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> Using your figures, if they don't charge speakers at all, that's 240 * $400
> = $96,000 of lost revenue. Since the STC doesn't make any money on the
> conference, they would have to raise prices about an extra $50 per attendee
> to make this up.
So why not lower the number of speakers? Why have 250 mediocre speakers when
you can have 100 or 50 really sharp ones? I mean, if you have to PAY for the
right to speak, then speaking isn't much of an accomplishment. Moreover, this
gives the speakers virtually no credibility. Its like an infomercial at that
point. The person presenting the information had to pay for the right to
present it. How credible or objective is the person giving an infomercial?
Furthermore, if the topics were more diverse...including technical
topics...attendance might actually go up. Heck **I** would even speak if they
allowed technical topics. But they won't.
But let's face it, this would piss off a lot of local and regional STC
warlords. THey would have to slum it with the regular attendees and would not
get the opportunity to market their businesses and further monopolize their STC
marketing resources.
It also means STC would have to face the unpleasant reality that technical
skills really are valuable. This would reverse the decades of propaganda that
you can be an accomplished technical writer without being technical.
> And as several people have mentioned, not only do some speakers want to get
> in for free, they also want to be paid to present, get a free hotel room,
> and get airfare. THAT adds up.
I have no problem paying for my travel to speak somewhere. Its the added insult
of having to PAY to get into the conference where you are donating your time
and resources. When I volunteer at the local public television station to
answer phones, they don't charge me $50.00 for the honor to answer their phone
calls. Likewise, why should STC get away with charging people for the honor to
donate their services. Its absurd. It pushes away the talented and busy people
leaving only hungry drek.
And this is evidenced in the quality of the seminars. They are all virtually
carbon-copies of the same thing. Single-source this, process methodology that,
personal development....etc. Not a single one of those topics will help you
write more accurate or useful documentation. All they do is give you more ways
to manage the crap you already have (or don't have).
Andrew Plato
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