Tag: mobile

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Did I just see a big glowing brain on wheels pass by?

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

When one receives an email that starts out, “Since I’m a momma’s boy and a geek…” you can’t resist reading what the rest of message says when you are a TechCommGeekMom. This is because I hope my own son follows that same description! 🙂

I received an email from Tyler Alterman, who is crowdfunding for a venture that he and some others are trying to come up with for a neat educational business. From the sounds of it, it reminds me a little bit of the Mad Science franchise, but with a twist on cognitive sciences instead of the physical sciences. Tyler summarized it as this:

“I’m currently crowdfunding for a lab-on-wheels and cognitive science education station with a glowing brain on top (“The Think Tank“). It’s a collaboration between artist friends and scientists from my lab to transform an old truck into a literal and metaphorical vehicle for empowering the public with the behavioral and brain sciences.”

ETA: Tyler later forwarded me the following press release, with more details:

What is pink and green on four wheels with a big, glowing brain on top? Granted he can fundraise $10,900 by March 13th, Tyler Alterman’s cognitive science education station will be. Alterman is teaming up with artists and scientists from his lab to build a  lab-on-wheels called “The Think Tank.”

“Most think tanks have Washington, D.C. addresses,” notes Alterman, a researcher at the New School for Social Research. “But The Think Tank, as a literal and metaphorical vehicle, will roam New York streets (for starters) without an address, empowering kids and adults with the behavioral and brain sciences wherever it parks.” To join about 70 others in supporting Alterman’s campaign–launched on Alterman and Darwin’s birthdays–check out his video and crowdfunding page at http://igg.me/at/CogSciOnWheels.

The lab-on-wheels will be built out of a renovated box truck by Alterman and a team of artists headed by Christine Alaimo, a neuroscientist with a cupcake business in support of autism research. Alterman plans to bring classrooms and scientists aboard The Think Tank to teach the research process, collect demographically diverse data, and educate citizens with sidewalk talks about how the science of brain and mind can improve lives.

Created as Alterman’s senior thesis project, The Think Tank is a collaboration between the CUNY Macaulay Honors College senior and the New School for Social Research’s distinguished neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Casasanto, who holds a doctorate from MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and contributes to Psychology Today.

After meeting his funding goal of $10,900, Alterman plans to unveil the vehicle at a public benefit, held in the Honors College’s landmark brownstone neighboring Lincoln Center. The benefit will be headlined by the Amygdaloids, a rock band made up entirely of neuroscientists. Named for the part of the brain believed to register fear, the band is fronted by Joseph E. LeDoux, a leading authority in neural science, Director of the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety and author of such books as The Emotional Brain: the Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. Other highlights include mini-lectures by noted experts and a screening of shorts from the Imagine Science Film Festival.

I’m thinking of throwing in a little money for this. Since he’s based in NYC, I hope at some point he might be able to travel or expand his business so it can visit my son’s school in Central Jersey! 🙂 It just sounds like a neat business venture, and anything that’s educational on wheels has to be cool, especially one with a big brain on wheels.  You can view the video above for more info, and then as soon as you are convinced, like me, to throw a few dollars his way, go to:

http://igg.me/at/cogscionwheels/x/1033375

At this writing, it looks like Tyler and his staff are about a little more than a third of the way to their goal of almost $11K by March 13th. He’s not asking even for big donations–any donation will be helpful! I imagine that just the big brain for on top of the truck would cost about half of that money, if not more, so I think his crowdfunding goal is not asking for much, if we can all chip in a little bit.

I like this concept not only because Tyler suckered me in with “I’m a momma’s boy and a geek,” (that’s like Jerry Maguire‘s “You had me at hello”), and I can see an educational benefit to school kids, but I can see how it might also help us professionals, especially technical communicators. Think about it for a moment. Cognitive science, as Tyler points out in his video, is about why we do what we do, and what elicits reactions or responses. How important is that to technical communication? Very important! So having a team of experts out there who can start helping others understand the power of cognitive science would be great. I’m all about STEM causes, and this sounds like a great one! You could also say that as an advocate of mobile learning, this is a different twist on that concept!

So, what are you waiting for? Throw a couple of dollars to the Think Tank cause. Hopefully, it will help!

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Instant Mobile Apps? Not quite.

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

MP900441051Last week, I was in contact with one of my former professors at NJIT‘s MSPTC program. We talked about several things going on, and in the process of the email conversation, she mentioned that she is starting another semester of the PTC 601 (Advanced Professional and Technical Communications) classes, and she asked me a question about mobile, because she wanted to add a new component to an assignment.

I remember doing the assignment well just three years ago. Essentially, the student is given a manual for a fictitious coffeehouse franchise’s espresso machine, and the student has to rewrite the manual into a quick reference guide, preferable something that included visual images that could the learner/user can learn from it or refer to it as needed. Conceptually, it’s an easy enough assignment (or at least it was to me), but creating it with the tools I had at the time proved challenging, even if I did pull it off.

Adding a mobile component to this assignment makes a lot of sense to me. This is a perfect example of what m-learning is, what it looks like, and what it can be! Taking a simple how-to manual and creating a mobile app for it is highly logical, especially in this scenario. I mean, think about it…how often do people whip their smartphones out of their pockets to look up any kind of information, let alone have a how-to app on their phones? So having a special app that could be downloaded and instantly used as a reference guide for that newbie coffee barista would be ideal!

I was happy to hear about this addition to the assignment. The professor knows how enthusiastic I am about promoting mobile solutions, and I was thrilled to hear that she is making an effort to include mobile solutions in the MSPTC curriculum. So, she asked me if I knew any software programs that could convert text into some sort of mobile output. The first thing that came to mind was Adobe’s Technical Communications Suite 4, especially with Framemaker and Robohelp. But, the school doesn’t have a copy of that for students yet (they are working on it), and even with the short trial, there’s a big learning curve for an assignment that would be due fairly quickly.

So, I began to do a little research to help the professor out. There were a few things–a few parameters–that I had to keep in mind as I looked for a tool for her to use. It has to be easy to use for someone who didn’t have too much or negligible programming skills. It has to be free or at the barest minimum of cost. And it had to have an easy ramp-up to have a project done on it in a week or so. I knew, from experience, that people from all walks of life come into this program, with a true mix of web expertise. I remember helping some of my fellow classmates by providing a crash course in HTML, and the quest for the free or cheap web editing software or site where an e-portfolio could be created. So, I understood the parameters well.

The sad thing I discovered was that while there are dozens of places to set up and create free or cheap websites with web editing available that anyone could use to set up a good looking site, the same can’t be said yet for creating mobile sites. There are a few sites that do help a person create a mobile app easily, but it’s not cheap. Or, if it’s cheap, it requires some programming know-how. It was tough. the other thing to keep in mind was whether the mobile app being created was for a “native” app, a “web” app or “hybrid” app. The differences between these is that a native app is saved on the mobile device and can be used offline. The web app is one that is essentially a mini website and needs an internet connection to access the app. A hybrid is…well, you can figure that out. If you’ve ever tried to access an app on your phone, but couldn’t get it to function because you didn’t have wifi or 4G, then that’s a web app. If it only partially worked, but you still needed wifi/4G to connect for part of it, it’s a hybrid. You get the idea. In the end, I gave the professor a few suggestions that I found.

The first was something called Viziapps. I think I had heard of Viziapps because I believe (just off the top of my head) that this was the software being used in an STC class on how to build mobile apps. Viziapps allows individuals to create a mobile app without knowing any or little coding, but they would have to have some idea of information architecture (which is part of the project assignment–understanding what’s important, what’s not, what comes first, content structure, etc.). It’s mostly a visual editor that allows the user to build the apps online, then publish on the web for free, provided the creator has created a web app. If it’s a native or hybrid app, then that has a price. It seems like it might be a viable choice as a tool that would allow for a quicker ramp-up for someone seriously trying to create a mobile app.

Other more creative choices would be using their mobile devices to make something. For example, there is an app called SnapGuide, in which an individual can take photos or video to demonstrate how to do something. Mobile by Conduit might be another possibility, as it’s free, and supposedly has an interface style similar to WordPress.

But then I thought about WordPress,  and I realized that might be another option. TechCommGeekMom is a WordPress website, after all, and it can be read on mobile devices. Basic WordPress accounts are free and fairly easy to use. You can create a “blog” or website on WordPress, and then there’s a setting to create a mobile interface. Here’s a little bit of info about it: http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/mobile-themes/  It seemed to fit the criteria needed for a mobile app creator/editor, in that it’s free, it has a mobile output (as well as a regular web output), and it provides a primer for content management in the experience.  I thought that if I was still in the class, I’d create several pages on a single WordPress website for different parts of the Guide–similar to the pages and navigation I have here, and then promote the mobile access to the website. It’s not a perfect system, but for quick ramp-up purposes for a fairly small assignment, it seems like it would fit the bill.

I think my former professor appreciated the help, but we both discussed the dilemma that it posed. Why must someone have a programming degree and some cash in order to create a mobile app–whether it be a native, hybrid or web app? Depending on the app, all three formats have their positive and negative aspects to them.  But how does one learn how to use any of these mobile app writer/editor products quickly? There are some great tools out there, I’m not denying that, but for the true beginner or student on a budget who is trying to learn how to create mobile solutions skills as a technical communicator, it’s not that easy. I see a huge business opportunity here (not that I have the time, cash, or enough knowledge to start such a business), but creating a highly user-friendly software program that one’s grandma could create a mobile app for a very low cost would be a fantastic business. It would make even more information accessible to share with others.

It occurred to me later that for the average user, another possibility is another Adobe program that I’ve been using to create and maintain my e-portfolio, called Adobe Muse. It’s a cloud-based app that acts as a very easy UI interface to create websites and mobile apps. I’ve used the website editor, but I haven’t tried the mobile conversion yet there. I believe it’s about $14-15 per month, and you can set up an account at Adobe’s Business Catalyst and create your mobile site that way.  It allows those who have next to no programming skills create something that looks great, but it also allows more advanced users some nice shortcuts to create great sites without having to do all the coding–Muse does it for you.

Perhaps, as mobile solutions become more mature like editing software for desktop interface websites, this mobile app creator problem will go away, and there will be more affordable options. In the meantime, we have to wait or muddle through it all…

If you know of any easy-to-ramp-up mobile app editors, please mention it in the comments below! Share, everybody!

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A true test of mobile versus…not.

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

MP900435893A recent event has made me discover that I will be tested in understanding how my true use of mobile technology will really be in the near future.

How did I come to that discovery?

I recently sent in a proposal to do a presentation, and I was notified over the weekend that the proposal has been accepted! I’m really thrilled for a number of reasons. First, it’s the first time I’ve actually sent in a proposal to do a presentation, so to have it accepted on the first try is pretty good. Second, this presentation will be the first real professional presentation I’ve ever done to a large group. I’ve done presentations, but not on this scale before. Third, it’s going to be for the STC’s Mid-Atlantic Technical Conference, hosted by one of my home chapters, the STC–Philadelphia Metropolitan Chapter, in early March of this year. Less than a month and a half away from this writing! So, it’s going to be nice representing my own chapter, and being able to sleep in my own bed instead of traveling too far to do this! 😉 So, for a number of reasons, you can see that I’m actually very excited and honored to be included, especially considering that I’m still a “young” professional in the technical communications field.

But in receiving this acceptance, I realized that now I have to actually put everything together for this presentation. I have the foundation for it, which is what I forwarded to the conference’s review committee, so that’s not the issue. Now the issue is pulling it all together to be a stellar presentation. I know I can do a presentation, but I need to create some sort of slideshow or PowerPoint content that can be displayed while I actually present.

Now, I know what you are thinking. You are probably thinking, “But TechCommGeekMom, you are a technical communicator. Surely you know how to do, at least, a simple PowerPoint presentation?” Indeed, I do know how to do that, and do it well. I also know some other tools to use as well. That’s not the issue or the problem either. I have a bigger problem to figure out. The problem is whether to create the slideshow in PowerPoint on my laptop, and bring my laptop with me, OR…create the presentation in Keynote on my iPad, and bring my iPad with me. There’s always the third option of creating the presentation for both, and bringing both, but I’d like to avoid doing that, if possible.

On the one hand, using my laptop is a guarantee. We know that a laptop can generally hook up to video/VGA/ HDMI cables that most conference centers use, so that’s not a problem. But I have a BIG laptop–a big 17-inch screen one. It’s a little on the heavy side. I bought it during grad school for the big stuff I had to do, and sometimes still do, with web design, writing large papers, and for the big power-lifting tasks that one needs a laptop.

On the other hand, I am the huge proponent of using mobile devices, and having a means of creating a slideshow on my iPad presents a new option that I haven’t had in the past. I could buy a cable (or two) that could hook up into a conference center‘s video system– I don’t mind the expense of getting the necessary cables to do that–but I don’t want to be left standing with an iPad and a bunch of cables that may not be compatible with the video screen system, thus no presentation other than me and my big mouth. (I could pull that off–just a speech alone, since I remember giving presentations even in my school days before computers were even present in schools, but that’s giving away my age now…) But let’s face it–pictures and words on a screen are much more entertaining than verbal words alone in this day and age. Since I don’t know what this conference center has, I have to second guess what’s there. This is my preference, but this is not guaranteed to work.

So, here’s a crowdsourcing question for anyone who’s reading this, especially if you have done professional presentations on the road. What should I do? Should I plan on bringing the laptop and create a standard PowerPoint formatted presentation? Or, should I plan on practicing what I preach about using mobile devices, namely using my iPad, and create the presentation on that? If I should use the iPad, what extra cables should I purchase? Or, should I just plan on creating it on both, and bringing both?

I especially need the help of those who do presentations on the road often. Who has used an iPad? Who has used only a laptop? What are the advantages and disadvantages in either instance? What has worked best for you?

Let me know what your suggestions are in the comments below. I really would love to get some input on this! Thanks!

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So, what’s ahead in Tech Comm for 2013?

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

Mathematician working on calculus equationShortly after the obligatory reviews of 2012 come the obligatory predictions about 2013. Sometimes such predictions are on target, and sometimes the predictions are rather ludicrous. One has to admit, though, some of the ludicrous ones do become true, and some can be purely entertaining.

So what are my predictions for 2013? Good question. I don’t really have any idea.

The past year has been a total whirlwind for me. As I mentioned in my last post, so many things happened to me that were unexpected, and there was so much more information learned than was expected that I wouldn’t know where to begin to make such predictions.

It’s also the time of year that one makes resolutions. As we know, most people have a difficult time sticking to New Year’s resolutions. I am no different. If I could keep a resolution, I would look like a supermodel. 😉 Instead, I try to set goals instead of resolutions. Goals are more realistic, because like resolutions, they are usually for some sort of better condition in one’s life, but there aren’t always time limitations as to when this goal will be achieved. I was determined to get my Master’s degree in two years. It took two and a half years, but I still attained my goal. You get the idea.

Most of my goals this year related to doing things around my house that have been waiting for years, such as remodeling my 30 year old kitchen, or putting new carpeting on the stairs. I’m also trying to see if I can try to travel more this year, because that one whirlwind trip to Portland, Oregon for Adobe Day was exciting for me, and it gave me a break from the humdrum of regular life while infusing my brain with new, uselful information.  I am hoping that I can get to the STC Summit this year, but I have to see about that–it’s not cheap if you haven’t been working for a while, and you don’t have a company to pay for it. It’s on the U.S. East Coast this year, which makes the travel itself easier and more affordable, but the conference–even the early bird rates–are a lot for a newbie technical communicator. But, I’m hoping with the new job, I’ll be able to afford it. Time will tell. I’ve also set a goal that I want to go back to the UK for a visit. I love that country, and haven’t been in twenty-one years. I found out that I have a cousin that lives in London who is an educational technologist, so catching up with her in person rather than through Facebook should be fun.

But what about professionally? I start my new job as a Web Publisher on January 3rd. I’m excited, nervous and anxious all at the same time. I’m always like this when I start a new job. It’s that, “What did I get myself into?” feeling that just about everyone gets. Don’t get me wrong–I think this is going to be a great opportunity for me, but after being out of full-time work for so long, it’s going to take some adjustment to get back into the swing of things. I’m sure I can do the job and do it well. It’s just the “newness” of it all that gets me. Some find that feeling exciting, but it’s nerve-wracking for me until I truly understand my role. I want to do well, after all. So since my job is supposed to involve a lot with content management, some writing, some web design, and even a little bit of videography and audio manipulation, it should be good. They are all things I can do well, and look forward to doing. I’ve been told that if I do well, there are other potential projects beyond this one I’ve been hired for, so I want to do well. I am excited to be a full-fledged technical communicator now after waiting in the wings for a while.

So, as far as predictions, I can’t make any, but perhaps I can make suggestions–specifically suggest some technical communication goals for consideration for the next year, based on what I’ve learned in the past year.

First, THINK MOBILE. This is foremost. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for e-learning/m-learning or just for simple websites, mobile is essential going forward. I think a lot of companies are in denial of this, thinking that tablets and smartphones are a fad, but they really aren’t. I don’t have specific stats anywhere (and feel free to contribute them in the comments if you have them), but I feel like I’ve read that smartphones outnumber landlines worldwide now, and mobile devices are used much more than desktop-style devices as well.  On the road, more people are likely to bring a tablet and/or smartphone than a laptop for basic information that they need to obtain. But, as we all know as technical communicators, mobile devices are not laptop replacements necessarily, so we need to write accordingly for this different devices. A huge portion of 2012 seemed to show me that tools like Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 4 (see more information in the top right column) and other software tools are keeping up with the times, and providing HTML5 support as well as providing single-source solutions for both desktop and mobile content. As technical communicators, we need to push the agenda that these kinds of tools are essential to more efficient workflows for us, but also are an investment in content management as well.

Related to that, as technical communicators, there’s a real need to push the use of better content. There is always some crossover between marketing communications and technical communications, but in the end, from my own experience, technical communicators have a better edge in managing and writing content. No offense, mar comm writers, but there’s a point–in my view–that marketing communications gets a little too fluffy. It’s too much about the sales and gimmicky verbiage instead of really giving customers the information they need to make informed choices about products and services. Advertising is one thing, but if a customer is going to a website or app to get more information, it’s because they want INFORMATION, not a sales pitch. I’m a consumer, and I’ve also been a consumer advocate in my career, so I’ve been on both sides of this, and I have to side with the consumer on this one. A sales pitch can initially draw a content consumer into your website or app, but once that is done, you want that consumer to be either able to come back, or provide such excellent information that they don’t come back. If there’s good support provided on a site with pertinent information, then there’s customer satisfaction. It’s that simple. And yet, so many companies don’t completely realize this. I don’t know how many companies I’ve seen where the writing is…well…not up to par (to be polite), and I didn’t have the permission to fix it to be more succinct and to the point to help the consumer or audience of the content. It frustrated me to no end. And yet, when I’d try to explain to authority figures that the writing going on wasn’t working well because it was too long winded and needed to be pared down for easier reading while still getting the main points across, I was ignored.  There was a Beastie Boys song called, “You’ve Got to Fight For Your Right to Party!”, and it relates to this, as it makes me think that technical communicators need to fight for their right to, well, do their jobs! We have the skills and know-how, and we can help to elevate companies that should be cutting edge to that level. I can think of so many companies that think they are cutting edge and are actually way behind instead,  very much in denial. Or, for whatever reason, companies would not invest in the technical communications of the company when that’s where the money would be well spent.

I get very excited about technical communications because while it’s been a field that’s been around for about 100 years (give or take a few years), it still is working to earn the full respect that it needs. With technological advances, technical communicators have huge opportunities to really show what they can do. Right now, with the huge and quick advances made in mobile technology especially in the last few years, this is definitely a time when technical communicators can shine. We have to exert and advocate for ourselves to carve out our place more definitively. We need to adapt to the changing environments to make sure that we are not expendible, but rather necessities. We need to be multi-specialists rather than specialists.

I’m sure you get the idea by now. These concepts are what have been driven into me by the best of the best in the tech comm business in the last year, and I know this is what need to move technical communications forward.  When I entered my MSPTC program at NJIT three years ago, one of the motivating factors for entering the program and continuing with the program was not only the subject matter, but predictions that the technical communications field was going to have a big surge. I want to be part of that wave, and be one of the movers and shakers of the movement. I’m hoping that all technical communicators reading this will look at the new year as an opportunity to help shake things up in the world using the skills that we have. Whether we promote m-learning, single-source content management, or just emphasize clearer, better writing, our mission is clear. Make content better for ALL consumers of information. Make this your New Year’s goal– no matter how big or small your contribution is, make your content BETTER.

If goals like that can be achieved, THAT will be what’s ahead for Tech Comm in 2013.

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Another one of those 2012 Tech Comm Years in Review? But it’s MINE…

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

MP900309664It’s December 31st, 2012, and the end of another long year has come. This is the time of year when everyone starts to see the year in review posts and articles all over every media source imaginable. I’m no different– I’ve already posted a Top Ten Posts of 2012 for TechCommGeekMom.  But this post is more about my reflection of the year–and what a year it’s been!

This is not to say that everything has been coming up roses for me this year. Upon reflection, there were a lot of good things that happened over the past year that were never expected and were really great. There were also things that were definitely not so great.

The not as great things included problems that my son was having at school that greatly affected his behavior, me getting pneumonia for a month last winter, losing my full-time job, and being laid off my part-time job. Just those things alone could easily make it a bad year, especially if you knew some of the details of the school problems my son was having.

But there were so many things that outweigh those negatives that for once, I can actually say that 2012 was a pretty good year for me. The first big thing was that I graduated from NJIT with my MSPTC. That was the result of two and a half years of blood, sweat and tears–sometimes literally–to get it finished. It was so much a part of what I did for a while that I actually miss it. The fact that I actually graduated, with honors no less, is surreal. I can’t believe that it’s all finished and done, when I feel like I should still be taking a class or doing something more, like writing up another paper.  I was very fortunate to have made several friends in the program, even through this virtual program, and make connections that I think will benefit me for life. The knowledge I gained from the program will also serve me for life as well, I am sure.  I know that NJIT was proud enough of my recent accomplishments enough to feature me as one of its “poster girls” for the Continuing Education program by featuring me in a promotional video for the school. I’m honored and still surprised that they picked me, but appreciate the nod of approval nonetheless.

The other part of what made this year exceptional was this blog. What began as a combination of a class assignment and something to do on a whim has taken on a life of its own. I don’t think anyone, especially me, would have expected anyone to be reading it with the gathering that I’ve collected over the past year. Social media has truly been key to many of the successes I’ve had this year.  I’m glad that I started to become more involved professionally with Twitter and Facebook especially, in order to connect with other technical communicators. Not only did I seek to learn from other technical communicators in the past year, but I used social media as a means of marketing this blog so that my voice could be heard amongst the many great voices out there. The amazing thing to me is that my voice was heard.

Now, I did have some unexpected help along the way. As I’ve explained in the past, it was an early post in which I vented my frustrations about learning tech comm software that someone heard me very loud and clear.  It was someone at Adobe, who not only heard me, but also wanted to help me.  That person was Parth Mukherjee.  It was very early in our contact that he wanted to help, and offered me a webinar. What, me? A webinar for someone just out of grad school? Yes, crazy as it sounded, that what he offered me and I took it. I’m glad I did. Along the way, I got to know Saibal Bhattacharjee, Maxwell Hoffman, Ankur Jain, and Tom Aldous at Adobe as well, and they constantly provided me with more opportunities and support throughout the year–many more than what are listed here. The biggest highlights of this relationship for me were doing the webinar in June that gained me initial greater exposure, and when I was invited to be one of Adobe’s guests at their “Adobe Day” pre-conference event at Lavacon. For a gal who is still new to the field to be invited to “run with the big boys and girls” was a thrill! I learned so much at the Adobe Day conference, and I had a chance to meet and get to know some of the people that I had not only gotten to know through social media, but people I revered and respect in the field.  There have been so many good things that happened to me thanks to Adobe, and I don’t think I can ever thank them enough. As I’ve also said many times before, I was a big fan of Adobe’s before the connection with Adobe’s Tech Comm team, but now they’ve allowed me to become truly loyal to the company with everything they’ve done for me personally that they didn’t have to do. Thank you so much!

I also had an opportunity this year to express my technical communications knowledge in a different way–I was able to teach a virtual class in business and technical writing to Microsoft Korea through the World Learning Company. It was a unique opportunity to present information not only so the students could understand the information, but I truly wanted my students to learn the information so they could use it more often in their everyday business communications. I got great feedback from the end-of-class surveys as well as directly from the students themselves that I made it easier to understand these complicated language nuances, especially since English was a second language for nine of the ten students I had! It was a great opportunity to flex my knowledge muscles to help other people become better writers, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

A big part of this year was all the people I met who helped me along the way. In addition to those at Adobe and NJIT, I met SO many individuals along the way that helped me through this first year of being an “official” technical communicator. I’m sure I’ll be missing someone from this list of tech comm and e-learning professionals, as there were so many, but off the top of my head, they include RJ Jacquez, Mayra Aixa Villar, Miriam Lottner, Toby Price, Barrie Byron, Jamie Gillenwater, Sharon Burton,  Christie Fidura, Shay Shaked, Marcia Riefer Johnston, Colum McAndrew, Renaldo Lawrence, Joe Ganci, Sarah O’Keefe, Val Swisher, Jackie Gerstein, Anita Horsley, Scott Abel, Chad Udell, Alyssa Fox, and Karen Mahon. Each person here, and many others whom I met through social media or in person, contributed to my knowledge base and growth not only as a technical communicator and e-learning specialist, but also as a person. I thank each and every one of you for your support in taking me under your wing, but also for your friendship.

I also want to thank Gary Woodill, who is one of the m-learning gods in my eyes, for retweeting my tweet promoting my Whitepaper, thus giving it his understated blessing. That was a big deal to me for you to acknowledge it and deem it worthy of retweeting the link.  Also many thanks to TechWhirl, especially Craig Cardimon, for promoting two of my blog posts in recent editions of the “Tech Writer This Week” feature on TechWhirl.com. For me, that was a huge indication that I have “arrived” in tech comm.

So, as you can see, 2012 was actually a very good year for me. Sure, I didn’t have a full-time job, and I had illness and issues that were beyond my control at home, but for me, this has ended up being one of the best years that I’ve had in a long time. My first full year of being a technical communicator hasn’t been without some bumps along the way, but through this blog, my school connections, and all the new social media connections I’ve made in the past year, I wouldn’t change a thing. What a whirlwind for a “newbie”! I can only hope that I will continue to have the support of all these wonderful people, and be able to truly practice what I’ve learned over the past year in my new adventures as a Web Publisher for BASF in 2013.

This was the year of building, and I’ve gained a fantastic foundation. Now is the time to continue to grow and move onwards and upwards! I’m anxious about 2013, but having this strong foundation, I have a feeling that it’s got the potential to be another great year.

What are my resolutions for 2013? Well, I don’t know about resolutions, but I know that some of the things that I hope to achieve, other than a firm establishment in the tech comm field, is to go to the STC Summit in May (I hope), and maybe some other conference as well, if I can afford it. I want to meet so many more people in tech comm, and absorb the  information given by the best and brightest in the field. This year, I was the new kid on the block, and in 2013, I want to be part of the next generation of technical communicators helping to take the field further.

Thank you to everyone reading this, and have an incredibly Happy New Year!