SIGCHI Communications: Come on in the Front Door
Tammy Clegg, Vice-President for Communications
Have you ever wondered who is behind all of those SIGCHI social media posts and emails? How is the SIGCHI website updated with all of that fresh and new content? Who was that friendly SIGCHI member who re-posted your link to the SIGCHI Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter feed and then sent it out to the SIGCHI email lists? Who thought of starting that new Discord or Slack thread for SIGCHI interactions? The answer to all (or at least some) of these questions could be — You!
The SIGCHI Communications Committee is the “front door,” so to speak, of the SIGCHI organization and the gateway of communication between the SIGCHI Executive Committee and the SIGCHI membership. Our vision is to support the types of communication, awareness, activities, and interactions needed to sustain and grow SIGCHI research communities. We will achieve this vision through informing SIGCHI members of SIGCHI functioning, activities, and opportunities, upholding the SIGCHI EC vision of transparency, equity, diversity and inclusion.
On a day-to-day basis, this involves sending those emails you receive about ongoing events and activities in the EC, sharing these events and interactions via social media, the SIGCHI website, and blog posts. Digging a little deeper behind the scenes, our “front door” mentality also involves amplifying the voices of SIGCHI members — sharing your events, insights, and activities via social media and website channels.
For the next 2–3 years, we are also excited to announce two special projects we will be embarking on to “renovate the SIGCHI foyer” so to speak:
1. Gathering the Diverse Voices of SIGCHI
Building on SIGCHI’s broader value for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, the Communications Committee is launching the Gathering Diverse Voices of SIGCHI project. This project involves holding communications-focused listening sessions to gather the diverse representation of SIGCHI membership, particularly those from groups currently underrepresented in SIGCHI membership and leadership (i.e., including but not limited to diversity in geographic location, race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and sexual orientation). The goal of these sessions will be to learn about the varied needs, practices, and preferences of the SIGCHI membership with respect to finding out information and the latest current events from SIGCHI. Findings from these sessions will be organized and communicated to show themes and insights that can inform our overall communications strategy.
2. SIGCHI EC Awareness & Invitation for Involvement
A front door is only as welcoming as the people standing in front of it inviting people in! This project is focused on putting out our welcome mat, getting out the iced tea, and belting out our best “Come on in to SIGCHI.” For the Communications Committee, that will involve helping members understand what SIGCHI and the SIGCHI Executive Committee are, what we do, how they can get involved, and why they might want to. To do this, we will draw on what we learn from gathering the diverse voices of SIGCHI and develop resources (e.g., videos, blog posts, brochures, webpages, etc.) that showcase who the SIGCHI EC is, what we do, and how members can be involved.
Additionally, this project will also include re-designing the SIGCHI website, which welcomes members into the various activities, interactions, and insights of the SIGCHI community. For this part of the foyer renovation, we will develop an updated, simplified re-design of the current sigchi.org website that would transform the website to be more streamlined and comprehensive. We hope to draw on the expertise of the SIGCHI community in UI/UX design for this project.
Come On In!
If all of this excites you (or even piques your interest a little), consider joining the Communications Committee! To carry out these exciting “front door” projects, the committee will meet monthly for one hour, with one longer in-person meeting per year (travel expenses included). Committee members will be organized to collaboratively carry out the ongoing responsibilities as well as the special projects mentioned above. The committee will invite four new members each year (serving two-year terms). We are looking for members at all career levels (i.e., undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners, junior and senior researchers) with any of the following skills or expertise:
- Content Creation: Leveraging online tools and platforms to create content to share information and promote awareness of SIGCHI functioning, activities, and opportunities. This could include creating social media posts, blog posts, videos, webpages, or newsletters to share relevant information about SIGCHI.
- UX Research: Listening to, observing, and convening members to understand needs, barriers, and opportunities related to the way members share and receive SIGCHI information and ways they engage with the community.
- Social and Website Platforms: Knowledge and experience with social and Wordpress platforms (can be more high level — as someone in this role would interface with SIGCHI operations to actually implement solutions).
- Website Infrastructure: Thinking through website organization and infrastructure to reinvent the SIGCHI website to both preserve history and stay up to date
- Accessibility Knowledge and Expertise: Awareness or knowledge of accessibility standards, tools, and practices for working with the SIGCHI accessibility committee for communications needs.
If you are interested in joining the committee, let us know of your interest by completing the following form on our Submittable site. To indicate your interest in the Communications Committee when completing the form, please look under “Option 2: Volunteer By Committee” and check the box that says “Support SIGCHI communications. Led by: Vice-President for Communications.” Anything you can add in the form to convey your background of relevance, drive and mission, and willingness to commit, would be totally appreciated.
