RE: The Problem with the STC -- A Heretical Perspective

["Jason Willebeek-LeMair" <jlemair -at- cisco -dot- com>]

Why should the STC seminars and conferences focus on something other than
writing and technical writing management, process, and strategy?

I have a different take on this.  I do not think that the STC should.

There are few enough conferences that focus on writing.  There are plenty of
conferences that focus on the technical areas (and by technical, I mean the
topic areas that we write about or work with, such as aerospace engineering,
programming, finance, etc.), and not many of those focus on actual the
actual writing aspect of these areas.  The STC conferences fill this gap.

Right now I am looking at a list of upcoming conferences that include: Java,
COM, and C++.  It looks like these conferences offer "getting started"
tracks that explain the basic concepts and principles of these areas. If a
technical writer needs to learn about these areas, then these are the
conferences the writer should attend (as well as the STC conference).

So, while I would like to see seminars on "Documenting Object-Oriented
Databases" and "TCP/IP: The Real Poop" at STC conferences, I do not think it
is necessary.  Besides, with the breadth of topics that technical writers
cover, I do not think the STC could cover enough technical topic areas to
make even 50% of the attendees happy.  Also, you will not get the level of
expert knowledge in the ATTENDEES that you would at a more focused technical
conference.  This can be quite important during the schmoozing during the
breaks and social functions.

I strongly suggest that technical writers attend conferences that cover the
technical areas that they write about or use in their environment.  If they
are not aware of any, they should talk to their programmers or other subject
matter experts to find one.  If a topic exists, there is a conference about
it--trust me (money, money, money--if I could do it all over, I would become
a professional conference runner 8-) ).

Perhaps the STC (I am still a member, BTW), or some enterprising group of
folks within the STC, could look into coordinating with some of these
conferences and sponsor a "getting started" track or a "documentation track"
or some such at some of the larger technical conferences, and in turn invite
some of the professionals at these other conferences to do the same at the
STC conference.  But I still think that, to really become immersed in a
topic, you should attend conferences specific to that topic, and that the
STC conferences fill an important role in the overall scheme of technical
writing by focusing on the writing and writing-related aspects of our jobs.

Jason
Must-Have-Coffee


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