Today I received the stunning news that the DocTrain conference series is no more. PUBSNET, Inc., the company behind the series, is going out of business. This summer’s DocTrain DITA conference has been canceled.
I am stunned and saddened. Our industry has lost one of its best educational events. DocTrain conferences offered sessions on forward-looking topics, focused on advanced practice but offering multiple levels of learning.
The conference cost even included pre- and post-conference training. The first and last days featured morning and afternoon hands-on workshops with engaging topics and speakers.
I am grateful to have been a volunteer staffer at DocTrain East 2007 and 2008 and at DocTrain West 2009. I am especially grateful to conference director Scott Abel of The Content Wrangler and Eileen Savary of PUBSNET for giving me the opportunity to work with them. I made valuable business connections. I made rich, enduring friendships. I learned more than I can convey.
The demise of DocTrain is an example of how the economy is affecting our precious learning resources. In an article that I have recommended at the end of this post, Scott Abel gives the big picture on the state of conferences and trade shows. He also offers some encouraging news about free online learning events coming this summer.
I welcome your comments about how cutbacks have affected your learning opportunities. How are you filling the gaps? What online learning communities are you finding useful?
Related posts
To get the full story about the death of DocTrain, read Scott Abel’s article on the Content Wrangler site.
For the perspective of a DocTrain presenter, read Thoughts on DocTrain by Scott Nesbitt of DMN Communications.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Eddie,
From what I’ve read on the Web, it looks like DocTrain meant a lot to a lot of people. It’s sad to see the conference series go this way. While being there, I never felt that I was at a conference — it seemed more like a bunch of people just getting together, having a good time, learning a lot, and exchanging ideas.
That, in itself, is why the conferences were so good.
Scott, thank you for your comments. You captured the essence of the DT conferences. There was a certain informality and openness about them that was different from other learning events. I credit Scott Abel for that. He has an amazing mix of professionalism and informality that I find infectious. I learned as much from sitting at the registration table and talking with him as I learned during the sessions.
Eddie,
I’m deeply saddened to read today about the DocTrain Conferences. I share your belief in learning so much from not only attending the conferences, but from sitting behind the registration desk. I also agree with Scott about the overall warmth of the attendees and the valuable networking that occurred during those conferences. Yes, it was like a group of good friends getting together to share some knowledge, some laughs, and some memorable moments. I will miss the camaraderie of all the great folks I had the opportunity to work with and meet. Thanks to Scott and Eileen for all of their hard work over the years; it was greatly appreciated!
Terri, I’m grateful that our DocTrain experiences in Burlington and Palm Springs brought us together as friends. I’m sure that we’ll find other places to make mischief.
Minnesota, perhaps?