STC Sacramento Meetings

Date

Time

Topic & Speaker

Location

3/15/12

TBA

Thinking Outside the Content Strategy Trap

In this opening keynote session, Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, will explore The Content Strategy Trap and how failing to avoid it often leads well-intentioned strategists down the wrong path. Attendees will learn how avoiding the trap led one retailer to become a publisher of online repair manuals designed to teach "do-it-yourselfers" how to fix things, while selling them the goods they need to do the job. Sales are driven completely by visually engaging, standardized instructional content delivered to the web, to smartphones and to mobile devices. Return on investment is no longer a wild guess. It's directly tied to individual pieces of content. By thinking outside The Content Strategy Trap, the retailer has become a leader in their market. Their strategy is so successful that other retailers of products that require assembly, sometimes break, or need occasional maintenance are clamoring to replicate it.

TBA

1/7/12

10:30am

Free Saturday Seminar with Joe Welinske

Joe Welinske of WritersUA will cover two of the following subjects in this free, three-hour seminar.

o An Overview of Trends, Tools, and Technologies in Software User Assistance
o Write More, Write Less: Embracing the value of crafted words and images.
o Development Techniques for User Interface Text and Web-based Content in SmartPhone Applications
o Optimizing the Googleability of Your Content

Joe is a dynamic speaker, and has graciously offered to give this seminar gratis. Sign up by emailing stc.sacramento.metro@gmail​.com

Rocklin Public Library
4890 Granite Drive, Rocklin, CA

Audio Recording for Non-Engineers

Audio Recording
Quality audio adds value to eLearning, podcasts, and other presentations. While today's tools make recording seem easier than ever, doing it well can be a challenge. Attend this session and learn how to maximize sound quality while minimizing hassle and expense. Learn to create professional-sounding voice recordings even with basic equipment. We will discuss simple environmental acoustics, microphones, recording software, techniques, and tips to fine-tune your audio tracks for release to the world. A list of affordable hardware and software will be provided.

Join us on Thursday, November 10 to learn more. All are welcome! Hosted By: Society for Technical Communication, Sacramento Metro Chapter

At this session you will learn to create professional-sounding voice recordings even with basic equipment. We will discuss simple environmental acoustics, microphones, recording software, techniques, and tips to fine-tune your audio tracks for release to the world. A list of affordable hardware and software will be provided.

About the Speaker:
Robert Hershenow, a senior member of STC, works as an independent technical communicator and trainer in Roseville. He is also a recording engineer and producer who spent ten years manufacturing professional audio equipment. Years of limited resources and difficult environments prompted him to develop a set of "best practices" for audio recording, which are applicable to tasks that technical communicators are now being called upon to perform.

Turn Your Website into a Search Magnet with Effective Content

New Location >>

There are many ways to bring traffic to a website, but the most effective traffic driver is search engine optimization.  But search engine algorithms are getting smarter.  Tricks that were used in the past to get good search placement no longer work, while at the same time, factors like social bookmarking are becoming more important. Join us on October 13 to learn more. Admission is free and all are welcome!

Hosted By: Society for Technical Communication, Sacramento Metro Chapter

Host's Message: Amid the rapid changes, it's becoming clear that the key to getting search traffic is good quality content, appropriately focused and correctly presented. Take this opportunity to learn the best way to draw traffic to your site.

About the Speaker
Bob Nicholson is VP of Technology at LunaGraphica Inc, a Silicon Valley web design and development firm, and CEO at Quintimation Inc, a pre-funding startup. Previous positions have included VP of Engineering at Red Herring Communications, and Director of Engineering roles at Sun Microsystems and Oracle. He is also author of the book "Effective Websites for Artists and Groups." Bob manages Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization for a wide range of clients at LunaGraphica.

The location has been changed to:

Coco's Restaurant
7887 Madison Ave, Citrus Heights, CA

Enrich Your Career Using Social Media

(Note: this is a Wednesday meeting, starting at 7:00)

The vast majority of companies (88%) use social media to recruit employees; 95% of those companies rely on LinkedIn as a recruitment tool. In this session, Rich Maggiani provides practical tips for using this powerful tool to find a job and boost your career. He teaches you how to write a winning profile, network effectively, search for jobs and contracts, and manage your profile for maximum impact. Rich also demonstrates how to use other social media avenues to continue developing your personal brand. If your LinkedIn profile is woefully out of date, if you aren’t tapping LinkedIn’s full potential, or if you want to pick up a few more tips and tricks on social media, your job search, and enhancing your career, join Rich in exploring ways to use these powerful tools.

Rich Maggiani (rich.maggiani@solari.net) is a Communication Consultant, an STC Fellow, and an STC Board Director. He is the founder of Solari Communication (http://www.solari.net), a full-service corporate communication agency. Rich writes the Social Media Insights column for Intercom; the Toward Humanity blog (http://www.solari.net/toward-humanity/); and articles and position papers on communication topics. He presents regularly at professional conferences, including PCOC, ASTD, IEEE, WritersUA, and the STC Summit. Philosophically, Rich views the world as metaphor, as they enable clarity in an otherwise noisy world. Rich applies the resultant simple, clear communication to enlighten and bring people together toward a common goal.

Yolo County Library

1212 Merkley Avenue, West Sacramento