Putting the “technical” into “technical communication”

I came across a Facebook memory that recounted a conversation that I had about a year ago with Erin Gallalee from STC. She had suggested a couple of topics that might be of interest to technical communicators. Each can be a topic in and of themselves, and perhaps at some point soon, I might take …

I’ve been selected for #STCSummit — again!

The hits keep coming! A week after hearing that I was selected for DevOpsDays Montréal, I received word that I have been selected to speak at STC Summit in Minneapolis on May 17-19! I will be doing my networking presentation, which is one of my favorites! Now the hard part begins: travel planning. These two …

Goals for 2024

As I write this, we're already a few days into 2024. I hope everyone had a happy, festive, and safe holiday -- whatever holiday you celebrate -- as well as an equally festive New Year's celebration. For me, personally, New Year's Eve was a quiet evening in my living room along with my wife, and New Year's …

Yeah, it’s been a while, I know…

No, I'm not dead yet, I swear. But it has been a while since I've posted anything substantive, other than user group meeting announcements (with another one coming later today -- stay tuned) and upcoming speaking engagements. I believe I have one in two weeks (I just sent out an email to confirm), and I …

Speaking this Wednesday

I haven't had a lot of presentation opportunities this year -- I was not selected for either PASS Summit or Boston SQL Saturday -- but I do have an upcoming speaker's gig! This Wednesday, August 16, I will be speaking for a virtual user group meeting! I will be speaking for the Houston Area SQL …

When professions intersect

This afternoon, I took part in an online "virtual coffee break" with STC. During the conversation, something was mentioned about indexing. At that point, my mind shifted. To me, at that moment, "indexing" didn't refer to technical communication, but rather to SQL Server. A number of things occurred to me at that moment. Although "indexing" …

Coming up with new presentation ideas

I'm sure that one of the struggles -- and most common questions -- for new presentation speakers is, "what do I speak about?" For those of you who are budding presentation speakers, let me tell you that even experienced speakers can have the same problem. This issue is common, and it isn't limited to presentation …

My membership with #SWE #WELocal2023 #WELocalHartford @SWETalk

In my past eight years of being a presentation speaker, I've discovered that being a speaker has its fringe benefits*, including networking, learning opportunities, and complimentary admittance to conferences such as PASS Summit and STC Summit. I do these conference presentations on my own time and my own dime -- I have rarely received any …

My first #STCSummit: the debrief #STC23 #TechComm

This article is going out a little later than I'd hoped, but better late than never, and I wanted to get this out while stuff was still fresh in my mind. After taking some time to recover, I've returned home from my first STC Summit! I've wanted to attend this event for some time, and …

Getting ready for #STCSummit #STC23 #TechComm

As I write this, I am preparing to travel to Atlanta for STC Summit! I'm getting all my stuff packed and ready (save for a few items that I'll need when I get up early in the morning) so that I can just grab my things, catch my ride, and head to the airport for …