Conversationblog

Euroblog was already a week ago... time flies.

Here are a couple of lessons we've learned from live blogging the conference...

1. Always ensure the network is capable of supporting your live blogging efforts. In this case the Wifi connection was simply too bad and even with a cable the upload of images and podcast files was impossible. We used Coveritlive, a great platform especially created to cover conferences and events. Unfortunately we haven't been able to use all the nice features because of the connection issues.
2. Prepare in advance: create simple text files with backgrounders on the speakers, collect the URL's of blogs, resources that are related to the conference topic, save pictures of speakers for quick re-use etc...
3. Be prepared to manage feedback from an online audience; Coveritlive allows for people to comment on the live blogposts and although this is a great feature and worked well during Euroblog, I can imagine it can gets really crowded on bigger events when people start to give input. In the case of Euroblog I was glad with the really strong input from all across the globe (New Zealand) by Catherine Arrow.
4. Try to be with 2 conference bloggers and switch off form time to time... Especially during a 2/3 day conference you need time away from the screen to follow the conversations without having to "real time summarize" them... Although Pieter was there to help, day 2 was very tiring for me and being inside all day doesn't help...
5. Prepare an alternative location to collect presentations, pictures etc... from the event apart from the central blog where you live blog. PHilip Young set up a wiki from where he links all the content and hosts the presentations from the conference.

• Live blogged content from day 1
• Live blogged content from days 2&3
• The Euroblog Wiki
• The Flickr Photo Group

We had very good feedback from the organizers and it was really a pleasure for us at Blackline to support Euroblog with our tools and skills of the trade.

Looking forward to the next conference... I heard whispers of Sicily...

Euroblog 2008 will take place in Brussels on 13/14/15 March and promises to be one of the best gatherings of PR professionals, educators and social media specialists of this year.

Philip Young, one of the organizers just posted an almost final version of the 3 day agenda and it is quite impressive. Big names are on there like David Weinberger, the co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto or Steve Rubel, top PR blogger and Edelman representative on all things social media.

As for Blackline... we'll cover the conference with live blogposts and podcasting and I am also on the agenda for an interactive seminar on Friday together with Neville Hobson and the above mentioned colleagues.

If you are in Public Relations and would like to know the latest news about social media impacting your industry and profession, then you have to be there.

You can register here and join the Facebook group to pre-conference network here.

If you plan to come, please let me know so we can meet up and chat.  

After some well deserved holidays we're back at full speed at Blackline. Together with Leads United we've set up our first training sessions and are ready to take enrollments.

On February 12 we kick off the season with a master class on "New Media Relations" where we will take a closer look at mainstream media relations as well as how to use social media like blogs, podcasting etc...

This is a full day program starting at 09:30 and ending at 16:00. We are doing our best to balance interesting theory, strong case studies and of course hands on exercises. Here are the details of the 2 first training days:

• Master class New Media Relations, February 12, Dutch language session.
• Master class New Media Relations, February 26, French language session. 

In my new media part of the day I'll split up the group and let you get your hands dirty with blogging, podcasting & videocasting so you can see how these tools could relate to your current communications outreach...

These master class sessions are part of a new initiative by Leads United called Leads'Cool; communications training days led by both agency and external specialists on the topic.  

Euroblog, the conference which focuses on (the only) scientific research on blogging, social media and communications in Europe will take place in Brussels on March 13/14/15, 2008.

I was there last year and did a short interview about the findings with the researchers then. If you are even remotely interested in the impact of social media on the communications profession you have to attend.

Here's the Facebook event page and here the call for papers. Please join in and submit your findings, case studies and survey results.

Apart from that, it will take place in Brussels (my favorite city - see Serge's clip), the center of Burgundian life and good food and drinks... and, I am hosting a pre-conference dinner/drink if there's enough interest ! Don't tell me you need more incentives... ;-)

Let me know if you're interested to join me for a relaxed dinner & drinks and I'll set something up.

Technorati : blogging, brussels, euprera, euroblog, research, social media

Powered by Zoundry

Here are 2 conferences you shouldn't mis if you're a communications professional:

The International Association of Online Communicators conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The conference will take place on the 12th and the 13th of June 2008 (Thursday & Friday) and will gather educators, researchers and professionals who are involved with online communications. Some of the topics that will be debated during roundtables are:

• Teaching online communication: best practices

• Web 2.0 ethics for PR & journalism

• Internal collaboration with Web 2.0 tools

• Measuring online video & podcast ROI

• and many more...

You can find a detailed agenda and registration page here. The conference page allows you to promote the event through your own network and blog/website.

Already interested and eager to visit Reykjavik in the Summer..?

I'll be there with my colleagues from the IAOC and am looking for online communications professionals who would like to participate in a panel with me.

I am thinking about a US/EU comparison of the whole social media phenomenon etc... Interested ? Let me know.

The European Association of Communication Directors conference in Brussels, Belgium.

This is the second edition of the EACD Conference and if it is going to mimic the success of last year then it will be a gathering of top European communicators again. The conference takes place on the 24th & 25th of April, 2008.

The program is too detailed to describe here but do visit the website. You can check out the pictures and videos from last year here as well as download the presentation papers.

Here again I am looking for some Communications colleagues who would like to share a panel with me on the topic of new media. My aim is to have someone from the media, someone from an NGO and a corporate colleague.

Send me an email if you're interested.

Disclaimer: I am a founding member of the IAOC and a full member of the EACD.

Technorati : Brussels, EACD, IAOC, Reykjavik, communications, conference

Powered by Zoundry

A bit of shameless self promotion this time.

If you are a Communications Manager, Public Relations Director, Internal Communications Manager or just interested to know how your company, your employees and your audiences will/are be influenced by social media like blogging, podcasting etc... then this hands on workshop could be something for you.

The School of Business, Media & Politics (SBMP), based in Brussels, asked me to give a seminar/workshop on "web 2.0" and I'll do so on October 25/26, 2007 and again next year on February 21/22, 2008.

More information on their website as well as the registration page.

This seminar will be targeted at communications, marketing and information management professionals and will require a basic understanding of the PC & the Internet.

What I mean is; you do not have to have a degree in computer sciences to participate...

Technorati : PR, SBMP, blogging, brussels, corporate communications, marketing, rss, seminar, web2.0, workshop
Del.icio.us : PR, SBMP, blogging, brussels, corporate communications, marketing, rss, seminar, web2.0, workshop

Powered by Zoundry

Last year I joined the European Association of Communications Directors and in June I will also speak at their first European Conference.

I thought it would be interesting to do an interview with the President, Dr. Heitmann and see what he thinks about the public relations profession and its challenges in Europe. So here it is:

Q: On November 8, 2006 you launched the European Association of Communications Directors. Looking at the myriad of national and European associations that already exist in the field of business communications why do you think there is a place for the EACD?

A:  Indeed, you are quite right: there are plenty of associations at national level but surprisingly few on a European plane and certainly none that brings together those of us who ultimately drive the communications community and agenda across Europe on a day -to-day basis.

Q: the EACD is clearly targeted at "in house" business communicators on a European corporate level. Why this focus?

A:  For my part, I would struggle with all the intricacies involved in my job were it not for the support of SAP's global PR agency. Needless to say though, our roles are very different and associations clearly benefit from a clear focus. As a community at large, we could not survive without the support of those extended communicators, like our agencies and the like. As such, the EACD founding assembly was very articulate and unanimous regarding the need for this specific focus. As such, it then also makes sense that there are so many different associations already in existence, as you stated earlier.

Click to read more ...

The long week end here in Belgium started off with one of the best and funniest dinners I had in a long time.

I was fortunate to share the table last Friday with Adriana Cronin-Lukas, Doc Searls, Kalia Hamlin, Ben Laurie and Stephen Lewis.

All where here in Brussels for the IOS Conference and I took them to Henri, one of the good and "not touristy at all" restaurants I regularly go to when in the capital. We had fun and discussed many things but as it goes with people from different countries we each told parts of our story & background.

Food and drinks where of course a point of interest we all shared (how can you otherwise when in Belgium ?) and we tried the newly arrived Belgian asparagus.

Stephen did a very strong "reenactment" of his childhood in Brooklyn, with the Italian slang and humor to go with it... And everyone else started to laugh when he and I spoke Dutch/Flemish together. It's a real pleasure to spend time with such interesting and fun people.

Doc Searls has some more pictures of the conference here.

Saturday Adriana and I where off to the old quarter of Brussels - de Marollen - and we did the antique & flea market in the area. A beautiful sunny day and again a good lunch in great company. See more pictures here.

Pictures above by Adriana.

Technorati : adriana cronin-lukas, ben laurie, brussels, doc searls, ios conference, kalia hamlin, stephen lewis

The first part of this excellent presentation by Alain Thys from Futurelab explains why "we are the media", the second one focuses on word of mouth marketing.