Social Media Conference Launched For IT professionals

Published 20th April 2006

One of the UK’s first conferences dedicated to blogging and social media has been launched by VNU Exhibitions Europe, organisers of the Online Information event. The Blogs & Social Media Forum is aimed at IT professionals who wish to learn how to harness the power of these new technologies in the workplace. The Forum takes place on 17th May 2006 at the Hilton London Metropole hotel and will examine the impact of wikis, blogs and RSS with speakers including Sun Microsystems, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson

“The rise of social media technologies, such as blogging, is having a huge impact on the way in which information is being shared” comments Victoria Bush, Director, VNU Exhibitions Europe. “Social media technologies provide an easy to use collaborative workspace using various communication tools, helping businesses in the IT community to network at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. Through this one day conference we aim to offer delegates a chance to learn more about the rise of these new communication tools, how they are affecting job roles, and how they can be utilised fully for positive advantage.”

The forum will combine expert industry insight from leading thinkers in the field of social media technologies with real life case studies. It will break away from the traditional conference format with open space workshops which will help maximise interaction and networking. Delegates will also have the opportunity to blog throughout the conference and network with other delegates in advance via a dedicated conference wiki.

Sessions include:

· Keynote panel debate: The future of social media and Web 2.0 - where's it all going?

Moderated by Euan Semple, Independent Advisor, ex-Head of Knowledge Management, BBC

Panellists include:

. Jeff Clavier, Managing Partner, SoftTech VC

. Adriana Cronin Lukas, Partner, Big Blog Company

. Jaap Favier, Vice President and Research Director, Forrester Research Mike Nutley, Editor, New Media Age

. Ben Hammersley, Journalist for British Press (The Times, The Guardian and The Observer), and the Author of Content Syndication

· Case study: Sun Microsystems - business blogging: innovate or die?

Alec Muffet, Principal Engineer, Sun Microsystems

· Case study: Allen & Overy - creating a social interface to corporate knowledge, Ruth Ward, Head of Knowledge Systems and Development, Allen & Overy, Lee Bryant, Director, Headshift.

The delegate fee is £350 + VAT which includes entry into all conference sessions, a three course lunch, speakers notes and access to the sponsor showcase and the blog and social media clinic where new technologies will be demonstrated in an informal atmosphere.