TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for October 5, 2012

[TechWhirl Admin <admin -at- techwhirl -dot- com>]

*This week’s update on technical communication and the TechWhirl community
is supported by Platinum sponsor Madcap & their Ultimate Communications
Suite, MadPak <http://goo.gl/eO3ls> | http://bit.ly/zBI0Uj  *



We love October here at TechWhirl … LavaCon, tcworld, Halloween…what’s not
to love?  As you’re reading this, the gang is winging its way to Portland
in advance of LavaCon Conference 2012 <http://lavacon.org/2012/>, where in
addition to having a booth and organizing paper airplane races, Al and
Connie will be presenting two must-see sessions: *How to Build a Winning
Business Case*, and *Dr TechComm, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and
Love Change Management*. We like to go a bit Hollywood sometimes, and these
are two topics that lend themselves to a bit of creative flair while we
pass along wisdom and advice that are relevant to technical communicators
looking to expand their sphere of influence.



Our crack writing team—Lois Patterson, Rachel Houghton, and Valerie
Ball—will be covering as many of the great sessions as they can cram into
their schedules, so you can get a taste of the proceedings even if you
can’t be there. LavaCon is always a great event, filled to overflowing with
great speakers, trendy topics, and lots of networking. And while none of us
will make it to Wiesbaden for tcworld Conference and tekom Trade
Fair<http://conferences.tekom.de/tcworld12/home/>this year in person,
we’ll be there in spirit, as well as following the top
technical communication glitterati who’ll be presenting and tweeting.



Before turning to our favorite holiday, we’ll be trying to answer October’s
big question:  Is Tech Comm Art?  We’re featuring our own debate (no
teleprompters or fact checkers around here) on both sides of this question,
as well as looking into other aspects of creativity, and its place (if
there is one) in technical communication.



At TechWhirl, the two most important holidays are April Fools’ Day and
Halloween. So in the spirit of art and creativity, we’re hosting Tech
Writer Halloween Horror
Stories<http://techwhirl.com/journal/tech-writer-halloween-horror-stories-2012/>again
this year.  We are looking forward to seeing and publishing those
true, mostly true, or wish-they-were-true tales of mayhem and magic in the
world of technical communication. Flex those artistic muscles and submit
your most horrifying for
publication<http://techwhirl.com/technical-communication-news-tips-user-submitted-stories/>during
Halloween week.



If all of this activity leaves you a bit breathless or overwhelmed, it’s
probably a good time to take a look at Cheryl Voloshin’s advice on how
to reclaim
the balance<http://techwhirl.com/careers/advice/nothing-teaches-mistakes-reclaim-the-balance/>between
work and life.  You can also get a sneak peek at a couple of hot
topics to be presented at LavaCon in our Fast 5 Interviews with David
Ashton of SDL<http://techwhirl.com/business/interviews/global-content-challenges-fast-5-sdl-ashton/>,
and Rick Schochler of
Rocketsled<http://techwhirl.com/business/interviews/content-reuse-rocketsled-interview/>
.



Have a great weekend!

-The gang at TechWhirl


In Case You Missed it: This Week @ TechWhirl

*New features and articles on http://TechWhirl.com <http://techwhirl.com/>**
:*


   - Tech Writer This Week for October 4, by Craig Cardimon |
   http://bit.ly/QvaYIl
   - Global Content Challenges: Fast 5 Interview with David Ashton of SDL |
   http://bit.ly/VqgzCR
   - Nothing Teaches Like Mistakes: Reclaim the Balance Between Work and
   Life, by Cheryl Voloshin | http://bit.ly/Wb4vVJ
   - Tackling Content Reuse Head on: Fast 5 Interview with RocketSled’s
   Rick Schochler | http://bit.ly/SSz3wm
   - Tech Writer Halloween Horror Stories Wanted! |
   http://bit.ly/horrorstories12



*Tech Comm News on http://News.TechWhirl.com <http://news.techwhirl.com/>:*


   - DITA Fest 2012 Registration Opens for Content and Customer Experience
   Professionals | http://bit.ly/QvqOmm
   - Internationally Recognized Communicator Leah Guren Coming to Atlanta |
   http://bit.ly/QnlD85
   - Autodesk Partners with Jitterbit for PLM 360 | http://bit.ly/UYHyXG

 Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

   - Our Google Plus Page – what’s happening behind the scenes |
   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
   - Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click |
   http://goo.gl/tDrW7
   - Want all this TechWhirl goodness a few characters @ a time |
   http://goo.gl/itjDg
   - Updates from TechWhirl delivered to your email in box |
   http://bit.ly/tjshxU
   - Or, try our RSS feed (great on Flipboard) | http://goo.gl/msLzu

SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their
support.



*Platinum*: Adobe Systems
Incorporated<http://www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite/>

*Gold: *ComponentOne Software <http://bit.ly/doc-to-help>,* *Madcap
Software<http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/overview.aspx#whatsnew>
**

*Silver*: Society for Technical Communication (STC)
<http://www.stc.org/>, Vancouver
Island University <http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

-- 



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