14.6.2011  Board meeting

Location: Tampere University

Time: 18.00-19.00

Attendees:                                
Mary Nurminen (chair)                                         
Anu Sandqvist       
Ryan Gold                                                             
Anne Karppinen (sec)                   
Tytti Suojanen                                 

Absent:
Hanna Utriainen
Terhi Sipilä

1.Action points - OK

2.Reports from local events

• Vaasa: Ryan
• 12 – 15 people (3 of which were members), Connie Kampf talked about new trends in tech comms + open discussion
• Ad for joining the society, even the pensioners!
   
• Oulu: Mary
• ~15, cooperation with the university in organizing the thing.
• Part 1: for students. 3 old U. of Oulu students talked about their work in tech comms
• Part 2: society event: Connie Kampf talked about trends in tech comms and Nick Hill about developer documentation
• Evening part with food and drinks
   
• Tampere: Mary
• 9 people, food and drinks served
• Terhi & Eeva talked about the TCEurope thing
   
• Helsinki event in the fall, Jyväskylä under consideration.

3.Budget update – Anu

• Membership payments reminder email should be sent.

4.Local events in the fall

• Helsinki / Jyväskylä – to be defined in the fall.
• Theme ideas: Legal thing, graphics, ideas based on training questionnaire results.  

5.Training questionnaire

• Review of results presented by Tytti (separate print-out)
• Tampere U. plans:
  • Short studies (koulutustarjotin) to be offered at the University: Rich media/visualisation, Usability, Simplified English, DITA/Structured documentation, Dokumentin suunnittelu, Effects of the machine directive
  • More info: http://www.stvy.fi/node/468
• How to move forward: AP: board members to read materials.
• DITA requested several times => Pool forces with JoAnn Hackos or Finnish DITA trainers. Minimalism: Again JoAnn stuff. Eeva on machine directive.
• Local event thing, one-day training, maybe 1 thing in the fall

6.Travel policy

• AP: Anne & Anu write up a formal travel policy for STVY.
• No allowances. Always compensate according to the cheapest option (car vs train).

7.TCeurope

• Colloquium 2012: should we aim to sponsor a member participant on a regular basis?
• Colloquium theme: Terhi has requested that Portugal reserve the theme we presented for us for 2013.
  • AP Mary to talk to Terhi about potentially splitting the event.
• Participating in TCeurope WGs, and TCE Award committee
  • STVY board members have very little time.
  • STVY award to be considered, limit to professionals in Finland.

8.AOB

• Näkymä ideas: New media & Tech comms
• August meeting: 17.8. Wednesday, 1800 hrs

11.4.2011  Board meeting

Location: Sevilla

Time: 18.00-19.00

Attendees:                      
Mary Nurminen (chair)                             
Tytti Suojanen
Anu Sandqvist                                          
Ryan Gold                                            
Anne Karppinen (sec)                                           

Absent:      
Hanna Utriainen
Terhi Sipilä

1.Action points: OK

2.Treasury stuff

1. Closing the books: Anu has agreed with the previous book keeper that she does it this time and has asked for referrals.Will be ready by the May meeting.
2. Last year’s activity report by Anne was accepted.

3.Näkymä

• Issues on next issue: Ryan is asking for contributions (JoAnn Hackos among others) and planning is well on the way.

4.Local events planning

• Vaasa: May 19 – will be handled by Ryan
• Oulu: Mary has been in touch with Leena Kuure, and local students will help to organize the event.
• Helsinki: Nothing concrete yet.
• Tampere: Anne to arrange. Society spring meeting will take place in connection with this event. Post-colloquium talks: the STVY representative to the colloquium will speak at the Tampere event.

5.Training questionnaire

From Tytti: Reminder sent, still not too many answers. Second reminder to be sent and then replies compiled.

Decision: OK to take forward.

AP Mary: Mary to figure out how to use the survey thing in our web site.

6.TCeurope

• Suggestions for theme: meeting decided to suggest only 1 theme to go along with their bid for hosting the 2012 colloquium: Communications in the Mobile World (or something like that)
• Quick brainstorming on the theme (expanding the theme): virtualization, cloud, Mlearning, Laura’s thesis, Angry Birds (Ville Heijari)
• Anne and Mary will whip together a two-slider proposal /bid for the 2012 Colloquium.

AOB

None.

Location:Tampereen yliopisto, Pinni B building
Time: 17.30-19.30
Attendees:
Tytti Suojanen
Mary Nurminen (chair)
Terhi Sipilä
Anu Sandqvist (sec)
Ryan Gold 

1. Action points to bring over from 2010

Spring: Training survey to be sent to companies. Mary will create a list of contacts, and Tytti will review the training survey. The answers will be compiled later in the year.

Fall: Membership drive, APs TBD later.

2. Organizing the 2011 board

Selection of Society officials

Full members: Mary Nurminen, Ryan Gold, Anne Karppinen, Hanna Utriainen, Anu Sandqvist

Substitute members: Terhi Sipilä, Tytti Suojanen

Officers:

• Vice chairman: Ryan Gold
• Treasurer: Anu Sandqvist
• Secretary: Anne Karppinen
• Webmaster: Hanna Utriainen
• International affairs: Terhi Sipilä

Communication Principles

• All comms thru the web site/discussion group
• Sign up for automated emails!
• Minutes posted as blog entries (chair checks first)

Board meetings

• Announced ~2 wks before
• 6 - 7 times a year/every 6 wks, urgent issues (voted) via email or discussion forum, skype/conf calls also possible
• Once a year, meeting held somewhere else
• Travel paid to board members
• Next spring meetings:
  February 14th at 6 p.m
  March 14th at 6 p.m
  April 11th at 6 p.m.

3. Membership stuff

• Situation end 2010, 169 members. 42 new, 89 removed from member list.
• Reminders sent in November to non-payers, and now the ones who still have not paid will be removed from membership lists.

4. Treasury stuff

• Taxes for 2010 to be done soon
• Decided we’ll try to find a new accountant

5. Web stuff

• Material from fall seminar 2010 – Hanna (webmaster) to define where to put these.

6. Fall seminar 2011/Spring seminar 2012

• No seminar in fall 2011.
• Idea: Host the TCeurope colloquium in the spring of 2012 and combine that with the seminar. Terhi will try to find out if this is possible.

7. Näkymä

• Ryan to start managing Näkymä. Terhi already has plans and ideas.

8. Training

• Questionnaire / plan: Mary creates a list of who to send it to, Tytti will review the questionnaire, will be sent in the spring, Tytti will compile results.

9. International news

• TCeurope colloquium will be held in Brussels in April.
• Call for papers still open, the topic is The impact of European directives and standards on technical communication.
• TCeurope working group for the Machinery directive.
• Terhi will send information about the colloquium to the STVY list.

10. Local events planning

• Researcher event in Vaasa 6.6.11? (Suvi Isohella defends her licenciate’s degree)
• Possible cooperation with Ammattikielten ja -viestinnän yhdistys?

Aika: 11.11.2010, 18:15
Paikka: Ravintola Tiiliholvi, Tampere
Läsnä: Tytti Suojanen, Hanna Utriainen, Mary Nurminen, Anne Karppinen

1. Kansainvälinen yhteistyö: ei uutisia.

2. Toimintasuunnitelma 2011

Keskustelimme alustavasti siitä, että perinteisen syysseminaarin asemesta pidämme ehkä webinar-tyyppisen etäseminaarin syksyllä 2011. Isomman seminaarin järjestäisimme seuraavan kerran 2012 keväällä, jolloin olisi enemmän yhtäjaksoista aikaa (ilman kesälomia) järjestelyille.

Myös paikallistoiminnasta keskusteltiin. Hallitus päätti järjestää pikkujoulujen asemesta paikallistapahtuman koodinimellä "pikkujoulut" tammikuussa.

Hallitus toivoo jäsenistöltä juttuja Näkymään, joka julkaistaan seuraavan kerran tammikuussa 2011.

3. Talousarvio

Ei lisättävää.

4. 2011 hallituksen kokoonpano

Uuden hallituksen järjestäytymiskokous todennäköisesti tammikuussa. Poistuvia jäseniä ovat Mladen ja Noora, uusi jäsen Ryan Gold.

5. Jäsenrekisterin siivoaminen

Mary > Anu lähettää muistutusmailin jäsenille, jotka eivät ole vielä maksaneet. Marylla valmis lista näistä.

6. Paikallistapaamiset

Kuten yllä. Anne kysyy Antti (Vuennolta) ehtisikö tämä tammikuussa puhujaksi Tampereella.

7. Näkymä

Kuten yllä.

For awhile now we’ve been hearing about social media and its potential effects on our industry, jobs, and job opportunities. If it’s all been sounding like cloudy, pie-in-the-sky kind of stuff to you and you want to see something concrete, here is some evidence.

This is a job ad I ran across in the web pages of a company that recruits for the localization industry. Take note: not all interesting tech comms opportunities show up in traditional tech comms places. If you’re looking, for a full-time job or the next interesting project, don’t limit yourself to information on our field alone. Check out what’s going on in related areas – localization, gaming, marketing, etc. You might find something that is right up your alley!

The ad (which by the way is for a job in Gibraltar) starts like this:

Our client is searching for a Senior Online Forum Expert (Finnish) to help this existing team. You will take direct responsibility for the online forum environment and function closely with the other departments to achieve company objectives and for large multi-division projects. You will take control of the direct management of the community in the forum and the compilation of a team of both voluntary and professional experts to answer poker-related questions. You will have exceptional knowledge of Forums, Chats and Online Communities in your native language...

Interested? The full ad can be seen here:

http://tbe.taleo.net/NA8/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=LARSENG11N&cws=6&rid=135

Board meeting May

Time: May 24, 2010, 17.30 – 18.30 (18.30 fall seminar planning meet)

Place: University of Tampere, Pinni B, languages dept. library (room B4086)

Present:
Mary Nurminen (chair)
Anu Sandqvist
Terhi Sipilä
Anne Karppinen (sec)
Tytti Suojanen
Hanna Utriainen

1. Action points

2. International cooperation
Update by Terhi of the TCeurope conference and meeting

o Good meeting – almost all delegates present. Only Swedish representative couldn’t make it due to the ash cloud, and the new Czech rep couldn’t come either.
o Lots of discussion on new member societies in TCeurope – process for applying for membership, supporting new member societies, etc.
o Tekom members are no longer able to join working groups as Tekom resigned from TCEurope.
o New machinery directive: info bulletin into the seminar about this!
o 04/2012 colloquium, also Netherlands bidding to arrange this, as well as Finland. We discussed when we’d need to know, and approximately one year beforehand.

o AP Hanna: To find out from Sami how to post to mailing list.
o AP seminar organizers: Hanna Risku gets Merit certificate in connection with the autumn seminar.
o AP Terhi: Info on the machinery directive to autumn seminar.

3. Local events

o Helsinki: local event + spring meeting + summer party. How many board members will be present? Road trip from Tampere?
o 16.6. Anu, Anne (?), Mary
o Vaasa: similar one to the one we had in Tampere? (Tytti) plans are for next spring

4. Summer party in Tampere too or just Helsinki?
o AP Anne: To reserve sauna at NSN premises => OK, sauna reserved 21.6. 16:30 onwards.

5. Näkymä

Terhi has put together a plan for publishing Näkymä
o Great!
o Terhi – content planner and owner, Hanna - layout
o Publish as PDF, send via email.
o Tytti to get the slides from Tampere local event.
o Hanna writes story on Helsinki local event.
o Other European societies introduced? Terhi checks
o Language: whatever the writer chooses
o 18.6. deadline for articles
o Call for papers for autumn seminar into Näkymä

6. Toimintakertomus 2009 and tilinpäätös

Should be ready in time.

7. Cooperation in Finland

Discussions on cooperation with KAJ and Specia => possibility to pool forces with the salary survey.

8. Any other business

Questionnaire put off until autumn.

Telephone conference
17:00-18:00

Action points: we had a very thorough run-through of action points 

International cooperation: we were scheduled to get an update from Terhi but since she was still trying to get back from the TCeurope colloquium due to the volcano ash, we had to put it off until the next board meeting.

Local events: The Tampere local event is scheduled for May 3. For Helsinki we are scheduling an event in June with the theme of developer documentation.

Cooperation in Finland: Representatives from Käännösalan asiantuntijat and Specia will come to Tampere and join us for lunch on May 19 to discuss possibilities for cooperation.

 Fall Seminar 10:  

• Need a head planner – since seminar is in Tampere, the head planner should be here too


• Timing – week 42, either Mon-Tues or Thurs-Fri


• Theme ideas yet?
  
  
  
  • Rich Media
  
  
  • Future of tech writing, in Finland and elsewhere
    
    
    
    • State of the industry
    
    
    • Elsi’s gradu: what will this job look like in 5 years
    
    
    • Get a freelancer to talk
    
    
    • Suvi researching competences
    
    
    • New competences needed with change from just text or just words to Rich Media
    
    
    • Tech writers as script writers
    
    
    • would allow us to get lots of speakers
    
    
    • Case studies from different companies
    
    
    • Good panel discussion!
    
    
    • Would need a sub theme which is more hard-core stuff of the stuff we do


• New tools and services


• Localisation and writing for loc
  
  
  
  • In suggestions from last year, have heard comments that it would be nice to have something on this.

 Any other business:  

• Summer party – aim for downtown location, see what kind of attendance we get


• Never had one in Helsinki, discuss it in spring and then end up having none. Have the local event be also summer party? Yep, let’s have the local event as a summer party too.

University premises
Starting at 17:40 -> 19:50

Action points from previous meeting: Anne creates a separate AP register.

1. Membership drive
1.1 Where to advertise/How to get new members:
- Tytti has sent a list of companies to Mladen and Noora
- AP everyone sends ideas to Mladen which companies to contact
- AP Mladen makes a list of companies and e-mail addresses
- AP Noora to write up the ad email to send to companies
- AP Mary informs Noora and Mladen

1.2 Co-marketing with Doctrina, AP Anne to ask Riitta about possibilities & potential contacts in companies.

1.3 Sponsors and giving prizes for people who get new members
Society registration instructions in web pages should contain a field for the sponsor name ("who recommended me"). AP Mary to get the field added. AP Anne to think of prizes for sponsors.

1.4 Visibility towards tech comm students
Give a talk to students abt STVY: Fall term is best timing. AP Mary to set up with Tytti.

1.5 Member benefits
=> not much on the website! Has to be remembered that the more people we have, the better we can serve our community.

Mary compiles a list based on memo of previous meeting and input from Board members / Tytti. Suggestions:
- workshops and conferences
-- hear about latest trends
-- make contacts and network
-- new tools and skills
-- learn about different aspects
- Access to members only area in website: job ads, library etc
- Participate in discussions: our website doesnt yet work as well as previous mailing list
- International cooperation, and knowledge of directives in EU

1.6 Ainaisjäsen hinta
- Principle suggested: 8 * yearly fee (200,- would be the fee based on 2010 member price)
- Can only be decided in fall meeting.

2. Meet more often
- At least write down and follow up AP:s better.
- Next meeting by phone: 22.4. 1700 hrs, Anne provides bridge
- Deadline for action points!

3. Training needs
- Find out if companies are willing to bring in tech comm trainers from abroad, could co-arrange an STVY thing at the same time.
- AP Mary creates questionnaire and perhaps Tytti sends the mail to ask?

4. International cooperation
- Tekom resigned from TCEurope
- New members, active new representants
- TCeurope conference in April
- We are thinking of organizing colloquim in Finland in 2012 (probably Helsinki as location?).

5. Cooperation in Finland
• Mail from Hanna Gorshelnik at Käännösalan asiantuntijat about
cooperation with them and Specia
- Talk about coop over lunch, AP Mary. 16.4.

6. Local events
6.1 Tampere: Current research in tech comms
-- Possible dates: 28.4., 3.5., 10.5.
-- Tytti checks with Vaasa, Oulu and Jyväskylä
-- Spring meeting in connection with that, but presentations first, meeting after (coffee and salty baked goods served)
-- university location

6.2 Helsinki: Vendor presentations?
-- AP Terhi talks with Hanna & Maria if smt could be pulled off.
-- How to get people to participate: Terhi has some contacts in Helsinki, Anne too

6.3 Summer party
-- Laura and Hanna to arrange, they promised :)

6.4 Informal local events: have a beer or two or just talk about what you do at work.

7. Question about advertising in our pages: AP Anne to define specifics (Talk to web page vendor)

8. Fall seminar '10
- Päänakittaja: AP Mary to send email on who'll be the nakittaja
- w. 42 is the autumn break (university premises available)
- Theme ideas: Embedded user assistance and Rich media