Category Archives: Events

Global perspectives on social media

Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:11 pm UK

smw2012

A week-long feast of knowledge opportunity awaits you next week in over 20 cities around the world when Social Media Week kicks off on February 13.

This bi-annual professional development event offers you a series of interconnected activities and conversations around the world on emerging trends in social and mobile media across all major industries. The organizers say it attracts more than 60,000 attendees across thousands of individually organized events, with half a million connecting to the conference online and through mobile.

smwlondonbadgeOne of the cities involved is London where over 150 events are taking place during the week, most of them free to attend (thanks to sponsors).

I’m participating as a speaker and presenter in three of those 150+ events, all of which look as though they’ll be fully booked any minute now – if you’d like to be there, this is the moment to check availability and sign up:

Wednesday February 15

  1. 08:30 to 12:30: Social Business Immersive by Like Minds
    One of seven presenting; my topic: “Brand communications in a social world: the rise of open and transparent dialogue to manage your reputation and drive opportunities publicly to do business.”
  2. 15:00 to 17:00: “The Future of Social Business” panel discussion with JP Rangaswami, Euan Semple, Jon Ingham, Neville Hobson and Delphine Remy-Boutang. This will be a moderated open discussion and debate on social business current trends, best practices and how social media is driving change in the way organisations will do business in the future.

Thursday February 16

  1. 08:30 to 17:00: Making Social Part Of Your DNA by Klaxon Marketing
    Presentation (at 11:50) jointly with Kerry Bridge of Dell UK titled “The long haul; top tips learnt over the years on how to really make social work for your business.” Especially useful if you’re a small or medium-size business.
  • Location: 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB.
  • Details and Register: http://www.socialmediadna.co.uk/agenda/ (This is a not-for-profit event so your full ticket price goes directly to the event’s charity partners CRY and Mind.)

These are but three of the London events you can experience. Among the many others available, these five – one from each day – look like standout sessions:

And if you can’t physically get to any event, you can enjoy many of them via live video streams by Livestream (who will be streaming events from other SMW cities as well).

There are also hashtags for each city – London’s is #smwldn – so you can join the conversations on Twitter.

Enjoy your week of perspectives!

All set for the huddle on November 3

Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:46 pm UK

Planning is complete and things are all set for the Dell B2B Social Media Huddle that takes place in London on November 3.

For this fourth B2B social media networking event that Kerry Bridge and I have organized, we’re expecting a full house at Google’s London headquarters, the venue for our get-together. All 90 free tickets sold out long ago and there’s a waiting list. (If you have a ticket but now can’t make it on the day, please let us know so we can make a wait-lister happy.)

We have a great programme for everyone that includes formal keynote presentations:

  • Lee Bryant, co-founder and Director, Headshift, on social business
  • Cairbre Sugrue, Managing Director Technology, Edelman UK, on trust
  • Azeem Azhar, founder and CEO of PeerIndex, on influence marketing and measurement

And, there is the popular unconference aspect, with sessions run by anyone who would like to talk on a topic they believe will be of distinct interest and value to a B2B audience. So far, we have the following sessions confirmed:

  • Benjamin Ellis, Redcatco: From off-line to on-line – QR Codes, geo-location and what comes next
  • Jas Dhaliwal, AVG.com: Tactics and strategies for connecting with communities
  • Rob Shimmin, Shimmin Brand Protection: Social Media – Letting your corporate guard down?
  • Andrew Grill, PeopleBrowser: How social is impacting TV and all forms of traditional media, from production to consumption

If you have an idea for an unconference session you’d like to run, let us know. There will be an opportunity to do that on the day.

Everyone who’s got a ticket will have received an email from Kerry today with details of the agenda, venue, timings, etc. So we look forward to seeing you in London on November 3!

If you can’t physically attend but want to participate remotely or follow the event virtually, there are a variety of ways you can connect and join the conversation:

Catch the keynotes and other sessions after the event as FIR podcasts. We’ll also upload presentations to Dell’s Slideshare page.

[The Conversation Prism graphic in the image above used under CC license from Brian Solis.]

Cyber security on the investor agenda

Posted on October 17, 2011 at 7:18 am UK

cyberattackUS securities regulators have formally asked public companies for the first time to disclose cyber attacks against them, reports Reuters.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidelines on October 13 that sets out the kinds of information companies should disclose relating to cyber security risks and cyber incidents:

[...] Registrants should disclose the risk of cyber incidents if these issues are among the most significant factors that make an investment in the company speculative or risky. In determining whether risk factor disclosure is required, we expect registrants to evaluate their cybersecurity risks and take into account all available relevant information, including prior cyber incidents and the severity and frequency of those incidents. As part of this evaluation, registrants should consider the probability of cyber incidents occurring and the quantitative and qualitative magnitude of those risks, including the potential costs and other consequences resulting from misappropriation of assets or sensitive information, corruption of data or operational disruption. In evaluating whether risk factor disclosure should be provided, registrants should also consider the adequacy of preventative actions taken to reduce cybersecurity risks in the context of the industry in which they operate and risks to that security, including threatened attacks of which they are aware.

In its guidance document, the SEC says that reporting on cyber security risks and cyber incidents should be included in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A).

The SEC also makes clear that the guidance is just that, not a rule, regulation, or statement, although I can’t imagine many publicly-listed companies covered by SEC oversight not making any disclosure if warranted.

The SEC’s guidance is comprehensive in scope, enabling any company to clearly see what they need to do.

The subject of cyber security is high on the political agenda, too. Next month, the London Conference on Cyberspace takes place with a stated aim of offering “a focused and inclusive dialogue to help guide the behaviour of all in cyberspace.” Speakers include senior representatives from governments, business and civil society.

In addition  to the physical event in London on November 1 and 2, the conference embraces online communities where anyone can participate in debate and dialogue via the Twitter hashtag #LondonCyber.

Follow the conference on Twitter: @LondonCyber.

When Russian diplomacy and social media meet

Posted on October 16, 2011 at 4:09 pm UK

requeststhepleasureWhen I arrived at the Russian ambassador’s residence in London on October 13, I was expecting a pat-down from tough-looking security guards. Or, at the very least, requests for picture ID.

Clearly my stereotypical perceptions are a bit out of touch as I experienced none of those when I got there on dark Thursday evening. Just a smiling man in a smart suit at the entrance gate with a printed list of names of those invited and expected, and a hand-wave to proceed into the grounds with a short walk to the entrance into the elegant and historic building.

The occasion was what the invitation I received described as a “digital barbecue“: a gathering of “leading British and Russian bloggers and social media experts” (the covering email said) on how governments should be engaging with the web and social media, including two 45-minute panel discussions on “governmental interaction with bloggers and other social media, and on concepts of e-democracy.” I’m reasonably sure that this was the first such event of its type held in London by any embassy.

So I RSVP’d, arrived at the gate and soon joined what looked to me to be about 70 others invited to listen to the panel discussions and join in the socializing that followed with food and drink.

The panel discussions were quite interesting, I suppose, although I found the Westminster bubble focus of much of the opinions expressed to be disappointing (I heard too little about e-democracy and too much anecdotal personal experiences of some of the panelists). Perhaps the most relevant thing anyone said was e-democracy “closes the gap between politician and citizen.” I wish that notion had been expanded upon and explored by the panels.

Still, the conversations and exchanges of views I had after the panels when being social with people were worthwhile. I also had an opportunity to speak briefly with Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko, a most affable and friendly man.

AlexanderYakovenkoAmbassador Yakovenko was a gracious host, introducing the event at the start with a prepared speech that had everyone’s attention. His concluding speech was most interesting, where he said he started tweeting out of frustration over an inability to get the Russian side of the Alexander Litvinenko story out in the UK media.

Litvinenko was an ex-KGB and -FSB officer who was murdered in London in 2006 in a James Bond-esque assassination by polonium poisoning. Fingers have been pointed at Russian government involvement ever since; the case was a major discussion topic during Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent official visit to Moscow.

So at the digital barbecue last Thursday, Ambassador Yakovenko took the opportunity to express his government’s point of view about perspectives on that assassination.

I wondered whether the real point of the evening was to provide Mr Yakovenko with that opportunity. After all, it’s still a hot topic, he’s a career politician and a diplomat – formerly the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation as well as spokesman and director of the Russian government’s Information and Press Department – and we were a receptive audience including political bloggers and mainstream media people.

Plus there was a pre-inquest review hearing about Litvinenko’s death scheduled for October 13 at St Pancras Coroner’s Court which, the Russians said, was “closed for the public and media, thus making it impossible for Russian media and the Russian Embassy’s representatives to attend.” [Development reported by Reuters today: "Litvinenko widow launches appeal for inquest cash."]

Whether all that was a factor or not in why the Russians planned this digital barbecue, I think it was a success in achieving a goal to connect Russian influencers with British opinion-formers who use social media. If such connections are bilaterally nurtured and developed, then we could see some interesting developments in building “opinion bridges” between influencers in these countries where social media plays a useful role in a new diplomacy. Mr Yakovenko said he hopes to do it again next year.

You can get a good flavour of the digital barbecue by checking the Twitter hashtag #digitalbbq and its linked content. And connect with our Russian friends on Twitter:

[Photo above of Alexander Yakovenko by Stuart Bruce.]

The 2012 Olympics: tech on a huge scale

Posted on October 13, 2011 at 1:36 pm UK

london2012team

When you’re sitting in front of your widescreen HD television in July 2012 to enjoy two weeks of the 2012 Olympic Games, spare a thought for the huge technology infrastructure that will enable you to get images and sound as well as up-to-the-minute instant results, rankings and other metrics about each and every event, the participants and more, all without a second thought.

Mike Butcher interviews Gerry Pennell, CIO of London 2012, who provides some choice insights into the scope and scale of what he’s aiming to deliver between now and the opening ceremony at the London stadium on July 27, 2012 – that’s 288 days from now.

[...] people live tweeting a race is less of an issue to him than making sure the media gets all the results of the events in realtime. A lot of new software architecture has been created for this for the Olympics and there’s going to be a new Olympic Data Feed, an XML feed for the media and rights holders, which subsequent events will make use of. A new Commentator Information System (CIS) means realtime results rather than TV cameras picking up crowds cheering before the results appear on screen.

“We’ll also be developing some iOS, Android, RIM and Windows 7 applications [to] deliver various things” he says, adding that more will be revealed about this apps in due course.

[...] The sheer scale of the tech aspects of the Olympics have to be read to be believed.

The 16 days of the Olympics games and 12 days of the Paralympics will see 450 technologists keep 180 servers and 1160 PCs and laptops running 24/7. There are 92 buildings to be connected and BT is investing 640,000 man hours in the project. A volunteer portal created by Atos Origin will manage volunteer staff of up to 70,000 during the games. A radio trunked network from British company Airwave will will be used by stewards and the emergency services, and will act as a backup mobile network if anything goes wrong.

(Also read London warned Olympic games may mean mobile phone ‘capacity crunch’ in the Guardian last month.)

Worldwide IT partner Atos Origin says the first IT professionals are already working full time to design the IT infrastructure and systems that will process the accreditation badges for the 200,000 members of the Olympic Family; manage staffing rotas and deliver the results to the world in less than a second.

They add:

For the London 2012 Games, we predict that technology will play a bigger role in two areas. Firstly, in improving access to information as audiences worldwide expect more detailed and colourful information to be delivered, as it happens, to an increasingly complex network of channels. Secondly, the technology infrastructure will also enable a sustainable Olympic Games.

Think also of the opportunity for terrorists to cause disruption on a global scale: massive denial of service attacks, for instance, or introducing viruses or malware into the computer systems. Part of all the preparations include preparations now for cyber attack tests for the games’ computer systems that will take place next year.

Maybe the success of it all will be judged by how you don’t think about all that effort in the background leading up to the events next year.

Seamless is how it should be so you can concentrate on the sport.

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