Author: Kelly Smith

Member of STC. STC-MGL Membership Manager, Social Media Manager, and Website Admin. Member of ACES. Senior Technical Writer.

2020 STC Virtual Summit Recap

The 2020 STC Summit was different than years past — this year there was no travel to a new city, no dinners out, and no late nights at the hotel bar — but what we got more than made up for that. In the switch from in-person to virtual, the number of attendees went down, but those of us who attended had a blast! Just over 400 people attended Summit over four days to take in more than 90 education sessions, 2 keynotes, the virtual expo hall, live music from several artists, trivia night, a virtual escape room, tech comm story time, networking lounges, honors ceremony, bookstore, and a fantastic afterparty. In addition, attendees chatted on two Slack channels, organized impromptu Zoom meetings, and have kept the excitement going after Summit with virtual game nights, a Slack channel for crafters, and more networking than ever before. Continue reading “2020 STC Virtual Summit Recap”

Program Recap: The STC Technical Communication Body of Knowledge

On Tuesday, February 18, STC-SM hosted a webinar with Dr. Pam Estes Brewer of Mercer University. Dr. Brewer provided an overview of the STC Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TCBOK), which was first presented to the STC in May 2009.

Dr. Brewer, who was chair of the TCBOK committee in 2019, began her presentation by pointing out that other fields, such as engineering, medicine, and law all have bodies of knowledge, which describe and share their standards, processes, and knowledge. This helped to build credibility in these professions over time. They also have external certifications, just as STC offers technical communication certification along with emphasizing academic programs. Having both academic programs and a body of knowledge allows for synergy between business and academia as both work together to further the practice of technical communication. Continue reading “Program Recap: The STC Technical Communication Body of Knowledge”

STC-SM Receives Awards at Summit

On Sunday, May 5, 2019, three members of the STC-SM chapter attended Leadership Day at the STC Summit in Denver, Colorado. Katherine Baeckeroot, Maryann Bowen, and Kelly Smith participated in networking and breakout sessions with other STC committee, SIG, and chapter members. In addition, we accepted two awards on behalf of our chapter: the Platinum Community Achievement Award (CAA) and the Pacesetter Award. Continue reading “STC-SM Receives Awards at Summit”

STC Summit 2018—Day 4—Wednesday

Wednesday is always the saddest day at Summit. I checked out of my room, stowed my bags with the bellhop (a very painless process for a change. Great work, Hyatt!) and then headed to Jennifer Goode’s presentation on Podcasting as a Teaching Tool. Goode gave a comprehensive overview that included the definition of a podcast, examples of great podcasts, some fascinating statistics (did you know that podcasts have an 85% completion rate?) and a rundown of the equipment you need to start podcasting now. You can get started with just two microphones (preferably with pop filters and boom arms) a soundboard, and some mixing software, such as Audacity (which is free and very easy to use). You will of course also need a topic, script, and people to interview, and then a place to publish your work. Goode’s presentation covered all of this and still allowed time for questions. Continue reading “STC Summit 2018—Day 4—Wednesday”

STC Summit 2018—Day 3—Tuesday

On Tuesday morning I attended The Fourth Industrial Revolution—Preparing for an AI World, by Peter Scocimara. In his engaging session, Scocimara presented a history lesson and led us through the first three industrial revolutions. He then set the stage for the fourth, which is just beginning as humans begin creating artificial intelligences that may soon outstrip us and lead to drastic changes in how we live and work. His advice? Learn for the sake of learning, develop creativity, integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning, and become an informed citizen. Continue reading “STC Summit 2018—Day 3—Tuesday”

STC Summit 2018—Day 2—Monday

Monday kicked off with the opening keynote and general session. The keynote was presented by Carla Johnson, who discussed branding and the concept of “brand detachment disorder” that sets in when you think that your company could never use the ideas of the giant companies. Take Lego, for example. Lego makes simple plastic bricks. But they also have Lego-branded stores, movies, monthly Lego subscriptions (for both kids and adults), an online Lego news show, and a Lego TV series. Your company may not be able to do all of that, but you can borrow ideas from anywhere. Can’t afford a TV show? Try a monthly podcast for customers. Start small and build. It’s what every company has done. You can take ideas from anywhere to improve your brand, your team, and your work. Johnson’s presentation left me feeling like I really could suggest some “big ideas” at work and have a hope of getting them implemented. Continue reading “STC Summit 2018—Day 2—Monday”