Toronto Chapter's November Meeting:
A Shift From Formatting to Writing Content

You write, therefore you format. Not quite cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), but it does seem that writing and formatting have become nearly indistinguishable. If you use any of the popular tools for creating text, MS Word or FrameMaker for instance, you format the content as you write. Taken a step further, products like DreamWeaver and FrontPage enable you to create formatted web content by design.

It may be that in the future, technical writing will be much more about creating content and much less about formatting that content. This talk explores the issues that make this change in focus possible and probable. It includes an explanation of why database publishing is such a hot topic and why it is not for everybody. What drives the decision to treat content as data and what are the benefits of this approach? It includes some drawbacks of current solutions and a suggestion of what the right solution should be.

The Speaker

Rob Frankland, President and CEO, Rascal Software Rob founded Rascal Software in the summer of 2002. He began his career in publications as an editor at Houghton Mifflin Co. He has been working in software development, chiefly in the documentation area, for over 20 years. He started as a technical writer at Software Arts (VisiCalc) and as a documentation manager at Lotus. He has been involved in a wide variety of software startups, including Exa, Marathon Technologies, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. He has consulted to a number of large and small companies, including Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Rational, AT&T Wireless, and Onyx Software. He was a founding partner of RFK Partners, a well-known CAD consulting company. Rob has been a judge for Puget Sound STC competitions for the past two years. He is also a frequent speaker at STC events throughout the country.

Rob Frankland is touring North America evangelizing XML and single sourcing. He is one of you, addressing your concerns, not just selling/pitching Rascal Software. He has spoken at several chapters where his presentation has been well received. He also spoke at the Region 8 conference.

When?

November 11, 2003
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Where?

The Burgundy Room,
North York Memorial Community Hall, North York Central Public Library,
5110 Yonge St., Toronto

Map available at http://www.stctoronto.org