2010 Awards Night Video

If you missed the party, here are some sights and sounds from the event. If you were there, take a look; you might see yourself!

> 2010 Southwestern Ontario Chapter Awards Night

Many thanks to Rhonda Lee for putting the video together.

STC Celebrates Excellence

by Patrice Bernard

Many people assume that it is easy to write – reports, letters, blogs. For some it is true, and the evidence is obvious. For others, it is not so. A well written document is magical; easy to read and easy to understand no matter how complicated the subject. The reader’s eyes just flow across the words almost effortlessly. Isn’t that the craft of technical writing?

During Awards Night, held on the evening of April 6, 2010, the Society for Technical Communication Southwestern Ontario Chapter (STC – SOC) celebrated the excellence of the written word and the contributions made by students and writing professionals to the development and promotion of both the Society’s mission and our Chapter.

Three award categories were recognised during the wine and cheese gathering. Debbie Kerr (past President STC – SOC) and Fei Min Lorente (current President STC – SOC) presented certificates to the recipients.

From left to right: Alex Chortos, Arthur Churchyard, and Ushnish De

The first was the Heidi Thiessen Memorial University Student Award – named in memory of a devoted mentor of students and young writers, this recognition is awarded to a 3rd or 4th year student who submits a cover letter, writing samples and a record of academic achievement. A panel of judges chooses the top three entries.

First Place was awarded to Alex Chortos a 4th year Nanotechnology Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. Alex’s submissions were Modeling of Diffusion of Excitons Generated by Pulsed Laser Excitation in Titanium Dioxide Thin Film and Analysis of the Process of Measuring Electrical Properties of Silicon Nanocrystals Embedded in a Silicon Oxide Matrix. The judges remarked that “Alex did a commendable job of presenting a highly technical topic, while being constrained by standard scientific reporting methods.” Alex received $1,000.00, plus an STC Student Membership.

Second Place was awarded to Arthur Churchyard, a 4th year Biology and Environmental Studies student at the University of Guelph. Arthur’s submissions were entitled The sticky side of water and waste–water treatment and Video offers best practices for water controllers. The judges noted that “Arthur’s work was consistent with the requirements for a journalistic piece. Language was appropriate for the audience, and the material, especially in the first article, was well organized and engaging.” Arthur received $500.00, plus an STC Student Membership.

Third Place was awarded to Ushnish De, a 4th year Honours Computational Mathematics student at the University of Waterloo. Ushnish’s submissions were IReport for Reports and The Velocity System. The judges commented that “Ushnish’s piece on IReport did a good job of describing the work involved, and the procedures in particular are appropriately chunked and easy to follow.” Ushnish received $200.00, plus an STC Student Membership.

The second award category presented was the 2009/2010 STC Regional Technical Communication Competition recognising excellence in online communication and technical publications. This year STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter partnered with STC Toronto to judge and select the best entries.

Roxanne Eszes, a member of STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter, received an Award of Merit for her online tutorial entitled Segregated Funds E-Learning Course. The judges commented that “the test exercises are well designed.” Roxanne, owner of Learning Partner, develops online tutorials for the insurance and financial sectors. People successfully completing Roxanne’s tutorials receive continuous education credits toward the maintenance of their professional designations.

The third award category during the evening was the Distinguished Chapter Service Award which acknowledges the work of those Chapter members who repeatedly provide exemplary service to the Society through their activities. Lori Jankowski was recognised for her great service, her sense of professionalism, and her commitment to the Chapter during the past 8 years.

Lori has served on the STC-SOC council, in various roles, for almost as long as she has been a technical communicator. She has worked in a team of writers, as an independent contractor, and as a lone writer. As a former manager said, “she continually demonstrated a passion for communication and a genuine enthusiasm for delving into various technical issues with the goal of writing the clearest, most audience-friendly documentation possible, which she was regularly successful at accomplishing.” Lori currently works for North Plains Systems in Toronto, and in spite of the distance, continues to be a member of the STC-SOC.

Congratulations again to all recipients. It was a pleasure for me to attend the relaxed social gathering where I witnessed members renewing acquaintances, welcoming visitors and recognising writing excellence.

Trademarks™ and ©opyrights Demystified

By Jim Bousquet

Have you ever wondered how to properly attribute trademarks to their owners? Finding authoritative sources on correct trademark usage can be difficult, which is why the STC’s Southwestern Ontario Chapter was particularly fortunate to have Richard McClurg, Senior Marketing Manager at ON Semiconductor’s Medical Division, speak about both copyrights and trademarks on March 9. Richard has 17 years of experience applying trademark and copyright guidelines while creating, launching and working with global brands and the related marketing and technical communications.

The bottom line? Following what other companies and publishers do might not be the way to go. As Richard noted, ‘Even in larger organizations, guidelines for claiming and acknowledging copyrights and trademarks may not reflect current law or best practices.’

Copyright

As writers, many of us are somewhat familiar with the concepts, if not the laws, surrounding copyright. Copyright laws exist to balance access to creators’ works with their right to make a living. Creators automatically own the copyright on their work unless the work was part of a job for an employer or client. In these cases the party paying for the work owns the copyright, unless a contract states otherwise.

While notice isn’t required in Canada or most countries, it is required in some so proper notice is a good idea. Proper notice includes (in any order):

• The ‘C in a circle’ symbol (©)
• The year of publication
• The name of the copyright owner

Company style guides should include a format for copyright notices. The actual word copyright isn’t required. Interestingly, the commonly used phrase ‘All rights reserved’ is obsolete. It’s a vestige of the Buenos Aires Copyright Convention, whose signatory countries are all now members of the Berne Convention.

Trademarks

Trademarks distinguish a seller’s product, creating brand awareness and expectation for consumers. Trademarks can be logos, slogans, or even designs (the shape of the Coca-Cola bottle is one). Owens-Corning used the pink colour of their fibreglass insulation as a trademark. Harley-Davidson was unsuccessful in their attempt to register their motorcycles’ familiar rumbling sound as a trademark, because engine noise was deemed to be integral to the function of the product. On the other hand, a Netherlands marketer was able to register the scent of ‘fresh cut grass’ for tennis balls.

Registering a trademark, while not mandatory, provides evidence of ownership and ensures that the mark is unique. In the US, proper use of trademarks can affect the amount of damages the owner can claim in an infringement suit.

Owners can lose the rights to their trademarks if:

• They use them inconsistently
• They fail to police them
• The mark becomes a generic term

The last point explains why some companies seem to have such extensive guidelines and requirements around the use of their trademarks. Corn flakes, zipper, escalator, aspirin and many other generic words were once trademarks. The Google trademark is also in danger of becoming a generic term. Richard pointed out that while the word has made it into some dictionaries, the dictionary definitions are careful to state that Google is a trademark.

So just what are the guidelines to use a trademark properly?

• Distinguish it from surrounding text (by using quotation marks, initial capitals, etc.)
• Use it as an adjective modifying a noun (instead of ‘a Kleenex’, it’s ‘a Kleenex tissue’), or follow with the work brand (as in ‘Band-aid brand adhesive bandages)
• Never pluralize the trademark; instead pluralize the generic word (rather than ‘two Oreos’, it’s ‘two Oreo cookies’)
• Never make the trademark possessive, unless it already is
• Never use the trademark as a verb
• Be consistent and careful to avoid deviations (for example, it’s ‘Coca-Cola’, not ‘CocaCola’; ‘A&W’, not ‘A and W’; and so on); a deviation is a different trademark

Complicating things, some companies have trademarks that are the same as their trade names. For example, Oracle Corporation has a database product with the registered trademark Oracle. While it would be correct to use the possessive when writing about the company (for example, ‘Oracle’s third quarter earnings’), it’s incorrect to refer to the product that way (as in ‘Oracle’s data compression feature’). Similarly, it would be incorrect to use the ® symbol with Oracle the company.

Richard brought this subject to life with plenty of engaging examples. He described which symbols to use when and how to give proper notice in Canadian, US and international markets. For more information, refer to:

• The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/)
• The Canadian Copyright Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42)
• The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know by Stephen Fishman (http://www.nolo.com/products/the-copyright-handbook-COHA.html)
• Michael Geist’s blog on Canadian copyright reform (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/)
• The Canadian Trade-marks Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/T-13)
• The International Trademark Association (http://www.inta.org/downloads/documents/2009_TrademarkUse.pdf)
• Patent, Copyright & Trademark by Richard Stim (http://www.nolo.com/products/patent-copyright-&-trademark-PCTM.html).

About Jim Bousquet
After 14 years as a professional engineer in the database, hearing aid, semiconductor and medical measurement industries, Jim Bousquet (jim.bousquet@primal.com) turned to technical writing and now works at Primal, a semantic technology company in Waterloo. Besides being Southwestern Ontario Chapter’s treasurer, he enjoys running, cooking and playing the bagpipes, and would like to travel much, much more.

What Makes a Good Website?

The STC Leadership Community Resource (LCR) sponsored Tom Johnson, who offered to critique some STC community websites during a free webinar. In addition to being a WordPress consultant, Tom is a senior technical writer for a non-profit organization in Salt Lake City, Utah. He writes a popular blog, Idratherbewriting.com, where he explores the latest trends in technical communication. He also records podcasts of interviews with technical writing luminaries around the world.

Tom had a co-presenter, Will Sansbury, who is a usability specialist in the area of web-based design.

The session ran overtime, so I couldn’t stay until the end, but here’s what I learned:

• They suggested using SharePoint as a CMS (Content Management System) for your website. Its one drawback is that it’s hard to make it look less like SharePoint.
  
• SharePoint has a Wiki that can be used for meetings, newsletters or news items.
  
• You only need generic skills to work with SharePoint, but you need specialized skills to customize it.
  

They critiqued the following three websites:

Twin Cities (http://www.stctc.org/)

• Protected site; social networking component so you can find other members
  
• Can load a photo and profile; good for interactivity, bad for broadening user base - since people are loading personal information, you can’t make it public
  
• Recommend adding an RSS feed for the blog; the feed enables easier access for RSS users
  
• Note: Facebook is blocked by some employers; if you plan to use Facebook to communicate with your members, their access might be limited
  
• Allows members to post jobs (with recommendations)—the personal recommendations are useful
  
• Job bank restricted to members; while this enhances member value, it limits the number of people who can see the jobs, and discourages employers from posting
  
• Everyone on the council is able to publish on the website; takes the pressure off the webmaster

Heartland (http://www.heartland-stc.org/)

• It’s very attractive; aesthetics count
  
• They have a problem making changes to the website because only one person (the webmaster) has access
  
• Static site; they can’t have more than one person making changes to the website
  
• He recommended adding interactivity, such as a discussion list, a Wiki or a blog
  
• All community websites should have the STC logo and a link to Head Office

Technical Editing SIG (http://www.stc-techedit.org/)

• Using Tiki; good because it’s open source, which means it’s free, there are a reasonable number of people who know how to use it, there are good sources of information about it, and it allows the website to be dynamic
  
• Opening new pages is slow
  
• The email list postings are automatically copied to a discussion forum to allow people to search the information

My notes abruptly end here because I had to leave the webinar, but if you visit some of the sites listed above, you might find some inspiration for your website.