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This Issue:
President’s Message 2
Next Meeting 3
Editor’s Desk 4
June Meeting Review 8
Plenty of New Faces at the June Meeting 8
New Chapter Logo Selected 9
OCSTC Thanks Its President 9
Society Pages 10
OCSTC Employment Information 10
Orange Juice— Membership News 11
Calendar of Events 12
July Meeting Topic 12
www.stc.org July 2007 Vol. 46, No. 7
Walking the Line between Paraphrase and PlagiarismBy Kathy Graden, Senior Member, Phoenix STC Chapter
Given the millions of words recorded over time, could we call any piece of writing truly original? Let’s look at two of the best-selling books in his-tory. Thousands of years ago, the author of Bible chapter Ecclesiastes 1, verse 9 stated that “There is no new thing under the sun.” And Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code—“the biggest-sell-ing adult fiction book of all time,” according to the London Telegraph—re-cently won a lawsuit that accused him of plagiariz-ing two other writers’ hy-pothesis that Jesus Christ was married and fathered a royal bloodline.
Plagiarism is as old as the written word. Some high-profile writers and artists have been charged, rightfully or wrongfully, with copying others’ works. For example:
In 2002, the public learned that for her best-selling book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, author/ historian Doris Kearns Goodwin borrowed passages from a book by author Lynne McTaggart about Kathleen Kennedy. Goodwin claimed that she was not required to cite all references, and that extensive foot-notes already existed. Her colleagues disbelieved her, and they ousted her from the Pulitzer Prize board.
In 1983, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that Beatle George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” was, as even he admitted, strikingly similar to an earlier Chiffons’ hit, “He’s So Fine.” The court ordered Harrison to pay damages to the original song’s publisher.
Back in 1892, young Helen Keller drew fire because her short
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Orange County STC Newsletter
President’s MessageBy Bruce Giddens, OCSTC Chapter President
I want to thank the nomi-nating committee and the members of the STC Orange County Chapter for selecting me to be your President for the next year. I am truly hon-ored, and I invite you all to participate with me actively in the chapter this year.
Jeff has done a great job as President for the last four years during a difficult time
of transitions in our industry and in the Society—for which I am grateful.
Looking forward, there are many things I hope we can accomplish. Working with the new council members, I want to set new goals for increased chapter mem-bership and increased attendance at meetings. More attendees mean not only more opportunities for net-working, but also more opportunities for learning.
In support of increased membership and attendance, I would like to extend our public relations activities to the following groups:
The community around us
The inactive or lapsed members of our chap-ter
What more can we offer that is of real value? The more we can offer to some members, the more we really offer to all members. I personally feel I have benefitted and continue to benefit greatly from Society membership. But, some may feel they have outgrown the benefits received. Imagine what it would be like to increase the value of membership so that highly experienced members begin to once again attend and participate in the chapter.
I imagine increasing opportunities for each of us to become actively involved, contributing to initiatives, helping with things that need doing, and meeting more writers than we ever dreamed.
Feel free to bring any of your ideas, innovations and concerns to me so we can discuss and hopefully implement them. I look forward to an interesting and fruitful year, working closely with the council, the Society, and all of you.
You can reach me at [email protected]. I’d like to hear from you.
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Chapter Contacts
OCSTC P.O. Box 28751 Santa Ana, CA 92799-8751
Chapter Fax: 949.830.7585
Web site: http://www.ocstc.org
Administrative CouncilPresident, Bruce Giddens, [email protected]
Past President, Jeff Randolph, [email protected]
1st Vice Presidents, Programs, Jeff Randolph and Sima Staav, [email protected]
2nd Vice President, Membership, Jane Baker, [email protected]
Treasurer, Linda Phillips, [email protected]
Secretary, Betsy Malone, [email protected]
AppointeesTechniScribe Managing Editor, Michael Opsteegh, [email protected]
Public Relations, Elaine Randolph, [email protected]
Education, Bill Darnall, [email protected]
Education, Brian McCaleb, [email protected]
Webmaster, Jeff Randolph, [email protected]
Employment Manager, Betsy Malone, [email protected]
Committees Nominating Committee :
Open, chair
Carrie Damschroder, [email protected]
Bill Darnall, [email protected]
Larry Lockie, [email protected]
Suzanne Madison, [email protected]
Next MeetingTopic: How to Build a Business Case
Speaker: Jack Molisani
When: Tuesday, July 17, 6-9 p.m.
Where: DoubleTree Club Hotel 7 Hutton Centre Drive Santa Ana, CA 92702 714.751.2400
Cost: Members with reservations . . . . . . . . . . . $23
Students with reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . $17
Nonmembers with reservations . . . . . . . $28
Walk-ins, or those registering after the deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32
No-shows billed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23
Reservations:
Due by midnight, Friday, July 13
Registration:
Online at http://www.ocstc.org/dinres.asp
July 2007 • TechniScribe • 3
Directions to the DoubleTree Club HotelMap of the I-405 and SR-55 area. The star below indi-cates the hotel location. Parking is FREE.
If you would like to receive e-mail notification about upcoming OCSTC meetings, visit http://www.ocstc.org/list_redirect.asp.
Click Join. This list broadcasts only meeting no-tices and STC announcements
4 • TechniScribe • July 2007
Publication PoliciesTechniScribe is published 12 times a year as a benefit to the members of the Orange County Chapter of the Society for Technical Communi-cation. The goal of the publication is to reflect the interests, needs, and objectives of OCSTC members. TechniScribe strives to be an advocate for, and an inspiration to, technical communi-cators by keeping them connected to each other and to opportunities for professional growth.
Articles published in this newsletter may be re-printed in other STC publications if permission is obtained from the author, credit is properly given, and one copy of the reprint is sent to the TechniScribe managing editor.
Submission InformationThe editorial team retains and exercises the right to edit submitted and requested material for clarity, length, and appropriateness.
When submitting material, please remember to:
Include a 25-word biography about yourself.
Send articles in Word (doc, docx), Rich-Text Format (RTF), ASCII (txt), or in the body of an e-mail message.
Send material to the managing editor ([email protected]) five weeks before the date it will be published.
Editorial StaffManaging Editor . . . . . . . . .Michael Opsteegh Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Teresita del Sol Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anne Stratford Copyeditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barbara Young Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Gardelle Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzanne Madison Proofreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sima Staav Web Version . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeff Randolph
Monthly Advertising Rates1/4 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40 1/3 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45 1/2 page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 Full page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80
Subscriptions$10 a year to members of other STC chapters.
PrinterPrintWorks, Irvine, CA
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Editor’s DeskBy Michael Opsteegh, TechniScribe Managing Editor
Welcome to the new TechniS-cribe. TechniScribe is sport-ing a new look, but with the same great content. If you have any suggestions for improvements, or if you want to respond to an article you’ve read in TechniScribe, write to [email protected]. I welcome and encour-age your comments and opinions, especially those
that express an opposing viewpoint to articles pub-lished in TechniScribe.
If you have ever looked at newsletters from other chapters, TechniScribe really stands out. Firstly, TechniScribe is one of the few remaining printed newsletters. Printed newsletters have gone by the wayside as chapters struggle to cut costs (and mem-ber benefits) to prevent the red ink from flowing onto the ledger. The OCSTC council firmly believes that a printed newsletter is a much greater benefit to you, the member, than simply an online version. Secondly, the quality of the material we publish rates highly when compared to other chapter newsletters. This isn’t to say that there aren’t other great newsletters out there. There are, in fact, a great many chapter publications that are excellent, and I encourage you to look at them. Not only will reading other chapter newsletters broaden your perspective of technical communication, but they may also help you realize what a solid publication TechniScribe is. You can view a list of chapter newsletters online at http://stc-annex.com/newsletters/nlsofstc.htm.
Your chapter newsletter should be a source of pride for you because it is the face by which members of other chapters view you. In order to continue to repre-sent you in a favorable fashion, TechniScribe needs a variety of quality articles to fill its pages each month. Without a large base of writers contributing reviews, editorials, and regular columns, TechniScribe could become stale from the same contributors participating month after month; that’s why we’d like to hear from you. Do you have an idea for an article?
TechniScribe has a strong tradition of producing mate-rial that is picked up and reprinted by other chapter newsletters and STC’s Intercom magazine. Dave Fon-seca and Jim Marchant had recent articles reprinted in the Atlanta chapter’s CommLink, Trudy Hernandez had an article reprinted in the Lone Star chapter’s Technically Write, and Jack Molisani and Dave Fonseca have had articles reprinted in STC’s Intercom maga-zine as well. TechniScribe is an excellent forum for you
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July 2007 • TechniScribe • �
story, “The Frost King,” strongly resembled Margaret T. Canby’s story, “The Frost Fair-ies.” Keller’s subsequent fears that she might unconsciously plagiarize someone else’s work led her to write her life story: an indisputably original topic.
Plagiarism can damage or end careers. Students who plagiarize may receive a failing grade, lose a scholar-ship, or be suspended or expelled. In the working world, plagiarists may find their professional reputations permanently damaged, or be fired or forced to resign. In court, plagiarism may lead to being sued, fined, or sent to jail.
Most of us think of plagiarism solely as premeditated behavior, practiced by malicious or desperate people who try to pass off others’ work as their own. But many questions blur the line between plagiarism (an unethical act) and paraphrasing—the restatement of a text, passage, or work in a modified form (generally considered morally and legally acceptable).
If something you write includes words, ideas, or concepts similar to those in another writer’s work, but you’re unaware of the similarity or where those items came from, is it plagiarism?
If you use material from another source but rewrite it in your own words, is that para-phrasing…or plagiarism?
Does citing your sources always exempt you from accusations of plagiarism?
If your writing reuses material that’s gener-ally known as fact or that’s within the public domain, are you plagiarizing?
Do you become a plagiarist if your writing uses information drawn from Web sites avail-able to any user?
Since my school days, I’ve known that plagiarism equals stealing and that writers should always cite sources of reference material. But when I recently did research to gain a clearer picture of the differences be-tween plagiarism and paraphrasing, I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t know—and how much of what I thought I knew was inaccurate!
Defining PlagiarismThe Merriam-Webster online dictionary at http://www.m-w.com defines plagiarism as: “transitive
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Paraphrase and Plagiarism< Continued from Page 1
verb: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of an-other) as one’s own: use (another’s production) with-out crediting the source; intransitive verb: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”
Descriptions of plagiarism on various educational in-stitutions’ Web sites take this definition even further. For example, the University of Manitoba’s handbook
for students (found at http://umani-toba.ca/student/student_guide.html) states that “‘Someone else’s work’ means anything that is not your own idea, even if it is presented in your own style. It includes material from books, journals or any other printed source, the work of other students or staff, information from the Internet, software programs and other electron-ic material, designs and ideas. It also includes the organization or structur-ing of any such material...”
Wikipedia’s description of plagiarism adds, “Plagia-rism is not necessarily the same as copyright infringe-ment, which occurs when one violates copyright law.”
Plagiarism is not a legal term, according to Nolo (http://www.nolo.com), a Web site devoted to legal in-formation and issues. The site says that both copying someone else’s work word-for-word and appropriat-ing only their creative ideas constitute plagiarism. Further, “This can amount to copyright infringe-ment…as the theft of another’s intellectual prop-erty…if permission has not been obtained from the copyright owner for use of the expressive elements of the work. Even if permission is granted, putting your name on someone else’s work is still plagiarism and is unethical within artistic, scientific, academic, and political communities.”
Because copyright law allows many different creative works to be registered as their owners’ property, violators can be sued for appropriating any form of writing, music, or visual images. Lawsuits alleg-ing plagiarism tend to be based on partial theft. To infringe a copyright, a plagiarist needs only to take or copy a substantial portion of the source material. Even basing a new work on another person’s novel, song, drawing, etc. constitutes plagiarism.
Proving plagiarism in court can be difficult, reports Nolo. A plaintiff must show evidence that the alleged plagiarist had access to the copyrighted work. Then, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the original work and the new work are substantially similar. But simi-larity by itself doesn’t prove plagiarism. The United
Many questions blur the line between plagiarism and paraphrasing.
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6 • TechniScribe • July 2007
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Paraphrase and Plagiarism< Continued from Page �
States Copyright Act includes a “fair use” provision that permits limited use of copyrighted material with-out permission from the rights holders, for purposes such as criticism, parody or satire, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Courts also recognize that coinci-dences do occur, and more than one person or organization may develop similar ideas at the same time. For example, during the 2005-2006 television season the CBS, ABC, and NBC networks each aired new shows based on invasion by creepy aliens. Plagiarism? No. Three separate production companies indepen-dently came up with shows that were based on the same theme, but their story lines had signifi-cant differences.
Intentional vs. Uncon-scious PlagiarismThe word cryptomnesia doesn’t mean “forgetting where Uncle Joe was buried.” The term refers to instances where a person believes he or she has cre-ated an original, new invention, article, song, or draw-ing but is subconsciously borrowing from an existing object he or she has no memory of.
The George Harrison incident mentioned earlier demonstrates how cryptomnesia works. The ex-Beatle testified that although he probably had heard the original song he borrowed from in “My Sweet Lord,” he didn’t recognize the similarity between the two tunes until someone pointed it out to him.
Another possible example of cryptomnesia occurred in 1978, when Alex Haley settled a lawsuit with Har-old Courlander over a passage in Roots that imitated Courlander’s novel, The Africans. Haley denied that he could identify where the passage had come from and stated “I don’t know…somehow or another, it ended up in [my] book.”
Is cryptomnesia real? According to Wikipedia, critics note that “there has never been any scientific proof of its validity. Every supposed incident of cryptomnesia may also be explained by deliberate plagiarism—the testimony of those involved cannot be held to be scientifically reliable. For the same reason, however, cryptomnesia as a valid phenomenon cannot be ruled out solely based on testimonial evidence.”
Plagiarizing YourselfSelf-plagiarism, the act of reusing something you’ve created or written without mentioning its previous use or publication, creates problems in the academic
and scientific communities. In the arts and other areas, though, the public tends to accept self-plagiarism on the theory that what you create is yours and you have the right to use it in whatever way you wish.
Many teachers and professors consider it unethical for a stu-dent to submit the same paper or report in more than one course or to satisfy more than one as-signment. Similarly, verbatim copying or reuse of your own research counts as unacceptable within the scientific commu-nity. For example, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) recently adopted a policy that “authors should only submit original work that has neither appeared elsewhere for publication, nor
which is under review for another publication.” The policy does allow that an author may use a previ-ous work as the basis for a new technical document if he or she cites the earlier works and indicates how the new document offers “substantial novel contri-butions” beyond those of the previously published works.
Plagiarism and Technical WritingTo a degree, the scientific community’s disapproval of plagiarism and self-plagiarism conflicts with technical communication’s trends toward content reuse. Seek-ing cost and time savings, clients and managers press technical communicators to develop information modules that can be mixed, matched, and repurposed for multiple media—manuals, computer-based tutori-als, marketing collateral, and so on.
Recycling information is fine for most technical communication projects. However, individual cir-cumstances may dictate whether recycling is right or wrong. Consider the examples on the following page.
“Self-plagiarism is style.” — Alfred Hitchcock
July 2007 • TechniScribe • 7
Paraphrase and Plagiarism< Continued from Page �
This article originally appeared in the November 2006 issue of Rough Draft, the Phoenix STC Chapter newsletter. A second part to this article, which is not reprinted here, ap-peared in the December 2006 Rough Draft. Reprinted with permission.
Kathy Graden is a technical communications professional whose experience includes corporate communications, software and hardware documentation, technical article authoring, and technical publications management for em-ployers including Computer Associates, Lucent Technolo-gies, Honeywell, and Acxiom, Inc. She holds Six Sigma and Project Management Professional certifications. A senior member of STC, she has received a Distinguished Chapter
Information Reuse Scenario Acceptable or Unacceptable?
Why?
The user’s guide for Release 2.0 of a software product, updated, becomes the user’s guide for Release 3.0 of that product.
Acceptable The product’s manufacturer owns the product and its docu-mentation, and so is responsible for updating the original manual with information to support cus-tomers who use the new soft-ware.
A technical writing consultant uses a brochure created for Client A as the template for a similar document for Client B.
May be unacceptable Client A owns the content of the original brochure. Even if the consultant and not Client A owns the brochure’s design template, the consultant should obtain Cli-ent A’s permission to reuse the template.
New Product X is being added to an existing family of products owned by the same company. It shares many of the same features as its sibling products, so writ-ers import information from the existing products’ manuals into those for the new product.
Acceptable Because the same company owns the entire product family, their writers have the right to recycle information between documents. Recycling also gives the docu-ments for the related products the same look and feel, making them more accessible to users.
A writer finds information on the Web he can use as background for his employer’s technical white paper.
May be unacceptable If the Web information is public domain, common knowledge, comes from the employer’s Web pages, or comes from a govern-ment publication, it can go into the white paper without attribu-tion. If the information belongs to any other person or organization, the writer should correctly cite the source material. If he wants to reprint source material verbatim, he should obtain permission from the owner.
Not Getting Your TechniScribe?Are you an OCSTC member, but not receiving your copy of TechniScribe by mail? We may have an incorrect address for you. You can update your information online at http://www.ocstc.org/changeform.asp.
Service Award and other recognition for services to the Phoenix Chapter Community.
8 • TechniScribe • July 2007
June Meeting ReviewBy Carrie Damschroder, OCSTC Senior Member
Most of us know how to map directions online to a specific location or how to map an outline of a docu-ment we are writing. Not many of us know how to map our minds though. At the June OCSTC meeting, we learned from the cur-rent STC President, Linda Oestreich, how to do just that!
Linda conducted a miniworkshop where attendees learned what mindmaps, copyrighted by Tony Buzan, are and how to create them. At first, the mind-maps she showed us as examples just looked like confusing maps with graphics and lines, but after she explained that mindmaps are a nonlinear way to represent words, ideas, and tasks, the maps looked less confusing. The representations displayed in mindmaps are arranged creatively and radially around a central key word or idea. One example of a very colorful and creative mindmap that I found online appears above:
After Linda explained that mindmaps are used to move the creator from chaos to clarity, to clear fuzzy thinking, and to create organization, we were given an opportunity to use the right side of our brains to create our own mindmaps and display them at the
front of the room to fellow audience members. Some attendees were creative enough to be able to think outside of the box while creating their mindmaps, and
they were rewarded with prizes from Linda.
The applications of mindmapping include aiding project management, note taking, brain-storming for books and articles, plan-ning presentations, creating to-do lists, organizing meeting summaries, and set-ting goals.
Linda lists references for learning more about mindmapping in her presentation, which is posted on
the OCSTC web site. In addition to Linda’s informa-tive and fun presentation at the June OCSTC meeting, the official transition of OCSTC officers occurred. Jeff Randolph, the Immediate Past President of OCSTC was presented with a gift for his years of service. Jeff gave a quick speech that ended with the follow-ing parting words: “I’m soooo outta here!” The new President, Bruce Giddens, introduced the new officers and the new OCSTC logo, which he had designed. It looks like this next OCSTC year is going to be a great one, filled with exciting meetings and educational and networking opportunities!
Plenty of New Faces at the June MeetingMany new and visiting members attended the June meeting. Some traveled specifi-cally to see STC President, Linda Oestreich, speak to the Orange County chapter about mindmapping. Others came to the meet-ing because school is out, and their classes are no longer keeping them away from the meetings.
Whatever their reasons for attending the meeting, we were glad to have them there. This spirited bunch eagerly jumped right in and joined in the networking over dinner and partici-pated by showing the mindmaps they created during Linda’s presentation. We hope to see them again at a meeting soon.
The new faces at the June meeting from left to right: Bar-bara Giammona (OC and San Francisco), Vanessa Flint (San Gabriel Valley), Will Kraft (student from CSU Long Beach), Miriam Barberi (student from CSU Fullerton), and Tonya Adams (student from CSU Fullerton)
July 2007 • TechniScribe • 9
New Chapter Logo SelectedBruce Giddens, OCSTC president, submitted the win-ning entry to the chapter logo contest. For his design, Bruce was awarded the prize of a $50 Visa gift card.
The new logo will be used in the newsletter, the Web site, and other chapter communications.
OCSTC has not had a chapter logo since it decommis-sioned its last logo in 1999
OCSTC Thanks Its PresidentIt can be difficult for volunteer organizations, like OCSTC, to locate and retain the volunteers that are needed for the organization to function. OCSTC has been fortunate to have dedicated volunteers like Jeff Randolph who remain fervently committed to the chapter.
Jeff was OCSTC President for four consecutive years, in addition to the many other hats he wears. That kind of commitment deserves to be recognized. Betsy Malone presented Jeff with a gold watch and card on behalf of the chapter at the June meeting.
Betsy Malone presents Jeff Randolph with a watch, a gift from the chapter at the June meeting.
Bruce Giddens (left) and Michael Opsteegh (right) present the new chapter logo at the June meeting.
Society Pages
STC Mission Statement
Creating and supporting a forum for communi-ties of practice in the profession of technical com-munication.
Positioning Statement
STC helps you design effective communication for a technical world through information sharing and industry leadership.
The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is the world’s largest organization for technical communicators.
Its more than 13,000 members include writers, editors, illustrators, printers, publishers, photog-raphers, educators, and students.
Dues are $55–150 per year. Membership is open to anyone engaged in some phase of technical communication, interested in the arts and sci-ences of technical communication, and in allied arts and sciences.
Society for Technical Communication 901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904 Arlington, VA 22203-1822
703.522.4114 (voice); http://www.stc.org
TechniScribe Copyright and Trademark Statement
OCSTC invites writers to submit articles that they wish to be considered for publication. Authors retain copyright to their work and implicitly grant a license to this newsletter to publish the work once in print and to publish it once online for an indefinite period of time. In your cover letter, please let the editor know if this article has appeared elsewhere, and if it has been submitted for consideration to other publications.
The design and layout of this newsletter are copy-righted as © STC, 2007.
Some articles might refer to companies or prod-ucts whose names are covered by a trademark or registered trademark. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Reference to a specific product does not constitute an endorse-ment of the product by OCSTC or by STC.
OCSTC Employment InformationOur job listing is entirely online at the OCSTC Web site. Pages are updated as jobs are submitted.
Staff Jobshttp://www.ocstc.org/employme.asp
Contract Jobshttp://www.ocstc.org/contractme.asp
Free Job Postinghttp://www.ocstc.org/jobsubmit.asp
InquiriesIf you have an inquiry e-mail our employment manager, Betsy Malone, at [email protected].
A limited number of printed copies of the OCSTC Web site listings are available at monthly chapter meetings.
Society-Level Job ListingsSTC maintains job listings on the Internet. You can download the listings from the STC web site at http://www.stc.org/jobsdatabase.asp. 10 • TechniScribe • July 2007
ColophonTechniScribe is written using Microsoft Word, and laid out using Adobe InDesign CS2 for Macin-tosh. Gill Sans and Palatino Linotype are used for heading and text fonts. PDFs are produced using Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.
TechniScribe relies on the following editorial references for style: American Heritage Dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and Words into Type.
Society Pages
July 2007 • TechniScribe • 11
Orange Juice: Membership NewsBy Jane Baker, OCSTC 2nd Vice President, Membership
OCSTC: 274STC: 13,804“Summer time and the livin’ is easy…Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high…” So goes the beautiful song from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin.
It is getting to be that time…school’s out, beach blanket bingo bonanza is well within
the realm of possibility, barbecues with friends and family beckon, and of course—vacation! Kick back and relax—take in what southern California has to offer.
As you plan for your summer pleasures, I am ask-ing you to take a couple of minutes and think about where you are right now—where you might like to be in six months, or 12 months, or 18 months and beyond. As you take stock, ask yourself, do I have enough tools in my tool chest? Am I a marketable commodity? Are my skills where I want them to be—whether content with a current position or begin-ning to feel the need to spread those wings?
Do you even know what potential employers are looking for? Summer may be the right time to assess the plentiful educational opportunities available in Orange County this fall. Institutional choices include at least two California State University campuses, one University of California campus, a number of community colleges, and a number of private, career-focused, educational entities like Learning Tree and National University. You are bound to find some-thing of interest offered at one of these many venues! Is there something you might like to explore? Keep in mind your tool chest can be personal or professional! Maybe it’s time to look into estate or retirement plan-ning, learning a new dance step or two, or learning a new language.
As technical communicators, not only do we need to know how to say it right and make it understand-able, at times, we also need to know the best way to make our presentation. Do you want to explore the new Adobe tools or MadCap Flare? Or would you be better served by learning about XML and web design? Is your organization moving toward content manage-ment? Maybe a class in grants and contract writing is what you are looking for.
Take a trip around the Web and see what’s out there. You may find something that benefits your world and ours. And if you find something just for you—revel in it!
Summer is also a great time to become a member of OCSTC. Please join me in welcoming the newest members to OCSTC:
Mercy Herstad
Will Kraft
Robin Reilley
Suzy Talreja
For membership information, e-mail Jane Baker at [email protected].
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Editor’s Desk< Continued from Page �can use to gain exposure not only to other OCSTC members, but to other members of STC as well.
And, since TechniScribe is also available as a PDF online, Internet users (e.g., potential employers) who search for your name will see your articles appear in their search results. Also, Internet users search-ing for topics you’ve written about will find your articles. Check out this example: if you search for certain FrameMaker topics in Google, articles written by Mary Ann Howell for TechniScribe appear amongst the top results!
In order to continue to produce original and viable information for the technical communication com-munity, TechniScribe needs a steady and consistent supply of new articles written by professional writers like you. TechniScribe publishes articles on any topic related to technical and professional communication. Articles typically address such topics as book reviews, tool reviews, “how I did it” scenarios, and various observations.
If you would like to contribute to TechniScribe and have your name seen in print by hundreds of other technical communicators, but you have no idea what you could possibly write about, let me know, and I will help you brainstorm. Just drop me a line at [email protected].
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July Meeting TopicHow to Build a Business Case
If you’ve ever submitted a purchase request that was not approved, chances are it lacked one or more of the vital components management looks for when allocating resources.
At our next meeting, returning speaker Jack Molisani will present a fun and practical session identifying the components of a successful business case, how to identify what is important to management, how to maximize your chances of approval, and more.
Want more training, better tools, or a bigger raise? Come to our July meeting!
About the PresenterCurrent or past president of three different chapters, Jack Molisani was recently elected As-sociate Fellow by the STC Board of Directors. Jack is the founder and president of ProSpring
Technical Staffing, an employment agency specializing in technical writers and project managers.
Jack also produces LavaCon: The Conference on Advanced Technical Communication and Project Manage-ment. This year’s conference will be held in October in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Jack will be raffling a free entrance to the conference at the end of the evening, so bring a business card for the drawing.
Calendar of EventsJuly 10 OCSTC Council Meeting. Airport Executive Suites, Irvine, 6 p.m.July 17 OCSTC Chapter Meeting.July 19 Inland Empire STC Chapter Meeting. Brook Rice, “Acrobat Tips and Tricks.” Peking Chinese
Restaurant, 11170 Magnolia Ave., Suite #C, Riverside, CA, 92505, 951-687-4822, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.August 7 OCSTC Council Meeting. Airport Executive Suites, Irvine, 6 p.m.August 21 OCSTC Chapter Meeting. RJ Jacquez, “RoboHelp 6 and FrameMaker 7.2: The Past, the Present,
and the Upcoming RoboHelp 7 and FrameMaker 8.” DoubleTree Club Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, CA, 92707, 714.751.2400, 6:00 p.m.-9 p.m.
August 16 Inland Empire STC Chapter Meeting. “Visio Tips and Tricks.” Peking Chinese Restaurant, 11170 Magnolia Ave. Suite #C, Riverside, CA, 92505, 951-687-4822, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
