A sunny and hot day in Dallas has me staring out the window wishing I was outside instead of sitting out my computer listening to Nickelback waiting for a call with one of TechWhirl’s writers. Hell, I just wrote our weekly update with an underlying theme of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Life has been moving fast over the last six weeks for the company. We’ve rolled out our first redesign, attended the largest convention for technical communicators in the country (STC Summit) and started publishing content for the first time in two years on the website.
The redesign took far longer than I anticipated but needed to happen. We’ve teed up another redesign later this year, but this one provides easier navigation and doesn’t cause blackouts when stared at for more than 30 seconds. The darn thing still flashes more than I’d like but that’s a function of the sponsor ads more than design.
The Society of Technical Communications has a convention each May. Who are they? Here’s their definition:
STC is the world’s largest and oldest professional association dedicated to the advancement of the field of technical communication. The Society’s members span the field of the technical communication profession and reach across every industry and continent. In fact, the Society has members in almost 50 countries and is continuing to grow rapidly outside of North America and Europe.
Frankly, their people are our people. Heck TECHWR-L.COM was the first Tech Writer email List back in 1993. We were able to work a deal with them to do cross-promotions over the next year. It’s our first partnership and it’s pretty exciting.
The Summit ran from May 15 to 18th in Sacramento, California. Other than the terrible weather, the event was a great success for us. Connie and I got to network with many current and potential sponsors, as well as, get to know a lot of the attendees. To be honest, until that point, this whole thing just seemed like a side project but after meeting people who have or currently use the site and email discussion list – it’s now real.
We have a chance to create an online trade magazine and fill a huge void in this industry. Starting on the May 15th we started filling that void with our first articles. Connie and I were able to punch out an editorial calendar and basic plan for publishing content. We have a new article on Monday, new poll question on Tuesday, classic article on Wednesday, and a recap on Friday. It’s a pace we can keep while looking for more sponsors and writers.
The feedback and numbers have looked good. We also turned on our Twitter Account (@TechWriterToday) and Facebook Page prior to the event. We’ve seen growth in website hits, followers and “Likes” so we much be doing something right.
