October 2016
| Professional development opportunities abound this month, and it's not too late to sign up – we'll be hosting Dave Gash and Rahel Anne Bailie here in Godzone over the next two weeks and the TechCommWire team wishes them a very warm welcome. In this month's issue, we call for presenters at Collaborate 2017, showcase Sue Woolley's recent articles on business analysis and business continuity, and put out a call for an interviewer for our featured TC column, and more. Grant Mackenzie returns with a little friend to Let's Tech Communicate – this time introducing project planning with Snakes and Ladders (yes, really), the UK Government's Absolutely Fabulous User Testing (which proves, among other things, that the choice of button text makes a difference), and more of the fascinating and useful from around the 'Net. |
From the PresidentWe always knew October was going to be busy. Next week I'm off to meet some of our Australian colleagues at the ASTC Conference in Melbourne. Like all conferences, it's an enjoyable way to network while soaking up new ideas. Then there's also UX New Zealand, and Clarity2016 following in early November. Meanwhile our planning for Collaborate 2017 is well under way, with some fantastic speakers confirmed. We're accepting proposals until 17 October – have you sent yours yet? | |
2017 Conference Call for Proposals – time’s running out!Leap out of your comfort zone and get out among New Zealand’s best tech communicators. We’re calling for presenters to share their experiences and knowledge at Collaborate, the 2017 TechCommNZ Conference. If you’ve got a great collaboration story to share we’d love to hear from you. | |
Wanted: TC InterviewerThe TechCommWire team is looking for 1-2 volunteers to prepare the regular "Featured TC" article. This is a great opportunity to meet colleagues (even if only "virtually") and contribute to the collegial network that is TechCommNZ. The main purpose of this feature is to put faces to names and showcase the interesting and varied work our members do. | |
Keep it Physical, Make it RealSouthern Communicator’s June issue contains some more great reading for technical communicators in Australasia – from the powerful language of stories, to power of adapting your competencies to different roles. | |
Let's Tech CommunicateThis month we traverse the world for advice that works from governments that don’t. We roll the dice and apply Snakes and Ladders logic to content and collaboration. We check out the skills and technologies of fellow TCs in the good old USA. We discover codecs and containers to be far more interesting and comprehensible than first thought. We add animated GIFs to our social media. For the grand finale, we tame the beast – yes, Microsoft Word, cowering, compliant, and contained. | |
From the BloggersIn recent blogs, Tyson Barnett has been opening the eyes of Hamilton students to the joys of TC (and the chance to play Pokémon Go), and Emma Reynolds reports on what she learnt about other people at a branch event in Christchurch. | |
EventsJoin in, learn, meet new people...
18 October: Christchurch Branch: 19 October: Auckland Branch: |