By Nicoletta A. Bleiel | Senior Member
This column is a one-page, quick reference guide exploring "essential" technical communication topics. Nicky Bleiel is a Watson Information Developer at IBM and the Immediate Past President of STC. Learn more at nickybleiel.com.
In this installment of "The Essentials," I am going to focus on a topic that is not about the profession per se, but is a very important resource for technical communicators—the Society for Technical Communication website (www.stc.org). It provides a wealth of information for technical communicators who are STC members, and there is useful information for nonmembers as well.
Publications
Links to all STC publications—Intercom magazine, the Technical Communication journal, the STC‘s Notebook blog, the Salary Database, the TechComm Today e-newsletter and more—are located at www.stc.org/publications.
Open the Intercom page, and you’ll find information about writing for Intercom, as well as links to Intercom Online and the PDF archive page (complete issues of Intercom are available as PDFs back to 2005). You must login to read articles or download PDFs. Click on the cover of the latest issue to download the current PDF.
Technical Communication is STC’s archival, peer-reviewed journal. Open the Technical Communication page to access Technical Communication online and the back issue archive on Ingenta (back to 1995).
The Salary Database is drawn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics data and highlights important trends in the demand for technical communication professionals. Open the Salary Database page to download it; nonmembers can purchase the report or check out the free preview version.
Education
Links to information about the wide world of STC educational opportunities—the Summit (annual conference) occuring 21–24 June 2015, upcoming live webinars and online courses, recorded webinars (there are over 140 free to members, as well as those available for a fee), and the mentor board, are located at www.stc.org/education.
Membership
The membership page lists the STC benefits and rates, as well as links to join or renew online. If you need a paper application, a brochure, tax information and more, see the list of links at the bottom of the page at www.stc.org/membership.
Job Bank
Information about the popular STC Job Bank can be found at www.stc.org/job-bank. There are job opportunities posted for members and nonmembers, and job seekers can post resumes and set up alerts. Members get a 14 day advance viewing of all new postings.
Potpourri
Log in to the STC website, then hover over MYSTC in the main navigation menu to update your account, change your password, access the STC Member Directory, check out STC merchandise and logos, and more. Hover over ABOUT in the main navigation menu to learn more about the Society, including the mission and vision, governance, staff directory, communities, and leadership opportunities.
Like most websites, STC’s is a wealth of information and you will need to explore to discover it all. I hope this quick tour helps get you started.
Hi! I signed up recently as a member and I have been trying to access the intercom archives for the april 2008 edition of Intercom.
Your intercom website’s archive section is not accessible. Can you have someone email me the pdf for this issue??
Thanks,
Mushhood.