We see the change in communication and publishing trends for new tools, new deliverables, new context of content management and strategy. Do you think that these trends define the course of how STC prepares its plans and provide value to its members? And how does STC respond to that?

The evolving nature of our work and the technologies that support it definitely affect how STC provides value to its members. One way is tracking these trends, and providing professional development opportunities, identifying experts in the field, and helping members figure out how these technologies and ideas affect their daily work.

This goes back to the question of what members expect from STC--and I think part of that expectation is curation and leadership in identifying trends, technologies, and so on.

Content creation is to business what software development was 20 years ago. The field of software development has matured to the point where we are very good at collecting data and creating content. What we are still needing to work in is getting the right information to the right person at the right time. This is where TCs come in. We have an opportunity to take leadership in this area.

Tools and formats tend to change over time, and members rely on STC to identify the latest tools, technologies, and trends. As tools and formats change, I believe STC will continue to serve the industry by gathering and sharing information about new tools and formats.

The biggest change I see is the increasing demand for quality content driven by comprehensive content strategies. Content is exploding and STC needs to be there serving a diverse community with many areas of interest. Serving all these interest areas effectively is a huge challenge involving time, money, and energy.

Different groups across many company departments are now developing and delivering content. Some of these content providers have titles and roles that are new to the technical communication field. In other cases, technical communication is evolving to address needs outside our traditional areas of focus.

STC needs to continue focusing on our strengths, communicating the value of our profession, and forming strong relationships with all content providers and their companies. This effort involves reaching out to many new groups of people across all company departments. These groups of content providers may not have traditionally thought of STC as their professional home, but we should be, and we can be. STC helps everyone design, develop, and deliver the quality content their customers demand.