By Lori Meyer
This year, I joined seven STC Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Normally, the total cost would be $55.00. The cost to me? $0.
This year, I attended three STC live webinars. Normally, the total cost would be $90.00. The cost to me? $0.
This year, I added an STC chapter to my membership. Normally, the cost would be $25.00. The cost to me? $0.
Why? In one word (or perhaps in one color): Gold. Because I am an STC Gold member, I was able to save $170.00 on these educational and networking opportunities. STC Gold membership is available to technical communicators of any professional level. A Gold membership provides several valuable benefits. Here are just two of them:
Free membership in all STC SIGs
STC provides two types of SIGs, each of which focuses on a specific subject area.
Communities of Interest
COIs provide channels for discussion and networking via Slack and other social media outlets (for example, Google Groups). Each COI is run by one or more facilitators, who monitor discussions, encourage member participation and information exchange, and help members find additional resources about the subject area.
STC currently offers these COIs:
- Academic
- Accessibility
- Agile
- Application Programming Interfaces (API)
- Contracting and Independent Consulting
- Health & Medicine
- Solo Technical Communicator
- UX and User Experience
- Women in Technical Communication
Communities of Practice
COPs provide a wider range of networking, educational, and skill-building activities, including webinar presentations and workshops. Each COP has a leadership structure that offers a variety of volunteer opportunities and recognition, along with a budget that funds special presentations, contests, conferencing tools, and (depending on funding available) stipends for leader attendance at the STC Summit conference. COPs manage their own websites that keep members up to date on the group’s activities and provide opportunities for both student and professional members to contribute articles.
STC currently offers these COPs:
- Instructional Design and Learning
- Policies and Procedures
- Technical Editing
For more information about these SIGs, go to https://www.stc.org/communities/.
Free registration for all STC live webinars
STC offers several live webinars each year, presented by seasoned technical communicators. Each one-hour webinar is recorded, and attendees are given access to the recordings and (if provided by the presenters) handouts.
For descriptions of the live webinars coming up in early 2022, go to https://www.stc.org/education/live-webinar/.
Additional benefits
Gold membership also offers these benefits:
- Free membership in one STC chapter of your choice
- A printed version of the STC Intercom magazine (8 issues)
- A 20% discount on STC online courses
- Free access to the Salary Database
- Extended early-bird registration deadline for the STC Summit conference
I’ve been a Gold member for six years, and its benefits have enriched my membership experience. Over the years, Gold membership has given me added incentive to participate in more STC communities and activities, and has strengthened my membership. If you’d like to experience the same added value, consider going Gold! For more information about how to join or renew as a Gold member and take advantage of all of its benefits, go to http://stc.org/membership.
Lori Meyer is the immediate past membership manager of the IDL SIG. She also volunteers for several other STC communities, including the Rochester and Florida chapters, and serves as an ad-hoc director for the STC Community Affairs Committee. Lori works full-time at a cybersecurity firm in Northern California.