enjoyed my time as your editor. My goal has always been to give you a newsletter that you could be proud of and that had lots of information that you might not see in any other STC publication. I know through the letters to the editor (some printed in back issues) and from emails that have not been shared that that goal has been met.<br />
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To quote Mia Hamm, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” LSC, you have been my team; my newsletter staff—<strong>Paula Robertson</strong>, <strong>Jeanne Foster</strong>, <strong>Louellen Coker</strong>, <strong>Joshua Harris</strong>, <strong>Dale Erickson</strong>, <strong>Doug Dow</strong>; the managers and officers I’ve served with or have served; and all the members have been my family. It’s hard for me to step away, yet I must go on to champion the STC International Summit Awards.<br />
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I only ask that you not forget me too soon. I’ll keep my ear out for news about LSC and will always be a member-at-large.<br />
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Thanks for all the wonderful memories, for supporting me through my Associate Fellow and Fellow honors, and recognizing me as a BALA recipient. You’re near and dear to me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-48854904754535655502010-11-27T14:59:00.000-08:002011-01-03T19:44:34.827-08:00November: Overcoming Obstacles When Moving to an Agile Environment<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">by Doug Dow, Associate Fellow<br />
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A small crowd of twenty-some Lone Star members bypassed the camping tents, climbed the stairs, made their way past racks of discount sporting gear, and found the REI Sporting Goods Store’s community room to hear Ravi Verma speak on preparing teams for the transition to Agile development methodologies.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a>It was my first meeting of the post-Crowne era, so change was certainly in the air. The room was very basic, lit only with neon, but it sufficed with audio and video equipment available. There were only a few interruptions from the store’s paging system. (Speakers should be advised not to compete with it.) With the new meeting price structure, most attendees opted to eat the sandwich buffet from Jason’s Deli. With the focus on food, there was less actual socializing time (our mouths are annoyingly unitasking), but the picnic atmosphere was pleasing. <br />
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As a fan of magic, speaker Ravi Verma was pleased that this evening would find fans cramming the multiplexes for the opening of the new Harry Potter movie. Verma also found delight in his wife’s cooking—magical, the way she found and blended ingredients even in trying circumstances! <br />
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In this way, Verma jumped from magic to Agile, an approach to software development that responds to change rather than following a strict formal plan. Aspects of the “Agile Manifesto” fly in the face of software development methodologies prevalent in the twentieth century. Clearly, I recall the military project I worked on back in the ‘80s where the Computer Product Development Plan and the software specifications were all contract-driven, immutable, supplied by management. Today, with Agile, the customer is a constant collaborator, with developers adapting to changes as needed.<br />
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Verma explained the significance of the scrum, the daily stand-up progress meeting, and the sprint, the timeframe in which a potentially shippable product can be developed.<br />
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Obstacles to successful Agile implementation derive from one or more of three factors (or “pillars”): Change, Personality, and Conflict. Many people resist change, so setting the stage and planning the transition is crucial. Verma discussed change planning in some detail, but time ran out before he could discuss Personality (MBTI) and Conflict.<br />
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Verma spoke in a light, humorous manner and invited questions throughout. The amplification might have been higher, and it would have been better if he had stopped during the two or three paging system broadcasts. As guests of REI, the interruptions are probably unavoidable. <br />
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The food was good (and plentiful), I learned stuff, and I reconnected with old friends. I commend LSC leaders for their agility during this time of change.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-61591013385155489132010-10-18T23:00:00.000-07:002011-01-03T19:43:25.737-08:00From Our President<div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content"><span style="color: black;"><img align="left" alt="Arroxane Eber photo" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/ArroxaneU.jpg" title="Arroxane Eber photo" /> When was the last time you got something for nothing? How about a free professional course, workshop, or training session? Okay, you do have to give something to get a little help with professional development: you have to submit an application. That's it. No, really.</span><br />
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<h2><span style="color: black;">Professional Development Scholarship</span></h2><span style="color: black;">Most of the time when we hear "scholarship” we tend to think it’s “only for college students,” and that is partially true of the Lone Star Community scholarship fund. But LSC also provides awards to professionals who could use financial assistance for polishing or expanding their skills. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">You can use the professional scholarship award for just about any kind of technical communication training: workshops, seminars, webinars, classes, courses, conferences, and more.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Community members often overlook this use of the scholarship fund. I'd like to change that and make it common knowledge. I don't think that requires wearing a sandwich board with "FREE MONEY" painted on it, but I could be wrong ... and Halloween's around the corner.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">To apply for this scholarship, the requirements are pretty simple: </span><br />
<ul><li><span style="color: black;">Enroll in a workshop or course in technical communication. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Pursue a career in technical communication.</span> </li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Be a current, paid member of the LSC.</span> </li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Submit an application.</span> </li>
</ul><span style="color: black;">The application information and more is available on the LSC website under </span><a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34&Itemid=31" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34&Itemid=31"><span style="color: black;">About > Scholarships</span></a><span style="color: black;">.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">So, what are you waiting for?</span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-44715396224370986722010-10-18T11:00:00.000-07:002011-01-03T15:28:42.625-08:00The Manhole Mystery at Fort Sam Houston<div class="viewer">by <a class="tiddlyLink tiddlyLinkExisting" href="javascript:;" refresh="link" tiddlylink="TW Staff Bios" title="TW Staff Bios - YourName, Thursday, September 30, 2010 8:28:00 AM"><strong><span style="color: #0044bb;">Paula Robertson</span></strong></a>, Member<br />
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<em>Ed.: A different version of this article was previously published (pp. 14-15) in the September/October 2010 issue of <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.imcom.army.mil/hq/publications/pwd_digest/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.imcom.army.mil/hq/publications/pwd_digest/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">Public Works Digest</span></a>.</em><br />
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<img align="right" height="253" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/FSH%20manhole%20cover.jpg" width="320" /> Have you ever wondered what you would find under the lid of a manhole? While hardly noticeable, embedded in the streets that we drive over, sanitary sewer manholes provide more than an inconspicuous clue to the utility system concealed beneath. They are the only accessible means to begin exploration of a complex system that is vital to the health of troops and civilians who embody the missions at our nation’s military installations. <br />
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The Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) of 2005 recommended the expansion of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to become the premier medical training complex for the U.S. Department of Defense. The consolidation and relocation of multiple service branches’ medical training activities to Fort Sam Houston would mean a significant increase in on-site population, greatly expanded missions, and improved medical care to the military community. As part of an initiative to analyze the current infrastructure and its capacity to support the expansion, in 2007 the Fort Sam Houston Directorate of Public Works (FSH DPW) contracted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the water utilities at Fort Sam Houston.<br />
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The <em>Comprehensive Infrastructure Studies</em> included storm water, water distribution, and wastewater collection system assessments. As technical editor of the reports that documented the findings and recommendations for two of these studies, the most interesting to me was the Fort Sam Houston Wastewater Collection System Study, which delved into the mysterious underworld of the sanitary sewer system.<br />
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For the Wastewater Collection System Study, Fort Worth District engineers conducted a Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Survey (SSES). The typical SSES includes the following component tasks:<br />
<ul><li>Assessment of the lift stations, which pump wastewater uphill to the collection system of pipes, or mainlines</li>
<li>Manhole inventory and assessment</li>
<li>Wastewater flow monitoring</li>
<li>Mainline inventory and assessment</li>
<li>GPS surveying, to update or create an accurate GIS map of the collection system components</li>
<li>Development and analysis of a Hydraulic Model of the collection system, based on all the data collected in previous tasks</li>
</ul>Wastewater flow monitoring is one of the early activities of the SSES, typically done while collecting the manhole inventory data. Thus we begin to uncover the mystery, peering straight into a manhole and even crawling down inside, thanks to the images captured by our third-party contractors. <br />
<h2>Go with the Flow Monitoring</h2>The Fort Sam Houston Wastewater Collection System consists of roughly 232,000 linear feet of gravity sewer mainline and 1,060 manholes. Much of the system was built in the 1930s and has far exceeded its 50-year design life. As stated in the <em>Fort Sam Houston Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Survey Temporary Flow Monitoring Report</em> (February 2009), “Extraneous water from infiltration/inflow (I/I) sources reduces the capacity of the collection system to transport wastewater and may result in sanitary sewer overflows. Groundwater may enter [infiltrate] the collection system through defects, such as open pipe joints, cracks, broken pipe, dropped joints. Inflow, or rainfall [derived] infiltration/inflow (RDII), normally occurs when rainfall enters the sewer system through drains, missing cleanout caps, roof leaders, manhole covers and frame seals, storm sewer cross connections.” <br />
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To quantify and determine where groundwater infiltration and RDII could enter the collection system, the study team installed flow monitoring equipment in 18 manholes, chosen at key locations in the FSH system as representative of the system hydraulics. Flow monitoring measures the hydraulic variation of sanitary sewer flows for extended periods under dry- and wet-weather conditions. To measure and record the actual flow, technicians installed a submerged flowmeter inside each of the 18 manholes. Six continuously recording rainfall gauges were also operational, to obtain rainfall intensity and duration for the same monitoring period. <br />
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<img height="203" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/Prober_tritech_photos.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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The flowmeter, which is a small probe, is mounted to a steel band installed inside the outgoing pipe at the manhole base. The probe uses sonar to detect fluid velocity; a pressure detector determines the depth of fluid in the outgoing pipe. The probe is connected to a data recorder, which is secured to the side of the manhole chimney. The data recorder captures and stores the flowmeter readings. <br />
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<img align="right" height="182" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/Flowmeter%20and%20data%20recorder%20installed.jpg" width="200" /> Upon activation, each of the 18 meters measured and recorded flow data at 15-minute intervals. Over a 24-hour period, each recorder accumulated 96 data sets, which included velocity (cubic feet per second) and fluid depth (inches). For this study, the 18 flow monitors were active for 39 consecutive days. About once a week, a technician pulled the cover of each meter manhole and connected the recorder to a laptop to upload the data.<br />
<h2>Data “Flow”</h2>Using the velocity, fluid depth, and pipe diameter data for each monitored mainline, additional flow data was derived, including Minimum and Maximum Flow, Average Daily Flow, Peak Flow, Ratio of Fluid Depth to Pipe Diameter (d/D), and Percent Full. The wastewater flow monitoring provided adequate hydraulic data to determine the following key information for the system area represented by each meter manhole:<br />
<ul><li>Dry-Weather Average Daily Flow. The flow data for a typical dry-weather week (not impacted by rainfall) provided an average flow rate per day. </li>
<li>Dry-Weather Peak Flow. Peak flows recorded during dry weather were compared to the full pipe capacity, to determine the total system capacity being used during dry weather. </li>
<li>Wet-Weather Average Daily Flow. Wet-weather flows for each recorded rainfall event were analyzed to determine the percentage of rainfall that enters the collection system. Comparing the rainfall event flows with the dry-weather flows established the rainfall-derived infiltration/inflow (RDII). </li>
<li>Wet-Weather Peak Flow. Peak flow rates during wet weather are critical to the analysis of the total system capacity. Peaking ratios (Peak Flow Rate to <a class="tiddlyLink tiddlyLinkNonExisting" href="javascript:;" refresh="link" tiddlylink="Dry-Weather" title="The tiddler 'Dry-Weather' doesn't yet exist"><em><span style="color: #0044bb;">Dry-Weather</span></em></a> Average Flow) were compared for dry and wet weather. </li>
</ul><h2>Results Revealed, Mystery Solved</h2><img align="left" height="243" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/Frog.jpg" width="320" /> In addition to data about hydraulic performance under dry- and wet-weather conditions, flow monitoring provides important information about flow patterns. The study team used all of this information to develop a hydraulic model of the FSH Wastewater Collection System, which integrated the flow data for the single mainlines to establish baseline flow patterns. The model uses those patterns to assess existing and future carrying capacity and to predict the performance of the complete collection system under a variety of simulated operational conditions.<br />
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As noted by Dave Bowersock, Fort Worth District Senior Engineer, “With the completion of the FSH wastewater system analysis and the hydraulic model results, FSH DPW will have reliable data as well as access to the measurements and assumptions that the Project Delivery Team used to construct the hydraulic model of the system. Planners, utility design engineers, and maintenance personnel will be able to use modeling results to clearly identify problems and create proper system designs for future development at Fort Sam Houston.”<br />
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Further, the flow data was used to quantify the RDII, assess its impact on the Fort Sam Houston wastewater collection system, and prioritize areas with excessive I/I for rehabilitation to meet the BRAC requirements. As a result, the study made recommendations of a $2.7M investment in the FSH Wastewater Collection System alone. <br />
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Amazing what can be “uncovered” from the wonderful world inside a sanitary sewer manhole!<br />
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<em>Paula Robertson is a technical writer/editor, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District<br />
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Photo credits: Pipeline Analysis, LLC</em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-12053977746587922312010-10-17T14:57:00.000-07:002010-11-22T14:58:23.349-08:00Editor's CornerLast month I told you about my jump to a new state. I've arrived and in whirlwind time, we've unpacked all our boxes (still waiting to hang stuff on the walls), explored the city of Redmond, visited our new doctors and dentist, and had a procedure or two done. My husband being retired has helped in getting much of this done. Me, work is going along as smoothly as it was when I was in Dallas.<br />
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Do I miss my LSC friends and family? You bet I do.<br />
Do I want to be back home with y'all? Of course<br />
Yet, a larger purpose exists, so I'm accepting it and getting on.<br />
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With the whirlwind mentioned, I wasn't here about two weeks when I was off again to attend Lavacon in sunny San Diego, California. It was a wonderful experience which you can read more about in my review article.<br />
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This "rolling stone" (yes, I'm old and know who The Rolling Stones are, do you? -excluding Paul Holland <smiles and hugs, Paul; sorry Kristy>) is still fielding this newsletter from a distance. Got an article! Join Paula and Joshua, SEND THEM IN.<br />
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Time is nearing for my favorite Monday evening TV shows, so off this newsletter goes to the Internet presses.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-11627527154389744312010-10-17T13:34:00.000-07:002011-01-03T15:29:02.972-08:002010 Lavacon<div class="viewer">by <a class="tiddlyLink tiddlyLinkExisting" href="javascript:;" refresh="link" tiddlylink="TW Staff Bios" title="TW Staff Bios - YourName, Thursday, September 30, 2010 8:28:00 AM"><strong><span style="color: #0044bb;">Jackie Damrau</span></strong></a>, Fellow<br />
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<img src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/lavacon.jpg" /><br />
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In September, I attended my first Lavacon conference. I encourage everyone to consider attending at least one Lavacon conference. It will truly open your eyes to the wealth of information and the quality of that information. The 2010 Lavacon conference, <strong>LavaCon 2.0: The Conference on Digital Media and Content Strategies</strong> (<a class="externalLink" href="http://lavacon.org/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://lavacon.org/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">http://lavacon.org/</span></a>), opened the doors of social media to others and me who were or have been skeptical about entering into this social media outlet.<br />
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As I always do, I’m going to share with you the nuggets that I took away from the sessions I attended. Feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:jackie.damrau@comcast.net"><span style="color: #0044bb;">jackie.damrau@comcast.net</span></a> if you want to know more.<br />
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<h2>Thursday, 9/30</h2><img align="right" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/dogpark-sandiego.jpg" /><br />
<ol><li><strong>Opening Keynote: Social Media in Business America (Natalie Malaszenko, Director of Social Media & Commerce, PETCO):</strong> Natalie’s passion for leading PETCO to work <strong>for</strong> the customer by <em>listening and including customer ideas</em> in their business decisions. Companies are too willing to cling to the past and want to continue doing what they have always done. They need to develop a social media disaster recovery plan for what to do when events occur. Through social media, you have a matter of a few hours to respond and <strong>not</strong> the standard 24 hours to make your marketing response or public statement response. Natalie provided her top ten effective social media observations in business: <ol><li>ROI (return on investment) is in the eye of the beholder (define your successes)</li>
<li>Know that your demographic is key (give customers exciting ways of finding out about your business)</li>
<li>Embrace negativity, yet be ready to change</li>
<li>When you have fun, they have fun</li>
<li>Meet your new business partner: your <strong>customer</strong> (empower your community to influence others by collaborating with your customers on a common cause)</li>
<li>If you don’t know how to begin, just listen (know where you customer spends their time)</li>
<li>Tools and platforms aren’t always the answer</li>
<li>Shock and awe can convince the top</li>
<li>Messages are co-created. You can start it, yet you won’t finish it</li>
<li>But social teams expand beyond social teams. Hub-and-spoke structure uses employees who know special areas talk with customers about that area using social media.</li>
</ol></li>
<li><strong>Intelligent Content: The Magic Behind the Curtain (Ann Rockley, The Rockley Group):</strong> Ann’s presentation covered how intelligent content should be structurally rich, semantically categorized, and automatically available. <ol><li><em>Structurally rich</em> means that we should apply different style sheets for multichannel publishing, filter inappropriate content automatically, and search on content by context of a particular element type.</li>
<li><em>Semantically categorized</em> uses metadata and tags to enable content to be pushed to wikis and other social media venues by integrating them through mashups and pipes. Without metadata, it is almost impossible to automate.</li>
<li><em>Automatically available</em> relies on data being easily discoverable, efficiently reusable, dynamically configurable, and completely adaptable.</li>
</ol></li>
<li><strong>Stop Documenting, Start Designing (Vivian Aschwanden and Jim Smith, Platform Computing Corp.):</strong> This session talked about where and when users need information, how to let them stay in task, how many pieces you already know exist fit together to make a coherent user assistance system in the product, and then to think about what to write about. Vivian and Jim talked managing context by new markets and customers, identifying the changes by reviewing different kinds of design documents with a different focus, writing conventional documents as late as possible, communicate with your users <strong>more through the GUI (graphical user interface)</strong> than the document, and focus your efforts on filling gaps in the user interaction. Gathering this information still requires you to look at the standard design and feature specification documents.</li>
<li><strong>Lunch Keynote: State of Social Media in 2010 (Neal Schaffer, Windmill Networking):</strong> Neal presented an insight into the social media types—blogs, microblogs, video/photo/podcast sharing, social networking—by telling us that these are not just for marketing. All departments can work together to own the company’s ‘’Social Web’’ presence. Social media should become your free search engine optimization (SEO) tool with companies using their blogs to attract customers to their websites and not the reverse. Neal said that Twitter (<a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/www.twitter.com" target="_blank" title="External link to www.twitter.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">www.twitter.com</span></a>) is the most used social media site for businesses to talk with customers to let them know <strong>that they care</strong>. A social media strategy should be objective, focus on the customer, present the company brand, and share information. Companies need to make their social media presence about <strong>their industry</strong> and not all about them. The most important tip he gave was to <em>decide what <strong>not</strong> to do</em> and get into the social media world.</li>
<li><strong>Why Innovate? Getting to Point B using Digital Media (Vivian Aschwanden and Jim Smith, Platform Computing Corp.):</strong> <em>Yes, I went to another session of the <a class="tiddlyLink tiddlyLinkNonExisting" href="javascript:;" refresh="link" tiddlylink="Aschwanden-Smith" title="The tiddler 'Aschwanden-Smith' doesn't yet exist"><span style="color: #0044bb;">Aschwanden-Smith</span></a> team to see what else they had to say.</em> I learned in this session that process is the core for motivating maturity to meet team and corporate goals. Vivian and Jim (re)defined the terms innovation and social media. <strong>Innovation</strong> is where you create values with new ideas and concepts, values and benefits, that can be incremental or radical. The benefits of re-innovating are to promote higher customer satisfaction, increase productivity, and improve delivery reliability. <strong>Social media</strong> (re)defined to be a collaborative, real-time common tool that is frequently web-based within corporations. The benefits of social media are seeking process improvements, reducing team constraints, timing to connect with customers, envisioning and defining a stable set of processes, and reenergizing and innovating team interactions. All innovation can use enabling technologies like wikis, SharePoint, Live Meeting, Google docs, Skype, eSupport knowledge bases, community websites, content management system workflows, Facebook, and Twitter.</li>
<li><strong>Getting The Word Out: How to Implement Your Online Branding Strategy (Matt Sullivan, roundpeg, inc.):</strong> Matt talked about why we use Twitter and how anyone using it should consider using an aggregator, like <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/www.hootsuite.com" target="_blank" title="External link to www.hootsuite.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">hootsuite.com</span></a>, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/www.tweetdeck.com" target="_blank" title="External link to www.tweetdeck.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">tweetdeck.com</span></a>, or <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/www.socialoomph.com" target="_blank" title="External link to www.socialoomph.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">socialoomph.com</span></a>, to be able to send out one tweet through as many media channels as possible. He then talk about LinkedIn and the perception that it’s use is for purely professional reasons, that you should be selective about your personal network, display your tweets and blog content on your LinkedIn page, and that, if you are a company, you should create a good landing page and update your information via an aggregator. Matt covered blogs by saying that they should serve as a collection point for varied content, and then he talked about blog tools—Tweetmeme, SexyBookMarks, TwitterTools, Yet Another Related Posts, and Google Sitemap—you can use to improve your social media presence. This session ended with three universal tips: <ol><li>Be relevant and engaging</li>
<li>Use social media to establish credit (share tips, announce successes, discuss/solve problems)</li>
<li>Be generous (share others’ successes, recirculate/”like”, comment on other blogs, and link share when appropriate).</li>
</ol></li>
<li><strong>Day 1: Closing Keynote: You’re Only as Good as Your Last Tweet (Crosby Noricks, Red Door Interactive):</strong> The day is ending and the head is swimming with all this newly learned information about social media. Crosby had us laughing and learning new phrases of speech (check out the #lavacon tweet stream about “taking your pants off”). We did learn that tweets that include links are far more likely to be retweeted than those without links. The social media Twitter strategy that Crosby recommends is to <strong>Identify</strong> your goals; <strong>Listen</strong> to what people are saying; <strong>Assign</strong> metrics; and <strong>Create</strong> engaging content. And, she ended with giving us her <em>secret social media sauce</em>: <ol><li>Make a commitment to participate daily</li>
<li>Share great content by sharing it <strong>first</strong></li>
<li>Care about your followers by providing support and solutions</li>
</ol></li>
</ol><br />
<h2>Friday, 10/1</h2><img align="right" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/BalboaTheatre.jpg" /><br />
<ol><li><strong>Opening Keynote: Get Ready for Socially Enabled Everything (Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler):</strong> From Scott’s session, I learned that about goog411, wordle, and how everything should be shareable and syndicatable. Our social efforts should help people do stuff and to remember that <em>it’s not about you, it’s about the relationship</em> and that location awareness is a must. Scott then told us about the next new wave in social media which is augmented reality and that we should take advantage of it. To quote Scott, “Everything is about to change and you need to know if and when you are ready.”</li>
<li><strong>Creating a Content Strategy (Rahel Bailie, Intentional Design Inc.):</strong> A content strategy should be iterative, not linear as you do your research, write and edit, solicit approvals, translate, and publish your documentation. Rahel talked about the content lifecycle having a strategic component, Analysis, and three tactical components: Collect, Manage, and Publish. This content lifecycle concept is not new to me, yet what I did learn is that we need to pay more attention to the implementation. Implementation involves post-publishing (do you sunset, evaluate, iterate, or archive content?), publishing (how many channels and variations do you need?), management (components versus business rules), and technical (components versus standards). Rahel ended with this, “You need to know where you are going to reach the tactical objectives through effective strategic planning.”</li>
<li><strong>Discovering the Hidden Treasure of Dynamic Product Information (Liz Fraley, Single-Sourcing Solutions, Inc.):</strong> Content should be customized to the customer so that they can find the information they want quickly to keep them happy and on your site. Knowing how they use their investigative skills through social media is important. We spent time on talking about how to get your information before the C-management level by learning to speak their language and developing a row-based matrix that shows how the product information improves revenues, expands market share, and increases customer loyalty.</li>
<li><strong>Lunch Keynote: Why Content Strategists are the Next Corporate Rock Stars (Mark Fidelman, MindTouch):</strong> This session took us all back through many of the “Golden Oldies” like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and such. Yet this walk down memory lane (for those who remember) left that lane and talked about how social media is the new <strong>avenue of the city</strong> where: <ol><li>Our content has to be engaging to create revenue (think about iTunes for Apple)</li>
<li>Fans of your content are your community so keep them engaged by getting them to contribute content</li>
<li>We can reduce the noise and provide clarity by connecting content with actual customer requirements</li>
<li>Discovering great content through the use of analytics</li>
<li>Setting the base for your customers that makes them want to visit and use your site to their advantage</li>
</ol></li>
<li><strong>The Psychology of Social Media (Mario Lehenbauer, University of Vienna):</strong> This session was one of the best ones I attended. Being interested in psychology from all perspectives: linguistically, socially, and through business, it was interesting to hear the research that Mario has been doing at the University of Vienna. He talked about the reasons that the Internet is so successful being that it is available 24/7, easy to use, makes people feel mighty and powerful when they log in and seed content as an active user, that it creates a feeling of intimacy as we begin connecting with others online, and how we lose track of time when we are <strong>surfing the Internet</strong>. Mario then talked about seeding behavior in its uses and gratification approaches, high versus low seeders, and that there is no gender differences, and concluded by talking about the focus that he is seeing on Twitter and Facebook.</li>
<li><strong>Integrating Content Management and Business Process Management (Katie Hicks, Hewlett-Packard):</strong> This session covered how Katie’s group at HP is effective reusing its content by identifying gaps in technical use, partner involvement, and built-in terminology and style, and deliverable flexibility.</li>
<li><strong>Getting the Most Out of Twitter…Everywhere! (Char James-Tanny, JTF Associates Inc.):</strong> Char is a <em>GREAT</em> speaker. If you ever get a chance to hear her, please do. She shared so much information with us that our heads were reeling by the end of the session. Of course, this session was for those more advanced in using social media; however, for me, a social media newbie, it gave me more reason to “try” to begin using it more. Char shared a selected number of social media applications that we should consider using, such as: <ol><li>Twitter clients: <a class="externalLink" href="http://twitter.pbworks.com/Apps" target="_blank" title="External link to http://twitter.pbworks.com/Apps"><span style="color: #0044bb;">twitter.pbworks.com/Apps</span></a>; <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.squidoo.com/twitterapps" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.squidoo.com/twitterapps"><span style="color: #0044bb;">squidoo.com/twitterapps</span></a> (or just do a Google search for “twitter apps” to see how many are out there)</li>
<li>Twitter services: <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/tuttoaster.com" target="_blank" title="External link to tuttoaster.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">tuttoaster.com</span></a>; <a class="externalLink" href="http://work.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://work.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">work.blogspot.com</span></a> <ol><li>Reading and filtering: <a class="externalLink" href="http://tweetscan.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://tweetscan.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">tweetscan.com</span></a>; <a class="externalLink" href="http://tweetbeat.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://tweetbeat.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">tweetbeat</span></a>; <a class="externalLink" href="http://thecadmus.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://thecadmus.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">Cadmus</span></a>, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.my6sense.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.my6sense.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">My6Sense</span></a></li>
<li>Notifications: <a class="externalLink" href="http://twitstra.appspot.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://twitstra.appspot.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">Twitstra</span></a></li>
<li>Analysis and quality: <a class="externalLink" href="http://refollow.com/refollow/index.html" target="_blank" title="External link to http://refollow.com/refollow/index.html"><span style="color: #0044bb;">refollow.com</span></a>, <a class="externalLink" href="http://foller.me/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://foller.me/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">foller.me</span></a>, <a class="externalLink" href="http://klout.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://klout.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">klout</span></a></li>
<li>Location: <a class="externalLink" href="http://friendorfollow.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to http://friendorfollow.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">friendorfollow.com</span></a></li>
<li>Widgets: Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn <em>(keep business away from personal)</em></li>
<li>Corporate environment: <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.yammer.com/" target="_blank" title="External link to https://www.yammer.com/"><span style="color: #0044bb;">yammer.com</span></a></li>
<li>Security: check your security and use “Revoke Access” as needed</li>
</ol></li>
</ol></li>
</ol><br />
<h2>Saturday, 10/2</h2><img align="right" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/HotelStJames.jpg" /><br />
<ol><li><strong>Social Networking, Social Presence and Social Boundaries (Phylise Banner, American Public University):</strong> Attending a session where the presenter is an expressive poet and educator is interesting. If you know Phylise, you know that her expressiveness is unique. Let’s just say that the way she started this morning’s session off was “all the rage” the rest of the day and on the #lavacon twitter stream. Yes, we did learn stuff, so here it is. <ol><li>We are public by default and private by effort. When using social media, we make a conscious effort to decide what we will share and what we won’t. Our relationships are based on common interests, which is why we connect with certain people. We determine intimacy levels by trust and define circles of exposure, trust, and curate our private lives.</li>
<li>The identity we create is distinct in each world we exist it: social, personal, and corporate. There’s even a word for this: multiphrenic self. Look it up and tell me what you learned.</li>
<li>Reputation is where we decide what image we want to shape and present to everyone and depending on that image, you have to know whether you can start fresh after messing up. Introvert, extrovert, another –vert, can we change?</li>
<li>We create our social role/capital through social contracts where the only way we are known or visible is if we openly share personal or relational content with others. Some are comfortable, others are not. Doing this online is even more frightening for some and less for others.</li>
<li>Finally, we establish boundaries that are firm and impregnable as the price is high and carries great risk. When boundaries become permeable, movement becomes more fluid (Flanigan, 2010).</li>
</ol></li>
<li><strong>What’s Your Content Doing and Where is it Going? (Lee Traupel, LinkedMedia):</strong> Content is anything (text, images, …) that is everywhere. It’s also audio/video, social conversations, blogs-wikis-discussion groups, corporate websites, and mobile devices. Great content requires creating, publishing, and measuring compelling words and images that resonate with your audience. Determining how and where social media fits in requires looking at how using existing content, knowing the analytics, and whether ROI being received is ample. Connecting with your audience requires being engaging and having a personality, must be keyword-rich (SEO friendly), is relevant and fresh, and gets picked up by social streams (retweeted). The social web is vast, broad, and deep; it is global with no boundaries or borders, and is driven by many-to-many conversations with others and replicated. Cross-pollinating your content through the social media channels to garner business and reputation is necessary, yet be aware that it can consume a large portion of your time. For businesses, the absolutes for social content marketing are that your content must have value and be well written, integrate your community with appropriate ads, should leverage social influencers, and be measurable and quantifiable. Metrics comes with everything these days, even content. Content metrics focuses on measuring the social voice and brand mentions, capturing audience engagement, understanding how conversations reach across multiple social networks, and bringing an insight into having key influencers onboard with your brand. Lee recommended that you write a blog post once and have it retweeted, picked up on LinkedIn, and spanned through other social networks.</li>
</ol><br />
Do you think we learned about social media? We did. The end of each day we were exhausted with all the relevant, timely, and interesting information we received. As I said, this being my first Lavacon conference was an eye-opener. Will I attend others? Definitely yes! Should you attend a Lavacon conference? Why wouldn’t you!<br />
<hr />Kudos to Jack Molisani, the organization of Lavacon, and to John Hedtke, who insisted I attend. Without these two wonderful folks, I probably wouldn’t have gone. I’m glad I did. By the way, the photos you see throughout this article are ones that were taken from my cell phone during a walking night tour that Jack put together of the Gaslamp District in San Diego. He made sure that once we were exhausted with information, we became exhausted with all the historical elements of San Diego.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6372901039611007720.post-83009834412963181712010-09-17T13:09:00.000-07:002011-01-03T15:27:59.858-08:00Sketching User Interfaces - Meeting Reviewby Emily Young<br />
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The Lone Star Community (LSC) of the Society of Technical Communicators met Thursday, September 16, 2010, at the REI sporting goods store off LBJ Freeway in Dallas. <br />
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<img align="left" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/Sept2010_RegLine.jpg" />The meeting kicked off with old friends greeting each other, some of them meeting again for the first time in many years. Jason's Deli catered the informal dinner and LSC members chatted and mingled before the program began. The most interesting part of the dinner was the disappearing/reappearing chicken salad sandwiches. I looked for a chicken salad sandwich before I sat down, but could not find any, and concluded that they had all been liberated from the table. However, when the person accompanying me to the meeting sat down next to me, I was shocked to see that—even though she was behind me in line—she had a chicken salad sandwich on her plate! I promptly returned to the sandwich trays, but still could not find a chicken salad sandwich. It was so disappointing. I mean, the chicken salad had pineapple in it for gosh sake.<br />
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President Arroxane Eber called the meeting to order and began with reminders for LSC members that our greatest tool as a community is our website: <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/www.stc-dfw.org" target="_blank" title="External link to www.stc-dfw.org"><span style="color: #0044bb;">www.stc-dfw.org</span></a>.<br />
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The website has a <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_jobline&Itemid=65" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_jobline&Itemid=65"><span style="color: #0044bb;">job board</span></a>, a <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/HelpDesk/index.php" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.stc-dfw.org/HelpDesk/index.php"><span style="color: #0044bb;">"help desk"</span></a> forum for questions, and links to <a class="tiddlyLink tiddlyLinkExisting" href="javascript:;" refresh="link" tiddlylink="Back Issues" title="Back Issues - TW Staff, Saturday, August 28, 2010 7:54:00 PM"><strong><span style="color: #0044bb;">past newsletters</span></strong></a> and upcoming <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=51" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.stc-dfw.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=51"><span style="color: #0044bb;">competitions</span></a>. LSC is also on Facebook. This is a great opportunity to help build a great online resource for ourselves and to create a guidebook for future technical communication professionals. Join us online today!<br />
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<img align="right" src="http://www.stc-dfw.org/newsletter/current/JackieC-BrianSullivan.JPG" />The highlight of the meeting was Brian Sullivan’s presentation on “Sketching User Interfaces with the Design Studio Method.” The process is based on the theory that sketching ideas leads to innovation. This remarkable technique uses a trained facilitator to take a group of developers through an intense design session and forces the group to collaborate on a single, well-thought-out product. It is a method for involving all development team members so that the strong personalities are balanced out by the more timid personalities. It is also a way to bring the good ideas to the surface and leave behind the rest, saving a great deal of time. The team is lead through several sessions of pencil-and-paper sketching with group discussion sessions in between. The goal at the end of the session is that a fully fleshed-out idea to present for creation. <br />
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Contact Brian Sullivan at <a href="mailto:brian.sullivan@sabre.com"><span style="color: #0044bb;">brian.sullivan@sabre.com</span></a> if this sounds like something your company could use or if you would like more information. Brian suggests reading Edward de Bono's book, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Six-Thinking-Hats-Edward-Bono/dp/0316178314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287349188&sr=8-1" target="_blank" title="External link to http://www.amazon.com/Six-Thinking-Hats-Edward-Bono/dp/0316178314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287349188&sr=8-1"><span style="color: #0044bb;">“Six Thinking Hats”</span></a> if you want to learn more about facilitating groups of people. <br />
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The LSC will meet online for the first time on <strong>October 21, 2010</strong>, with a webinar on <strong>“Designing Surveys for User Experience”</strong> presented by our own Elisa Miller.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com