Summit ’13: The STC Summit Uses Lanyrd.com

The 2013 Technical Communication Summit is using lanyrd.com to provide online access to detailed program and schedule information, speaker and attendee social connections, and much more. Lanyrd.com lists many conferences, workshops, conventions, networking events, and more to allow you to find events that interest you and to see where speakers are scheduled to present.

In previous years, the STC Summit has used Zerista to provide these online services. This year, we have chosen Lanyrd.com to deliver these services to our attendees, which provides many more opportunities for us to share information and ideas with each other. The following sections highlight several of the Lanyrd.com services available to our attendees.

Connecting to Lanyrd

You can view STC Summit information at http://lanyrd.com/2013/society-for-technical-communication-summit/ (short URL is lanyrd.com/ckxzm). To add yourself as an attendee, or to add links to photos, blog write-ups, session notes, and more, you need to sign in. You can sign in using a Twitter or LinkedIn account, or you can create a Lanyrd account with your email address.

Lanyrd also provides access for smartphones and tablets. In addition to the website, Lanyrd provides an iPhone app, as well as an HTML5 solution for Android and other platforms. When you access the website from a smartphone, it displays a banner to give you the option of installing the app (on iPhone) or viewing the HTML5 solution if you prefer.

Program Schedule and Session Details

You can view a detailed, day-by-day schedule of all the STC Summit activities. Each session includes a description, speaker information, room location, categories, and links to additional information. Lanyrd allows you to add additional links to any session so you can share your notes, blog write-ups, or photos as you wish. Speakers will also be posting their slides on SlideShare.net and then adding a link to their slides in their session description within Lanyrd. You can subscribe to the schedule to add it to your calendar (iPhone, Outlook, Google Calendar).

You can view sessions by categories (called topics) that have been specified for each session. You can also add other category tags to sessions to help search and sort sessions. For example, you can view all sessions in a track, or all sessions related to Agile, DITA, or the topic of your choice. View a daily schedule, and then select a topic in the right column to view all sessions related to that topic.

Speaker and Attendee Lists

Lanyrd provides a speaker list and an attendee list based on those who have signed in and said they are attending the event. Using your social accounts (Twitter or LinkedIn) gives you the ability to follow others, create a list of people you would like to meet, and see who would like to meet you. Update or expand your profile information and photo if you want to use one that differs from your social account.

Additional Information Coverage

You can view a list of blog articles, videos, photos, slides, session summaries, and more that have been published about this event. You can also add links to your blog articles, photos, session write-ups, and more to share your experiences and perspectives with others.

Social Networking and Sharing

We have mentioned several ways for you to connect with other attendees and share your content and thoughts with others. You can also add social gatherings/events to the schedule to help others find you. For example, a TweetUp will be added on Sunday or Monday night, and a Karaoke trip will likely be added for Tuesday night following the Honors Banquet. Connect with other speakers and attendees to make the most of your Summit!

Lanyrd also lists the STC Summit hashtag (#stc13) that we ask everyone to use for tweets about the Summit. It also lists the official Summit account (@STC_Summit) to help you get the latest tips and updates. Lanyrd provides a hashtag for each session, but we will not be widely using these tags.

Let Us Know What You Think

We hope our Lanyrd entries provide you with the detailed information and social platform to help you make the most of your Summit. If you see something missing, please add it or contact us at @STC_Summit so we can find a way to fill the gap. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!