The Technical Communication Body of Knowledge Task Force is developing a pathway for people interested in technical communication to find and navigate the huge amounts of knowledge in the technical communication profession. This knowledge currently exists on many different websites and publications. There is no central point that directs people to it.

Phase 1 in creating a Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TC-BOK) is developing the STC Knowledge Portal and creating a draft site map. The site map is a way of organizing the domains of knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary for the practice of technical communication.

We need your help in refining this map and ensuring that, a wide variety of technical communicators can find what they need on the site. Please give us your feedback.

The next step will be to populate the site with content. Initially, this site will be a way to direct people to the knowledge that we have. Eventually, it will become the place that can expand as our knowledge expands, and we hope it will become the definitive source for "what you need to know to be a technical communicator."

Thanks in advance for your help and comments.

Hillary Hart
Mark Hanigan
Co-chairs, TC-BOK Task Force

STC's Technical Communication Summit 2009 Call for Proposals

STC's Technical Communication Summit 2009 will be held 3-6 May 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, in the heart of downtown Atlanta, GA. The link below will take you to the Summit Call for Proposals:

http://www.softconference.com/subs/stc/2009/

You may submit more than one proposal, but each must be submitted separately. Proposals may be submitted and update online until 10:00 AM (Eastern), Monday 20 October.

Should you have questions about your proposal content or format, contact a Track Manager (contact information may be found in the call for proposals link). For general information or questions about the system, please contact Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education and Membership, STC or by phone +1 (571) 366-1904.

The Salary Database contains wage and employment data for U.S.-based technical writers. Members can access the Salary Database free of charge on the STC website.

MadCap Software and ComponentOne used the 2008 Technical Communication Summit as a platform to announce they would offer discounts on products to STC members. The offer is an exclusive member benefit and not available otherwise. Details on the amount of the discounts and products offered can be found under the Membership tab of STC's homepage on the Web.

Elizabeth Pohland has been selected as the new editor of Intercom, the monthly magazine of the Society for Technical Communication. For many years, Pohland, an STC member, served the Folger Shakespeare Library as editor and designer of the scholarly journal Shakespeare Quarterly, as consultant to the Folger Magazine (a membership publication), and as contributor to the Folger Website and branding, among multiple other publications and multimedia projects.

Pohland brings to Intercom over ten years of extensive experience as an editor, content and production manager, designer, and writer. She introduced usability and readability standards to the Folger's publications, and she has researched new technologies in editorial management software. Her freelance editing includes topics as diverse as Japanese anime, baseball, and memoirs.

"We are especially pleased to have selected an editor with excellent credentials who is also an STC member and understands technical communication," said Susan Burton, STC executive director. "I was also excited to see several candidates mention they were STC members in their resumes."

Pohland received her bachelor's degree in English and French from Hollins University; a master's in English from Virginia Tech University, where she interned with distinguished professor and poet Nikki Giovanni and won an award for her thesis; and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University.

A selection of photos from STC's 55th annual conference held June 1-4 in Philadelphia are now online. Several photographers contributed images including members, staff, and hired photographers. The images and captions may be seen at http://www.stc.org/edu/sessionMaterials.asp.

Learn about new developments in e-learning and see cutting-edge tools and technologies in action at the Chicago e-Learning & Technology Showcase, sponsored by STC Chicago and the Chicago chapter of the International Society for Performance Improvement. Hear from industry experts and network with instructional designers, technical writers, trainers, content managers, and media developers. Join us in Chicago on August 20 for this exciting, full-day event. More information can be found at "http://www.stc-chicago.org/portal/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=320".

In 1979, Katherine Lawrence and Marianne Schreiber of Hewlett-Packard first coined the term "glass ceiling" to describe the barriers for career advancement that women face in male-dominated companies. But there is another type of glass ceiling that we don't like to talk much about.

The September/October issue of Intercom has been posted to the STC website