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Editorial: Ask not for whom the SIG toils...

by Geoff Hart

Previously published as: Hart, G.J. 2002. Editorial: Ask not for whom the SIG toils... the Exchange 9(2):2.

It toils for thee. Once again, I’m publishing a short newsletter that contains content from very few contributors. This surprises me, as our group has more than 800 members, plus various nonmembers who receive copies of the newsletter from their colleagues. There may be many reasons why so few members contribute to the newsletter. A brief rebuttal for each:

You don’t read the Exchange, and thus miss my pleas for help: Good point. You can skip the rest of this editorial.
You have no time: If you’re reading science-related books and articles at work or at home, why not send me a 50-word abtract plus citation, pass along useful URLs you find during your travels online, or mail me a copy of short articles?
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt:I’m not nearly as scary as I look, you’re a better writer than you think, and neither is a serious obstacle for writing an article.
Unreasonable deadlines: I publish quarterly, and will continue to do so for as long as we have material to publish. I’ll happily negotiate a deadline you can live with, and renegotiate it when “life happens”.
Editorial violence: I do my best to honor the spirit and style of each author’s words, and always send authors my edits so they can approve the good ones and stet the daft ones.

The Exchange is scientific communication’s most visible presence within STC, and an underused way for us to keep in touch. Without it, we might lose our SIG, and that would be a shame, so please contribute something! It doesn’t have to be much: an anecdote, an opinion, or even (praise be!) an article. If everyone sent me 50 words, I’d have enough material for another ten issues—once I cleaned out my in-box. Surely you’ve got 50 words to say on something related to our profession?

New SIG manager/Dallas conference

After repeated invitations from STC, I’ve accepted the role of SIG manager. Please contact me if you have any ideas for future directions or activities for our SIG, and particularly if you’d like to volunteer for a SIG-related activity. For example, we still don’t have a Web presence, though we published a list of useful Web sites that could form the core for such a site.

Moreover, the deadline for submitting proposals for sessions at next year’s STC conference is fast approaching: August 1st. The submission form is available in the April 2002 Intercom or online (www.stc.org/50thConf/ presenter_info.html). Elaine Firestone (elaine@ seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) has volunteered to gather information on our SIG’s participation at the conference; if you plan to speak at the conference, inform Elaine so we can keep SIG members informed about sessions relevant to scientific communicators.