Devil Mountain Views

Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of Northern California STC


May/June 2002

 

It Takes a Sexually Stimulated Man to Make a Chicken Affectionate

Don Huntington, production editor, takes a look at localization and the many localization resources available on the Net. His localization humbugs prove that effective translation can take place only when you translate the content and not just the words!

Cross-cultural Interactions: A Humorous Anecdote

John Gallagher relates the linguistic misunderstandings and confusions which are part of his everyday work life in Taiwan.

Home Away from Home

Two professionals working in a foreign culture share their impressions and experiences and tell us how they adapted to the new ways.

Touchstone Awards Special Report

Becky Rude, co-editor, met the winners of the Best of Show awards and talked with them about their award-winning projects. She lets us in on the secret to their success.

Blast from the Past

Ashwini Tharval, co-editor, concludes our journey through past newsletters with a look at old mastheads and how they have changed over the years.

 

Upcoming Chapter Meetings

East Bay Chapter meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr., Danville, 925-735-5700.

Be sure to take advantage of our advance reservation discount ($22 by reservation, $26 at the door).

Date Speaker Topic
May 2 Linda Stoneall Documentation vs. Training Materials
June 6

 

Mark Shaltz

EBSTC 40th anniversary party

Standing Out in the Crowd— Interview Techniques That Will Make You Memorable

For further information about meetings, see ebstc.org/ChapterMeetings.html.

Touchstone Awards Special Report

Don't miss Becky Rude's summary of the April Touchstone Awards conference.

Society News

Do you have any memories of STC?

STC is turning 50 next year and in preparation for the anniversary celebration, the Society is seeking humorous and inspirational anecdotes. Some of these stories will be published in a brochure to be distributed to all members.

So if you want to see your memory in print, now is the chance. If you think of a story you'd like to include, send an e-mail message to Liz Babcock. The 50th annual conference will be held May 18–20, 2003, in Dallas, Texas.

Here are some more details from the anniversary committee:

The STC 50th Anniversary Committee is collecting memories and stories to be shared throughout the Society by means of commemorative literature and a special Website.

Whether you're a Society leader or a chapter member, a member of many years' duration or one who recently joined, a technical communication specialist or a novice, a U.S. member or one located in another country, we hope you will participate.

Those stories will be most useful to us if they are succinct (250 words or less on any given topic) and entertaining. We would love to receive several stories from you, with each story to the point and on a single topic.

Here are some questions we hope will inspire you:

  • What amusing or inspirational story can you tell us about how you joined the profession? How did you overcome obstacles that our members will find educational or amusing?
  • What career and/or Society highlight can you share with us? (We will construct a technical communication timeline, so your stories in this area could be especially helpful.)
  • What's your favorite STC memory?
  • What mentor or role model inspired you in your career or in the Society? What makes that person memorable? What did he/she do to help you?
  • What experiences, humorous or inspiring, have you had with our changing technology—typewriters to computers, red pencils to redlining?
  • What can you tell us about a chapter or regional event or accomplishment that changed you, your chapter, or the Society?

This list of questions is intended to rekindle your memories, not to restrict your flow of ideas.

STC @ 50

The Society has started accepting proposals for the 2003 annual conference. This conference marks the 50th anniversary of STC's conferences for technical communicators. The 50th annual conference will be held May 18–20, 2003, in Dallas, Texas.

The three-day conference organizes its sixty- or ninety-minute educational sessions, called technical sessions, into six stems ranging in content from management, writing, and editing to the latest in technical tools, usability findings, and information design. A fourth day presents half-day or full-day post-conference sessions covering the same range of topics in full-length workshops and tutorials, at an additional charge.

You can choose between various presentation formats—oral presentation, paper-based oral presentation, panel discussion, workshop, or demonstration.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please visit the STC site for more details (stc.org/PDF_Files/2003CallforProp.pdf). Your proposal must be postmarked by August 1, 2002, to be considered for STC's 50th annual conference.

Views from the Mountain

From the top of our mountain, we can see six active Northern California STC chapters. Each chapter meets on a different Wednesday or Thursday so you can attend all the meetings. Contact the respective presidents for more information or visit the chapter web site.

Wednesday
Week 1— Sacramento (President Bill_Robinson)
Week 2— Berkeley (President Kathryn Munn)
Week 3— San Francisco (President Marc Smircich)

Thursday
Week 1— East Bay (President Margie McCutcheon)
Week 3— North Bay (President Kurt Huget)
Week 4— Silicon Valley (President Guy Haas)

Membership Notes

If you receive a special award, promotion, or other professional recognition, please let us know. We would like to start printing this news to keep members informed of our chapter's accomplishments.

A warm welcome to the following new, transferring, and reinstated members:

  • Lisa M. Gaunt
  • Maura L. Boyle from the Berkeley chapter
  • Radhika Gopakumar from the Silicon Valley chapter
  • Mary L. Keplinger from the San Francisco chapter

Congratulations to Diana Wilcoxson for winning the distinguished chapter service award. This award was designed by the Society to recognize exemplary dedication to the chapter and its activities. Kudos, Diana

 

Touchstone Awards Special Report

By Becky Rude

Many EBSTC members were active as volunteers at this year's Touchstone Awards, which were held at the beginning of April at the San Ramon Marriott. I thought it would be interesting for you to meet the winners of the Best of Show awards and to let you in on their secrets!

Shown here is Linda Schaltz (second from right) and Gwaltney Mountford (far right), who set up the publications display.

Best of Show—Technical Publications: Bently Nevada Corporation

Joy Curtis accepted the award at Touchstone for her work on the ORBIT magazine project. Steve Sabin and Scott Meikrantz are also on the team. You can see reprints from the magazine on Bently's website.

Joy is the managing editor for ORBIT. Bently monitors the "health" of rotating and reciprocating machinery. According to Joy, "as Managing Editor, I not only shepherd the articles from start to finish through the review process and help decide the pagination of the magazine, but I also do the copyediting and proofreading, write abstracts of all the articles, request purchase orders and keep track of the budget, and maintain the shipping list to over 40 countries." Joyce has worked at Bently Nevada for three and a half years.

What are three of the biggest challenges you had on this project?

  • Getting the writers to turn the articles in on time.
  • Getting the reviewers to return the articles on time.
  • Staying within budget.

What are three things that led to the project's success?

  • Dedicated, hard-working team members.
  • Production artists and editors who pay attention to detail.
  • Following the standards we have set.

If you had to give advice to a new tech writer, what would it be?

First, become familiar with the company, the company standards, and use reference books often until the standards become ingrained. If the company has no standard, then ask if you can write one. (My favorite reference is The Gregg Reference Manual by William Sabin; I recommend it to everybody. For very technical publications, NIST's Guide for the Use of the International System of Units is excellent, especially for those of us in the United States who were not raised with these standards.)

Second, ask questions and network within the company as much as possible—find out who knows what, and then ask lots of questions.

Third, don't be afraid to make mistakes. We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. We are never finished learning—that is one of the exciting things about our profession.

Last, but of course not least, don't forget the basics of good writing of any type: organize your thoughts, write clearly and concisely, and always keep the reader in mind (know your audience).

What did you enjoy the most about the Touchstone Awards event?

I would have to say I really enjoyed the surprise of our team winning the Best of Show Award. I was totally in shock! But other than that, I really enjoyed meeting great people from so many businesses. This was the first STC event that I have attended, because Nevada is so far away from all of the chapter meetings and other events.

Best of Show – Online Communication: EPSON America, Inc.

Amy Dorsett and Warren Ernst accepted the award at Touchstone for their work on the EPSON Printer Information Center project. Amy is a technical editor who has been with EPSON for six years and Warren is a technical writer who has worked there for three years. Other team members are Karen Bergen, scriptwriter, and Linus Su, graphic artist.

How long did the project take?

Approximately seven weeks, though that time was also dedicated to other projects.

What are your roles? Since this project seems to combine tech writing and graphic artist skills, I'm curious whether you had an artist on the team.

Warren and I decided what graphic elements we wanted in the design, then a graphic designer (Linus) created the elements for us. Karen wrote the scripts and helped test the movies. Warren and I put all of the elements together to create the movies and the movie launcher in Flash. We created the animation, programmed the navigation and other interface elements, edited and imported the sound, and got the screen captures and animated them.

What are three of the biggest challenges you had on this project?

  • We decided that we didn't want to build separate movies for Windows and Macintosh, and I refused to simply eliminate the Macintosh movies. Instead, I programmed buttons and other navigational elements that allowed the user to specify his or her operating system, and to view only content related to that operating system. Some of the movies had shared elements, so I added automatic navigation that prevented building those segments into the movie timeline twice.
  • A second challenge was the coordination and organization of all the movies (there were 18). Warren built a great launcher interface that allows users to choose the topics they are interested in. We also had to link the movies together with a related topics feature that I created. All of this required lots of testing and action script checking.
  • A third challenge was creating an installer that worked on both platforms allowing us to install the Print Show directly onto the user's desktop where it would be easily accessible. Warren had to learn how to build an installer while working on the movies at the same time.

What are three things that led to the project's success?

  • User feedback from previous versions of Flash tutorials gave us quite a bit of information on how we could improve the movies.
  • Macromedia Flash is a great cross-platform tool for building our movies and deserves some of the credit. It is more than just a Web content utility; it creates self-contained applications that are stable and look great on both Windows and Macintosh systems.
  • We have an extremely supportive environment. Our management is always encouraging us to staying on the leading edge of the industry, constantly helping us to improve our documentation, and allows us to go in new directions to communicate information that we haven't explored in the past.

What would you do differently in the future?

In the future we plan to include native Mac OS X versions of the movies. I also learned the hard way that you have to crop screen captures to the exact pixel before animating them, or they'll shift around all over the screen.

If you had to give advice to a new tech writer, what would it be?

There's more to technical writing than just creating printed manuals, especially in the future, as costs must decrease for documentation. Learn how to communicate in several mediums, and learn to think visually, not just through text. For example, Warren and I are primarily writers, not artists or programmers, yet we were able to create technical "documentation" beyond the written word.

What did you enjoy the most about the Touchstone Awards event?

I enjoyed meeting people from all of the really cool Northern California tech companies. Warren enjoyed the brunch and getting to bask in the glow of warm applause.

 

Cultural Issues in Communication

By Elaine Winters

Elaine Winters gave a presentation based on the following article at the EBSTC meeting in March. She says she is a work in progress and still under construction. She is a Cross Cultural Educator and Instructional Designer, and is the co-author (with Rob Sellin) of Cultural Issues in Business Communication. More of her writing and information about how to order her book is available on her website.

Communication is more than just speaking, writing, and editing; it also involves information gathering and teamwork. In the economy of the new century, this means communicating cross-culturally. There are three main components to any communication:

  • Subject matter
  • Medium of delivery
  • Cultural considerations

Of the three, the third is generally ignored. While fashionable phrases get uttered— mostly, celebrating cultural diversity—what results are mostly exercises in politically correct language or attempts at controlling personal irritation. (Few people seem to feel the need to truly face the underlying issues that cloud even the simplest of delicate, and frequently confusing, cross-cultural interactions.)

Icebergs

Culture? People have characterized the idea to death. For our purposes let's define culture as the way in which each of us is programmed to behave in the environment. Cultures are like icebergs: some features are apparent to anyone not in a fog, while others are deeply hidden.

Above-the-surface features include overt behaviors: how people dress, eat, walk, talk, relate to one another, and conduct themselves during public ceremonies such as weddings or funerals.

Other aspects are so far below the surface that they are hard to recognize. We may see evidence of these aspects, but we usually cannot pinpoint them precisely and do not have a clue where they came from. They are hard to define even for our own culture because we take them in with our mother's language.
This might include such things as:

  • How do we encode and retrieve information?
  • What is justice?
  • What is music?
  • What is proper parenting?
  • How do we define beauty or ugliness?
  • What meaning is attached to "teaching" stories?
  • What does being well-educated mean?
  • What constitutes status?

High- And Low-Context Cultures

One of the deep or hidden aspects that differentiate cultures is the amount of context a culture's members expect in social interactions. People who study such things divide cultures into those that are high context, and those that are low context.

In general, high context cultures place great importance on ambience, decorum, the relative status of the participants in a communication, and the manner of a message's delivery.

Low context cultures tend to want to ignore such things and emphasize the content of a communication, an attitude that might be expressed in the phrase "cut to the chase."

A Very Expensive Mistake

Imagine a business environment where participants are meeting face-to-face for the first time, and are expected to make key decisions that will affect corporate goals and objectives. Included on the new team are people from Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Mexico, Chile, Germany, Denmark, and Canada. Formal introductions are made during a preliminary meeting while the team members eat breakfast.

After a while they move into the conference room where the tables and chairs are arranged facing the front of the room in traditional classroom style. The Canadians, the Germans, and the Danes look rather unhappy, and with a few disapproving words about this making for poor interaction, begin rearranging the furniture. The host Koreans look confused and make no comments. Neither do the other Asians or those from Latin America.

The meeting begins; the agenda is announced; issues are raised, discussed, and decided upon. At the end of the morning session, the Germans comment to the Danes that the Koreans, Chileans, Mexicans, and Malays have not said much. The Canadians and the Danes nod in agreement, and shrug.

After lunch a Mexican colleague takes the Canadian team leader aside and expresses very strong reservations about one of the decisions. The Canadian is aghast; the morning meeting has been wasted; the discussion will have to begin again. "Why didn't you say so during the meeting?" he fairly shouts.

What Happened?

For the Asians and Latin Americans, members of high-context societies, issues, circumstances, and relationships are as important as the work. Interpersonal relationships were not developed well enough in this fledgling team for an objection to be raised publicly. Also, team members with higher status in the organization were present. The cultural orientation of those from high-context societies insisted that comments be made at a more private (appropriate) time.

The others, coming from low-context cultures, just wanted to get the job done. The furniture was rearranged because they were interested in the task and in getting it accomplished as efficiently as possible.

Building Understanding

Start by understanding the cultures you are attempting to communicate with. Begin by looking for "rich points" such as those found in a culture's rituals. Rich points provide a web of associations. By analogy they may give you insights into the culture.

Reading rich points is similar to learning a new language. You're traveling and you notice such things as food and articles of clothing that are different, yet similar to things in your own culture. Your language skills say: replace this old word with this new one. (A serape is a blanket that is worn like a coat.)
Eventually you acquire a simple vocabulary in the new language.

Similarly, you are somewhat familiar with various rites and rituals—weddings, funerals, and rites of passage—that occur in every culture. Your cultural skills say: replace this idea with that one. Eventually, you begin to understand (superficially and overtly) the new cultural environment. A web of understanding begins to develop based on prior experiences.

Sometimes, the language and cultural cues are such that you have no experience with the situation or any clues at all. It is nearly impossible to develop a "web" in such a situation. At such times you need a cultural guide, someone to provide you with the clues you will need to develop understanding.

Common Denominators

Know your audience(s) well enough to be able to anticipate their reaction to your communication. It is impossible to learn all the cultures you must communicate with, especially if you are developing something for export to many countries. The best you can do is try to find a common denominator and work from there.

Conclusion

Remember, above all: reality is only an opinion—yours and everyone else's. Your special reality is formed in the cultural environment in which you were born, raised, and spent most of your life.
Your reality will never completely match someone else's. Find commonality, and work from there. Look for rich points and try to understand and use them. Create webs.

With hard work, and luck, you will find common denominators and achieve a high factor of mutuality in your cross-cultural communications.

 

In the President's Corner...

By Margie McCutcheon

It has been an honor to serve as president of the East Bay Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication for the 2001–2002 term. I have enjoyed working with our Administrative Council and the many volunteers who stepped forward to serve during the year. I believe the results of our efforts have enabled us to reach the objectives I outlined last June when I assumed office. Some of the objectives were to:

  • Resurrect the newsletter—Thanks to Becky Rude and Ashwini Tharval. (Also Don, Angelina, Elaine, and Hasmig)
  • Redesign the web site—Thanks to Jeannie Egbert, who set it up, and Janet Bran, who continues the redesign.
  • Secure a new meeting site—Mary McGreal and Cheryl Voloshin's success made a lot of members very happy.
  • Implement an archival process for chapter artifacts—June Schaefer, our historian, was ready to help.
  • Purchase a projector—Thanks to the support of the entire Administrative Council, we are now able to accommodate our guest speakers.

In addition to meeting those objectives, we were able establish a program to support our job-seeking members. Linda Shaltz (our Jobs Manager or "the jobs lady" as she is often called) invited recruiters to the meetings and set up the jobs page on our web site; Susan Harlan, our Education Manager, provided skill upgrade and job search information; and Scott Wallace contributed his newsletter "The Unemployment Line."

Diana Wilcoxson (who received our Chapter Service Award) and Melody Brumis produced outstanding programs this year. Marsha Workman, always reliable, served as membership manager. Janet Bran was willing to "pull double duty" and also served as our treasurer. Meticulous in capturing details, Brodie Hilp did an excellent job as our secretary. Orlando Turrietta graciously assumed the responsibilities of Arrangements Manager. And finally, Gwaltney Mountford (my mentor) served as our advisor and provided information the Administrative Council needed for continuity.

I am also grateful for the support received from Kaiser Permanente. Joseph Ortega, director of Testing and Integration Services, allowed the Administrative Council to meet in the conference rooms there, to set up teleconferencing for the members unable to attend in person, and to use the copier.

And now Melody Brumis will become EBSTC president in June. I have had an opportunity to work closely with Melody over the past year and I am confident she will do an exceptional job. The Administrative Council must agree with me—most of us have chosen to remain on the council to support Melody and the majority will continue to serve in the same capacity.

As I place our chapter in Melody's capable hands, I will leave with fond memories. What will surely resonate in my mind forever is the warmth and kindness the membership extended to me. I thank all of you for that and I wish you all success and prosperity.

Editor's Pen

By Becky Rude and Ashwini Tharval

In today's global economy, we are no longer restricted by boundaries of language and culture. Especially after the events of 9/11, we have become more aware that we are living in one world where we are all connected. In this issue, we discuss international communication with a look at the opportunities it presents and the gaffes it creates.

Don Huntington, our layout guy, takes a look at localization and the many localization resources available on the Net. His localization humbugs prove that effective translation can take place only when you translate the content and not just the words! There is more conversational humor in an article all the way from Taiwan. Guest writer John Gallagher relates the linguistic misunderstandings and confusions which are part of his everyday work life.

In "Home Away from Home," two guest writers present their views on working in a foreign culture and tell us how they adapted to the new ways. Elaine Winters recounts her presentation on "Cultural Issues in Communication," given at the EBSTC meeting in March. Scott Wallace concludes his series on Online Writing with a very potent article on how to write effective copy for the Web.

The Touchstone 2001 awards celebration, held in March, was a great success. Becky Rude, co-editor, met the winners of the Best of Show awards and talked with them about their prize-winning projects. We conclude our journey through past newsletters with a look at old mastheads and how they have changed over the years. As part of our 40th anniversary celebration, we interviewed Wallace Clements, one of the founding members of our chapter who was an EBSTC member for over 30 years!

We hope you enjoy reading this issue. We've really had fun creating this newsletter over the past months, and look forward to making it even better in the future. We are taking a break for the summer and will be back in September. Keep sending us those e-mail messages—your feedback and suggestions help us improve.

Letters to the Editor

Hello, readers. Thank you for all your emails. Keep sending us your feedback, it helps us improve the newsletter.

Marilyn Reiher, Documentation Manager at Qantel Technologies, Inc. writes,

I just took a half hour to read the newsletter. I like it! I liked the mix of articles and found a couple to be especially useful (Accessibility = Usability and Online Writing).

I'm a very online-oriented person, but when I heard that you were going to a Web version, I questioned whether I would read the newsletter. I always read the printed version during commercials. But now that I've seen that it's worth reading, I probably will make time for it.

Marilyn also suggested that the humor articles should be on a page of their own. Thank you for the input Marilyn, we plan to do some changes in our summer break and come back better and more improved!

Ann L. Wiley, Editor of Proof Sheet (STC Rochester Chapter), points out,

The Weiss quoted by Russ Kahn [in Blast from the Past] would have been Edmond Weiss, I think, not "Lee." Russ is now president of the nearby Central New York Chapter. I enjoyed the excerpts from the East Bay Log.

Thanks for your comments, Ann. We went back and read the original article by Russ and discovered you are right. Good eye! Russ had written about two speakers, one of which was Lee Ridgeway, and we transposed the first names. Luckily, since we publish on the Web, we can easily fix this error.

Alane L. Alchorn, Technical Editor at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, writes

Wonderful job! My thanks to you both for all the effort and planning you did to revamp and revitalize this web site. It is easy to navigate, and VERY useful. Hooray!

Thank you, Alane. As you saw from the previous letters, we get a lot of help from our discerning readers.

 

It takes a Sexually Stimulated Man to Make a Chicken Affectionate
Resources for Localization on the Internet

By Don Huntington

The title of this article appeared in a TV ad for Perdue Chickens; the Spanish translation of their original tag line "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken."

As technical writers, we are important participants in moving the information age into an increasingly global culture. We face interesting and often intimidating challenges as we create information in forms that can be easily moved into other languages and cultures. The other part of the localization challenge, of course, is to eliminate all the affectionate chickens from our documents.

The Tech Encyclopedia offers a good description of localization:

Customizing software for a particular country. It includes the translation of menus and messages into the native spoken language as well as changes in the user interface to accommodate different alphabets and culture.

Getting down to business with localization

As with almost every other topic in the world these days, the Web provides a fecund source for information and help with all kinds of localization issues. My search for localization links led me to a page with the odd name of WebBudget.com. The site provides links to pages offering solutions for specific languages, including sites dealing with English, Spanish, German, French, and Swedish.

If you are involved in outsourcing your project's localization tasks, the Internet provides access to a large number of companies in the business. Eclectic Communication attractively offers localization services for web sites, technical documentation, and software. It also provides localization humbugs that humorously illustrate the challenges of moving words across language groups.

Another good localization source is a site called Aquarius.net. It offers to connect you "with the people, projects, and products that make the world of language go around." Aquarius links translation agencies and end users to an international network of quality freelancers.

NOTE: Are you looking for work in the area of localization? Aquarius also offers connections to job openings—both in-house and openings at other places in the industry.

Technical writers involved in software testing may find QACity.com a helpful source. QACity lists numerous resources for internationalization and localization of software. If you are a localization professional, or hope to become one, check out the free Translation Journal provided by accurapid.com. It has details about the various translation events that are going on in America and throughout the world.

Translating documents online

When you are rushed for time on documentation deliverables, you can do everything online. Berlitz.com, for example, offers online translation services by professionals, with the rather catchy slogan, "Don't just translate it, Berlitz it."

You can use Berlitz services to translate a single document, or create an account with them. Either way the site apparently provides hassle-free, "on the fly," paperless documentation services. Berlitz offers translation services in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

There are also a number of free online services that translate text and web pages. A good example of this is Freetranslation.com. The site offers free translations, in either direction, for English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Portuguese.

In this article, I've presented a small bit of information about the kinds of resources available on the Internet on the topic of localization and translation. You can go crazy from this point, if you wish. I doubt you could ever become a modern day "renaissance man" if you defined localization on the Internet as your entire universe.

Localization Humbugs

  • Chevrolet Nova didn't do well in Spanish-speaking countries —Nova means "no go."
  • Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name "Pavian" to suggest a "French chic," but "Pavian" means "baboon" in German.
  • When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the USA—the cute baby on the label. Later, when investigating lower than expected sales figures, they found out that it is common practice in Africa to put pictures of the contents on food package labels.
  • Coors slogan, "Turn it Loose," translated into Spanish as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
  • When Coca-Cola first came to China, it was given a similar sounding name, but the characters used for the name meant, "Bite the Wax Tadpole."

For more communication bloopers, visit these web sites:

swlocalization.com/humbugs.htm
advertising.utexas.edu/research/humor/lost.html
world.std.com/~jimf/humor/advertisements.html

Home Away From Home

By Ashwini Tharval and Dipali Godbole

As the world becomes increasingly smaller, it's not novel to see professionals from different countries, cultures, and languages sharing cubicles and coffee. Working in a foreign country is as common as working in a neighboring city. It may be difficult getting used to a different work culture, but most people enjoy the learning experience.

Two such individuals, working in non-native countries, share their experiences with us:

Barbara Leonard, originally from the United Sates, works as a technical writer in France. She worked as an instructional designer and technical writer in the early 1980s. After several years away from this field of work, during which she obtained a paralegal certificate, she returned to technical writing as a contractor in 1989. In 1992 she accepted a staff position documenting hardware and software, and in 1996 she moved to France to work as a technical writer for a French software company that sells its products worldwide.

Sachin Chopda is a software developer from India. He lives in the United States and was briefly working in Japan on a project. He works for a multinational company and deals with Southeast Asian countries. He is often involved with the documentation of the project he works on. Even as you read this, he is off to Japan for a brief stint.

Language

Bicycling in France

The French language is not too much of a problem for me. I studied French in school and had reached the point where the only way to improve my French was to live in France.

Before I moved to France, I read as much as I could about the cultural differences. I've tried to observe and understand as much as possible, in order to know what to expect and to avoid making social errors. Also, I am involved in bicycling, which the French like. This interest has made it easier for me to meet and interact with French people outside the workplace.

9.30 goro denki ga….

The lights will be switched off at 9.30 PM, blared the public address system in the office. Even after a week in Japan, I was a bit befuddled and a little help from my colleagues spared me the agony of skimming through the dictionary. The language barrier has narrowed significantly in the past few years, but still remains a major issue.

Work Culture

Cubicles vs. cigarettes

The physical workplace is different in France. Rather than cubicles, people work in rooms (offices or "open spaces") that may be shared by up to seven people. Discussion and teamwork seem more prevalent in France. The French keep their voices low, so the workplace is quieter than the U.S. I like not having cubicles and the resulting interaction, but in France people smoke in the workplace.

The type of people who work in software companies seems to be the same in France as in the U.S., but the French seem to discuss a wider variety of topics than Americans. Lunchtime conversations are animated.

In both countries, bad management creates bad experiences. On the other hand, good colleagues provide good experiences.

Long working hours

Putting in long hours is second nature to the Japanese. They hardly take their stipulated leave and almost always use up their paid vacation for sick leave. My manager would stay in the office for several days at a stretch.

People in Japan are devoted to the company they work for—it is like an extended family. They share a symbiotic relationship; the company promises life-long employment, and the employees reciprocate by working harder for the betterment of the company.

The main difference that I noticed in the work culture in Japan is that they are less individualistic with their approach. Japan seems to be a group-oriented society where employees may follow their manager's instructions without thinking of the repercussions. A strict hierarchy in the workplace also contributes to the cause.

Industry-specific

On technical writing

The process of technical writing happens in the same way in France as in the U.S. However, the main difference is between American English and British English. "English" in Europe is British, and there are differences in style, punctuation, and spelling. In school, the French learn British English, including the pronunciation. British people work as technical writers in France, and their influence is felt.

There are few technical writing jobs in France, but there are fewer technical writers. Even though there are more people looking for jobs in the U.S., I think it is easier to find a technical writing job here than in France.

Salaries in the U.S. are higher than in France. Benefits in both countries depend on the company itself. The French government covers most health care costs, and companies may provide coverage for the rest. Companies may also provide various kinds of savings plans, and pay half of restaurant tickets and public transportation costs. France has more holidays and vacation time while somehow maintaining high productivity.

Teamwork

I had a very good experience of Japanese teamwork while working on this project. It was an unwritten rule that everyone would leave together. I never had to grapple with a problem on my own. My team members would just hang around till the problem was solved and then all of us would leave together. Cooperation with colleagues is emphasized, rather than competition.

Parting Words

Both Barbara and Sachin felt that they benefited professionally and personally from exposure to a different culture and interaction with people in and out of the workplace. Barbara learned a variety of tools in France and got experience in marketable subject areas, such as programming libraries and databases. Sachin was very impressed by the teamwork and willingness to share difficulties. He would love to go back and work in Japan.

Cross-Cultural Interactions: A Humorous Anecdote

By John Gallagher

This article attempts to describe a typical day for a non-Chinese speaking, Western technical writer, working in a Taiwanese company. The dialog tries to relate the communication difficulties and misunderstandings that are common and is not a slur on the English language skills of Taiwanese. In fact, I am a huge admirer of the upbeat, diligent persistence of Taiwanese to master English. It is a constant prod for me to humbly continue on the yellow brick road of improving my own Chinese language skills.

Tarzan , the R&D engineer, more commonly called "RD," crouches and immerses himself in his code as he sees me coming. I intercept before he submerges.

"Hey Tarzan, how was your weekend?"

"Sleep."

"Reviewing that manual can be tiring."

"No. Catch bugs. Will look manual tomorrow OK?"

"OK. I just need to finish it this week. I want to check this one thing though."

"Tho?"

"What does the 'Power Save' function do?"

"To save the power."

"OK. Is it on or off by default?"

"Up."

"Alrighty. When do you turn it down?"

"I change '1' to '0' in the code."

"No, I mean the user…when does he turn power save off…I mean down?"

"[confused silence]…when he wants to ['duh' echo in the background]."

"No, I mean why would the user turn this great 'Power Save' function off…down?"

"Just click 'Power Save' to appear the 'Power Save' window and don't click the square."

"Deselect the checkbox...yes, that's how to do it. Thanks. But why would the user do that?"

"To close 'Power Save.'"

"Yes [silent arrrgh]…but why? It seems to me that 'Power Save' should always be on, so why would anyone turn it off? Is there some performance trade off? Do I do it when I need to debug? What? When? Why?..."

"It's in the standard."

"OK. Can I see the RFC (Request For Comments) standard and I'll check it out. Thanks."

RD Tarzan promises to e-mail me the RFC and I shuffle off to see the product manager, more affectionately called "PM."

PMs worship the Schedule Deity but the dates in the weekly reports (and the deadlines we work to) are usually token offerings to higher management to avoid being scolded. The "real" dates I get only after a hidden contract of silence has been "agreed to."

NOTE:

Names used are fictitious. Taiwanese often use an English name alias as people who don’t speak Chinese often mispronounce their names or simply can’t remember them (I’m told). The name chosen is usually either a translation from a "nice-sounding" Chinese word (taken from a dictionary) or a sound approximation of the person’s Chinese name, resulting in some interesting choices at times.

Shuffling and "Chinglish" are "things that seep into the subconscious" after a period here.

"So, Sultry (the PM), have you reviewed that part of the manual I gave you? I think 'the Schedule is this week'"

"No, the Schedule is delay."

"Really [looking at dates that haven't been changed in the official Schedule]."

"RD not find all the bugs, so not release to the Schedule yet. I look your manual. I delete some words."

"Oh, some words are wrong?"

"No. Have too many words."

"OK. Which words did you delete?

"One page."

"Which page?"

"The page with many words."

"Oh [trying to reign my mind in from the precipice]."

"I don't delete the page. Just the words. I put the company logo picture here. It is beautiful here."

"Yes, it is."

"Now, we talk to RD about the Schedule."

"Sure. I just talked to him, but I can go back. I need to know the status too, so as to motivate him to review what I wrote. I think it's OK, but they make changes sometimes without telling me. Lead the way."

We both slide over to RD's trench.

" [Me] Hey Tarzan, PM wants to talk to you about the Schedule."

"[RD with visible, audible cringe] There have many bugs in it."

"[PM] But the Schedule is this week. It needs the code."

"[RD slumped] bugs, bugs…"

"[PM] I need the code tomorrow to put on the CD. The CD needs one week. Then I release the CD on the public."

"[RD] The bugs are there tomorrow."

"[PM] The CD needs one week. Tomorrow is the Schedule. [To me] Put the file in my Inbox tomorrow."

"[Little ol' me] Is a blank file OK?"

"[PM] It should be the Word format!"

"[Moi] Sure thing. It will be the Word format."

I go back to my desk. RD has e-mailed me the RFC. I print it out and rummage through the tech jargon to figure out when the user should turn "Power Save" off.

9 PM already. I swerve through the swarms of traffic and strive to get to my studio sanctuary in one piece. I shake my head viciously on closing the door and try to empty it of the nether-nether twilight zone that has diffused into it. All I want to do is fill it with sweet blankness…the Word format.

Spotlight on Wallace Clements

By Becky Rude

Name: Wallace Clements

Job: Travel, and writing about political and social issues. (Wallace is retired.)

Hours: Although Wallace officially retired in 1988 after 30 years with Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, he continued to work at various writing positions until recently. He is now fully retired as a technical writer/editor, but is pursuing a career as a newspaper columnist writing on political and social issues through Creators Syndicate, Inc. This company represents such famous columnists as Ann Landers and Mike Luckovich.

Years as STC Member: Wallace was one of the charter members of our chapter, which was called Pacifica when it started in 1962. He held the office of President for a year during his 30-year STC membership.

How I Became an Editor/Writer: Wallace graduated from Hobart College in New York with a bachelor's degree in math and a minor in English. For 10 years, Wallace worked in the field of seismic oil exploration where he analyzed seismic results.

He had always wanted to be a fiction writer, but pondered technical writing because of his science background. An opportunity opened at Lawrence Livermore Lab, and he decided to make the career switch. At Lawrence Livermore, he was both a technical writer and technical editor.

I Love My Job: Wallace got a great deal of satisfaction from turning out good documents that were well printed and illustrated. He enjoyed the feeling of completing a worthwhile project.

I Dislike My Job Because: There wasn't much that Wallace disliked about his work. The working conditions were good, and he was privileged to work with interesting and friendly people.

My Top Work Challenge: During his career at the lab, Wallace had always written and edited work for journals or reports. After he formally retired, he worked on a project for Materials Data, Inc. in Livermore that required user documentation for their x-ray diffraction equipment. This work was very demanding, but Wallace was proud of the end result, and the fact that he had taken on the challenge of learning about a different type of writing.

What I Remember Most About the Pacifica Chapter: Wallace remembers that in 1962 when both the chapter and his technical writing career just started, he was sent for six weeks to work on Christmas Island to document nuclear testing. Christmas Island is an Australian Territory located 2600 km northwest of Perth. He remembers that the native people were relocated during the time of the testing for their safety.

The Biggest Change in Technical Writing Over the Years: That question was easy for Wallace: the equipment writers use to produce their work went through the greatest change. He commented that the actual writing process didn't change, but the equipment went through tremendous changes. Writers went from working on typewriters to Wang word processors, and finally to the personal computer.

When I Grew Up I Wanted to Be: When Wallace was a small boy, he wanted to be a truck driver! As a young man, he wanted to be a pilot. He was a pilot for the Army's B-17 plane in World War II, and was scheduled to go to England to be in the 8th Air Force. Unfortunately he was involved in an accident that caused him to miss this opportunity. At that point, he started thinking more about being a writer.

At Home I'm Most Proud: Of his two children, a son and a daughter. The son has a Ph.D. in physics and is co-owner of a business in Washington, D.C. His daughter is an ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management, and lives in Colorado with her husband and 4-year-old son.

I Enjoy Reading: A variety of political books, biographies, and short stories (although Wallace commented that it seems harder to find these now). He also enjoys reading the New Yorker.

Writing Effective Hypertext

By Scott Wallace

This article is the last in a three-part series titled "Online Writing."

Part 1: Editorial Content on the Web. An introduction to the brave new world of hypertext.
Part 2: Usability. An overview of research into how people read Web content—information that influences every decision a writer makes.
Part 3: Writing Effective Online Copy. Guidelines for structuring and writing usable Web content.

Writing for the Web is like writing for print, only different

The difference between Web documents and print documents is hypertext. Hypertext liberates the reader—and writer—from the linear constraints of print-based text.

Like frogs on lily pads, hypertext users hop from place to place within a document, between documents on the same site, or among documents on far-flung nodes on the Net.

Hypertext enables users to "customize" their online quest for information. Ten readers starting at the same entry point might follow branching hyperlinks to 10 different destinations.

The Webwriter, notes content specialist Shorewalker.com, "faces the task of linking together pieces of prose, each on [a] different [screen], and turning them into a coherent whole."

Writing Webtext: A Dozen Pointers

The overarching goal for the Webwriter, as for the designer, should be to make it as easy as possible for users to do what they've come to a site to do. In most cases, this means accessing specific information.
To that end, keep these points in mind when writing Web documents:

  1. Know your audience. Use the answers to these questions to shape your content:
    • Who will be using the site?
    • What information will they be looking for?
    • What words will they use when scanning, browsing, and searching the site?
  2. Remember that most users scan, or skim, text rather than reading every word.
  3. Write only half as much text as you would in a print document. This is one of the core recommendations emerging from Jakob Nielsen's pioneering research on Web usability.
  4. Use the inverted pyramid style. Put the most important information where users can find it quickly; place less important information lower in the pyramid. Move unessential information to separate pages.
  5. Write short paragraphs and short sentences.
  6. Limit each paragraph to one idea, and summarize that idea in the first sentence. People tend to read only the first sentence or two of a paragraph when scanning online content.
  7. "Chunk" information. Information that's divided into short, self-contained "chunks" is easier to locate and scan.
  8. Use bulleted and numbered lists. Lists slow the scanning reader's eye and draw attention to important points.
  9. Write in the language your audience speaks. It is "borborygmus" to the physician, "gurgling stomach" to the lay reader. Use the words your readers do.
  10. Consider highlighting key words and phrases. Using bold text to highlight important words helps readers scan. Limit highlighted phrases to two or three information-bearing words. Highlight sparingly.
  11. Establish and maintain credibility. A site's credibility is important to users. Here are four ways to help make your site credible:
    • Be sure the information is accurate and current.
    • Avoid marketing hype.
    • Make certain the mechanics of your writing are correct and consistent.
    • Provide hyperlinks to other sources for background or supporting information.
  12. Think globally. If your target audience includes users who are not native speakers of American English, take into account differences in language and culture as you choose your words. Avoid jargon, slang, puns, humor, and metaphors that might be lost on or misunderstood by these readers.

Microcontent: Labels, Links, and Summaries

Microcontent, explains usability guru Jakob Nielsen, is an "ultra-short abstract" of associated content ("macrocontent"). "Microcontent" includes labels (headings), link text, and short summaries at the beginning of a section of text or in conjunction with a link. Carefully crafted microcontent is a cornerstone of good Web writing.

Microcontent

  • Helps readers determine if they want to read the macrocontent.
  • Aids in scanning.

Nielsen offers these suggestions for writing microcontent:

  • Explain clearly what the article, link, or chunk of text is about "in terms that relate to the user."
  • Communicate as much information as possible in as few words as possible.
  • Write in "plain language," avoiding puns and "cute" or "clever" headings.
  • Don't use "teasers" (e.g., "Find out how") "to entice people to click to find out what the story is about."
  • "Make the first word an important, information-carrying one" to facilitate scanning.
  • Start labels with different words. This makes them easier to differentiate when scanning a page or list.

Labels: Headings as Microcontent

"Labels" refers to all levels of headings. A label must, in Nielsen's words, be able "to stand on its own and make sense if the rest of the content is not available."

Links: Making Text Hyper

Hyperlinks are the heart of a site's navigation structure. Link text should summarize clearly and succinctly what users will find if they click on the link.

There are two types of links: those that are embedded in text and those that are grouped separately in lists (resource lists, menus, tables of contents). The writer, editor, and/or information designer must decide whether to embed links or cluster them together at the end of an article or section of text—or use a combination of these two approaches.

Be especially attentive when writing standalone links in lists, advises Pam Blackstone in "Making Links That Work," as these "may ultimately become search results and direct traffic to your site."

Summaries: Helping Readers Decide

Including a short summary of what users will find if they read the text that follows or click on a link helps them determine if doing so would be worth their while. The contents pages of most news sites, for example, combine headlines with brief summaries of the associated articles. Some of these sites also begin each article with a one- or two-sentence synopsis.

A New World

Usability, scannability, searchability, browsability, navigability; microcontent and macrocontent; HTML: this is the lingua franca of hypertext. It is a language in which technical writers must be articulate if they are to be marketable in the horizonless new world of online communication.

Resources

See Resources for further reading.

Resources

By Scott Wallace

Back to the Writing Effective Hypertext article

Because of space limitations, this is a considerably abbreviated list. For the complete list, including tangential topics not addressed in the article, contact the author.

Webwriting: General

Articles

Books

Web Word Wizardry, 2nd ed. Rachel McAlpine. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. 2002. ISBN 1-58008-223-8.
Comprehensive guide to writing for the Web and intranets that "illuminates the twilight zone between Web design and traditional business writing." Packed with solid, practical advice.

Newsletter

Quality Web Content
Subscribe here to Rachel McAlpine's informative e-mail newsletter for Web content writers. Check out her site, too.

Organization

STC's Online Information SIG
A "forum for technical communicators to share ideas and concepts related to the development and structure of online information." Site includes link to Hyperviews:Online, the SIG's Web-based newsletter.

Microcontent

  • Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Titles, and Subject Lines
    From his Useit.com, Jakob Nielsen's guidelines for making microcontent "pearls of clarity."
  • Love Your Labels
    Three techniques for writing effective labels: let your audience be your guide, avoid conformity, and rely on established conventions. By Samantha Bailey, in WebReview.
  • Practical Magic: Issues In Link Planning and Design
    Excellent article that addresses three key questions: What level of terms should I link? How many links should I have? Where should I put the links? By Neil Perlin, in Hyperviews, online newsletter of STC's Online Information SIG. (Note that the link to this article will change when the spring issue is published, but the article will remain in the newsletter archives.)

Education & Training Resources

By Becky Rude

Still keeping those New Year's resolutions? How about taking time this summer to brush up on your skills or to pursue a certificate or degree? Many of the local universities offer a variety of technical communication–related courses and programs. Or, you can check out the interesting events on content management and Macromedia Flash. Let us know if you attend these events or take a course!

Courses/Programs

 
School Couse/Certificate/Degree Dates
San Francisco
State University—
Multimedia Studies Program Online		 Fourteen online courses are offered this summer:
Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash I, Flash: Advanced Production, HTML I, HTML II, Interaction Design, JavaScript, Production Management, The Digital World, Understanding the Internet, Web Design, and Web Video.		 Classes run from May 30 to August 22.
San Francisco State University B.A. degree and certificate program in Technical and Professional Writing. Classes start in June and end in August.
UC Berkeley Extension Certificate in Technical Communication. Summer classes start on various dates in June and end in July or August.
UCLA Extension—OnlineLearning.net Award in General Business Studies with a Concentration in Technical Communication. Summer classes start in late June and end in August.
San Jose State University

Two programs:

 Summer courses start on various dates.

 

Events

 
Event Description Details

Content Management: Strategies for Single Sourcing

JoAnn Hackos and the Center for Information Development Management invite you to join them in the heart of San Francisco for the definitive conference on content management and single sourcing.

When: June 3–4, 2002

Location: Hyatt Regency, Embarcadero Center, San Francisco.

Flash: MD does MX

The North Bay Multimedia Association's (NBMA) monthly meeting topic is the "just-launched and somewhat revolutionary Macromedia Flash MX." Flash diva M.D. Dundon will give a presentation on this tool.

When: May 16, 2002, 6:00–9:00 P.M.

Location: Autodesk HQ, San Rafael.

Cost: Members free, $15 for non-members.

RSVP: Advance reservations required.

 

 

Moving Into the 90s

By Ashwini Tharval

 

This is our final article covering past newsletters. We have seen the 70s and the 80s in previous issues. Here we move on to the 90s.

While hunting for interesting stories, we realized that th