Tuesday, June 23, 2009
STC floundering?
It's been pretty clear over the last few months that the Society for Technical Communication (STC) is facing some hard times. Attendance at this year's conference was way down (below 1,000) and memberships, the other major source of revenue, are falling too. The STC has been sponsoring a series of webinars to discuss future directions and has acknowledged that unless they can turn things around, and quickly, the organization will run out of money in a couple of years.
Needless to say, this has generated a fair amount on discussion in the blogosphere. In the last few days, I've seen lengthy and thoughtful posts from Sarah O'Keefe at Palimpsest, Tom Johnson at I'd Rather Be Writing, and Paul Pehrson at Technically Speaking.
Some common themes are emerging. The obvious place to start economizing is with the print publications - Intercom and Technical Communication. There may be some value to having a print version of Technical Communication for libraries, but Intercom should be online only. It should also be open to non-members to serve as a vehicle for promoting the role of technical communication. The organization also needs to seriously revamp its web presence - the stc.org web site is dated and hard to navigate, for example, and make more use of emerging social media technologies.
Despite the fact that I found this year's Summit a very worthwhile experience, the money put into the conference could probably be better spent beefing up the programming at local chapters, who are, after all, one of the primary sources of new and returning members.
I'll be attending the Toronto chapter's annual meeting tomorrow night. I'm sure there'll be a lot of discussion there about the future of the STC. (From what I've been told, the Toronto chapter is one of the few financially solvent chapters, despite a decline in membership since the beginning of the decade).
I would hate to lose the STC. It was really important in my development as a technical writer, and I still find it worthwhile. However, it's not essential - the rise of the Internet, with the World Wide Web and social media, has provided many alternatives for finding information and networking with other writers. At one time, the STC was pretty much the only game in town - it's not now, and if the people running the organization don't realize this and start doing something about it now, it will die away.
Needless to say, this has generated a fair amount on discussion in the blogosphere. In the last few days, I've seen lengthy and thoughtful posts from Sarah O'Keefe at Palimpsest, Tom Johnson at I'd Rather Be Writing, and Paul Pehrson at Technically Speaking.
Some common themes are emerging. The obvious place to start economizing is with the print publications - Intercom and Technical Communication. There may be some value to having a print version of Technical Communication for libraries, but Intercom should be online only. It should also be open to non-members to serve as a vehicle for promoting the role of technical communication. The organization also needs to seriously revamp its web presence - the stc.org web site is dated and hard to navigate, for example, and make more use of emerging social media technologies.
Despite the fact that I found this year's Summit a very worthwhile experience, the money put into the conference could probably be better spent beefing up the programming at local chapters, who are, after all, one of the primary sources of new and returning members.
I'll be attending the Toronto chapter's annual meeting tomorrow night. I'm sure there'll be a lot of discussion there about the future of the STC. (From what I've been told, the Toronto chapter is one of the few financially solvent chapters, despite a decline in membership since the beginning of the decade).
I would hate to lose the STC. It was really important in my development as a technical writer, and I still find it worthwhile. However, it's not essential - the rise of the Internet, with the World Wide Web and social media, has provided many alternatives for finding information and networking with other writers. At one time, the STC was pretty much the only game in town - it's not now, and if the people running the organization don't realize this and start doing something about it now, it will die away.
Labels: technical communication
Comments:
"the money put into the conference could probably be better spent beefing up the programming at local chapters,"
- the conference is intended to be a source of revenue. Not an expense to be pared.
- help for programs at chapters would be good.
- the conference is intended to be a source of revenue. Not an expense to be pared.
- help for programs at chapters would be good.
Keith, I've come to a similar conclusion on my blog (http://www.theblockheadblog.co.uk/2009/06/stc-action-plan.html), and I’ve been an active STC member for quite a while:
“What can STC give me that I can’t get cheaper, or for free, somewhere else?”
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“What can STC give me that I can’t get cheaper, or for free, somewhere else?”
