We wanted to share his talk (“Wicked Ambiguity”) with everyone, so we’ve embedded the video of his talk as well as his slides from SlideShare below. Unfortunately we don’t have them synched, but you should be able to follow along relatively easily by advancing the slides yourself as you watch the video. Enjoy!
STC owns the rights to all the photos taken by the official Summit photographer, Phoenix Chapter member Miachelle DiPiano. As such, members and communities are invited to use the photographs as desired on websites, newsletters, emails, etc. You can access Miachelle’s photos on the STC Flickr site.
My perspective this year was different since it was my second Summit. While there were some things I knew to expect, I had some new experiences, too. My anxieties about meeting people were lessened, as I knew a lot of attendees. I made an attempt to say at least a “hello” to everyone I knew. (If I missed you, I’m sorry! Next time!) I made new friends as well. From a social aspect, this year was easier because I had befriended so many people from last year’s Summit. I never had to be by myself, and there was always good conversation going on around me.
The Phoenix Chapter planned a few outside social events for the Summit, and one of the popular ones was a showing of the documentary Helvetica. Sponsored by Discount Tire, this was a private showing of Helvetica at the FilmBar, a combined beer/wine bar and 70-seat movie theater within walking distance of the Phoenix Convention Center. The description for the event queried:
I’m suffering from the Summit hangover. And I don’t mean a hangover from drinking too much at the Honors Banquet (I didn’t). I’m talking about the “high” you get from seeing so many friends that you only see once a year. There are several posts on my Facebook feed from STC friends who are feeling the same thing, the post-conference depression that settles in after you’ve hugged all your friends goodbye and flown (or driven) home. It’s hard, because you know that unless you attend other conferences or visit other communities, you won’t see many of those friends again until next June at the 2015 Summit.
This year’s Summit has a bunch of subtle changes that translate to significant improvements. There have been some years when the STC Summit was at convention centers and hotels where the individual sessions were spread across a wide area—sometimes on separate floors. I remember at times either showing up for a session that was standing room only and having my second choice being a bit of a jaunt. In past years there was only a 15-minute break between sessions, which of course made things complicated if you had to haul from one end of the venue to the other for your next session and no doubt truncated some of the after-session Q&A. One excellent change this year is that for the most part all the sessions are in one hallway in adjacent rooms.
As events continue at the Summit, Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger will be posting news and information from the conference. I’ve also solicited a handful of our attendees to provide blog posts about their thoughts: what they’ve done, what they’ve learned, what they’ve enjoyed, and what they’ve experienced. Look for them in the coming days under the main title of At the Summit. Here’s the first of them, from Brian Lindgren.
At the Opening General Session for the 2014 STC Summit in Phoenix, President Nicky Bleiel named two members as recipients of the President’s Award. The President’s Award honors one or more persons or institutions that have made distinguished contributions to the profession or the Society.
Even if you aren’t able to attend the 2014 Summit in Phoenix, you can follow it via Twitter—and even get a little taste of the conference to boot! Both @stc_org and @STC_Summit will issue all the official announcements and information on speakers, preconference courses, and more.
Temperatures are soaring in Phoenix, with highs in the 100s on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and highs in the 90s on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. But fear not! Phoenix newbie Rachel Houghton has sent along some tips on beating the heat that she’s used after her move from the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy!