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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998
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Volunteers are the lifeblood of SIGCHI: ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction. SIGCHI is governed by an all-volunteer, elected Executive Committee which oversees conference activities, finances, publications and general operations. Volunteers organize annual CHI conferences, review papers, and organize conference venues like Panels and Workshop. Volunteers have built and maintained SIGCHI's electronic infrastructure, including Web site, e-mail lists, and databases for organizing technical programs and services for its membership, and the world-wide HCI community. As SIGCHI grows, it retains the services of professional services for its operations which permits the volunteer community to concentrate on advancing the profession. But in the end everything SIGCHI accomplishes is the direct result of volunteer input. And SIGCHI needs more of you.
Volunteer opportunities are typically associated with specific SIGCHI people, and the SIGCHI Web site at http://www.acm.org/sigchi is a good place to start. The home page describes many SIGCHI activities and opportunities, and in particular, check out the SIGCHI Volunteers page (http://www.acm.org/sigchi/volunteers), listed as "Involvement" on the SIGCHI home page. You will find e-mail addresses of contacts for several current volunteer positions listed on this page. You can also contact people listed on the SIGCHI Executive Committee roster http://www.acm.org/sigchi/officers. The Vice Chair of Operations, chi-VC-Operations@acm.org, is always a good default.
It would help when you contact people about possible positions, to provide some preliminary information, for example: name, contact information (e-mail, fax, phone number), current affiliation or job, professional societies (especially ACM), and a brief description of interests and skills.
In addition to the SIGCHI Volunteers Web page, you can learn more about opportunities to serve the SIGCHI community by reading the SIGCHI Bulletin (also on-line at http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bulletin), and participating in conference related activities, like the SIGCHI Business Meeting, or visiting the SIGCHI Information Booth.
The SIGCHI Bulletin is chock-full of columns and current information, written by volunteers, and describing many volunteer opportunities. Are you interested in starting or joining a Local SIG ("Local SIGS" column)? Are you interested in international issues ("World-Wide CHI" column)? Do you want to know what it takes to run a Conference Workshop (look for workshop reports following conferences)? Do you want to know what the SIGCHI Executive Committee does ("From the Chairs" and "SIGCHI News" columns)?
And incidentally, the current SIGCHI Bulletin editor, Steven Pemberton, is recruiting an editor (he is moving on to become the editor of ACM's interactions publication, see the January 1998 SIGCHI Bulletin column "From the editor: A curtain falls").
You can also contact SIGCHI volunteers directly in areas of interest. CHI conferences are a good place to do this. Often positions are filled, or initiatives started by direct person-to-person conversations at conferences activities, in common areas, over lunch or in scheduled meetings, like the SIGCHI Business Meeting, or visit conference information booths on SIGCHI, and Local SIGs.
SIGCHI has several current volunteer positions, summarized on the SIGCHI Volunteer Web page http://www.acm.org/sigchi/volunteers. These change over time, of course, so you should consult it regularly, especially after conferences.
CHI 99 is well underway, and many volunteer needs are filled (or will be when this article appears), but check the SIGCHI Volunteer page at http://www.acm.org/sigchi/chi99 for CHI 99 conference opportunities, including volunteering to review technical contributions in various venues.
Starting or joining a local SIG is a great way to cultivate professional relations within your local community. Visit the local SIGS Web page http://www.acm.org/sigchi/local-sigs for more information.
The SIGCHI Bulletin is a hardcopy and Web publication that needs various kinds of volunteers, including editors. Contact the current Bulletin Editor, chi-Bulletin-Editor@acm.org to see what is needed.
Veteran SIGCHI members can become mentors to help newcomers to SIGCHI make the most of their SIGCHI experience. You can become a mentor by agreeing to exchange four emails and if you both attend a CHI conference, agreeing to meet at the conference. Contact Jean Scholtz (jscholtz@acm.org or chi-VC-finances@acm.org).
SIGCHI is a very broad community of interests. In the last couple of years SIGCHI has focused conferences on specific domains. CHI 98 focused on education, healthcare and entertainment. Join a new SIGCHI task force that will consider what it means to be an HCI professional in these and other domains, like aerospace. Issues related to supporting domain-specific concerns will be discussed on-line and in-person (during CHI Conferences). Contact Allison Druin (allisond@umiacs.umd.edu).
SIGCHI wants to expand its membership and encourage long-term commitment by members to SIGCHI. Membership issues and directions for the future will be discussed on-line and in-person (during CHI Conferences). Contact Cathleen Wharton (cwharto@uswest.com or chi-VC-communications@acm.org).
SIGCHI maintains a Web site and E-mail lists for supporting communicating among special interest groups (e.g., CHI-Students, CHI-Consultants), and to provide information about CHI activities (e.g., CHI-Announcements). The SIGCHI organization has a Web site, and each conference has a Web site. These electronic services have been built over several years by many volunteers, and professional services. SIGCHI will increase the role of professional services, but this is not enough. SIGCHI is also looking for a volunteer Information Director. This person other SIGCHI volunteers to work on new Web-related initiatives and enhancements. This is a position that would benefit from Web skills (e.g., writing draft Web pages). Contact Bob Mack, current Vice Chair of Operations (bobmack@acm.org or CHI-VC-Operations@acm.org).
Gary Perlman has maintained SIGCHI e-mail lists for several years (see Gary Perlman's recent report, "SIGCHI mailing lists and aliases," SIGCHI Bulletin, April 1997), and the Web page at http://www.acm.org/sigchi/listserv. SIGCHI believes that it would be useful for volunteers to moderate e-mail lists, especially those that involve specific topics (e.g., CHI-Education). Moderating e-mail lists requires some technical skill. At the least moderators need to review and approve postings, to eliminate inappropriate posts and spam, and to handle "dead" e-mail addresses. More creative opportunities exist for encouraging and moderating topical discussions. Throughout, moderators need to maintain standards of civility and professionalism in communications. Technical and ACM SIGCHI policy issues are described in the Web pages http://www.acm.org/sigchi/listserv. Contact Bob Mack, current Vice Chair of Operations (bobmack@acm.org or CHI-VC-Operations@acm.org).
Every two years, the SIGCHI membership elects a new slate of Executive Committee (EC) members. The next election is Spring 1999. You can learn more about these positions at the SIGCHI Web site, http://www.acm.org/sigchi/officers. If you are interested in a specific position, contact the current officer, and the Chair. E-mail is most convenient. The EC is gathering names now for our 1999 election (see also the letter from the Chair, Mike Atwood (atwood@acm.org), http://www.acm.org/sigchi/nomination99.html).
Do consider volunteering.
Be realistic about volunteer opportunities. If you are new to SIGCHI, you may want to start your SIGCHI volunteer career with something modest, and work up. Sometimes more than one person volunteers for a position, and SIGCHI officers have to make difficult choices. Sometimes specialized skills are needed, such as familiarity with Web page authoring. Some positions require more work and commitment than others. For example, serving on the SIGCHI Executive Committee is an elected position: if you get on the ballot, you will need to voice a position, if not a vision, and colleagues will vote "yea" or "nay" for you. EC positions involve travel and work that compete with careers and family life. But if you win you will have an opportunity to serve and influence the premier professional society for Human Computer Interaction professionals.
Whatever volunteer opportunity you choose to pursue, you will be contributing to SIGCHI in an era of significant change and opportunity. SIGCHI is working with ACM to become a Society, an entity different from a Special Interest Group. The January 1998 issue of SIGCHI Bulletin has two articles on this issue: Mike Atwood's, and Guy Boy's column "From the Chairs: Keeping current in SIGCHI", and a report "Adhoc committee on ACM Societies: Draft report." (Both articles are also on-line for SIGCHI members, at http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bulletin/1998.1/) SIGCHI is a world-wide organization, and needs to cultivate international perspectives, and foster awareness of HCI and involvement in SIGCHI in other countries via Local SIGs, outreach programs and task forces.
And finally, of course, volunteering for SIGCHI gives you a chance to work up with a lot of very interesting people. You will learn a lot, and have a chance to do a lot. Let's hear from you soon!
Robert Mack
Vice Chair for Operations
CHI-VC-operations@acm.org
Allison Druin
Advisory Board Member
allisond@umiacs.umd.edu
David Riederman
ACM Liaison
riederman@acm.org
Jean Scholtz
Vice Chair for Finance
CHI-VC-Finances@acm.org
Cathleen Wharton
Vice Chair for Communications
CHI-VC-Communications@acm.org
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