Re: STC!

["Donn S Le Vie, Jr." <dlevie -at- austin -dot- rr -dot- com>]

Victoria said
>I am not so sure that what
> you have to say is worth any more $ than what I do in a conference
designed
> for sharing ideas and I don't know how you would expect any one to
determine
> that either.

When you reach a certain level, you find that the giving exceeds the getting
(or the "sharing"). For many of us who have done more than our fair share of
sharing at regional and international conferences, that gets to be an
expensive proposition when you work for yourself. When you work for
yourself, it is more critical that your knowledge is what puts food on the
table and a roof over your head. It's a little different as a captive. The
premise of being a captive is that what you do is a little more important
than what you know. Annual reviews are built all around your
"accomplishments" ...what you've DONE, and not around "how has this person
added to the knowledge base?"

And if you work for someone else, they probably the cover the expenses of
the conference under training.

> I happen to love this field and I am not out to simply make a few bucks.

Hey, guess what...I love this field, too. Nobody's asking for a lotto win;
it would be nice to have a complementary registration or at least an
honorarium to help defray expenses involved with imparting knowledge to
others. More ideas are "shared" over lunches, dinners, and social gatherings
at these conferences; presentations and round tables are built around the
idea of "imparting" knowledge.

>I would rather see the organization devote money to
> research and scholarships than to cut someone a small discount.

STC offers presenters a very small discount (inconsequential, actually). But
you get what you pay for. How about if your employer earmarked your salary
for research and scholarships but still expected the same level of output
from you?

>It might benefit you to go out on the lecture and training circuit, much as
Jakob Nielson does.

As I mentioned, I already do this...do you think Nielson does it for free,
too?

Good grief.

I know I'm not the only lone voice on this subject. Any others out there?

Donn Le Vie


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