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> Hint: It's a blog. It's commentary. And, it hits a nerve.
Hear, hear! I'm surprised everyone's been quick to criticize. It's a blog for goodness sake!
I recently attended some open space sessions in conjunction with a professional meeting.
One of the topics was "User Forums".
Most people who participated reported that attendance was down and they were looking for
ways to bring back interest. I suggested that a sense of community was lacking, and one of
the ways to foster this sense of community is through on-line forums. I think the idea has
some merit. (of course ;)
I have made quite a few professional acquaintances and also good friends through on-line
forums. If members of a user group had more of a connection with those they attended
meetings, they would be more likely to make the effort to attend. I know, personally, I enjoy
attending WritersUA each year. Part of that is the quality of the information and the speakers,
but another part of that is the friendships I've gained over the years. Many of these
friendships are maintained on-line and I see these people only rarely. My desire to spend
time with them in person is one of the draws for going to the conference.
I'm unfamiliar with whether or not STC chapters set up local email lists in conjunction with the
other more global lists. I'm not a member. If I were a member, I would be in the blogger's
chapter :) Unfortunately, I am 100 miles north of Salt Lake, and most meetings are held 45
miles south of Salt Lake (a 2.25 to 4 hour one-way drive, depending on traffic).
There was one guy who spoke up at the open space session who said their attendance has
continued to increase (one of the few). I believe he said that at one of the fairly recent
meetings they had given away a car ;)
Dana W.
***************************
Dana Worley
Software Product Manager/Manager, Software Support Group
Campbell Scientific, Inc.
Microsoft MVP, Windows Help
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