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April 4th, 2007 | Posted in Technical Writing 10 Comments »
After I published the podcast interview with Nicky Bleiel, STC candidate running for director, I received a handful of emails from other candidates also asking to participate on the podcast. Some felt I wasn’t providing fair election coverage, and others were just sorry to have missed the opportunity. Tech Writer Voices is all about listening and showcasing the voices of all technical writers, so I want to give everyone a chance to be heard.
I’m taking a fresh angle on hearing candidate’s voices. Rather than having an online round table discussion with 5-6 people over Skype (which might be fun in the future, though I haven’t tried it yet), I’m asking each candidate to write a one page narrative about a defining moment in his or her technical communication career. What experience helped shape your current view in the profession? Share a story related to your career that has meaning for you.
Anyone who is running for anything can submit his or her story to me at tom@idratherbewriting.com. You can either read it yourself and submit the audio file (Wav or MP3 format) to me, or just submit text and I’ll read it (or have someone else read it).
If you want to participate, please send me your story by Saturday evening, April 7. I will then read the stories on the next Tech Writer Voices podcast, which I’ll publish on Monday, April 8.
(Note: By the way, if you’re wondering when I extended the initial call, it was at the end of the “Is Technical Writing Boring?” podcast and also on a blog post here. I did not contact anyone directly.)
[...] Update: We’re going to have a follow up show with additional coverage of candidates. [...]
[...] at I’d Rather Be Writing, Tom Johnson asks STC candidates to submit a story about a defining moment in their career. I am not a candidate (or even a member) of the STC*, but like many of us, I do [...]
Hi Tom
My experience with Skype a month or so ago is that you can only have up to 4 people on a conference call (at least in the free version!).
Rhonda
[...] the initial invitation for the candidate’s [...]
I’ve heard the same thing about Skype. However, I did run across an interesting free teleconferencing service at http://freeconferencing.liveoffice.com/index.html . Have you ever used this?
Hi Tom
I haven’t come across them before. However, international call restrictions or rates are usually the killer for me. So I just checked the FAQs on their website and found out the following:
*********
Can international callers participate in my conference call?
Yes. Any caller able to dial a US telephone number will be able to get access to our service and in turn, into a conference call.
Is this a VoIP service like Skype™ or Vonage™?
LiveOffice uses the same phone network that you use every day. This is not an Internet phone service like Skype™ or Vonage™ but our conference service will allow for access to conference calls using either VOIP service mentioned.
*********
So this looks like an option with Skype Out. I had to make a conference call to the US only last week and it cost me $3.50 for 2 hours on Skype Out compared to over $20 for a standard phone.
Thanks for the link!
Rhonda
Skype quality has improved considerably over the past year. I’ve used it to call India, Korea, South Africa, Australia, and England. Each time it’s been pretty clear. But it also used to be cheaper.
I’ll let you know about my experiences with the service I mentioned. I’m planning to use it with the Tech Writer Voices podcasts.
tom how are ya do’n? i have never herd of SKYPE until reading your blog. i am about to research it. however, i never do the teleconfrence thing.
I agree with you Tom. Skype quality has improved considerably over the past year. But sometimes, I used teleconference too for any specific biz. However, it’s all yours. What kind of both you choose to use.
Chris Stevens
Communication Tube – Its a online messenger chat client for the popular instant messaging: live messenger,Google Talk (GTalk),ICQ. Communication Tube is compatible with all popular browsers.