Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
February/March 2006
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter February/March 2006 |
On November 16, 2005, the San Francisco Chapter STC celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with a panel discussion that took a look at the past, present, and future.
Susan Becker opened the meeting with an overview of the chapter's history. It was originally called the Golden Gate Chapter and covered the geographic area of the current North Bay, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley Chapters. The East Bay Chapter covered the entire area on the other side of the bay. After the Silicon Valley Chapter formed, the Golden Gate Chapter became the San Francisco Chapter.
Susan brought greetings from Lottie Applewhite, who was one of the original members the San Francisco Chapter. Lottie is now retired and living in Chapel Hill, NC.
Before the panel presentation began, Richard Mateosian won a pair of wine glasses with the chapter logo, and Josh Burns won a logo polo shirt. After the panel finished its presentation, three more prizes were awarded. Richard Good won a logo polo shirt. Glenn Goodrich won a pair of wine glasses. Mary Rosberg won the grand prize, which was free admission to the chapter's holiday party in December.
The panelists were Barbara Giammona (moderator), Andrew Davis, Julia Cope, and Meryl Natchez. At the start of the presentation, each of these people talked about their background.
Barbara moved to San Francisco seven months and one day before this meeting after having spent ten years and four months in New York. She started in technical communication after graduation from UC Irvine and got a job for an English major who was not afraid of computers. She has been a manager for most of her career.
Andrew got his start in technical communication in 1985 with word processing as a Samna Pro guru. He also sold Encyclopedia Britannicas and wrote for the Bay Guardian. From 1995 - 2001, he ran Synergistic, a recruiting firm for technical communicators. He has revived Synertistic "v 2.0" as a recruiting firm for technical communicators and all kinds of IT positions.
Meryl has been CEO of TechProse, a provider of technical communication and training, since 1982. Her start in technical communication came from volunteering to write a tutorial for word processing at a community college. In 1980, she did technical writing for a small operating systems company in Emeryville, then moved into contract writing. In 1982, she founded TechProse because she had too many contracts for one person to handle.
Julia is an assistant vice president and Communications Manager for Wells Fargo's Private Client Services (PCS). Julia started her career in 2000 with an M.A. in English and certificate in Technical and Professional Writing (TPW) from San Francisco State University. Her previous experience includes consulting for universities and working as a contractor at Wells Fargo. In her present position, she manages the Web site for PCS. She moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco in early 2003.
Andrew and Meryl, both of whom have a long history with the San Francisco Chapter, provided a perspective on the past. Andrew is a past president of the chapter with a long history of involvement. Jim Dexter recruited Andrew as chapter treasurer in 1985, after which he was vice president for six years, then president in 1993 - 1994. He looked back at some of the accomplishments from the past:
Meryl, who was chapter president in 1991 - 1993, added a comment that each recession looks similar. They all end, and we are at the end of one.
Julia represented the present. The San Francisco Chapter is supportive, and the networking has proven very valuable. The chapter needs to focus on adding value to membership.
Barbara looked to the future. She is the author of the article "The Future of Technical Communication: How Innovation, Technology, Information Management, and Other Forces Are Shaping the Future of the Profession," which was published in the August 2004 edition of Technical Communication. The article received the Frank R. Smith Award for Distinguished Technical Communication.
Here are some thoughts for what technical communicators should do:
The panelists and audience had a discussion that focused on four questions.
We are coming out of a recession. What is the future of the profession in the Bay Area? There were four panelists and four different answers.
Andrew: The need for technically oriented "geek" writers is stronger than ever. There is a bidding war for people who can read code, and people who write end user documentation are starving.
Meryl: The geek jobs are going to India. The way to get jobs is by keeping your network fresh. Technical communicators add value to companies by getting the message out. It's important to keep skills current.
Barbara: Figure out who you are and be the best you that you can be. Barbara doesn't like being a geek, but there are plenty of jobs for the geeks.
Julia: Be creative. The financial services industry in San Francisco has many businesses that do not realize their need for technical communicators. Julia's role is doing translation work between technologists and sales people.
An audience member commented corporate procedure writing is the next big thing for technical communicators. The current regulatory climate is the impetus for this development.
What is the future of hard copy versus online distribution of information? This question prompted an animated discussion that involved both the audience and panelists.
Everything is going online. The trend is to store documents online, then print them when you are ready to read them. It is easer to read a printed document than an online one.
There are two streams:
An audience member commented that the real challenge is to make pertinent information available when it is needed.
How do we do PR work so that technical communicators can become project managers and analysts? This question elicited a lively discussion that involved the panelists and members of the audience.
Here are some of the ideas that came from this exchange:
This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the San Francisco Chapter STC. What should we do in the future?
Meryl: The chapter is a place to meet and network.
Andrew: Continue to be generous.
Julia: Be aware of what it means to be a technical communicator and be open to and supportive of that variety.
Copyright © 2006 by the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter (www.stc-sf.org). This article may be reprinted in another STC publication under the provisions of the chapter's copyright policy.