December 28, 2023

Highlights of 2023

While we have been busy crafting with words, learning about ChatGPT and the Japanese government’s new invoice system, keeping our equipment up to date, meeting deadlines, and keeping abreast of our email, now we find that another year is upon us. 
     SWET started 2023 in its usual laid-back fashion, but the questions arising and alarms sounding over large language models got our adrenalin going for some months, setting off much discussion and experimenting. Subsequently, as we have returned to work as usual, AI-related issues only occasionally rear their heads, but concerns remain. The conversation will certainly be ongoing.
     SWET is meanwhile quietly exploring its own, very human, potential, with the Mentoring Program launched in February and the Manga SIG founded in April starting up and ticking along nicely through 2023. These successful projects, bringing members together to benefit from sharing what they know, highlight the resources within our ranks and the networking that supplies our moral and collegial support.
     With updating that began earlier in 2023, the SWET website became responsive on mobile devices in July. Our web development team at Resourcecode and our volunteer webmaster have helped us keep up with the latest technologies, despite the weight of a data-heavy site that carries its history on its back. The top page got a nice facelift with a new graphic slider and an expanded color scheme. A big part of the site’s raison d’être is a vast and continually growing archive of articles and resources for Japan-related wordsmiths, and most of the archive is open to the public. We have maintained the site’s continuity for over 23 years, and it is “home base” for SWETers, with upcoming event notices, the link to our associated Japan Style Sheet website, a mini-website for each member via the “Find a Member” section, and access to the SWET YouTube recordings of past online events, as well as to our pre-2012 article archives (PDFs available to members).
     In addition, we had a satisfying calendar of monthly online Talk Shops, some small-scale conversations, others panel discussions, interviews, and topical experience sharing, each one reminding us what a valuable community we have, stretching out around the world. You can see the track record on our Past Events page. We also sent out monthly bulletins to members, announcing SWET and other events of interest, notifying updates and new material on the website, and sharing news and notes contributed by members. 
     SWET extends warm wishes for a Happy New Year. We look forward to a continuing calendar of events and communications in 2024!