There’s something reflective that occurs after a big event, whether it’s the launch of a new piece of software or, in my case, a conference for the people who test software. Happily, STPCon 2009 was a great success and while we received some constructive criticism, we heard overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Two “deep” thoughts occurred to me in this pensive state. The first is that STP Collaborative is gathering some real momentum. The second is that life takes us down some unexpected paths. One tester at STPCon told me he feels he’s rare in that he sought out a career in testing, whereas many tend to fall into the job by circumstance. As someone who planned a career in corporate finance and now finds himself happily serving as CEO of a community-focused media company, I can relate to his peers.
In my case, I credit genetics. My father, Ron Muns, was a social media pioneer before social media technology existed. He founded the Help Desk Institute (now HDI) in 1989—not only before Twitter, but before AOL launched a DOS-based interface. His business succeeded by focusing on its members and working diligently to raise the state of the technical support profession. He would cringe to hear his business called a media company, because to him a membership organization was something different. HDI was an institute—an association in the business of serving its members. And being a member was far better than being a mere subscriber because every member had a voice, and HDI magnified that voice.
The company had a conference and publications just like a media business, but it put members first and let advertisers follow. It communicated with members through snail mail (not much choice then!) and enabled networking among members through local chapter meetings in addition to conferences. Before online community building became the rage, HDI built a social media company offline.
The critical parts of this legacy are those we at STP Collaborative strive to imitate: to be a member-centric, listening organization that helps individual testers do their jobs better, and to advance the craft and business of software testing.
That may sound like PR-speak, but we’re putting our money where our mouths are and bringing in several new team members, including three seasoned HDI alumni. We’re excited to welcome Peggy Libbey, who will serve as our new president and COO. Peggy is a business professional with nearly 30 years’ experience in finance and executive management, including nine years with HDI. Peggy’s background managing a large professional community is marked by her ability to build a corporate infrastructure highly focused on customer service.
We’re also pleased to welcome Abbie Caracostas, handling professional training and development; Janette Rovansek, focusing on IT, Web and data management services; Joe Altieri, in sales; and last but not least, veteran business-tech journalist Amy Lipton as our new editor. They all join our existing marketing team, including Jen McClure, CMO and director of community development, and Teresa Cantwell, marketing coordinator. The new team spent their first days on the job together at STPCon, where they talked face to face with testers and STP Collaborative advisory board members, including Matt Heusser, James Bach, Scott Barber, BJ Rollison, Ross Collard and Rex Black. I only wish I’d have had the same opportunity my first week on the job!
So what does all this mean to you? As our operational team grows, our ability to deliver on our vision for STP Collaborative increases. We’re both excited and humbled by the opportunity ahead, and we’re confident with the participation of a diverse member base we can build a community resource that delivers best-in-class content, training, professional networking and knowledge sharing. We hope you’ll join us in pursuing this mission, and making ours a community in which every voice is valued.
Thanks for listening!
