Name for _Intercom_

[Liz Babcock <Liz_Babcock -at- JDAM -dot- CHINALAKE -dot- NAVY -dot- MIL>]

Mail*Link(r) SMTP               Name for _Intercom_

Some of you may remember my having asked you Techwhirlers to help the Board
and office staff of the Society for Technical Communication come up with a new
name for the Society's newsletter _Intercom_. My request resulted in a barrage
of excellent suggestions from list members, and I forwarded these suggestions
to the STC Office. Our Executive Director, Bill Stolgitis, in turn asked board
members to vote for our top five choices.

A first ballot resulted in . . . no conclusive results. However, Bill was able
to weed out some of the names that received few votes. A second ballot
resulted in . . . no conclusive results, except that a number of people
selected a top choice that was also the *bottom* choice for an equal number of
people. In other words, several members of the board liked a particular choice
best and an equivalent number of people thought that was the worst choice.

Bill and his staff then began their own brainstorming process. They decided
that, all things considered, the name _Intercom_ was beginning to look better
and better. At the September board meeting, Bill showed us a sample of a new
front page based on a redesign of the name _Intercom_. The board was highly
enthusiastic, and I think most STC members will be too. I think the new cover
is a good example of how large a role good design can play in clear
communication. If you're an STC member, watch for your January issue of
_Intercom_. I believe you're going to love it.

And thanks, once again, to all of you who participated in the naming exercise.
Even though we didn't end by picking any of the names suggested, I think the
process helped us get to the satisfactory conclusion we have now reached.

Liz Babcock
Immediate Past President, STC
liz_babcock -at- jdam -dot- chinalake -dot- navy -dot- mil