Operating Plan
Operating Plan
This Operating Plan describes how IT History Society, Inc. is operating today and what we intend to build next. Because our mission and programming are being refined for the AI era, this plan should be understood as a living document that will evolve as the Board, committees, and members shape the Society’s direction.
What We Are Building Now
- Grow an active member community
- Define what it means to be a member in 2026, including clear participation pathways
- Create opportunities for members to contribute writing, research, moderation, and programming ideas
- Encourage members to identify unsung contributors and gaps in the historical record
- Publish ongoing, episodic content
- Launch a recurring newsletter (for example, via Substack)
- Share short-form announcements and highlights via LinkedIn and BlueSky
- Optionally maintain a lightweight Instagram presence for discovery and cross-posting
- Archive selected outputs on ithistory.org for long-term access
- Create real-time and live discussion formats
- Develop member interaction spaces (for example, Discord)
- Host curated Zoom discussions and interviews with pioneers and domain experts
- Treat selected conversations as historical artifacts when appropriate
- Improve the quality and usefulness of our data
- Shift from unbounded accumulation toward intentional human curation
- Form committees to review known database issues and recommend priorities
- Expand well-loved curated collections selectively
- Improve sourcing and rights management for biographical data and images
- Strengthen partnerships and reduce duplication
- Maintain constructive, non-competitive relationships with peer institutions
- Coordinate where possible with corporate archivists and academic programs
- Highlight existing projects and collections rather than replicating them
- Build governance, committees, and sustainable funding
- Expand Board participation and member leadership opportunities
- Establish standing committees for:
- Membership
- Development (fundraising and sponsorship)
- Database Curation
- Honor Roll
- Programs and Events
- Editorial and Publishing
- Combine volunteer leadership with paid or fractional support where feasible
Some guiding principles of what we will not do
- We will not compete with individuals or institutions doing serious IT history work
- We will not rely on unrestricted public editing as a substitute for accountable curation
- We will not attempt to document everything without regard to historical significance
- We will not commit to major technical rebuilds without mission and resource alignment
