The STC Forum will be retired July 31, 2009 in favor of new activities and closed to new posts on July 8. If you have posted information there that you want to keep, please capture it.

STC and its communities won eight awards for publications excellence in the APEX 2009 competition.

STC Announces the 2009 ISTCC Winners and Judges

Read the issue now!

The Occupational Outlook and Handbook (OOH), published by the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will have an individual report on technical writers in the next edition.

The STC Nominating Committee has announced leadership positions at the Society level.

The Annual Business Meeting of the Society will take place on Monday, 4 May from 6:00-7:00 PM in Regency V Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (GA).

STC members who pay taxes in the United States should be aware that Society dues may be tax deductible. Members can often claim dues as a deduction in one of several ways: as a charitable expense, a business expense, or a miscellaneous deduction.

In pouring over the latest unemployment reports released last week by the US Department of Labor, I actually see signs of a recovery beginning to emerge. As an economist, reports from DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sometimes are like sifting through the lost-and-found closet at your child's school. There is a wealth of information amongst the data-the challenge is to find the items that have the most meaning. Full article. . .

Technical Communication, the journal of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), is soliciting article proposals for an upcoming special issue that will examine how factors of law and of culture affect how technical communicators work in international and cross-cultural contexts.

During a downward cycle in the economy your STC membership becomes even more valuable. You have instant access to thousands of colleagues worldwide. Use the time now to expand your network so you can meet the added challenges thrust on you by a market downturn.

The current economic downturn seems to have impacted almost every industry within the United States and many abroad.

Being in two places at one time may not be a problem much longer, thanks to an innovative program beginning during the Technical Communication Summit, 3-6 May, in Atlanta, GA.

Members need to reset preferences for how they prefer to receive mail and email.

I'm this close to swearing off TV for good. If I see Ali Velshi and Suze Orman on another talk show together, I think I'm going to be sick. They've been spending more time together than a couple of high school sweethearts. (Get a room, people!)

But seriously, there is a lot of uncertainty swirling around these days about the economy. That's why we are being bombarded with the "sky is falling" message wherever we turn.

STC Refreshes Logo Design

STC's Board of Directors recently approved the selection of future venues for the Technical Communication Summit, the Society's annual conference. Sleeping room rates at each of the venues from 2009 until 2013 will be guaranteed less than $200.

"Having affordable room rates was a key element in our selection process," explained Lloyd Tucker, STC's director of education and membership. "As much as possible, we try to disperse our meetings across the country in locations that are convenient, attractive destinations, and affordable for our cost-conscious members."

2009 Atlanta, Georgia
3-6 May
Room rate: $159.00

2010 Dallas, Texas
2-5 May
Room rate: $169.00

2011 Sacramento, California
15-18 May
Room rate: 174.00

2012 Chicago, Illinois
20-23 May
Room rate: 199.00

2013 Atlanta, Georgia
5-8 May
Room rate: 179.00

The above rates are exclusive of taxes or other typical fees.

The Technical Communication Body of Knowledge Task Force is developing a pathway for people interested in technical communication to find and navigate the huge amounts of knowledge in the technical communication profession. This knowledge currently exists on many different websites and publications. There is no central point that directs people to it.

Phase 1 in creating a Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TC-BOK) is developing the STC Knowledge Portal and creating a draft site map. The site map is a way of organizing the domains of knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary for the practice of technical communication.

We need your help in refining this map and ensuring that, a wide variety of technical communicators can find what they need on the site. Please give us your feedback.

The next step will be to populate the site with content. Initially, this site will be a way to direct people to the knowledge that we have. Eventually, it will become the place that can expand as our knowledge expands, and we hope it will become the definitive source for "what you need to know to be a technical communicator."

Thanks in advance for your help and comments.

Hillary Hart
Mark Hanigan
Co-chairs, TC-BOK Task Force

Elizabeth Pohland has been selected as the new editor of Intercom, the monthly magazine of the Society for Technical Communication. For many years, Pohland, an STC member, served the Folger Shakespeare Library as editor and designer of the scholarly journal Shakespeare Quarterly, as consultant to the Folger Magazine (a membership publication), and as contributor to the Folger Website and branding, among multiple other publications and multimedia projects.

Pohland brings to Intercom over ten years of extensive experience as an editor, content and production manager, designer, and writer. She introduced usability and readability standards to the Folger's publications, and she has researched new technologies in editorial management software. Her freelance editing includes topics as diverse as Japanese anime, baseball, and memoirs.

"We are especially pleased to have selected an editor with excellent credentials who is also an STC member and understands technical communication," said Susan Burton, STC executive director. "I was also excited to see several candidates mention they were STC members in their resumes."

Pohland received her bachelor's degree in English and French from Hollins University; a master's in English from Virginia Tech University, where she interned with distinguished professor and poet Nikki Giovanni and won an award for her thesis; and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University.