November '96 Meeting
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Communicating on the World Wide Web: Internet, Intranets, Marketing and Publishing
November '96 Meeting |
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Speaker: DiAnn Byrne
Meeting notes by:
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The STC-PMC's first joint meeting with the International
Association of Business Communicators was held November 14, 1996,
at Williamson's Restaurant in Bala Cynwyd. The speaker was DiAnn
Byrne, an STC member and Web page and HTML developer. She has
been working for the past two years with new tools and Web technology
to publish marketing and technical documents. Byrne discussed
the types of information that may be published on the Web and
the benefits of doing so, as well as HTML authoring tools, plug-ins,
and graphics.
Types of Documentation PostedCompanies are using the Web to deliver their information to new audiences in a new way. The Web is also being used more for private sites or Intranets, online communications systems for company use and access only. Examples of postings include:Brochures. Visit the Adobe PageMill site (http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/pagemill/details.html) and download one of their brochures. Demonstrations (animation). Visit the Impact/ONLINE WebPAC site (http://www.auto-graphics.com/LibraryServices/IOWPDE.html) and try their demonstration database, which is meant to resemble a library catalog. Technical white papers. These can be linked to demonstrations and illustrations. Visit Lucent Technologies' pages explaining Computer Telephone Integration (http://www.lucent.com/passageway/whatcti.html). Employee handbooks.V isit the Duke University Benefits Administration Bi-Weekly Employee Handbook (http://www.hr.duke.edu/benefits/handbook.htm). Phonebooks and directories. Sometimes these have linked email addresses. See Duke University's Online Phonebook Directory (http://phonebk.duke.edu:8001/phonebook.html). Newsletters. Newsletters such as AlliedSignal's "EM Online" help disseminate information in an exciting way. And you can't use an electronic newsletter as a coaster. Unless you print it out, of course. Benefits of Posting OnlineByrne enumerated four benefits of posting material online: (1) timeliness: updates are immediate; (2) reduced costs: you don't have to worry about printing costs, how many to print, or postage; (3) remote access: material is widely available instantly, to those who work at home and to potential customers; and (4) immediate gratification: customers can quickly download what they want, when they want it-no waiting for the postal service. HTML ToolsByrne said she's tried many tools and will continue to do so. She recommended trying the HotDog Professional3 Web Editor (http://www.sausage.com/hotdog32.htm), Microsoft Front Page, Netscape Navigator Gold, Adobe PageMill, and Adobe PageMaker. She cautions that you must know what you need from an HTML tool. Will you need to generate an original document and save it as HTML, or will you import a document and then convert it to HTML? Some HTML tools will not allow you to import a document or will impose a size limit on the size of the document that can be imported. Plug-Ins, GraphicsPlug-ins allow you to play music, sound bites, video and movie clips, small cartoons, and all sorts of other cool things. Byrne mentioned Netscape Plug-ins specifically because they can be downloaded free. We like free. There's even a plug-in (PointPlus by NetScene) that allows you to view PowerPoint presentations on the Web. Many graphics editors are free for the downloading, but they generally work only with GIF or JPEG files. Byrne emphasized that many Web tools are free and widely available. Spend time playing with these tools- you'll learn new skills, make yourself more valuable as an employee, and have lots of fun at the same time.
If you're interested, DiAnn Byrne's personal Web
page is located at http://www.voicenet.com/~diann.
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Last updated: January 31, 1997 (rst)