STC-Phila. Metro Chapter

Society for Technical Communication

STC-PMC Webinar Recording: How to Use Technical Content to Improve the Customer Experience

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Thanks to all who registered and attended this STC-PMC webinar on September 27th. Dr. Guiseppe Getto shared his insights on how tech writers can leverage existing technical content to improve their company’s marketing and customer engagement efforts. An organization’s technical content can tell customers:

  • During information gathering: the nitty-gritty specifications of your products and services so they know exactly what they’re getting
  • During buying decisions: what differentiates your products and services from those of competitors
  • During purchase: how you will take care of them as a customer—customer support is one of the #1 reasons people make a purchase, even over price
  • After purchase: the types of decisions they need to make after purchase, such as how to get support packages, how to submit a support ticket, and how to get troubleshooting assistance.

Dr. Getto is a renowned professor at Mercer University and consultant. Learn more about Dr. Getto. 

If you would like to view the webinar recording, send an e-mail to president@stc.org.

Tools that Today’s Tech Writers Need

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Thanks to all who attended this meeting! If you want to view the recording, please e-mail your request at president@stc.org.

What are the essential tools that today’s technical communicators need to be successful? What skills are employers looking for in today’s marketplace? To help provide insight, our guest for this webinar, Thursday, April 27th at 7:00 pm, is Christina Mayr, who is currently a documentation team manager & information architect in the gaming industry.

Christina is the absolute perfect guest for this ambitious topic! Her experience has spanned diverse companies big and small, driving process and strategy for technical documentation projects, with deep experience in:

– information architecture

– content management

– user research and analytics

– DITA XML authoring (CCMS administration)

– enterprise software and hardware documentation

– SOP writing and much more.

Christina has just written an article on the topic of tools that technical writers should know, which will be published in the next STC Intercom magazine.

Christina is a graduate of the Technical and Professional Communication master’s program from East Carolina University. Learn more about Christina here: https://sites.google.com/view/christina-mayr/speaking

Reframing Accessibility for the Web

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Every one of us needs the internet to be accessible. Our needs may not surface today, but they will in the future. Do we know enough about what accessibility needs look like — beyond the stereotypes of people with disabilities that we’re all too aware of? And how do we get from “I know my site has problems” to “I know how to approach them?”

This webinar, held on Feb. 1st, was based on Anne’s 2014 articles “An Alphabet of Accessibility Issues” and “Reframing Accessibility for the Web,” framed accessibility through the lens of 26 people who need accessibility considerations. Anne also identified three top concerns in accessibility, and approaches to handling them.

If you missed this webinar, and would like to view the recording, please e-mail stcpmc.president@gmail.com – there is a $5 service charge.

Presenter:

Anne M. Gibson is a UX designer and general troublemaker just close enough to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to think a wander through a revolutionary battlefield is not noteworthy. She’s best known for writing An Alphabet of Accessibility for The Pastry Box and Reframing Accessibility for the Web for A List Apart. In addition to designing websites, she writes science fiction and fantasy, runs a small publication about web design, plays competitive pinball, and watches the Jack Russell terriers destroy things.

STC-PMC Holiday Event – Getting Comfy in Conshy!

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Thanks to all of you attended our event at Flanagan’s Boathouse on December 7th in Conshohocken, PA. It was a fun night at a fun place, and our group photo is below!

As we celebrate the holidays, and enjoy time with family and friends, I often think how a well-crafted instruction manual – or video – or online help article – has the power to make or break the gift experience. Imagine that grateful parent who followed “training wheel” assembly instructions (shown below) on Christmas Eve! As we head into 2023, let’s remember how vital technical communicators are in the overall customer experience.

Please contact stcpmc.president@gmail.com to share any valuable instructions you have encountered this holiday season!

Happy holidays and hope to see you in 2023!

Rob

Meet up in Cherry Hill – Saturday 11/12 at 1 pm

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Thanks to those who joined us at Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Company in Cherry Hill on 11/12! I really loved two of the beers in my flight, including “Miss Nomer.”

If you have an idea for a location to meet up in the Philly/NJ area in 2023, please let me know at president@stcpmc.org!

Rob

And if you want to visit Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Co, it’s at 1940 Olney Ave, Suite 100, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

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