Today (Tuesday, the 14th), I will be giving a presentation at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s third annual “Publishing University.” This is a shout-out to anybody from the ECPA-U who’s stopped by to say hi.
My assigned topic is “Technology for Editors.” But After working through several different plans of attack — and nearly losing my laptop in the process — I’ve settled on the subject: “Strategies for working and publishing in an information age.”
I plan to give a very broad view of three subjects that could easily justify a week-long course for each:
- Productivity and information overload
I focus on email as a primary source of distraction and information overload in our workplaces. I also provide several measurement productivity strategies for overcoming the burden and distraction of too many emails in our inbox — especially useful for the busy information worker. - Macros: the hi-tech Word tool
Rather than spending a week on the various ways one can master Word for Windows to do a job more effectively — because I only have 45 minutes for the entire presentation — I focus on one tool that, if used, can save information workers hours of work every week. Let Word do your work for you. - The Web and the way we communicate
Wrapping my my flying overview of the challenges of new technology for traditional information workers, I discuss how blogs and podcasts offer new challenges and opportunities for publishers of information. And I close with a discussion of the “long tail” theory, and how it also provides an opportunity for publishers to capitalize on the tools of the new info-tech world.
If you were at the conference, please feel free to drop a line with some feedback. Either use the “contact” buttons on this page, or leave a comment below.
Regards,
Rich.
Update: I gave my presentation yesterday and it went satisfyingly well. I got a few yuks in the right places, and saw people scribbling notes. Though it’s possible that they were writing down things like, “Never ask this guy to come present ever again!” I received some nice compliments afterward, then everybody fled the building to catch flights back home.
I wish I could’ve been able to attend more of the conference, myself, but a near-catastrophic laptop failure and my recent job-loss interfered with my ability to do more than merely present. I hope the information I gave was helpful, though.
[tags]BlogRodent, ECPA, ECPA-U, evangelical, evangelical-publishing, presentation, public-speaking, address[/tags]
Rich,
Let me thank you profusely for your presentation last week. It was terrific. My wife and I were both gratified by the job you did, both your presentation, which was very professional, and the content, which was useful, insightful, and practical.
Both Cindy and I said afterward that we’d love to sit in on a workshop with you on effective use of MS Word and of the Internet.
I’ve passed along positive words about you to the ECPA management. Thanks again, and if there’s anything I can do to help you land your next assignment, let me know.
Dave Lambert
Senior Fiction Editor
Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster
Rich, I’ve been meaning to write ever since returning from ECPA. Thanks so much for your great workshop. I wrote in my critique of the conference that your workshop, by far, was the most practical session I attended. I’m only sorry that I had to skip out early to catch my ride back to Cincinnati.
I’m currently leading a team in my office to improve efficiency and work processes, and I’d love to hear more of your ideas and suggestions on how technology can be used to achieve that. Thanks again.
Carla Crane
Managing Editor
Standard Publishing
Cincinnati, OH
Carla, thanks so much for your very kind words, I really appreciate it. It’s not often speakers and presenters actually get any feedback from their work, so when the hardy few speak up, it’s a real blessing!
I had a blast giving the presentation and I felt you guys were all with me all the way. It was fun.
Rich
