News and Notes for Technical Communicators in Michigan
Refer to the Upcoming Events list on the right side of this home page, which is regularly added to as the registration links become available.
You’ll see virtual lunches, book club, webinars, and even in real life (IRL) meetups. All events are free for STC-MGL chapter members. Non-members will pay a fee for webinars, but other event types are free for everyone.
At some point in your life, you were probably asked what you wanted to be when you grew up. Maybe you answered firefighter, teacher, astronaut, police officer, or veterinarian. Although all honorable professions, perhaps you (like many others) were drawn to the field of technical communication.
Join STC-MGL on April 28 for a tech comm panel discussion. Come listen to current technical communicators describe how they discovered their careers and how STC supports them now. Joining us on the panel are Wes Schoenherr, Alison Phillips, Maryann Bowen, and Joana Donovan.
Learn how to interview Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) like a pro!
Please join the STC-MGL and STC Ohio chapters for our next collaborative program “Three Steps to Successful SME Interviews” presented by Nicky Bleiel, STC Fellow.
Interviewing subject matter experts is one of the most important skills needed for success as a technical communicator. During this program, Nicky will discuss how to cultivate sources, write questions, and keep cool during an interview. You’ll learn what to say and what words to avoid–and how to conduct an interview asynchronously. Nicky has interviewed many SMEs, as well as tech comm luminaries (including David Pogue, Dr. John Carroll, and Kathy Sierra), and she will share her experience with you.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
7–8:30 p.m. ET
Online
Nicky Bleiel is a Lead Information Developer at Innovative Systems. She is a Fellow and Past President of the Society for Technical Communication and has more than 20 years of experience writing and designing content for software products in a variety of industries. She has interviewed a number of experts in technical communication, including John Carroll, David Pogue, Kathy Sierra, and Nancy Duarte; and was Guest Editor of the all-interview “Legends of Technical Communication” issue of STC’s Intercom magazine. She is a popular speaker at many conferences, including the STC Summit, tcworld, WritersUA, CIDM, CPTSC, IEEE ProComm, and LavaCon; and has been published in STC’s Intercom, tcworld magazine, ISTC Communicator, and more. See nickybleiel.com for a list of her talks and articles.
Join the STC-MGL and the Ohio STC chapter for Leading Successful Succession, featuring Jennifer Goode, Ph.D.
Is a coworker changing jobs? Is a team member taking leave? Did you get a promotion? Is the boss retiring? Team member change is inevitable in the workplace, and you shouldn’t be ill-prepared. Proactively thinking about regular activities, standard approaches, and common resources can reduce ambiguity and provide clear direction when team member change actually happens. Come learn how to apply your technical communication skills to draft a succession plan for your own role in a hands-on workshop. Then, learn strategies to foster successful succession in your organization, no matter what your position or role.
Jennifer Goode is a senior STC member and instructor of technical communication at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where she is the director of the online master’s program in technical communication management. With over 20 years of professional experience in government, non-profits, and for-profits, she also consults in the areas of instructional design and strategic human capital performance, measurement, and improvement.
Zoom
Want to get together with other technical communicators and test your tech comm, grammar, and STC knowledge?
On Tuesday, March 23, STC-MGL is hosting a virtual tech comm trivia event! Join us for an entertaining evening that will surely test your knowledge and teach you something new. The person with the highest earned points at the end of the night will receive a $20 Amazon gift card.
Zoom
* Honorary members for the evening: employees of the sponsoring organization and members of partner organizations (UXPA, CHI, and ASTD)
Registration
Please register for this event on Eventbrite here.
Join us on Wednesday, February 24 from 7-8:30 p.m. for “Mastering Your Website” presented by Timothy Esposito.
In this webinar, you will learn how to improve your website by integrating social media, mail lists, event calendars, and more. We’ll go under the hood to learn how to tighten security, scan for viruses, have Google analyze your site visits, optimize for search engines, and FTP files to/from your web server. All of this will help you work towards mastering your website!
This webinar is for those currently serving as webmasters, are incoming webmasters, or are interested in learning more about using WordPress and cPanel for their website.
Timothy Esposito is the STC Secretary and an STC Fellow with over 20 years of technical communication experience. He has been the President, VP, treasurer, webmaster, and scholarship manager of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter. He lives just outside Philadelphia with his wife and son.
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
7-8:30 p.m. EDT
Zoom
* Honorary members for the evening: employees of the sponsoring organization and members of partner organizations (UXPA, CHI, and ASTD)
Please register for this event on Eventbrite here.
Join STC-Michigan Great Lakes and STC-Toronto on Tuesday, November 10, from 7–8:30 p.m. ET for the webinar Microcontent—Preparing Content for Intelligent Delivery presented by Joyce Lam!
The path to intelligent microcontent is the next step in our journey in structured authoring. AI-powered cognitive content solutions perform best with content designed to be read by humans and processed by intelligent technologies. To deliver the right answer to prospects and customers, you need to optimize your content production approaches and begin crafting content with the precision humans appreciate and technology requires. Continue reading “Upcoming Webinar: Microcontent – Preparing Content for Intelligent Delivery”
Join STC-MGL on Tuesday, October 20 from 7–8:30 p.m. EDT for the webinar Mastering Your Website 101 presented by Timothy Esposito!
Have you ever wanted to create your own website but feel too intimidated to start? Don’t know the difference between your HTTPs and your PHPs? Want to learn some tricks and tips for streamlining your web presence with social media? Then this is the webinar for you. During this event, we’ll go over the basics of creating and running a website using WordPress and cPanel, along with some additional tools designed to make your webmastering easier. Continue reading “Upcoming Webinar: Mastering Your Website 101”
Welcome to the 2020–2021 program year! We are kicking it off as the newly formed STC Michigan Great Lakes, STC-MGL, chapter. We look forward to working with you as we create deeper connections and strengthen our tech comm community.
To begin this program year, we are holding a virtual open house! Please join us on Tuesday, September 22 from 7–8:30 p.m. EDT, where you’ll have an opportunity to learn about STC and STC-MGL, meet our newly elected council members, and hear about the different ways you can grow personally and professionally through our upcoming networking events and programs.
This virtual open house is open to all and will be a perfect opportunity to learn, ask questions, tell us more about yourself, and share any ideas you have about the direction the STC-MGL chapter will take this fall and next spring!
Tuesday, September 22, 7–8:30 p.m. EDT
Virtual using Zoom
Please register by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 21. We will send you instructions on how to join us.
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Join us on Thursday, June 4, 2020, for the webinar, Mastering Your Website, presented by Timothy Esposito.
You have created your domain, selected a hosting company, and installed WordPress. Your site is up and running, but is fairly straightforward and simple, and missing its 15 pieces of flair. Learn how to improve your site by integrating social media, mail lists, event calendars, and more. Go under the hood and tighten security, scan for viruses, have Google analyze your site visits, optimize for search engines, and FTP files to/from your web server. Work towards mastering your website!
This webinar is for those currently serving as webmasters, are incoming webmasters, or are interested in learning more about using WordPress and cPanel for their website.
Timothy Esposito is the incoming STC Secretary and an STC Fellow with over 20 years of technical communication experience. He has been the President, VP, treasurer, webmaster, and scholarship manager of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter. He lives just outside Philadelphia with his wife and son.
Thursday, June 4, 2020
7–8:30 p.m.
Please register by the close of business Wednesday, June 3, so that we have time to send you the login information prior to the event.
Zoom
* Honorary members for the evening: employees of the sponsoring organization and members of partner organizations (UXPA, CHI, and ASTD)
