What Would You Like to See in Intercom Next Year?

On 21 September, editor Liz Pohland and the Intercom Editorial Advisory Panel (EAP) held their first meeting, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger sat in as part of his many duties here at Stately STC Manor. First off, a big thank you to members of the EAP: Grant Hogarth (chair), Alyssa Fox, Char James-Tanny, Caroline Jarrett, Carolyn Kelley Klinger, and Ed Marshall. Your time and experience are greatly appreciated!

The main order of business at the EAP meeting was to set the 2011 editorial calendar. The group brought a lot of great ideas and unique perspectives to the table, and it’s going to be tough narrowing them down to just 10 themes to cover for 2011.

That’s where you, the readers, can help! What topics are important to you? What subject areas do you want to see covered? What parts of technical communication do you feel have been under-served? Who do you want to read and what do you want to read about? See last year’s editorial calendar for an idea of what themes Intercom has used in the past and then chime in with your thoughts! This is your magazine, so tell Liz what you want. Post a comment to the blog, or send an email to intercom@stc.org.

Intercom strives to serve STC members by presenting useful, intriguing, and thought-provoking articles that help with professional development. Tell us how we can serve you better and we’ll listen.

6 Replies to “What Would You Like to See in Intercom Next Year?”

  1. I’d like to see:
    * a focus on UX and how/why TC and UX fit/don’t fit
    * a recap on Agile/Scrum, case studies on successes and failures, lessons learned, and strategies for success
    * the rising need for business analysts
    * a look at economic-influenced changes in workplace trends and practices (global or multi-nation view/comparison)
    * an issue dedicated to the many changes happening in STC and what they mean to the Society, its membership, and the TC world at large (simplify, clarify, and centralize the message)
    * strategies for positively promoting change and innovation

    I’m sure I can think of more. 🙂

  2. As a tech writer/editor in the Defense sector, much of the recent interest in social networking and social media aren’t applicable to me because my work is very sensitive in nature and I’m blocked from accessing social networking sites. How do tech writers like myself (and I know there are quite a few in the VA/MD/DC region) keep up with these trends and network when we can’t share specifics or even maintain an accessible portfolio? I often feel out of the loop in reading articles about these topics because they just don’t apply to my field – so I’d like to see this addressed, or even suggested as a topic of concern for young writers and editors.

  3. Society Pages could be used to discuss “the many changes happening in STC and what they mean to the Society, its membership, and the TC world at large (simplify, clarify, and centralize the message)”.

    Since there are non-members subscribing to the publication, devoting an entire issue to the above topic would likely not be received well by them. Considering what they pay for the subscription, I wouldn’t fault them for their reaction.

    Coverage of QA-related topics (product testing, not just doc testing) would be helpful. In some sectors, writers’ jobs are a combination of techcomm, BA, and QA responsibilities.

  4. I think it would be great if Intercom was able to look at the list of declined conference proposals after everyone has been notified, and see if any of the proposals are worth investigating further as potential article material. Given the usual count of proposals (between ~150-200) and the rate of acceptance (~65 proposals, according to Alan Houser’s recent guest blog post on the Notebook), there should be plenty of material to work with…and all the contact information is already available.

  5. I would very much like to see a few articles that address the legal aspects of writing and publishing given today’s plagiarist online culture (e.g., copyright law and reuse of information, the ability for a writer to retain his or her copyright or materials, the ability to keep a copy of a creative project to include in a portfolio).
    Also, I would appreciate knowing what other chapters, SIGs, and individuals throughout the STC are doing from a mentoring perspective. Optimally, the article would include examples of how other technical communicators are mentoring and growing other people up in (or bringing them into) the profession.
    Thanks for asking!

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