On November 12, 2008, I joined Twitter and began to chirp with everyone else in Twitterville.

Twitter is often called microblogging, that is, short posts of maximum 140 characters. I’ll let the Common Craft show explain Twitter in Plain English.

You can find me on Twitter as @kmdk. Actually, my debut on Twitter was November 2, 2008 with @stcaccess. It was a move to promote the STC beyond the world as we knew it (with the blog and the discussion list).

You see, some community leaders in STC, the Society for Technical Communication, had discussed how to find new members for our society. Were discussion lists on email no longer the hottest attraction around? Where were the new members? I had recently discovered Digital Ethnography, a blog for “a Kansas State University working group led by Dr. Michael Wesch dedicated to exploring and extending the possibilities of digital ethnography”. One particular blog post had a video that caught my attention. This video indicated that if STC was a blackboard in a classroom, nobody was paying attention to it! STC, and in this particular case, the AccessAbility SIG, had to go where the people were, that is, our potential new members. STC Special Interest Groups are virtual communities, so they are online, of course. However, the online medium must be used wisely. The Society itself may have and need a home on a more traditional (at least on the surface) website, but it needed the organic arms that Google and other search engines would discover and relay throughout cyberspace.

In other words, the idea of trying Twitter was born. I started out on November 2, but it wasn’t long before I had to have my own account. @stcaccess is an account dedicated to topics about accessibility and technical communication. It could have a personality, but I couldn’t get too personal, if you know what I mean. It had to stay professional. If there were interesting conversations going on (Twitter is about conversations), I felt I couldn’t participate as @stcaccess. I became @kmdk.

Of course, managing two accounts was a pain, to be honest. Then I found Twhirl, thanks to @stcchicago. I could run both accounts at the same time with Twhirl. @stcchicago introduced me to Twuffer, too. Twuffer allows me to schedule tweets. What a perfect tool for a business or organization Twitter account! I use it, and I notice that @humanfactors uses it, too. As well as @stcchicago. Organizations have events or non-urgent issues that they want to report to their followers, and they don’t want to forget to do so. With Twuffer, I schedule 3 to 4 tweets a day at intervals. Spread across the day, the tweets should not overwhelm followers. Scheduling means that in a very short time, I can plan tweets for several days. Because I can plan them, I can also give meaning to the order of the tweets. For example, two successive tweets can relate to the same topic, promoting the idea of that topic. Could I call that a metatweet??

People who know how busy I am would think I am certifiably insane to take on this task. Well, we can leave that for another discussion, but this actually doesn’t take up time in the same way. I might have a task that will take me 3 hours of concentrated effort to complete. A tweet has only 140 characters. I can quickly type and send a brief message of that size on the train, in the bus, going to lunch, waiting for the water to boil, and so on. (I bought an iPhone about the same time that I began to use Twitter.) Because tweets are only 140 characters at most, they are easy to digest. I can read them all very quickly. Many link to interesting articles. OK, that can take time, but I mark those tweets for later reading – and I do get back to them quickly and read them – on the train, in the bus, …

Today, I saw signs that this was The Right Thing To Do. I saw and experienced conversations that only happened because of these small messages tossed back and forth on the internet. They were constructive, educational, kind, inspiring, moving. Yeah, they were! Specks in the universe perhaps, but mountains in the “twitterverse” – at least, my corner. And I felt really happy and privileged to see it all happen right in front of me. I will still blog on my various blogs, but now I have an easy outlet for sharing many of the smaller snippets of information that come my way. I did raise my eyebrows when I first heard of Twitter. Not any more. Tweeting is just fine by me!

Happy birthday, little blog!

The quantity of posts has not rocked the blogosphere, but oh well. I like knowing it is here to record my writings when I do get the chance. Lately, I have been pulled in other directions (again). For a long time, I have been blogging elsewhere. When I finish work and then other blogging and then other tasks, well, it doesn’t leave much time for my personal writing.

Where have I been blogging?

Over at webgrrls.dk. And the STC AccessAbility SIG blog.

I started twittering in early November for the STC AccessAbility SIG. I got so hooked that about a week later, I started twittering on my own.

My love of WordPress had me say yes to help get the STC Europe SIG site up and running on a WordPress installation. That got hairy! We had to do a domain transfer and ISP transfer, and even though things were friendly all around, those things take time. To top things off, I launched that site just as WordPress 2.7 came out. Something went wonky, and the back-end looks horrendous. Might be a missing file. I must get that fixed ASAP so others in the SIG group can also post entries, and so I can move beyond the standard theme. But…

In the meantime, my computer started behaving badly. Perhaps it was old age. I don’t know. After gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, old faithful had to go. Not before a little mind-meld to get the data transferred to…. my new iMac. Yes, I have crossed over – some will say to the dark side. I say to a new adventure. My husband still has his PC, so there is plenty to drive this geek crazy.

With the holiday season in full swing and time off work, I expect to catch up on many overdue tasks, such as my work with STC (where I am SIG Advocate and more) and my ongoing dust-bunny battle. As well as tweeting and blogging somewhere – but hopefully more frequently here. I do have notes from recent activities that I need to blog, but right now, I just wanted to send a birthday greeting here before I head for the kitchen and some nice hot chocolate!

If you are not sure, here are some examples of people within the technical communication field:

Accessibility analysts, content developers, documentation specialists, indexers, information architects, information designers, instructional designers, localization specialists, policies and procedures specialists, researchers, teachers, technical illustrators, technical writers, technical editors, translators, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, and Web designers and developers. The list goes on.

Why I am writing to technical communicators? There has never been a more important time for us to stay connected and work together to advance our careers and profession.

One valuable way to stay connected is through an organization like STC, the Society for Technical Communication.

As I state on my site, I belong to STC, and I am quite active in STC. I feel that my STC membership has been a real boost to my career, and I would like to see more technical communciators experience the same great benefits.

• I have gained a network of colleagues and experts that I can call upon for advice or feedback.
• The continuing education at the annual conference and the live Web seminars increase my professional knowledge and skills, and continue to strengthen my value to my employer. (My membership played a positive role in getting me my current job!)
• Participation in the virtual communities of STC fosters that network and keeps me abreast of job opportunities near and far, as well as continually exposing me to new ideas and thoughts, which helps me to grow as a professional technical communicator and as a person.
• I know I can count on the members of my SIGs (special interest groups) for their knowledge and opinion on changing technologies, techniques, and tools. There are 21 SIGs in STC and I belong to 6 of them.
• I can develop skills of leadership, management, strategy, and planning – to name just a few – through participation in STC leadership, whether it be as webmaster, manager, treasurer, and so on. Currently, I am a co-manager of the AccessAbility SIG, webmaster for the Europe SIG, as well as the STC Advocate. Maybe that sounds like a lot? That is why I am encouraging you to join in the fun and share the experience!

STC is conducting a membership drive right now. You can join for the year 2009 and get the final two months of 2008 for free!

Do you still want to hear more about STC? Read our powerful story. Browse through the benefits of membership. Call the STC Member Services staff at +1 (703) 522-4114 with any questions you may have. Ask me questions in the comments field here on the blog.

When you sign up for your membership, and you are a brand-new, never-before-an-STC-member, put my name in the box that asks who referred you, as well as the SIG that will receive credit. I don’t really care whether you put my name in the box, but do add the name of a SIG that you will join so that they can benefit from our current membership campaign. I love my SIGs so I feel a bit torn in my loyalties. The AccessAbility SIG and the Europe SIG are the tiniest of these groups (but they have dreams and ambitions to share with you!), so I would encourage support for them. Seriously, investigate the SIGs and find the ones that suit your needs; then give them your support immediately by naming them on your membership form.

For me, paying dues is one of the best investments I make each year for my professional development. I do not use my blog for advertising, but I feel justified in helping others discover the value of a professional society that can support them throughout their career.

I hope that you will join us very soon.

Regards,

Karen

Today’s webcast was valuable to me for my life outside work. When I am not at the day job that puts bread on the table and provides fun challenges for a technical communicator, I am the “SIG Advocate” for the leaders of all the special interest groups (SIG) in STC. We are spread across 9 time zones and have different areas of focus. All our activities are volunteer – no one gets paid. So how do we manage ourselves and each other and get the job done?

When I saw that today’s topic was “Leading Virtual Teams: Managing When People are at a Distance”, I had to sign up to pick up some tips. We are all intelligent and independent adults, and we all lead busy lives and have diverse interests. How can we best share our knowledge and experiences as SIG managers to benefit the members of our SIGs and encourage more technical communicators to join STC (and our SIGs) to discover the benefits that we can offer? That does take coordination. It also takes time and care.

The topic was presented by Jessica Lipnack of NetAge, Inc. If you are interested in virtual teams, networks, and collaboration, I encourage you to hop over to that site and start poking around. The site contains material that was in today’s presentation. Go look at the methods, or learn the four common network principles (the Why, When, How, and Who).

Best of all, the second edition of Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps’ book, Virtual Teams, is available for download for those eager to dive into this topic. This is complements my other book on the same topic: Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools by by M. Katherine Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny.

There is a lot of input from the webcast that needs to settle in my brain. I picked up lots of ideas that I can apply to our monthly conference calls, use of email, and the use of our wiki. I can’t say what those ideas are exactly right now. Lipnack presented ideas, which I sense are worth investigating and discussing with the SIG leaders. The title of this blog entry comes partly from the title of the topic, partly from something mentioned in the webcast. We are moving into, or are already immersed in, an age of complexity. To cope with whatever challenges this new age brings us, we need new behaviors for the groups that we formed and reformed for various purposes during the last 10,000 years or so. Antiquated structures and behaviors for our teams or networks won’t cut it anymore.

I encourage you to visit the AMA site and find out whether there are upcoming webcasts that cover your interests and needs. I learned about them in early September in time to catch tips about distraction and how to find focus in a hyperkinetic world. I’ve been hooked ever since! Today’s webcast will be available in about 3 days in an audio file on the AMA site.

And now for some dinner…

The real motivator for reading it is an upcoming keynote by Rheingold at the STC conference in Philadelphia, June 1-4. I’d like to attend the keynote having read the speaker’s book.

The book is slightly historical, but I find the mix of history, internet, geeky stuff, and human behavior utterly fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed the Victorian Internet, I have Where Wizards Stay Up Late in my to-read pile, so reading Virtual Communities is a no-brainer. Oh, and I borrowed his Tools for Thought from the library in MIT’s reprint from 2000. The online version of Tools for Thought looks like it might be from 1985.

Despite its age, the online version from 1985 can still be an interesting read. I think Rheingold has something to say that isn’t locked down to a specific point in time. Other people can make long-lasting statements on this still young topic. For example, Rheingold emphasizes these words:

Will “to be on-line” be a privilege or a right?

They are taken from a 1969 article by J. C. R. Licklider, Robert Taylor, and E. Herbert entitled “The Computer as a Communication Device”. Nearly 40 years later, we are discussing net neutrality, online accessibility, One Laptop Per Child, and more – issues that concern who controls the access to information and who has the know-how to get the information. This is just one tiny example of how this not-so-very old field or phenomenon raises some very fundamental human or society issues.

That is what makes this a fascinating read.

Some of Rheingolds anecdotes from the early WELL years illustrate clearly to me how the term “virtual community” popped into his head. Being a member of several virtual communities, I am fascinated by what makes them tick, so reading about early examples is enlightening. It also shows you that there is really not that much that is new under the sun. People share love and flames alike – then and now. The caring stories, such as Elly’s health issues in India or another family’s encounter with leukemia, restore your faith in humanity. They are not there so much for the feel-good effect; they are there to show how the virtual community reflects the power we have in our face-to-face communities – and vice versa.

I feel that these stories can demystify computers and the internet for those people who still hold computers at arm’s length. Oh, they may use them by necessity at work, but not one second more. I can respect the desire for a work/life balance, but I think placing them in a mental leper colony is bit much. I think we need to embrace the role of computers and the internet to stay in control, both of the tools themselves, but also of the privileges and potential they bring.

Chapter 2 includes a section about “Gift Economies and Social Contracts in Cyberspace”. Many sections had me nodding in agreement, such as

Virtual communities can help their members, whether or not they are information-related workers, to cope with information overload. The problem with the information age, especially for students and knowledge workers who spend their time immersed in the info flow, is that there is too much information available and few effective filters for sifting the key data that are useful and interesting to us as individuals.

Recognize that overwhelming feeling?

This one justifies my information junkie habit:

This informal, unwritten social contract is supported by a blend of strong-tie and weak-tie relationships among people who have a mixture of motives and ephemeral affiliations. It requires one to give something, and enables one to receive something. I have to keep my friends in mind and send them pointers instead of throwing my informational discards into the virtual scrap heap. It doesn’t take much energy to do that, since I have to sift that information anyway to find the knowledge I seek for my own purposes; it takes two keystrokes to delete the information, three keystrokes to forward it to someone else. And with scores of other people who have an eye out for my interests while they explore sectors of the information space that I normally wouldn’t frequent, I find that the help I receive far outweighs the energy I expend helping others: a marriage of altruism and self-interest.

As an interested and active member of several virtual communities, I am eager to read more. I’ll blog about my thoughts as I go along.