Richard Anderson
Is your Local SIG reaching those it should be reaching? Has it reached you? Are you reaching those within your local HCI community you desire to reach? Have you been able to reach leaders of and information about your Local SIG?
Facilitating "reaching out and being reached" is an important part of what Local SIGs are about. What can Local SIGs do to achieve this? What can you do?
In October of 1997, Gary Perlman, BuckCHI Chair, reported on his decision
"to conduct a mass mailing of people who had never heard of (them). Columbus Ohio USA has over 500 companies and consultants working on software, and only a small fraction have ever heard of ACM SIGCHI or BuckCHI.
To come up with a list of places to mail to, I first searched a business CD ROM with SIC Codes (Standard Industry Classifications). Areas 73XX are heavily into software and services, and I got a list of about 500 addresses in the 614 area code. Another technique was to search the local online Yellow Pages, under topics like, `internet services' and `software development consultants,' and this yielded about 750 addresses. We will probably add on a generic recipient to the addresses: `software developers' and `software development managers' or something similar. Then we will cross our fingers."
(Gary later reported that all finger crossing had to be delayed until the finger cuts from the envelope stuffing healed!)
What else can Local SIGs do to reach out? Here is an annotated list of options generated by those who participated in the Local SIGs Workshop at CHI 97 (see the October '97 Local SIGs column for more about this workshop):
- request & use contact information for CHI conference attendees from your area;
BayCHI's Don Patterson has provided this information to requesting Local SIGs for the past couple of years.
- request & use contact information for ACM and/or SIGCHI members from your area;
ACM provides this information to requesting Local SIGs once each year.
- use the internet (e.g., create a web site, with links to/from related sites;
post information to newsgroups);
Several Local SIGs have webpages, and all Local SIGs are advertised via SIGCHI's Local SIGs webpage.
- spread the news via "word of mouth";
Use the mouths of those you already reach.
- advertise in academic environments (e.g., ask professors to disseminate information to their students);
- book speakers who will attract the attention of those you want to reach;
To increase Local SIGs' access to speakers, ACM offers a Lectureship Program (see ACM's webpages), and SIGCHI is developing a "Tutorials-To-Go" program.
- publish a newsletter;
Several chapters publish a newsletter, and some raid -- with permission -- other chapters' newsletters for pieces of interest to their members.
- offer special deals, such as free or discounted membership, software give-aways, ... to entice attendance/participation;
SwissCHI annually awards a subscription to interactions magazine to a person randomly selected from its e-mail subscribers and from people recommending new subscribers; BayCHI has held free raffles for WebTV and for other products; ...
- highlight all the benefits of your Local SIG;
- provide benefits that people in your area seek;
See the January '97 Local SIGs column for words about the importance of fitting into and creating a local culture.
- "cold call" companies, asking for use of their location & generating interest there;
- contact managers of industry groups;
- place ads in local newspapers, in professional publications, in newsletters of related local organizations, ...;
Several Local SIGs have reached new people in this way.
- hold joint activities with related, local organizations;
Care must be taken to make sure joint activities will be beneficial.
- collect names at talks;
- create and disseminate posters (of high quality so people display them);
GB/SIGCHI tried this and had great results.
- design & provide t-shirts that function as walking posters;
ToRCHI and BayCHI are among the Local SIGs that "advertise" via t-shirts.
- publish "testimonials" of satisfied members;
KC-CHI is one of the Local SIGs that has published such testimonials (see KC-CHI's webpages).
- sponsor conferences with formal calls for papers;
MosCHI, SIGCHI Italy, and SIGCHI NL are among the Local SIGs that have sponsored such conferences.
- advertise via ACM mailing lists (e.g., chi-announcements);
I now post a "local sigs sampler" to chi-announcements each month, but Local SIGs are welcome to post news of special events to this mailing list.
- advertise at CHI conferences (such as via the Local SIGs booth) & at other CHI-related conferences;
Look for a better-located and greatly-enhanced Local SIGs booth at upcoming CHI conferences.
- get SIGCHI to create "information kits" that could be obtained & disseminated;
Funding has been obtained for such information kits;
they should become available to Local SIGs later this year.
- get & use the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society list of members (or lists of members made available by other related organizations);
- obtain & use your "Chamber of Commerce's" list of hi-tech companies;
As described above, BuckCHI's Gary Perlman found other commercial lists to be of value.
- hold events all at the same place and periodically, so that potential participants always know when and where to go;
Cyclic rhythms were described as one of the seven key elements of the social design of a Local SIG (see the April '97 Local SIG column).
- get coverage on local television or radio programming;
- establish the chapter as an information source for local journalists writing about HCI-related topics (the subsequent articles' references to your Local SIG advertise its existence and value);
- solicit ideas from those you already reach.
Contact your Local SIG. If you don't know who to contact, look on the Local SIGs webpage. If no Local SIG is listed for your area, contact me (there might be someone giving thought to getting things going in your location even though they are not advertising this yet).
Volunteer. The chances of reaching others and being reached by others in your area are greatly increased if you become a Local SIG volunteer (see Kate Ehrlich's January '95 Local SIGs column). Plus, Gary would have loved to have shared those paper cuts with many more others!
Richard I. Anderson, Local SIGs Chair rianderson@acm.org
