Perhaps I should ask, do any of the 'philes here belong to any trade groups at all?

Choz Cunningham
!Exclamachine Type Foundry
The Snark

I support ATypI, SOTA, AIGA, and APHA.

> Which do you feel does the most for you?

Actually, as a rule it's the Kennedy thing.

hhp

Choz,

What are you looking to get out of involvement? What are you willing to contribute? Being a 'member' doesn't achieve much in itself, but is often a pre-req to deeper involvement.

Cheers, Si

What I am looking to get, at this point, is a sense of what opportunities involvement in any group might bring. It appears that ATypI is a professional group and SOTA is an enthusiast's, to probably oversimplify. The other groups Tiffany mentioned I am not familiar with. I am curious what people have to say about each, particularly since I am not connected to "the type scene" of my area. If there is one.

Some things I am curious about are the future of type and such things as emerging computer typography, DRM and its place in type, as well as various things such as independent foundry culture, online collaboration tech, and communicating the value of type as media itself. Or just networking. I imagine I might learn more at this point by just gathering people's impressions, rather than saying, "I feel so-and-so, who shall I hang with?"

I'll have to say, in some industries, it was worth the price of memebership, and no other commitment, to get the magazine. :)

Choz Cunningham
!Exclamachine Type Foundry
The Snark

Good juice in here:
http://typophile.com/node/27990

hhp

Choz, apologies for my entirely too vague comment from last night. (I really shouldn't post late at night.)

On the surface, yes, ATypI and SOTA, are too different orgs. You could separate them as the former being for the business and the latter for the enthusiast. But, if you delve under the surface you will find many similarities. Both focus on the educational, historical, and technical sides as well. You will find more graphic designers at a SOTA conference (TypeCon) than you will at ATypI, but both conferences garner support from practicing type designers and foundries. As well, both are equally good for networking. Many people who attend TypeCon also attend ATypI.

TypeCon is held once a year somewhere in the U.S., this year in Seattle, whereas ATypI travels between continents. TypeCon's workshops have a broader interest in the book arts, letterpress, and graphic design, but all from a type enthusiasts point of view; as well as having workshops on the technical side of type creation. ATypI has the TypeTech forum which focuses on type and its creation and use, much more technical and generally not for the beginner. Both organizations are determinedly involved with education.

For instance, if you do want to hear about DRM, all you have to do is put a bug in the ear of a board member, me for instance, and we can try to get something put together at TypeCon. (The same could be said for ATypI.) Last year, Frank Martinez led a discussion about the legal side of things, most specifically the EULA and copyright I believe at TypeCon. However, the BEST way to get a talk on DRM is to volunteer to speak on it. ;^) Or, to find someone more qualified and tell them to volunteer. Volunteering is what keeps both organizations going. It is to the volunteers and those that attend and participate that make these conferences work and keep the organizations going.

Simon gave you a very good question and I'll have to second that. You will get out of the group what you put into it.

> TypeCon is held once a year somewhere in the U.S.

To pre-empt Simon this time:
Once and for all, yes, Canada is part of the US, thank you very much.

hhp

:^/ GAH!!! I forgot about Toronto. What I should have said is "somewhere in North America." I didn't attend Toronto, forgive me. I know that Toronto is part of Canada.

No, you didn't forget anything.
It's not your fault, it's theirs.

hhp

Organizations

>It’s not your fault, it’s theirs.

>Some things I am curious about

I would suggest that joining ATypI and thereby getting access to the member area and onto the email list would be worth while. I'd also recommend attending the conferences. If budget is tight maybe just hitting the

Attending the events are important, but given your interest area, and depending on your budget you might want to consider just attending the Tech forum at ATypI.

Now, that is some great information to chew on! Thank you for the links, as well as your personal impression, Ms. T. :) I'm off to resa

As a type technology newb, the workshops sound much more appealing than offering lectures myself. I like to 'know-it-all' before offering my opinion in any but the most casual circumstances. And public speaking is about as appealing to me as most people. Hmm, perhaps I could give a sermon on why the snark is so vital to the evolution of communications.~

It looks like my budget will be determined directly by sales, so I'm not really sure what things will be like, yet. Not sure what % must be redirected back to marketing, either. I don't think I will have the commercial side of things together until 07. Does anyone have any idea of when SOTA's membership restructuring will be online?

Choz Cunningham
!Exclamachine Type Foundry
The Snark

One thing though is that you can learn tons by giving a presentation:
it's a great way to get mass feedback, second only to a place like Typophile.

hhp