2013 stc wdcb super power survey

2013 Super Power SurveySTC WDCB Chapter

Spring 2013 Data as of 06/05/2013

Survey results

What we want from STCOnline communication

About ourselves FAQs about the surveyAny other questions?

TELL US ABOUT STC

TELL US WHAT YOU WANT FROM STC

1. Have you ever been to an STC event or attended one of our webinars?– Yes 87.5% (42) – No 12.5% (6)

Response Count88%

13%


2. If you attended one of our events/ webinars, what did you like about it?– networking (24)– subject (19)– speaker (10)– convenience (6) – webinar (4)– food (3)– summit (1)

networki

ng

subject

speak

er

conve

nience

webinarfood

summit

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

3. If you have not attended one of our events or webinars, what could we do to encourage you to attend?– location (7)

• MD (4)• VA (2)• Metro access (1)

– relevant topics (2)– time of event (2)– record event & rebroadcast (1)– webinar (1)



4. What kinds of events and webinars would you like to see in the future?

Networking 2.73Demo of one of our tech comm tools 2.72A tech comm superstar speaker 2.68Demo of a tech writing skill 2.64Social event 2.36Coworking 2.02

YES! meh No thanks

3 2 1


4. What kinds of events and webinars would you like to see in the future?– Write in comments:

• indexing, metadata, navigation, digital strategy• Breaking into the industry as a freelancer• dinner meeting (casual OK) with a speaker• Local conference• exhibitors seeking part-time or telecommuting tech writers

and even translators• Exercise in collaboration• Just for fun activity (picnic, family oriented, etc.)• Consultancy/academic research or industry project

presentation & discussion• What is coworking (as an event)? (4)


5. When we schedule a face-to-face event, what times of day and days of the week are best for you?

Weekday mornings

Weekday midday

Weekday afternoons

Weekday evenings

Saturday mornings

Saturday midday

Saturday afternoon

Saturday evening

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40


5. When we schedule a face-to-face event, what times of day and days of the week are best for you?– Write in comments:

• Any time is best if it's information I can use. • Weekday Late evenings start between 7 and 8 p.m. so we have

time to get there from the other side of the city. • Saturday even with brunch might be nice • not Tuesdays or Wednesdays • The Bmore Tech Council does early morning breakfasts, that might

be more doable for me. • It depends where the event is being held


6. When we schedule a face-to-face event, how important is Metro access to you?

Metro access is very important. I can't attend without it.

Metro access is desirable.

Metro access is only needed if we're meeting downtown in DC. If we meet somewhere with

convenient parking, I do not need Metro.

I do not need Metro.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30


6. When we schedule a face-to-face event, how important is Metro access to you?– Write in comments:• Driving from H'burg, 2-3 hours, so

afternoon is best. • Locations within 20 miles of the

Annapolis area would be ideal for me. • Especially when it's downtown.


7. When we schedule a webinar, what times of day and days of the week are best for you?

Weekday morningsWeekday midday

Weekday afternoonsWeekday eveningsSaturday mornings

Saturday middaySaturday afternoon

Saturday evening

0 5 10 15 20 25 30


8. STC offers a variety of resources to members and non-members. Let us know which of these benefits are useful to you.

Industry news 4.12Job postings 4.07Intercom magazine 4.02Chapter events 3.98Connection and networking 3.92Community news 3.83Webinars 3.49Social media 3.43Discussions online 3.41Technical Communication magazine 3.37Blogposts 3.22Summit 3.04Summit@aClick 2.49

I love this and would love more!

I value this benefit and participate

from time to timeI'm neutral I participate rarely I do not participate

ever N/A

5 4 3 2 1 0


8. STC offers a variety of resources to members and non-members. Let us know which of these benefits are useful to you.

– Write in comments:• Job postings (even volunteering) requires years I

don't have in the industry • I participate when I can--not so often any more • I would like to receive an e-mail or announcement

on Linked-In about the date and location of the next chapter meeting. I guess that is related to the question below. • Resume bank


9. Would you be interested in attending an STC WDCB Administrative Council meeting? (Our Admin Council usually meets monthly by phone to discuss plans for future events.)

Yes No

TELL US ABOUT ONLINE COMMUNICATION

0.001.503.00

TELL US ABOUT ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS

10. Our STC Washington, DC - Baltimore Chapter has many social media and internet offerings for members and non-members. Please tell us about your connection with each of these STC-related social media options.

I use this most every day I use this regularly I use this rarely I belong but do not

use this I do not belong I didn't even know we had this

5 4 3 2 1 0


10. Our STC Washington, DC - Baltimore Chapter has many social media and internet offerings for members and non-members. Please tell us about your connection with each of these STC-related social media options.

STC website http://stc.org/ 3.52Face-to-face events 3.05STC WDCB Chapter website http://www.stcwdc.org/ 3.05Email announcement list http://www.stcwdc.org/list_annc.shtml 2.95MySTC website http://stc.org/mystc 2.52Linked In http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=156478 2.40STC WDCB Chapter Blog http://www.stcwdc.org/wdcblog/ 2.35STC Notebook blog http://notebook.stc.org/ 2.17Facebook http://www.facebook.com/STCWDC 2.05Email chat list http://www.stcwdc.org/list_chat.shtml 1.98MySTC WDC-MB group http://stc.org/mystc/groups/viewgroup/94-Washington%2C+DC 1.90Twitter profile http://twitter.com/stcwdc 1.67STC WDCB Chapter Blog RSS feed http://www.stcwdc.org/STC_Washington_DC_Chapter.xml 1.65Twitter hashtag #stcwdc 1.60Pinterest http://pinterest.com/stcwdcmb/ 1.17

I use this most every day I use this regularly I use this rarely I belong but do not

use this I do not belong I didn't even know we had this

5 4 3 2 1 0


10. Our STC Washington, DC - Baltimore Chapter has many social media and internet offerings for members and non-members. Please tell us about your connection with each of these STC-related social media options.– Write in comments:

• intercom.stc.org• The Jobs Board http://jobs.stcwdc.org to look for job openings• I would attend more face-to-face events if held either near a

Metro stop during weekday evenings or held more in Virginia where I can drive on Saturdays.


11. Rate these forms of communication, based on your personal preference. Think about your normal everyday life, not just your association with technical communication.

Love this! Like this I'm neutral Dislike this Loathe this N/A

5 4 3 2 1 0

Email

Face

-to-fa

ce

Linke

d InBlogs

Face

book

Text messa

ging

Phone calls

MyS

TC

Twitter

RSS

Google+

Pinterest0.001.002.003.004.005.00


11. Rate these forms of communication, based on your personal preference. Think about your normal everyday life, not just your association with technical communication.– Write in comments:

• I prefer actual interaction with someone to "following" a blog or twit or pinboard. And Facebook is just for personal stuff, I don't mix it with work. I'm not very proficient on social media

• Webinars• Many of these forms of communication are security risks. I work in security.

Subsequently, I choose to use some of them rarely or never.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF


13. What is your current employment status?

Full-time

Freelance

In-between jobs

Part-time

Retired

Semi-retired

On disability

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35


14. Where do you work most often?

Federal or local government

Private industry

Nonprofit

Other (please specify)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30


15. In which industry do you work most often?– Government – Software

Government

Software Development

Manufacturing

Education

Healthcare

Retail

Advertising

Medical and scientific

Publishing

Transportation

Finance

0 5 10 15 20 25


16. What are your super powers?– Technical Writing– Technical Editing

Technical WritingTechnical Editing

Web Content WritingOnline help

Content managementUser assistance

User Experience (UX)eLearning

AccessibilityGraphic Design

Technical TrainingInstructional Design

WikisWeb Design

Other (please specify)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40


16. What are your super powers?– Other:

• Project Management, communications and marketing• Staff Development• Customer Support (phone and email)• I am also a translator (American Translators Association: French-English

accredited) and assistant instructor.• Management, systems engineering, standards• Content strategy, Web site evaluation, in-device help• Usability• single sourcing• Proposal Writing• Training• Typesetting (TeX and InDesign)


17. Are you male or female? (optional and confidential)

MaleFemale


18. How young are you? (optional and confidential)

Under 21

21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 70 71 to 80 Over 8002468

10121416


19. Tell us a little more. Are you ...

Member of STC?

Member of the STC WDCB chapter?

Between jobs?

Vendor?

Student?

Academic?

Retiree?

Employer?

Recruiter?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50


20. Would your employer sponsor a chapter event by donating money, after hours event space, or food?

YesMaybe, tell me more (please include contact email in your survey)Not at this time

Survey Preamble Thank you for taking part in the 2013 STC Washington, DC - Baltimore

Chapter's Super Power survey.

We want to make sure we provide the highest quality and most targeted events and services to Technical Communicators in the Washington DC, Metro Baltimore, and

Northern Virginia area. We want to find out where you are, what you think about, and what you need from STC. We want to put together events and services that will meet

your needs and showcase your talents. You can help us out by telling us about yourself in this survey.

We'd like to thank you for participating by offering a 20% discount on your next STC WDCB event. Just use the promo code "survey20" the next time you register.

All questions are optional and all answers are confidential so feel free to answer as many or as few as time allows and don't be shy about telling us

what you really think.

The 2013 Survey

• How many of us responded?– 50 as of 7/1/2013

• How did we publicize the survey? – Email– Linked In– Facebook– Twitter

• Can I still take the survey? – Yes!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/63BF7YX



2013 Super Power Survey

• Questions?