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April 30, 2003
STC's annual conferences
Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for STC's 50th annual conference, which is being held May 18th to 21st in Dallas. If you've been meaning to register and are a procrastinator like me, then hurry up and register! But if Dallas isn't your thing, by all means do consider submitting a proposal to present at next year's conference in fabulous Baltimore, Maryland, May 9-12, 2004. The stem manager for the usability and design stem is Caroline Jarrett, who some of you may know from her stint on the first NNgroup world tour. Yours truly is going to be managing the post-conference stem. The PC sessions are half- or full-day tutorials for which a moderate stipend is paid (assuming registrations warrant). I'd love to see more IA and ED/UX stuff presented next year. The folks at the University of Baltimore's IDIA program are already in the loop, as are fun folks like Mike Lee and wife Amy. Proposals must be postmarked by August 1, 2003 to be considered (as described in the (PDF; 241K). Drop me an if you have any questions.
Comments
Hi, Beth. I've been to every STC conference since my first in 1996. So, seven going on eight later, here's my take on them. There are four primary reasons to attend the conference. First, if you are new to the field, you have something like 200 sessions to choose from that will help you learn more about what you're doing now or what you might move into later. Since technical communication is a broad field, there is definitely a little bit for everyone. There's web design, online help, writing, management, usability, contracting, research, and more. Alas, our conference is one of those where some folks complain that there are too many sessions and too many competing ones. Going to learn often keeps folks busy for the whole conference (and potentially for a couple of years, at least!). But the second reason to go is to give back. Speakers at STC are those who've been in the field for a while and have something to share. So presenting is both a good career tactic for growth and a way to help your peers. The STC conference offers a variety of ways to dabble one's feet in the speaking role. Presenting at a progression is a great way to get started for those who've never presented in front of a large group before. For those who are more experienced (or who want to market themselves), there are paper, panel, and workshop session types. I think the third reason to go is the networking and society-level opportunities. The first year I went I knew no one. The second year was after I had formed the Information Design SIG ( http://www.stcsig.org/id ) and I was really wowed with how different it was once you had all these other activities to be part of. I'm sure this is the same for chapter officers as well. And best yet, if you become a hard-core conference go-er like me, then someone might ask you to be more involved. Dallas will make the third program committee I've been on, and I've got two more to look forward to (I'm on the committee for Baltimore in 2004, and will be program chair for Seattle in 2005). This is probably STC's best volunteer job, and I got in the loop primarily for being involved and visible. I heartily recommend it! Finally, the STC conference is easily one of the best values going. The early registration fee of $420/member, $560/non-member is hard to beat!
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IDblog is Beth Mazur tilting at power law windmills. A little bit Internet, a little bit technology, a little bit society, and a lot about designing useful information products. Send your cards and letters to .
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