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I'm a member of STC. I joined back when I was the lone writer at a
company, and I really needed to talk with people who understood the issues I
faced everyday (tools, dealing with SMEs, managing doc projects, etc.).
STC also provided me with opportunities to learn things applicable to my job
(through local programs, publications, and education offerings).
When I became independent, I maintained my membership for the
networking (almost all of my jobs have been directly traceable to STC
contacts). I joined SIGs for the topic-specific information and
attended local meetings, sometimes, just for an excuse to get out of the
house!
But the real benefits of STC membership for me are not the passive ones
like receiving the publications, but rather the active things. If I write
an article for a SIG newsletter, that not only puts my name in front of
thousands of people in my field, it also shows them both my area of expertise
and writing ability. If I participate in my local chapter (note: not just
"belong" but "participate") then I get to know the writers in my community and
through them learn about the work, needs, environment, and potentially openings
at dozens of companies around town AND they get to see how I manage a
project like putting together a local program or managing a team of
volunteers. Sometimes I get the opportunity to learn new skills - the first
online surveys I created were for STC projects - and many times I get to
help other technical writers improve their own skills in different
areas. Over the years I have volunteered for many local,
regional, and Society-level projects and committees, and I
firmly believe that I get a lot more back from STC than I put into it.
I also belong to and participate actively in the IEEE Professional
Communication Society for similar reasons.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brenda Huettner --Coauthor of "Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools" with Kit Brown and Char James-Tanny. www.wordware.com/wiki/ --Chair of IEEE/Professional Communication Society 50th Anniversary Committee. Join us at IPCC2007: Engineering the Future of Human Communication www.ieeepcs.org/ipcc2007 |
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