I have a better warning.

I would have said:
"Your baggage might be screened after you check it in."

If you can't sell your employer on a standing desk...

You should consider investing $20-30 dollars in your own health.

I'm almost 29 years old. I'm getting tubby, and I have back pain. I think that part of the problem is that I sit for at least 8 hours a day, and sitting is bad for my health.

I was talking with one of the facilities staff in my office today . She said that without getting a doctor's note saying that I need a standing desk, I'm going to have a hard time convincing the company to pay for one.

For between $20 and $30, you can build your own.  I'll build one, and see if the company I work for can't be guilted in to reimbursing me.

And yes, I'm hopping on the standing desk bandwagon. At least I don't have a fixie.

Would your employer spring for a standing desk? Would you?

Google Drive instead of Microsoft Word?

As a long time Linux user, I'm all for ditching the Microsoft Office suite. Its not that its "bad", its just not free.

Here is an article about some of the advantages a teacher saw in swapping Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) for Microsoft Word. Google drive has its own costs associated with it, namely the giving of data to Google (presumably for "not-evil" purposes)

The big advantages the teacher saw were easier collaboration, built-in version control, and the leaving behind of comparability issues.

I know that some people write about stuff they just plain couldn't give to Google. What about you? Could you make the switch?

Don't blog about writing.

I've been looking around for blogs to add to the STC Australia Chapter blog roll as part of my strategy for growing our readership[1]. Today, I came across the blog of a social media strategist named Kristen Lamb who specializes in helping writers make money by blogging.

Kristen Lamb wrote a blog post explaining why writers shouldn't write about writing. Her advice to word-slingers is to blog about your interests, and grow your readership by finding people who relate to you personally. Writing about writing limits your audience, and unless you are blogging to establish your own expertise on the subject of writing, you are missing out on a larger group of people who prefer reading to writing.

I have a sneaking suspicion that most technical writers aren't strictly technical writers. Almost all of the technical writers I know and work with are secretly poets, screenwriters, sci-fi fantasy authors; creative types who write procedures so that they and their families can eat.

Do you have a blog, about writing or otherwise? If you introduce yourself and leave  a blurb about your blog URL in the comments, I'll add it to the blog roll.

And maybe you can add us to your blog roll.

[1]Our readership, I suspect, is currently committee members. I have a dream that one day, people I can't even imagine might read this post.

Tech Tools: Prezi and SpicyNodes

This migration from page to blog post represents the first in a series of tools related posts. This is recycled content, but we had to start somewhere.

STC Committee member Bea Amaya collected this information. 

Prezi

"Prezi is a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides. Text, images, videos and other presentation objects are placed on the infinite canvas and grouped together in frames. The canvas allows users to create non-linear presentations, where users can zoom in and out of a visual map. A path through different objects and frames can be defined, representing the order of the information to be presented. The presentation can be developed in a browser window, then downloaded so that an Internet connection is not needed when showing the presentation.   Prezi uses the freemium model. Customers who use the free Prezi Public license must publish their work on the Prezi site. Customers who pay for a Prezi Enjoy or Prezi Pro license can create and share private Prezis. Prezi also offers a special education license for students and educators." Wikipedia

SpicyNodes

"SpicyNodes is a way to visualize online information that mimics that way that people look for things in the real world. Bits of information — such as text, links, photos, and other media — are placed into 'nodes,' which are then linked together in an appealing interface that invites exploration. SpicyNodes can be used for everything from mind maps and content portals to organizational charts and lesson plans." About SpicyNodes. Feel free to visit one of mine (one I created, but never finished, for my Feminist Theory class) as an example. SpicyNodes is a very cool mind mapping tool that is also free.

STC Australia Chapter Social Media Launch

Though I mentioned all of this in a previous, unrelated post, I think its worth doing an official, "we-do-social-media-now" post.

Like us on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter!

Do whatever the equivalent of those things is called on Google+!

I'm hoping these mediums can become a little more participatory than this blog. I know there are Australian STC people out there. Come talk to us!

Nice looking blog, something to aspire to.

I found the Australian Science Communicators website/blog. It looks really sharp.

I hope that one day, the STC Australia Chapter blog/website looks this good.

In other news, I just used Twitterfeed to make blog posts here result in status updates on the STC Australia Chapter Facebook Page (go on, Like it, you know you want to), and as tweets on the STC Australia Chapter twitter feed. I also added Google+ integration so that each post here also shows up on the STC Australia Chapter Google+ page. 

You'd think a social media bonanza like that would merit a separate post. I agree... later.

Annual STC Australia Competition accepting submissions!

Every year the STC Australia Chapter runs a technical writing competition to find the best of breed technical communication Australia has to offer.

Information about this contest was sent to the email accounts of STC members. However, the contest is open to all, and the entry form is long, so I thought I'd give a summary for those deciding if this competition is for them.

Find out more after the jump. 

STC running events across the globe... which no longer includes Australia

Our parent organization is in the midst of conference season. All around the globe, technical communicators are gathering to talk shop, drink culturally appropriate beverages, and further our craft.

The September issue if Intercom (a bit late, I know) has a map of the world, with event locations marked on it. If an alien race were plotting an invasion based on the map in Intercom magazine, technical communicators in Australia might squeak by un-conquered.

Australia, according to the STC world map, doesn't exist!

Archived Seminar Review: Process Re-engineering for Topic Based Authoring

Introduction:

The STC website has about 90 archived seminars, webinars, and presentations. Access to all this material is included in your dues. They are mostly over an hour, and cover a range of topics. As a public service to STC members, I decided to watch and review them all. One at a time.

Review Number 1: Process Re-engineering for Topic Based Authoring.

This presentation focused on the difference between how an organization produces topics and how an organization produces books. The speaker, Rob Hanna, is engaging. His slides help you follow along with what he is saying, and probably help him remember what he is saying. It is a bit boring to look at slides and hear someone talk, without seeing their body language, but that's what you get learning on the internets in 2012.

Eye Guide Updates

Last year our chapter purchased a device called "Eye Guide", designed to be used as an eye-tracking tool in order to assist designers and developers analyse user interactions with computers and other devices and improve usability. Although I don't believe anyone has used the tool yet I would really like to encourage each of you to think of an application and try it out. It does not take long to figure out and puts some cool technology in our hands. I'd love to see someone from our chapter use it, then report on it here.

As a follow up, I thought I would share a video about how the developers of this device continue to move forward. I have to put in a disclaimer here, however...the inventor, the man in the video, is the chairman of my dissertation committee and works at the university I attend. I'm just so impressed with the ways they keep moving forward with this technology finding more innovative ways to use it. Check out the video below if you get a few minutes free.

What would you dedicate 4 hours a workday to?

I read lifehacker.com.au. I found this article there. Research is discussed with an upshot of "dedicate 4 hours per day to 1 thing".

Do most technical writers write for 4 hours a day? Solidly? I'm not sure I do.

I think that I do more research and maintenance than pure content generation. Is that standard?

Its probably worth trying the 4 hours of dedicated work on a specific priority. I would never have guessed that as a writer, one of my main priorities would be content shepherding.

But between correspondence about content, other research on background for the content, and the testing of content, I must spend 4-6 hours of every day on what is essentially writing preparation.

I guess the difference between my work habits and the ideal presented in this article is the level of focus. I do all of the above interspersed with answering colleagues questions, attending meetings, and meeting non-writing obligations.

Another difference between me and the mythical worker the researchers present as worth emulating is the 6:30am start time.