I will be attending the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference and Workshops on March 8-9, 2013. Lori Corbett and the conference team have invited speakers from across the US to provide a great program. I’m looking forward to talking with many technical communicators and sharing our ideas. I will be involved in several activites during the conference and Saturday workshops:

• WordPress — More Than Just Blogs

  This session outlines how WordPress provides a content management system that can deliver content in more ways than as just a blog. During this session, we will explore WordPress basics and several example sites that use WordPress in different ways, including an integrated technical support and online help answer station. This session provides various lessons learned during these projects and describes ways to bring related content areas together.

• Future Technologies Bring Many Opportunities

  This lightning talk takes a journey through some new technologies and how they may affect ways we design and deliver user assistance. As technologies change, we change the terminology we use…from pressing keys to using a mouse. In the beginning of a new technology, we also need to explain the basics of that technology until its basic features become common knowledge. With touch devices, we now use words like tap, pinch, and swipe. What terms will we use for the next generations of motion, voice, and other types of hybrid devices to come? Technologies also change how we deliver user assistance. For example, we embed information in the UI itself so people don’t realize they are getting assistance. The Web gives us many new delivery formats to consider. It also allows us to provide content on demand and to use continuous publication methods. We can even use RSS feeds to deliver content in ways chosen by our audiences.

• Interviewing and Hiring: Both Sides of the Story

  This closing session explores the interviewing and hiring process from both the company and the candidate perspectives. Finding the right fit for future success is the key. It involves a thoughtful process that focuses on the requirements of the position, the team, and the work environment. During this session, we will discuss how to identify successful candidates, and how to find the job that is right for you.