by Susie Lynn Fox, 2009-2009 LSC Immediate Past President and Volunteer Wrangler

Ideas, ideals, inspiration, imagination, invention, and innovation exploded like Independence Day fireworks at the STC Conference in Philadelphia from June 1-4. The ideas were so profuse that I’m still trying to tamp down and tame my trip report into a minimalist version that management has time to read. I think I’ll save the tome for myself and forward a digest to my manager.

The idea-fest at the 2008 STC Conference naturally reminded me of the independent free-for-all that occurred in Philadelphia in 1776. So I decided to check out the past by trekking to Independence National Historical Park on Saturday evening. As the new and old city streets came and went, block by block by block, I began to wonder how far I still needed to walk, walk, walk.

Suddenly, the cityscape gave way to a surprising clearing of green grass that spanned several blocks in both directions. A smallish building with a familiar spire stood at one end of the green on Chestnut Street. I caught my breath, realizing that the building was Independence Hall.

The sight of Independence Hall immediately transported me back into another time. A horse-drawn carriage clattered nearby. The bell in the tower began tolling the late hour. A shiver went up my spine as I imagined the sights and sounds of long ago.

I wondered about the diverse thoughts, ideas, discussions, and debates that finally inspired liberty at this very place. In my mind’s eye, I could see all the ordinary and extraordinary people who came together to form this democratic nation in its infancy.

Big ideas were poured into important documentation at Independence Hall. The Declaration of Independence was adopted here. The Constitution of the United States was signed here, too. I would like to have been a fly on the wall during those “technical review meetings.” The resulting evergreen documents continue to live and breathe liberty today and for coming generations.

Across from Independence Hall, I was surprised to see another icon of our nation’s beginnings. In the gathering dusk, the liberty bell shone through a glass building. I peered at the bell and wondered how it sounded when it first peeled out liberty.

About then, a carriage driver pulled up and told me that the Betsy Ross House was only a short walk away. So I made my way up to Arch and Third Streets, watching the neighborhood melt into a slice of another lifetime. The Betsy Ross home at 239 Arch St. was cute, quaint, and tiny. Her creation of a simple hand-stitched flag became an enduring logo with enough scalability to continue to represent the democratic ideas of a growing nation.

I crossed the street and looked through the open fence at the Christ Church Burial Ground and saw Benjamin Franklin’s grave. Franklin, the inventor’s inventor, and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in this cemetery, mere blocks away from the place where their revolutionary ideas launched a new nation into being.

As I looked again at the Betsy Ross House, I called my Mom. She asked if I was coming to visit her later. I reminded her that I was in Philadelphia, and she said, “OH MY!” Then I told her that I was standing in front of the Betsy Ross House, and she said, “OH, MY GOODNESS!”

Then she asked if I was walking alone at night. I told her no because I was talking on the phone with her. She laughed! I made it back to my hotel just in time to order a Philly cheese steak sandwich “wit” cheese. This was the perfect end to a perfect evening in Philly!

On Sunday, I enjoyed an inspirational Leadership Day’s worth of information and input. On Sunday night and Monday morning, the general conference sessions were informative, entertaining, and insightful. Throughout the week, the technical sessions, exposition booths, networking lunches, Honors Banquet, and conversations in passing all combined into a mighty river of ideas.

These conference highlights sparked my imagination and interest:

• Blog in real-time for an event by using ScribbleLive blogging.
• Use hedgehog leadership to successfully focus on core talents.
• Launch big hairy audacious goals (BHAGS) to inspire people and success.
• Get leadership startup help from the STC Leadership Community Resource (LCR).
• Track the status of STC’s continued work with the U.S. Department of Labor to upgrade the job description of technical communicator.
• Enjoy the updated infrastructure and member-centric user experience that STC now offers.
• Align community goals with updated STC vision and initiatives.
• Create your own job value by helping management solve business problems.
• Keep up with how technology (the morphing of mobile phones, computers, and the Internet) are changing the ways that humans communicate, conduct business, shape politics, and live their lives.
• Learn how STC is using best practices to design a Web-based body of knowledge (BOK).
• Realize that users don’t care whether they get help from traditional documentation or from user-generated help. They just want help.
• Consider use of videos because consumers love them! [Comment from Mary McWilliams Johnson, copyeditor: Video production requires very special skills and professional equipment, which most technical communicator are not likely to have available or in their budget. And the expense would rarely be justified, especially since most documentation or help files need to frequent updating.]
• Recognize that the English language is continuing to change at break-neck speed so use what is useful and discard the rest.
• Determine how much your content is worth by researching revenue, costs, support calls, and customer feedback.
• Create a dedicated table of contents (TOC) and more with MadCap Flare.
• Use content publishing standards to unite enterprises across a company.
• Stop using time-wasting technology and start using time-saving technology.
• Create global style guides to reduce translation costs.
• Measure the results of training content by tracking customer behavior changes.
• Use your technical communication skills to help your company, organization, neighborhood, and family prepare for disasters and emergencies.
• Design for the gap of knowledge between a user’s current knowledge and their lifetime experiences.

That’s all for Philly for now! I hope to see you next year at the STC Conference in Atlanta!