Soon to be 15 years and counting

It was 1993--1992 probably--and Joe Welinske had an idea. The explosion of computer use that Windows 3.0 had created had also created an explosion of another kind: application development. And what did applications need? Online help. And where were the online help development experts, especially of Windows online help, or WinHelp?

Well, one of them was him. And his idea was to share his knowledge, and the knowledge of others, in a conference setting. The first one, essentially a trial run, hosted about a dozen people over two days in a single conference room of a small hotel on Seattle's 6th Ave. There were, as I recall, 3 speakers: Joe, Scott Boggan, and David Farkas.

The trail run was successful, the feedback was good, and an annual event was born.

The first several years were in Seattle at the Sheraton. And in just a few years, attendance topped 1000, with speakers and attendees flying in from across the country and around the world.

As its popularity peaked, Joe moved the conference out of Seattle, but still on the west coast. Dalliances occurred in Silicon Valley and San Diego before the Dot Bomb decimated the software development landscape. The conference, however, survived. Reigning in the opulence, Joe returned the conference to Seattle, keeping its focus on bringing together experts to disseminate the latest information, and now not only about online help, but about emerging technologies and about other forms of user assistance.

In recent years, the conference was again on the road, in Los Angeles, in Las Vegas, and this year in Long Beach.

I believe only two, perhaps three, people have been to every conference. One is Joe, of course. I think Scott Boggan may have made every one. And I have been a dawn-to-after-dark presence every year.

This year marks the 10th year that I will be producing a daily conference newsletter. This was an idea that I, uh, borrowed from the Seybold shows I used to go see in San Francisco. A publishing show, Seybold but out a glossy, multi-page magazine every day of that show chock full of news and pictures and information, all for the people attending. I pitched the idea to Joe and he thought it was a great one.

For the first few years, the newsletter was 4 pages, which ended up being far more work that I could have imagined. In more recent, and more lean years, we've cut back to a single sheet newsletter. It's still plenty of work, often challenging, and at times, it has not been without mistake or controversy. But I'd not change the experience for all the tea in China.

This year, I'm planning to take the newsletter to the next level: color. But because color copying is so expensive, I'm bringing my own color laser printer along for the ride. I think it will tremendously enhance the experience. I also have in mind a few interesting ideas that I hope will go over well.

I've actually been to long Beach a few times in my life, the last time just last year to compete in a track meet. It was early summer and hot. I cannot say that Long Beach would normally be a "destination" for me, places such as Seattle or Las Vegas or even Los Angeles. But being surrounded by old (and hopefully new) friends, being able to drink new knowledge from the vast stores available, and being refreshed and rejuvenated by the energy that is always there should make this once again a great experience.