This presentation covers:
How to cut through the technology hype.
Three big themes that are and will impact on workplace communication and collaboration.
One major underlying trend.
Working remotely is difficult the first time around. Here is a list of my favorite tools to work virtually. This includes communication tools, project management, and social networks!
Where are your project saboteurs? webinar
Monday 2 March 2020
presented by:
Dion Kotteman
The link to the write up page and resources of this webinar:
https://www.apm.org.uk/news/where-are-your-project-saboteurs-webinar/
Jeff Gallimore, Gene Kim, and Tim Buntel discuss the tactics behind expanding DevOps in the enterprise, in this great presentation. Watch the on-demand webinar here: http://bit.ly/2xygVQ7
Business case for deploying online collaboration across organisational bounda...David Terrar
Pollyanna Jones of NHS England & David Terrar of Agile Elephant, introduced by John Glover of Kahootz, use the NHS England futureNHS platform as a case study story for implementing an effective collaboration solution across silos, teams and organisational boundaries. The story shows:
* How the Department of Health and their Arm’s-Length Bodies are using a shared service arrangement to improve team working and stakeholder engagement across the UK health sector
* The potential, drivers and enablers that are necessary for success and the impending blockers and pitfalls with advice as how to overcome them.
* Where to start, how to educate your staff, and an understanding as to how to select and drive benefit from collaboration tools across the value chain
* How to tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of your stakeholders to foster a sense of shared purpose and community involvement
* Building a solid business case. Where the value and ROI of collaboration tools could lie as your organisation looks to improve team working with external parties and across organisational boundaries.
This presentation covers:
How to cut through the technology hype.
Three big themes that are and will impact on workplace communication and collaboration.
One major underlying trend.
Working remotely is difficult the first time around. Here is a list of my favorite tools to work virtually. This includes communication tools, project management, and social networks!
Where are your project saboteurs? webinar
Monday 2 March 2020
presented by:
Dion Kotteman
The link to the write up page and resources of this webinar:
https://www.apm.org.uk/news/where-are-your-project-saboteurs-webinar/
Jeff Gallimore, Gene Kim, and Tim Buntel discuss the tactics behind expanding DevOps in the enterprise, in this great presentation. Watch the on-demand webinar here: http://bit.ly/2xygVQ7
Business case for deploying online collaboration across organisational bounda...David Terrar
Pollyanna Jones of NHS England & David Terrar of Agile Elephant, introduced by John Glover of Kahootz, use the NHS England futureNHS platform as a case study story for implementing an effective collaboration solution across silos, teams and organisational boundaries. The story shows:
* How the Department of Health and their Arm’s-Length Bodies are using a shared service arrangement to improve team working and stakeholder engagement across the UK health sector
* The potential, drivers and enablers that are necessary for success and the impending blockers and pitfalls with advice as how to overcome them.
* Where to start, how to educate your staff, and an understanding as to how to select and drive benefit from collaboration tools across the value chain
* How to tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of your stakeholders to foster a sense of shared purpose and community involvement
* Building a solid business case. Where the value and ROI of collaboration tools could lie as your organisation looks to improve team working with external parties and across organisational boundaries.
Scholars link trust in communities to stronger volunteerism, healthier lifestyles, and economic prosperity. But in an age of dwindling global trust, how do you create strong, sustainable and lasting communities that display curiosity, diversity, and loyalty?
Successful brands, institutions, and movements count on five essential elements to make magic happen within their teams. What are these core principles and how do you know if your communities need work?
In this talk, KiKi L'Italien shares what you need to know in order to build a lasting, successful trust-based community built for today’s business environment.
Influencer Marketing Essentials for Local BusinessKiKi L'Italien
Did you know 74 percent of purchases are made via word-of-mouth recommendations, and influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to drive word-of-mouth purchases? Consumers prefer content that features influencers over traditional advertising and mainstream celebrity endorsements, but you don’t need a Kardashian to be effective with influencer marketing. You best influencers are probably right under your nose. Learn the framework for amplifying your success using influencer marketing and change the course of your business and career!
How to Use Video to Develop Compelling Content KiKi L'Italien
Whether its social media or webpage content, a video is one of the most compelling ways to communicate a message about your company. In this fast-paced session, learn the dos and don’ts associated with video production and how to tailor your content for the audience you are trying to influence.
SEO and Social Media: Why You Need Both to Move the Needle KiKi L'Italien
Think SEO isn’t sexy? Think again. Arguably, there is nothing more seductive than successfully reaching your intended audience and advancing your mission. Good SEO can do that for you. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doesn’t often get as much attention as social media does when it comes to talking about your communication strategy. After all, it's more fun to talk about filters for Snapchat than thinking about keyword research. But SEO should inform your content development. Why? Because search engines are responsible for 85% of all website traffic. Understanding what your target audience's needs are and what they are looking for when they need you most is a critical piece of the puzzle. This webinar will tell you what you need to know to better understand SEO and how to use it to move the needle for your organization. What could be sexier than that?
[Presented at PestWorld 2017, Baltimore, MD – OCT 2017 – http://www.pestworld2017.org/]
It seems like everyone is talking about mindfulness and business, incorporating meditation and exercise, using apps like Headspace, and trying to remember to be grateful while also navigating the day-to-day hassles like scheduling meetings, writing reports, and optimizing communication...not to mention stacking all of that on top of family obligations and professional development. It’s overwhelming. (Co-created with Cynthia D'Amour and Scott Oser) #ASAE16
Grow Your Business with Social Media MarketingKiKi L'Italien
KiKi L'Italien is the founder and CEO of Amplified Growth, a DC-based digital media consultancy specializing in SEO, inbound marketing, and social media for associations and nonprofits. She also serves as CMO for startup app developer Cannonball Projects.
Attendees will hear from KiKi L'Italien, CEO of Amplified Growth, who will explore how attendees can make the most of their networking opportunities. Here you will learn how to be more memorable, make conversation flow, and follow up in a way that will not only lead to greater business and career opportunities, but may even help you to be more innovative and happier. You will discover new techniques on what to do before, during, and after networking events that will help you identify and amplify new relationships adding value to your life and career. This presentation will be followed by a networking session where you will meet with industry leaders and peers who will share their experiences and offer guidance on navigating the changing landscape of the CRE industry.
Exploring and Understanding the New World of Event TechnologyKiKi L'Italien
How are you incorporating livestreaming, hybrid, augmented reality, and geolocation into your events? Technology has become a key component for all learning styles and in an age of edutainment and experiential learning, how do you prepare for the new event technology landscape that is out there? It is important for you to not only know what is being used today, but what is going to be used and how vendors and attendees are starting to view technology when they show up at your events. KiKi will take you through technology that makes you feel like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, but will help you feel like it is Mission Totally Possible when you walk out of the room.
Learn how Facebook (and other social media) can help your hospital interact with patients, physicians and employees by building a sense of community and longer term relationships.
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
Scholars link trust in communities to stronger volunteerism, healthier lifestyles, and economic prosperity. But in an age of dwindling global trust, how do you create strong, sustainable and lasting communities that display curiosity, diversity, and loyalty?
Successful brands, institutions, and movements count on five essential elements to make magic happen within their teams. What are these core principles and how do you know if your communities need work?
In this talk, KiKi L'Italien shares what you need to know in order to build a lasting, successful trust-based community built for today’s business environment.
Influencer Marketing Essentials for Local BusinessKiKi L'Italien
Did you know 74 percent of purchases are made via word-of-mouth recommendations, and influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to drive word-of-mouth purchases? Consumers prefer content that features influencers over traditional advertising and mainstream celebrity endorsements, but you don’t need a Kardashian to be effective with influencer marketing. You best influencers are probably right under your nose. Learn the framework for amplifying your success using influencer marketing and change the course of your business and career!
How to Use Video to Develop Compelling Content KiKi L'Italien
Whether its social media or webpage content, a video is one of the most compelling ways to communicate a message about your company. In this fast-paced session, learn the dos and don’ts associated with video production and how to tailor your content for the audience you are trying to influence.
SEO and Social Media: Why You Need Both to Move the Needle KiKi L'Italien
Think SEO isn’t sexy? Think again. Arguably, there is nothing more seductive than successfully reaching your intended audience and advancing your mission. Good SEO can do that for you. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doesn’t often get as much attention as social media does when it comes to talking about your communication strategy. After all, it's more fun to talk about filters for Snapchat than thinking about keyword research. But SEO should inform your content development. Why? Because search engines are responsible for 85% of all website traffic. Understanding what your target audience's needs are and what they are looking for when they need you most is a critical piece of the puzzle. This webinar will tell you what you need to know to better understand SEO and how to use it to move the needle for your organization. What could be sexier than that?
[Presented at PestWorld 2017, Baltimore, MD – OCT 2017 – http://www.pestworld2017.org/]
It seems like everyone is talking about mindfulness and business, incorporating meditation and exercise, using apps like Headspace, and trying to remember to be grateful while also navigating the day-to-day hassles like scheduling meetings, writing reports, and optimizing communication...not to mention stacking all of that on top of family obligations and professional development. It’s overwhelming. (Co-created with Cynthia D'Amour and Scott Oser) #ASAE16
Grow Your Business with Social Media MarketingKiKi L'Italien
KiKi L'Italien is the founder and CEO of Amplified Growth, a DC-based digital media consultancy specializing in SEO, inbound marketing, and social media for associations and nonprofits. She also serves as CMO for startup app developer Cannonball Projects.
Attendees will hear from KiKi L'Italien, CEO of Amplified Growth, who will explore how attendees can make the most of their networking opportunities. Here you will learn how to be more memorable, make conversation flow, and follow up in a way that will not only lead to greater business and career opportunities, but may even help you to be more innovative and happier. You will discover new techniques on what to do before, during, and after networking events that will help you identify and amplify new relationships adding value to your life and career. This presentation will be followed by a networking session where you will meet with industry leaders and peers who will share their experiences and offer guidance on navigating the changing landscape of the CRE industry.
Exploring and Understanding the New World of Event TechnologyKiKi L'Italien
How are you incorporating livestreaming, hybrid, augmented reality, and geolocation into your events? Technology has become a key component for all learning styles and in an age of edutainment and experiential learning, how do you prepare for the new event technology landscape that is out there? It is important for you to not only know what is being used today, but what is going to be used and how vendors and attendees are starting to view technology when they show up at your events. KiKi will take you through technology that makes you feel like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, but will help you feel like it is Mission Totally Possible when you walk out of the room.
Learn how Facebook (and other social media) can help your hospital interact with patients, physicians and employees by building a sense of community and longer term relationships.
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
Generative AI Deep Dive: Advancing from Proof of Concept to ProductionAggregage
Join Maher Hanafi, VP of Engineering at Betterworks, in this new session where he'll share a practical framework to transform Gen AI prototypes into impactful products! He'll delve into the complexities of data collection and management, model selection and optimization, and ensuring security, scalability, and responsible use.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
zkStudyClub - Reef: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Regex ProofsAlex Pruden
This paper presents Reef, a system for generating publicly verifiable succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs that a committed document matches or does not match a regular expression. We describe applications such as proving the strength of passwords, the provenance of email despite redactions, the validity of oblivious DNS queries, and the existence of mutations in DNA. Reef supports the Perl Compatible Regular Expression syntax, including wildcards, alternation, ranges, capture groups, Kleene star, negations, and lookarounds. Reef introduces a new type of automata, Skipping Alternating Finite Automata (SAFA), that skips irrelevant parts of a document when producing proofs without undermining soundness, and instantiates SAFA with a lookup argument. Our experimental evaluation confirms that Reef can generate proofs for documents with 32M characters; the proofs are small and cheap to verify (under a second).
Paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1886
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Climate Impact of Software Testing at Nordic Testing DaysKari Kakkonen
My slides at Nordic Testing Days 6.6.2024
Climate impact / sustainability of software testing discussed on the talk. ICT and testing must carry their part of global responsibility to help with the climat warming. We can minimize the carbon footprint but we can also have a carbon handprint, a positive impact on the climate. Quality characteristics can be added with sustainability, and then measured continuously. Test environments can be used less, and in smaller scale and on demand. Test techniques can be used in optimizing or minimizing number of tests. Test automation can be used to speed up testing.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
SAP Sapphire 2024 - ASUG301 building better apps with SAP Fiori.pdfPeter Spielvogel
Building better applications for business users with SAP Fiori.
• What is SAP Fiori and why it matters to you
• How a better user experience drives measurable business benefits
• How to get started with SAP Fiori today
• How SAP Fiori elements accelerates application development
• How SAP Build Code includes SAP Fiori tools and other generative artificial intelligence capabilities
• How SAP Fiori paves the way for using AI in SAP apps
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Pushing the limits of ePRTC: 100ns holdover for 100 daysAdtran
At WSTS 2024, Alon Stern explored the topic of parametric holdover and explained how recent research findings can be implemented in real-world PNT networks to achieve 100 nanoseconds of accuracy for up to 100 days.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Welcome to the first in a series of quick slidecasts about using social media for meetings. My name is KiKiL’Italien and I am a senior consultant in technology management for DelCor, a consultancy firm based in the Washington, DC Metro area. I work with all types of communication, focusing on relationship building and social media. Part of my job includes training association executives on how best to use social media for business and right now I am talking to you about the before. Before. There is a lot of power in that word…a lot of promise, a lot of possibilities…Today we’re talking about beginnings…the very beginnings…the befores.Before we go on, I want you to stop and write down these three words. Listen Build Communicate. If you dedicate some early time to strategy and make sure to listen, build, and communicate using the social media tools available to you today, you will be much happier when you have your post-event meeting.
In this slidecast, I will talk about the people, planning, and communications you will want to have in mind before you have a meeting or event. You absolutelycan and should leverage social networks to market and enrich your events.Strategy today will lead to greater opportunities and events tomorrow.**By the way…this is a tip for you** if you aren’t already a part of the ongoing weekly #eventprofs chat on Twitter, you should make a note to look into participating. This chat is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays – Tuesdays at 9-10 PM Eastern and Thursdays at 12-1 pm Eastern and it is a gathering of event professionals and is really quite active.By the way, what are your three points to remember? Do you have 1. Listen 2. Build and 3. Communicate written next to you? Great! Okay, you’re already ready to start (and start early)…
Launch your campaign as early as possibleAs with anything, there is a learning curve — time needed to figure out and form relationships with the influencers, determine what topics resonate best with audiences and define posting and updating strategies and processes.By now everyone probably knows what a hashtag is, but here’s a quick explanation: A hash tag is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. For example, if you search on #sxsw,you’ll get a list of tweets related to the South by Southwest Conference. Decide on your hashtag early and include it in all your meeting correspondence and materials. Put it in your signature line. Share it with everyone and reserve it on WhattheHashtag.com.
Meetings are all about the people. Without the people there is no meeting. We’re talking about having a meeting here, so the first thing you need to do is to figure out who you need to communicate with. Who are the people? This goes beyond who will be in attendance and really speaks to who might be affected by the meeting. Before the room setup and the AV decisions, you need to decide who your audiences are and what you want their relationship with your meeting and organization to be like.The people include:1.Staff 2. Attendees – (live and virtual)* Governance – your Board and committees3. Exhibitors4. Press/PublicWhat kind of communication would these people expect and what would they desire to come from your group about the meeting? This is about meeting and exceeding expectations. Communication methods are changing…has your communication methods kept up with the times?Who on your staff will be listening to the social networks? Who will be responding? Who are your bloggers? Who is out there already blogging about your organization? Who is tweeting from the Exhibit Hall? Who would your exhibitors like to hear from? Who might be attending the meeting via the internet only? Who in the press might benefit from an early interview from one of your speakers?
At the outset make sure your staff understand what you are doingDo you have a social media policy? Make sure everyone knows it.Does everyone know how they can interact? Help them by sharing your vision.Do some of your attendees need help with understanding some of the technology? Provide them with tutorialsMake sure you know how to use the technologies you are suggesting to your attendees
Your online real estate is your online event blog, your meeting website, your Twitter alias, your Meeting Fan Page site and any other place you might be where your audience can find you virtually. Your meeting website is CRITICAL to your event. Make sure it is easy to find your event website. Make sure the information on your website is up-to-date. Make sure you have links to associated social media sites on your website. If possible, integrate. Add the official Twitter feed for your event to the website. Be sure the hashtag for your event is easily available. Depending on which tools you wish to employ and where most of your audience may already be, make sure you monitor those sites and keep the latest info fresh. In other words, your Flickr, Twitter, and Blog should not lie dormant for more than a week. At least once a week find something to freshen up your blog or online space. Make sure you Twitter alias sends out regular tweets (more than one a week).
Listen Build Communicate
At every opportunity integrate your Twitter account with the blog and vice versa. Blog articles serve as source material for tweets and in turnTwitter was the second highest driver of traffic to the blog, behind only the event Website.During the early months, you may only need one person managing the social media campaign, since there is only so much to discuss. However, as the event nears, the more responsibilities you’ll have, thus the less time to monitor, participate and publish. Unfortunately, this coincides with the time people really take an active interest in the event. My recommendation is to team up and assign specific topics to each member. Someone can be responsible for interview quotes (also a big draw), another for event recaps and another for interesting facts and figures. By teaming up, everyone knows their responsibility and can focus on one area instead of spreading one person too thin.Also, you may wish to consider the smartphone/Blackberry tribes and look into whether or not you wish to make sure your website is mobile friendly – or if you should consider developing a secondary website for viewing on a mobile device.provide an opportunity for registrants to provide their mobile numbers for SMS updates relating to the meeting.
Communicate, communicate, communicate…Use email, use direct mail, use Facebook, use Twitter, use LinkedIn, use Flickr, use YouTube…decide on your tools and your online real estate (or outposts) and engage! Don’t be afraid to interact with a human touch when you communicate. Avoid marketing speak, if possible. We are all so bombarded with messaging and data we cannot stand one more commercial…talk to us, but be real.
Meetings can be hairy. There is a lot to do and everyone is nervous about it going well. If you dedicate some early time to strategy and make sure to listen, build, and communicate using the social media tools available to you today, you should be able to find peace during meditation in the morning…or be able to kick back and enjoy a nice glass of wine later in the evening. If you educate the right people to use tools as you wish for them to be used, you will see amazing results with your meetings. But you have to empower your staff and you have to empower yourself to understand how these things work. So invest some time and check out how many of these platforms work. Start listening to the conversation, start building your engagement plan, and then communicate with energy.Thank you for listening to this presentation about preparing for a meeting using social media. The next in the series will be about using social media DURING the meeting.
In the meantime, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me or contact me on Twitter. Thanks for your time and talk with you soon.