Best Tech Comm Conference Summary
--- Begin Message --- In answer to my question about which conference to attend, STC or
Solutions Inc. if you could only attend one conference per year, the
winner is STC. Thanks to Walter Hanig, Alec Sonenthal, Carma Allen, Tim
Curry, Beth Moeller, and Skip Martin. Theirs responses are given below.
Walter wrote:
"I've never been to a Solutions, Inc. conference.
I attended the 1997 STC conference in Toronto and the 1998 conference in
Anaheim. Sadly, I'll miss this year's conference in Cincinnati (May
16-19).
I recommend the STC conference. There's a tremendous variety of sessions
from highly technical to survey to management to job hunting. The
networking opportunities are substantial and you can meet many of the
"gurus" of our field as well as Techwr-l posters.
The vendor exhibits are interesting, but needn't take more than a few
hours, depending on your interests."
Alec wrote:
"If you are focusing on online more than technical communication, you
should
look at Solutions co-sponsored event with Winwriters, the Help Update
conference in Boston (late summer).
Also, Winwriters has their big west coast event every year in early
spring.
My company, puts on the Help University conferences three times a year
(www.helpuniversity.com). All conferences are great place to learn,
network,
and have fun.
They are all more expensive than the STC conference (profit versus
non-profit
groups). STC offers a broad expanse of sessions, but they tend to be
more out
of date and some of the presentations are presented by less-than-stellar
industry experts. They have almost a year proposal cycle, our
conferences keep
proposals 6-12 weeks out from the conference."
Carma wrote:
"IMNSHO the STC conference is the best bet for your conference dollars.
Although I do prefer DC to Ohio, July is not really the best time to be
in
either area (unless you're a real fan of extremely hot and humid). I
have
never regretted money spent on an STC conference. The diversity of
sessions
available, contact with so many others in related jobs, vendor exhibits,
publications contest winner exhibits, etc., are invaluable. The main
problem is absorbing so much in so little time."
Tim wrote:
"I know several writers who have been to Solutions' conferences
and felt they were worthwhile. However, since I am in the same
situation as you (one conference/year), my choice is STC. I
considered attending Solutions Online Help conference in Orlando
this month, but many of the same presenters from Orlando are
covering the same topics at STC. And since Cincinnati is about an
hour away, the decision was even easier. STC's conference fee
tends to be much less, which makes it an even better value
because it covers so many areas of interest.
If you go, I recommend attending the first-timer's session on
Sunday night; consider the networking lunch for a chance to meet
more folks and commiserate. For me, the conference has been a
great chance to see old friends and colleagues who've moved to
other parts of the country.
At the past two conferences, I've attended every online help
session I could fit in. We're starting to implement online help
this year, and the STC conferences provided excellent background
for making decisions about tools and great information about
issues we would have to deal with."
Beth wrote:
"You might also want to look at IPCC 99 (this year in New Orleans in
September). It's a much smaller conference than STC, but gives you a
great
chance to network with experienced professionals. It generally draws
about
half academic and half industry. It's sponsored by the IEEE
Professional
Communication Society (http://www.ieee.org/pcs). There is a link to the
conference site near the top of that page.
I will admit I'm biased--I'm general chair for IPCC 2000. I do like
these
conferences, though. They cater to the experienced professionals and
offer
great networking opportunities."
Skip wrote:
"STC gives more bang for your buck than any other conference available.
(IMHO) Of course, I've not been to any others."
Thanks again to all who responded.
--- End Message ---
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