Experimenting with Chats

After a discussion at our annual meeting, I've spent just a bit of time trying to examine the MULTITUDE of options available for group chats. The one currently in use by the group is VERY functional, but also a bit clunky and quirky. So...I've been looking at other options.

I really like Skype for my own personal use. It is what I use to chat with clients back in the USA as well as to interface with other students in my online classes. I use the video, audio, and the old-fashioned chat features as well as playing the occasional online game with one of my grandchildren (Battleship and Chinese Checkers are favourites!) There are drawbacks, however, as you have to have an account, have the software loaded on your machine, and it is not available if you are at, say, a library or other public place.

Google Chat, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger...all are good options. However, the drawback continues to be that some of us have accounts in some, but not all of these. And creating an account just to be used 11 times a year seems a bit, well, wasteful.

So...I've found one that we can actually embed within the blogger website. I haven't gotten a chance to try it out much, but my first look at it lets me know that it is definitely in the running. As a start, I'm going to perform a short comparison between the existing chat client (bluechat) and the one I've embedded here in Blogger (chatroll).



First, I like that both clients are available in a separate window. The BlueChat version launches that way automatically, while in the Chatroll version, it is optional. There are a couple of advantages I see to the Chatroll version, however. First, I can see everyone that is signed in on the right-hand side of the chat window. Next, I can post clickable links if I want to share something with the others in the chatroom, and the link opens in another tab when clicked so the chat is not "lost". In the BlueChat window, the text seems to work in reverse, with the newest messages at the top while in the Chatroll version newer messages go to the bottom of the list. Finally, although this is quite juvenile, I nonetheless like it that I can type in :-) and it will turn into an emoticon in the Chatroll.



The downside is that Chatroll is free for up to 10 users, but costs $9/month for more. Okay, it's not a big downside, but I thought I should add it anyway.

Oh...I just noticed something else that may or may not be an advantage. Although I can't seem to clear off anything typed in the BlueChat window, I can hover and find a small red circle with a "-" sign in it to click and remove any items I want from the Chatroll window.

Looking forward to feedback on this one. Hope you'll try it out yourself, or better yet, drop me a line and invite me to chat with you on it to run it through it's paces! To use the new client, just click on the "Group Chat" tab at the top of this page. Happy Chatting!

Writing in the News

"The Age Short Story Competition is now accepting entries. Entries must be no longer than 3000 words and should not have been previously published. No more than three stories per person should be submitted. Stories for children are not eligible for this competition. Manuscripts must be typed: double-spaced and on A4 paper." read more

Message from our new branch President

On Saturday July 3oth, we held our Annual General Meeting in Melbourne at RMIT to confirm the outcome of the elections, deliver reports and plan the year ahead. We had a terrific day with members either attending in person or phoning or skyping in.

I would like to thank the committee members who have agreed to stay on for another year including our past president Marcia Bascombe, our membership organiser Steve Salter, and treasurer Robin Hutchinson.

We have four new members including Bea Amaya, a Texan who is currently residing in Papua New Guinea, who will be taking on the position of blog and webmaster; Mark Ward our new secretary; and two new general members Sonja McShane and Robert Levy.

As you may be aware, last year we struggled at most committee meetings to achieve a quorum but with fresh interest from the membership we should not have that same problem going forward. So thank you to all committee members for returning or joining in spite of heavy family, work and other commitments.

At the AGM, after customary reports for each area, we proceeded to discuss the year ahead. This year we will run the branch technical communication competition. We will update the web page shortly to reflect the information for this year. We look forward to your participation by contributing your work to be judged or to helping with the judging. Stay tuned for more information.

One of the reasons that I continue to remain a member of the STC, and in particular the committee, is to have discussions with others who are interested in technical communication. I enjoy hearing about their work, how they arrived where they are, and where they are going. We will look to showcase some of the interesting people within and outside of the STC who are involved in technical communication.

For example, at this past meeting we had an opportunity to meet Bea our new webmaster. Bea is an amazing example to the community, producing technical documentation in Papua New Guinea and working on a PhD in Technical Communication from Texas Tech University in west Texas, mostly online. I would like to find an opportunity to have Bea talk online and answer questions from the STC members.

We are also looking to have periodic casual get-togethers over coffee or dinner in your state. This way members can meet up face-to-face.

The committee will be looking into technical communication certification or even accreditation options. We have watched other groups such as the Society of Editors do this over the years and it is not a quick process but we will start to take baby steps and see what is involved.

We also will look within and outside at other chapters and other societies to understand what they offer to their membership to ensure the committee’s relevance.

More ideas flowed which we will communicate and work on as the year goes on.

After the AGM we followed tradition and moved to the local pub for a final farewell before members dispersed back to their part of the country or world.

Tech Tools: Prezi

A few semesters ago, tired of the same old PowerPoint presentations, I began to use a new, online, free tool called "Prezi". Although the formatting options are limited, there is so much about the tool that makes it preferable, in many cases, to PowerPoint. Instead of trying to demonstrate the tool, I thought I would post one of my prezis here for you to see. This was one I did for a chapter review in a class I was taking. I've also used prezis for client presentations, project reporting, in both talk-along-with and stand-alone formats.

Use the right and left arrows at the bottom of the screen to move through the presentation. Feel free to experiment with any other controls you can play with. Finally, I suggest you visit prezi.com to view other presentations and perhaps to set up an account for your own use.

Border Crossings on Prezi

Annual General Meeting 2011

From left to right, Steve, Bea, April, Robin, and Marcia. Click on photo to view larger.

Although I'm only the webmaster, new to the group and the committee, and a U.S. citizen living in PNG to boot, in my opinion the 2011 AGM was a wonderful, productive, and inspirational get-together. I, for one, can't wait to begin work on the new year's activities.

There were 8 attendees to the meeting, 5 of whom were able to attend in person, and 3 who phoned or Skyped in. More details will follow soon, once we get settled back in to our routines and can spend more time on follow-up, but at least we can share the Committee Members listing for the 2011-2012 year.

President
April Weiss
president@stc-aus.org.au

Past-President/Competitions Coordinator
Marcia Bascombe
competitions@stc-aus.org.au

Secretary
Mark Ward
secretary@stc-aus.org.au

Treasurer
Robin Hutchinson
treasurer@stc-aus.org.au

Meetings Coordinator
Steve Salter
meetings@stc-aus.org.au

Webmaster
Belinda (Bea) Amaya
webmaster@stc-aus.org.au

General Officer
Sonja McShane
general1@stc-aus.org.au

General Officer
Robert Levy
general2@stc-aus.org.au