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Most of these comments are in response to Eric Dunn's email specifically:
As I understand it, STC post-conference presenters are paid a stipend for
their session, which I think is based on the number of people who
register. Participants do have to pay extra - for the last few years, I
think it's been $100 for half-day, $200 for full day. For me, if there's a
good topic, it's worth going to, especially after travelling from
Australia for the 3.5 days of conference.
Post-conference workshop content is not normally in the Proceedings. For
those who aren't STC members or haven't been to the conference, the
Proceedings are not the same as the session slides and handouts, and only
certain types of presentations must have a paper in the proceedings. Only
if you present a "paper" do you need to submit to the proceedings. If you
do a session that is a presentation, panel discussion, progression, or
workshop, you are not required to submit something for the proceedings.
I've found that most papers in the proceedings tend to be a bit more
academic and related to the theory behind the presentation given, but
there's certainly more that I've learned from attending the presentations
themselves than the proceedings. I've personally mainly found the
proceedings useful when putting together some of my post-grad assignments
in the last few years (i.e. they're a great academic reference, but do not
replace attending the sessions and seeing it all live).
From my perspective, the conference does have a full schedule. Having 20
or so presentations to choose from in each time slot provides me with
heaps of different presentations to try to attend. This may not be the
same for those people more experienced in the field than I am. There is a
tradeshow, with all manner of vendors and service providers (e.g. I've
seen an insurance company there), and I'm quite sure that the vendors all
pay for their booths. Vendor demonstrations of their products are flagged
as such in the conference schedule. I don't think I've seen any notice of
events being sponsored by a given vendor/company.
I've found most presentations at the conferences to be very good, and
there are often many given by experienced people in the tech comm industry
who are committed to supporting the STC and its conference, by sharing
their knowledge and experience within the community. This dedication is
fabulous, as in most instances, these are business owners/independent
contractors who would be reducing their own revenue by taking the time to
be at the conference. I've found it worthwhile enough to travel to from
Australia for the last three years, rather than attend local conferences -
because of the wide variety of experience and knowledge I can come across,
and the number of people I can meet.
As far as the other suggestions about different ways that the STC could be
more valuable - now is the time to speak up. STC is looking at these kind
of issues at the moment, and I'm sure as a potential member you would be
able to submit comments about how the society could be of more value to
you (and give them reasons who you might cough up the $$ to join). Most
SIGs already have email lists .. but I don't think I've ever heard of a
general STC email list. That seems like a great idea to me.
My 2c,
Kirsty
Kirsty Taylor
Editor
Å kirsty -dot- taylor -at- mincom -dot- com
Mincom. The People. The Experience. The Vision.
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eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com
Sent by: bounce-techwr-l-96194 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
28-07-2004 02:18 AM
Please respond to
eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com
To
"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
cc
Subject
Re: Copyright transfers?
bounce-techwr-l-106467 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com wrote on 07/26/2004 06:02:03 PM:
> I don't begrudge academic publishers not paying for
> publication; it's the lack of even a small stipend
> for speaking that I had an issue with--and a "discount" on
> conference fees doesn't qualify in my book.
What I found amusing, is that if you want to give a workshop after the
conference, you are required to register for at least a day.
Do you get money for providing half-day or full-day workshops? Do
participants have to pay extra? Or, are they effectively forcing you to
pay to provide them with content?
Granted the STC may be non-profit, and the conference does seem to make
very slim margins. But the conference could be a major fund-raiser for the
year if it provided superior value and was marketed more outside the
general membership. Considering the time that it takes to prepare a good
presentation and that the conference would useless without content, you'd
think they'd be a little more generous to the people they depend on.
Perhaps the slim margin of conference profits ($173,968 according to http://www.stc.org/PDF_Files/AnnualReport.pdf) could be divvied up between
the presenters. That would be $1,700 (more to add to the current
deduction) each for a hundred presenters. ;) How many presentations are
there at a conference? According to the list at http://tc.eserver.org/publishers/STC_Proceedings there are 109 papers in
the 2003 proceedings. How many more presenters are there that didn't
submit to the proceedings (or are there a number missing from the list I
counted)?
Then, perhaps there would be competition for the available presenting
opportunities as opposed to having to extend the deadline for submissions
and hoping the conference will have a full schedule. Is there an
accompanying tradeshow? Vendor participation and sponsorship could be
another revenue stream. It would also make it easier to be up-front and
let participants know which items are sponsored events and which are
selected presentations.
Given that giving any kind of presentation at the STC conference is
currently going to cost you, what kind of presentations do they have now?
Certainly, if attendance at the conference continues to decline and the
STC continues to bleed $266,947 a year it may soon be too late to change
anything. Personally, unless the STC has more to offer me than a few
publications (which I can borrow at work) and free attendance at the local
meetings (which I can go to selectively at little cost) I don't see myself
joining anytime soon.
Why doesn't the STC run a website and list like TECHWR-L? We're all in
Raycomm's debt for allowing this resource to exist, but why isn't such an
important technical writer/communicator resource not run and funded by
those that purport to be the leading organisation for the profession?
A general discussion board or e-mail list plus different lists for the
various SIGs would certainly be a cost effective way of increasing
participation and visibility.
When's the TECHWR-L conference? :)
Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer
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