May’s SSP regional meeting in Durham was a bit of a change of pace compared to the usual monthly meetup. This month, SSP members came together to engage in the publishing industry’s equivalent of speed dating.
The meeting began with representatives from the ten SSP member companies giving a brief introduction to their company philosophy and areas of expertise. These companies included J & J Editorial, NC State University Libraries, Oxford University Press, Duke University Press, UNC Press, Ringgold, RTI Press, Morningstar Law Group, Research Square, and, of course, Technica Editorial. Technica’s co-owners, Jack Nestor and Arlene Furman, and a group of managing editors were there to meet with the fellow publishing professionals and discuss the Technica Advantage.
After a brief refreshment break, the speed networking began. The networking lived up to its advertisement and indeed did resemble speed dating. Each of the professionals were matched up and, with a two-minute clock ticking away, commenced with each of their business “dates”. Despite the short time frame for each encounter, a multitude of topics were discussed including copyright management, advocating for inclusivity and social issues, open access concerns, and how best to help clients with project organization. It was interesting to see how different publishers and publishing service companies approach these issues and what each company considered their specialties. In some cases, the event allowed for individuals to finally meet in person with publishing colleagues that they’ve previously only corresponded with via electronic communication.
This speed networking worked as a warm-up for the 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scholarly Publishing which took place this past weekend in Chicago, IL. Technica Editorial was a featured booth at the event.
