Welcome to SLO STC!
Q:
How do I become an STC member?
A:
The membership process is handled through the national STC. You can
sign up online or print out a membership form to mail in or fax at http://www.stc.org/membership/join01.asp.
Q:
Is there an additional membership fee for joining the San Luis Obispo
STC chapter?
A:
No. The national membership fee covers both national and local membership
costs.
Q:
What are the benefits of joining the STC?
A:
The benefits include a monthly professional magazine as well as a quarterly
journal, discounts on STC’s annual conferences, the opportunity to join
special interest groups (SIGs), discounted group rate insurance, access to
the national STC jobs database, and much more. For additional information,
see http://www.stc.org/membership/.
Q:
What benefits will I receive from the SLO STC chapter?
A:
The benefits include stimulating and educational meetings, workshops,
and other events; opportunities for collaboration with other technical communicators;
professional growth and development; opportunities for visibility through
topic sponsorships; networking; partnerships with the local business community;
access to local employment resources; and more.
Q:
I’m a student. Am I required to have a student membership?
A: No. Although student
memberships are attractive because they’re heavily discounted, you’re
not required to be a student member or join a student chapter, if you would
prefer not to. If you wish to be a student member of a non-student chapter,
that is also perfectly fine.
To better serve your needs, whether you're a current or future technical communicator, an employer, a possible strategic partner, a member of the business community, or just a person with great ideas, we want to find out more about you! For example, do you:
We would like to hear from you! Please send your need or information to info@slostc.org.
E-mail list: If you’d like to be apprised of chapter activities, professional opportunities, and related events, simply send a request to info@slostc.org.
Web site: For any problems, questions, or suggestions related to our Web site, please send e-mail to webmaster@slostc.org.
For questions on specific areas of chapter activity: Feel free to contact the individuals whose names appear under “About SLO STC.”
The resources below are provided to help you achieve your career goals and aspirations. Each resource opens in a new browser window.
Employment agencies – This link opens a listing of local employment agencies, ranging geographically from north Santa Barbara county to north San Luis Obispo county; as well as agencies that specialize in technical communication staffing nationally or within the state of California.
Job-related search engines – This link opens a listing of employment-related search engines that include the technical communication profession.
Professional development resources – This link opens a listing of educational and professional organizations and venues that can enhance your career growth and development.
Self-employment & small business resources – This link opens a listing of local resources for starting or expanding your self-employment or small business operations.
2008 SLO STC Calendar
<<<
See
2002-->December 2007 Events
January 2008
January 9 (Wednesday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at the Creekside Career Center Conference Room, 4111 Broad St. in San Luis Obispo. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
January 28th - SLO STC meeting - “Web 2.0 for the SLO Professional: Innovative Solutions Using New Social Media (Part 1)”
February 2008
February 25th - SLO STC event - “Web 2.0 for the SLO Professional: Innovative Solutions Using New Social Media (Part 2)”
March 2008
March 24th - SLO STC event - “Web 2.0 for the SLO Professional (Part 3): Shared Applications and Architecture”
April 2008
April 28th - SLO STC event - “Web 2.0 for the SLO Professional (Part 4): Focus on Mashups and Wikis”
May 2008
May 19th - SLO STC event - “SLO STC Business & Professional Fair: Achieving Action through Understanding”
June 2008
June 23rd - SLO STC event - “Fourth Annual Summer Networking Dinner Meeting,” 6:00 p.m. (See the “Next Chapter Event” for details.)
July & August 2008
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Local Activities
Central Coast Business Events Calendar - Ongoing Community Event Information
SLO STC's 4th Annual
Summer Networking Dinner Meeting
When: Monday evening, June 23, 2008, 6:00-8:30 PM
Where: Asian Cuisine, 3830 Broad St. in the Marigold Shopping Center at the intersection of Tank Farm Road and Broad, SLO. The restaurant is in the N.W corner of the shopping center. There is plenty of free parking. Click here for maps and driving directions from your starting point.
Our Fourth Annual SLO STC Summer Networking Dinner Meeting is the place to be if you want to relax, enjoy good food, and share entertaining conversation with your colleagues. This is the last event before our July-August break, so it's an ideal opportunity to leave your associates with something memorable about you!
Do you have an interesting item to share? Ideas, projects, plans for the summer, or even your résumé, brochure, or business card? Bring it along! Or, just bring yourself and partake of the good company. We'll have a semi-private wing and several dinner and display tables, all of which will create an ideal environment for meeting people and exchanging ideas and information.
Mark your calendar now, and please don't miss out on this great networking event!
RSVP: Required by Friday evening, June 20, 2006. For more information or if you have questions, please e-mail reservations@slostc.org, or call Adele Sommers at 805-462-2199.
Regular SLO STC chapter meetings are generally held the 4th Monday of the month at the KCBXnet (formerly SLONET) computer training room, 4100 Vachell Lane, San Luis Obispo. Networking starts at 6:00 p.m. Visitors are always welcome and there is no charge for most meetings. For more information, please contact Adele at 805-462-2199.
2002—2007 SLO STC Historical Event Calendar
Return to Current Calendar >>>
Click the links below to see highlights of the events.
October – December 2002
A three-part Fall SLO STC series: “Solving Information Challenges in the Workplace”
1)
October 28th “Giving
Customers What They Want -- Self-Service via the Web”
2) November 18th “Keys
to Managing Successful Information-Based Projects”
3) December 16th “If
You Build It, Can They Use It? Ensuring the Usability of Interface Designs”
January – February 2003
A two-part SLO STC series: “2003 Career Kickoff”
1)
January 27th “Personal
Marketing & Creative Approaches to Finding Work”
2) February 24th “Self
Employment -- A Reason For Setting the Alarm Clock or Do I Really Work at
Nothing All Day?”
March 2003
March
6th - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Great Wall restaurant in SLO.
Non-board members are always welcome.
March 31st - “Creating
the Perfect Portfolio: How To Use Electronic and Paper Portfolios to Ace Your
Next Interview, Attract New Clients, and Network Effectively”
April 2003
April
11th (lunch meeting) - “My
Experiences as a Microsoft Vendor”
12:00,
Imperial China restaurant, SLO.
April 28th (regular meeting) - “Technical
Illustration and Animation Strut Their Stuff: Visual and Media Design Principles
We Can All Apply”
May 2003
May
5th - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Imperial China restaurant in
SLO. Non-board members are always welcome.
May 31st - “Secrets
of Successful Project
Management,”
a half-day Saturday workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., designed
for nonprofits, for-profits, and technical professionals.
June 2003
June 23rd - “Visual and Media Design (Part 2): Marketing, Managing, and More”
July 2003
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
August 2003
August
2nd (Saturday, 9:00 a.m - noon) - Annual
Chapter Planning Workshop
August 25th, 6:00 p.m. - “What
Are We Working On Now? Share & Compare Notes & Ideas”
September 2003
September 29th - “Six Show-stopping Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid When Developing Content for Global Consumption”
October 2003
October
2nd - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Imperial China restaurant in
SLO. Non-board members are always welcome.
October 27th
- “Beyond
Information Engineering: An Introduction to Total Customer Experience Design”
November 2003
November 17th - “Professional Association Networking Night”
December 2003
December
3rd - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Coco's restaurant in Pismo
Beach. Non-board members are always welcome.
December
15th - “Spotlight
on the Cal Poly Center for Usability Design, Testing, and Evaluation”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2004
January
26th - SLO
STC meeting “Share
and Compare Notes and Ideas: Tools & Techniques for Estimating Projects”
February 2004
February
7th (Saturday) - SLO STC board meeting, 11:00 a.m. (Margie's Diner,
San Luis Obispo). Joint luncheon with cpSTC at the same location,
12:00.
February 23rd - SLO STC meeting “Careers in Web Technology”
March 2004
March 22 - SLO STC meeting “Entrepreneuring on the Central Coast: How to Survive and Thrive on a Start-up Team”
April 2004
April 7th (Wednesday) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Coco's, Pismo Beach). Non-board members are always welcome; send e-mail to pres@slostc.org.
April 26 - SLO STC meeting “Marketing and Negotiating Contract Services”
May 2004
May 24 - SLO STC meeting “A Live RoboHelp X5 Demo from Macromedia: Help Authoring Tools Are Not Just for Creating Help”
June 2004
June 28 - SLO STC meeting “Secrets for Making Silicon Valley Professional Opportunities Work for You on the Central Coast”
July & August 2004
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
September 2004
September 26 (Sunday) - SLO STC Member appreciation potluck and annual planning meeting
October 2004
October 25 - SLO STC meeting “Professional Liability, Intellectual Property, and Other Hot Legal Issues”
November 2004
November 15 - SLO STC meeting “Designing Web Sites for Accessibility”
December 2004
December 13 - SLO STC meeting “Share and Compare Notes & Ideas: Paper Prototypes, Storyboards, and Mockups”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2005
January 31st - SLO STC meeting - “How to Publish, Price, and Market Your Own Work”
February 2005
February 28th - SLO STC meeting - “Create Once and Deliver Many: An Overview of XML and Content Management”
March 2005
March 9th (Wednesday) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Coco's, Pismo Beach). Non-board members are always welcome; send e-mail to pres@slostc.org.
March 28th - SLO STC event - “Share and Compare Notes & Ideas: Using Video in Information Design”
April 2005
April 25th - SLO STC event - “Quick, Cheap, and Easy Ways to Conduct Effective Usability Testing”
May 2005
May 4th (Wednesday) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Coco's, Pismo Beach). Non-board members are always welcome; send e-mail to pres@slostc.org.
May 23rd - SLO STC event - “Using Focus Groups in Technical Communication”
June 2005
June 27th - SLO STC event - “Summer Networking Dinner Meeting,” 6:00 p.m. (Imperial China restaurant, SLO). RSVP required; please see “Next Chapter Event” for details.
July & August 2005
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
September 2005
September 25 (Sunday) - SLO STC Member appreciation potluck and annual planning meeting
October 2005
October 24 - SLO STC meeting “Industry Night on the Central Coast”
November 2005
November 3 (Thursday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Coco's restaurant in Pismo Beach. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
November 7 - Open House at Cal Poly: Technical Communication Portfolio Display and a tour of the amazing “Lumiere Ghosting Project”
December 2005
December 5 - SLO STC meeting: “A Crash Course in Flash and Principles of e-Learning”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2006
January 12 (Thursday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Asian Cuisine restaurant in the SLO Marigold shopping center. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
January 30 (Monday evening) - SLO STC Meeting: “How to Create and Market Your Own Digital Information Products”
February 2006
February 27th - SLO STC event - “Information Authoring: Applications, Features, and Futures”
March 2006
March 2nd (Thursday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Asian Cuisine restaurant in the SLO Marigold shopping center. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
March 27th - SLO STC event - “The PolyHouse Project: An Inside Look at a 10-Week Total Transformation”
April 2006
April 24th - SLO STC event - “Share & Compare Notes & Ideas: Instructional Design, e-Learning, and Flash Revisited”
May 2006
May 4th (Thursday) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Asian Cuisine, SLO). Non-board members are always welcome; send e-mail to pres@slostc.org.
May 22nd - SLO STC event - “Using the Power of Congruency to Bring More Value to Your Business Communications”
June 2006
June 26th - SLO STC event - “Second Annual Summer Networking Dinner Meeting,” 6:00 p.m.
July & August 2006
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
September 2006
September 24 (Sunday) - SLO STC Annual Planning Potluck on the Cal Poly campus, noon to 3:00-ish.
October 2006
October 30 - SLO STC event - “Introduction to Videoblogging”
November/December 2006
November 2 (Thursday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Asian Cuisine restaurant in San Luis Obispo. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
November 27 - SLO STC event - “Turning Your Technical Know-How into Entrepreneurial Success”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2007
January 11 (Thursday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Starlet Cafe in San Luis Obispo. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
January 29th - SLO STC meeting - “Tips for Negotiating Contract Provisions for Independent Contractors, Employees, and Employers”
February 2006
February 6th (Tuesday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Starlet Cafe in SLO. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
February 26th - SLO STC event - “Designing High-Impact, Low-Bandwidth Messages to Help People Act Quickly”
March/April 2006
March 6th (Tuesday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Starlet Cafe in SLO. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
April 2nd - SLO STC event - “The 2006 PolyHouse Project,” co-hosted with the SLO region of the Project Management Institute (PMI)
April 24th (Tuesday evening) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Asian Cuisine in SLO. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
April 30th - SLO STC event - “Using Newsletters as Communication & Marketing Tools”
May 2006
May 15th (Tuesday) - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Asian Cuisine, SLO). Non-board members are always welcome; send e-mail to pres@slostc.org.
May 21st - SLO STC event - “SLO STC Business and Professional Fair: Achieving Action through Understanding”
June 2006
June 25th - SLO STC event - “Third Annual Summer Networking Dinner Meeting,” 6:00 p.m. (See “Next Chapter Event” for details.
July & August 2007
Summer vacation! Have fun! (No meetings.)
September 2007
September 24 (Monday evening, 6:00-8:30 PM) - SLO STC Annual Planning Meeting at KCBXnet.
October 2007
October 22 - SLO STC event - “Document Design on a Dime: How to Tame Your Unruly Avalanche of Information with Cost-Effective Planning and Publishing Techniques”
November/December 2007
November 5 - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at the Creekside Career Center Conference Room, 4111 Broad St. in San Luis Obispo. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
November 26 - SLO STC event - “Editing & Indexing for High-Impact Publications”
December 12 - SLO STC board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at the Creekside Career Center Conference Room, 4111 Broad St. in San Luis Obispo. Non-board members are always welcome. RSVP to Adele at pres@slostc.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
strong entrepreneurial spirit is permeating our chapter activities and the
technical sector of our community. Some people are focusing this entrepreneurial
energy on honoring their personal passions -- if not now, when? For
many, technical communication skills represent an invaluable toolkit to carry
on a journey toward achieving a wide variety of goals. With that thought in
mind, our 2002-08 chapter goals look like this:
1.
Invent what doesn't exist to solve problems and fuel passions.
Support people and groups expressing their entrepreneurial energy in a wide
variety of areas, where information presentation and technical communi-cation
are either the supporting cast members or the stars of the show.
2. Provide resources, education, and tools
to further develop skills.
Help people improve and expand their communication skills “tool kits”
as they blaze new trails in many unique professional and personal directions.
3. Build bridges to our community organizations and
resources.
Engage
with businesses, professional associations, nonprofit organizations, and educational
institutions.
4.
Develop strategic partnerships in the community.
Connect
and join forces with groups that have overlapping domains of interest, identify
common goals, and explore opportunities for partnering.
5.
Showcase our expertise, and that of our strategic partners.
Highlight
what we and others have to offer using technical communication skills and
our Web site to explain the profession through informative articles and resource
links.
Welcome to SLO STC!
This section provides information on collaborative projects involving SLO STC and partners in the community.
Community Partnerships:
If you are interested in or have questions about a strategic partnership, please contact us!
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SLO STC is the San Luis Obispo county chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC, www.stc.org), the largest organization of its kind in the world with about 18,000 members in over 150 international chapters. Technical communicators comprise a broad range of professionals including technical writers, editors, and illustrators; publication specialists; instructional designers; Web designers and developers; academics; information architects; usability and human factors specialists; visual designers; multimedia creators and animators; translators; and more!
Located on the beautiful central coast about halfway between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, San Luis Obispo (SLO) county boasts the prestigious California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and a mix of rural and semi-urban cities. Launched in 2000, the SLO STC chapter now has over 30 members. Meetings are typically held on the fourth Monday of the month. Chapter contact information for fiscal year 2007-08 is as follows:
