TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for January 18, 2013

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

*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*



On the start of my weekly drive between those two bastions of modern
Southern charm, Charlotte and Atlanta, I reflected on how such a dreary
month landed the cushy job of starting each year. The start of the year
should be energizing and exciting and wonder-inducing. Alas, rainy and warm
has devolved to rainy and cold, and while the team and the project inspire
awe and curiosity, the weather stupefies. I completely empathize with “snow
birds” who head south from colder climes, but for me it’s not the
temperature so much as the need for sunlight. Whether Seasonal Affective
Disorder (SAD) is a medically recognized condition is totally beside the
point. I believe it must be real, therefore it is.



So naturally my mind wanders to wherever those sunny climes might be, and
being the responsible, professional technical communicator I claim, I want
to turn a mental health-related trip into a twofer—is there some really
cool, productivity-enhancing professional conference I can attend in a
location that allows me to remember what sunlight looks like? Probably, and
because we’re good-hearted folks who like to make it easier on our readers
and colleagues, we put together a pretty extensive list of conferences that
take place throughout
2013<http://techwhirl.com/tech-comm-2013-conference-overview/>.
(Feel free to let us know about any we might have missed, we’ll be glad to
add them.) We followed that up with a technical communication poll question
on the continuing education
courses<http://techwhirl.com/technical-communication-poll-most-valuable-continuing-education-courses/>that
would really float your boat. On the off chance that at least part of
the team would actually *prefer *dreary to balmy, we also got Roger
Renteria to pull together a comparison of online meeting
tools<http://techwhirl.com/online-meeting-tools-tech-comm-teams/>,
so you can stay in touch no matter where you are.



I figure the rain will end sometime soon, and now I get why Portlandians
relish their few weeks of sun every year. For now, it’s time to get your
professional development/continuing education game on… and don’t forget the
sunscreen.





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 January 17, 2013, by Craig Cardimon |
   http://bit.ly/W7PHp0
   - Online Meeting Tools and Technical Communication Teams, by Roger
   Renteria | http://bit.ly/WIFGy4
   - Technical Communication Poll: Most Valuable Continuing Education
   Courses | http://bit.ly/W4z0Lm
   - Tech Comm Professional Development: 2013 Conference Overview, by
   Connie Giordano | http://bit.ly/UY4RP0

*Technical Communication news on
http://TechWhirl.com/news<http://techwhirl.com/news>:
*

·         TechScribe Releases Term-checking Tool for ASD-STE Controlled
Language | http://bit.ly/SST5sl

*Tech Comm Jobs:*

·         Technical Communication Job Summary January 13, 2013 |
http://bit.ly/VNyvJa
Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

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   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
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   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*: Vancouver Island University <http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>

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