Gearing up for a busy fall, as I’ll be leading workshops at three different events organized by the Advanced Learning Institute, a conference organizer based in Chicago. It’s a great pleasure for me to be involved, as I’ve learned so much and made some lasting relationships at their conferences.

So here’s where you can find me this fall:

• Social Media For Government Conference, September 29 - October 2 in Ottawa
• Social Media For Healthcare, October 5 -8 in Washington
• Social Media For Crisis Communications in Government, November 2 - 5 in Washington

I’ll be running variations of the same workshop at all three events, the basic description of which is:

In today’s marketing environment, it’s vital that you respond to the right conversations in the right places. Using social media monitoring tools that are openly available, you can learn what’s being said, identify the most active and influential conversations and know where you need to be present online.

In this workshop, you will learn why it’s crucial to monitor the web to lead your marketing efforts, plus how to choose and prepare a community ambassador to voice your web presence. In addition, a hands-on approach will be taken to teach you how to monitor conversations using free tactics, tools and websites, including:

• Understanding the concept of RSS feeds and how to set up an RSS reader
• Looking at key free monitoring tools and how to subscribe to search results
• The importance of keyword selection
• Knowing where to listen to online conversations
• Preparing to respond and initiate online conversations when necessary - starting to really use social media

The early bird deadlines are still available for the October and November events - but you only have until August 12 (this Wednesday) to take advantage of a reduced rate for the Social Media for Healthcare conference. In addition, at any time during the registration process, if you mention my name, you’ll get a 50% discount off the current rate.

Also, to follow along during these events, search for #ALI on Twitter while the conference is in session. You’ll get a lot out of the sessions when you keep on eye on the back channel.

Hope to see you there!

At the Social Media Summit today, I was really struck by what Craig Goodwill had to say about social media. So much so, I’ve turned it into an image. Though the wording isn’t an exact quote, it certainly sums up the thought as Craig intended.

Why do I think that this idea is so key? Because Craig is working the Mobile Jam Fest to its full potential, using social media in the most important way, driving action both offline and online. Secondly, you need sand (okay, earth) to plant seeds.

To learn more about the Mobile Jam Fest, check ‘em out online.

Tags: SocialMedia Summit, Mobile Jam Fest, Craig Goodwill, Social Media Sand, PlantingSeeds Online, Planting Seeds, PlantingSeeds.ca

We’re off to a great start at the Social Media Summit. Listened to Saul Colt (blog, Twitter) explain how to make sweet love to your customers. Barnaby Jeans (blog, Twitter) is letting us know what Microsoft is doing with social media up here in Canada. And, over the next two days, we’ll also hear from Dave Fleet from Thornley Fallis (blog, Twitter), David Alston (blog, Twitter) from Radian6, Lisa Dilg (blog, Twitter) from PerkettPR, Alan Lepofsky (blog, Twitter) from SocialText and many other great case study presenters.

To follow along, follow along through Twitter Search using #ALI or Twazzup.

Some other highlights over the next two days:

• I’ve been invited to discuss the importance of extending your web presence on CP24’s Homepage tomorrow at 5:15

• Parker Mason (blog, Twitter) and I are meeting up on Wednesday at the Elephant + Castle on King at 6 pm. Join us if you can!

• Plus, I’ll be leading a workshop here on Thursday afternoon - hope to see you there!

Will try to update as the conference goes along. Let me know if you’re here or if you have questions for the presenters by sending me a message on Twitter (@MarkGoren).

Was away for a little while and now working furiously to get back into the swing of things. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on since the groundhog looked for his shadow:

• Earlier this month, I ran the Planting Seeds workshop at the Social Media for Government Conference in Ottawa. The group was great and eager to learn. In the session, we covered a few key lessons in the three hours, including:

- The importance of monitoring online conversations and the introduction of basic tools needed to help organizations achieve this

- Various ways to respond to the ongoing conversations as you start to dip your toes into the “social media” waters

- How to initiate your own conversations to help you better engage citizens

- A look at some key social networking sites and how you can start planting seeds by participating in these existing communities

I really enjoy doing these sessions and the feedback has been tremendous. Looking forward to heading across the 401 to Toronto for the Social Media Summit in April and then back to Ottawa for another Social Media for Government conference in May. At these two events, we’re going to look at social media monitoring and the free tools you can use to set up your own listening posts.

• Speaking of workshops, I’m currently exploring the possibility of organizing some independent ones here in Montreal. With the help of friend Sharon Hunter (Twitter), we’re aiming to offer a range of sessions for executives and marketing folk. Within the week, I’ll be highlighting the sessions in the space.

If you’re interested in joining a session or having one at your place of business, just leave a comment below or send me an email. Let’s talk!

• Lots of feed reader goodness in the last little while. Here are some links that have caught my eye:

- Executing a listening plan, Techno//Marketer
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while or have attended one of my workshops, you know how important I believe putting together a listening plan is for people starting to dive into the social media waters. In this post, Matt explores what he calls the “Three layers of listening” - 1. the data layer, 2. the human layer and 3. the action layer.

- Social Media Year over Year Stats, Search Engine Guide
Take a look at the numbers, social media is growing. In this post, you’ll see just how much, as some networks have shown huge growth in the past year. Throw these stats into your next presentation, it’ll help turn people into believers.

- How Big Brands Can Start Testing Social Media, Conversation Agent
Another important post by friend Valeria Maltoni. In it, she gives companies five important things to think about when testing social media. Have a read and share your thoughts here or on her blog.

That’s it, that’s all for now. More juicy goodness to come, so stay tuned!

On the heels of my participation at two Social Media for Government conferences in Ottawa (September 2008, February 2009), I’ve been invited to conduct a workshop at the Social Media Summit in Toronto this April.

The conference is loaded with great talent, including David Alston from Radian6, Dave Fleet and Joseph Thornley from Thornley Fallis, and Parker Mason from CNW Group. I encourage you to check out the full conference lineup here.

As for me, I’ll be conducing a post-conference workshop on the Thursday afternoon. Here are the session details:

Using Free Tools To Monitor The Web:
How To Collect Information That Aligns With Your Business Goals

Think of the Web as fertile ground for information. With millions and millions of websites and billions more pages of content, there is so much valuable information to gather. Whether it’s real-time conversations taking place on blogs and discussion forums or market research you’re looking for, you can work the Web to distill and collect the information that matches your business goals.

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn about monitoring the Web, highlighted by some of the free tactics, tools and websites you can use to accomplish this, including:

• Gaining a handle on the all the different reasons to listen to online conversations
• Understanding the concept of RSS feeds and how to set up a RSS reader
• The importance of keyword selection
• Knowing where to listen to online conversations
• Preparing to respond and initiate online conversations when necessary

I’m excited to be a part of this conference and would like to thank Kelly Flynn at the Advanced Learning Institute for inviting me to participate. (Follow Kelly on Twitter!)

The upcoming Social Media for Government Conference, taking place in Ottawa this February, is closing in. My colleague Jennifer Savage, from WebDrive Canada, will once again be presenting, this time a case study titled, “Understanding Key Policies And Standards To Maximize Your Web 2.0 Initiatives”. She’s up on day two of the conference, while I’ll be running a pre-conference workshop tited, “How To Use Social Media To Engage More Citizens - Planting Seeds Online To Cultivate Conversations And Communities.”

The workshop at the last conference was a great success, so I’m hoping to build on that and help more people get to know the basics of Social Media. Here’s a bit from the abstract:

By planting seeds online, you can help people discover you, get to know you and find common interests - all so they can form a solid relationship with your organization.

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn about some of the tactics, tools and websites you can use to accomplish this, including:

    “The importance of monitoring online conversations and the introduction of basic tools needed to help your organization achieve this
    ” Various ways to respond to the ongoing conversations as you start to dip your toes into the”social media” waters
    ” How to initiate your own conversations to help you better engage citizens
    ” A look at some key social networking sites and how you can start planting seeds by participating in these existing communities

This is the second time we’ll both be involved in the conference and I can honestly say that it’s an excellent opportunity to see what other goverment departments are doing, gain an understanding of their challenges and see what they’ve done to foster a culture of collaboration to further their goals. Seeing really is believing - that’s why it could be an excellent opportunity to bring key colleagues along so they can see the benefits of a social media platform.

You can check out the agenda here.

Also, there’s a discount rate if you register by December 19th. Just ask for the EARLY BIRD rate to save $400. Plus, if you mention “SPK”, you’ll get an extra $200 off.

Let me know what you think. It’s could be a good way to help sell social media + web 2.0 strategies and solutions to your organization.

Tags: SocialMedia For Governement, Government 2.0, Social Media, Advanced Learning Institute, #ALI, Planting Seeds, Planting Seeds Online, PlantingSeeds.ca, WebDrive Canada

It was a great week in Ottawa at the Social Media for Government conference put on by the Advanced Learning Institute. Met a lot of great people and learned quite a bit. You’d be amazed by how some government departments are using social media to Plant Seeds online.

Here are just a few great examples to check out:

• Royal Ontario Museum is offering podcasts, a YouTube channel and more.

• The Commonwealth of Virginia is using widgets to inform, connect with and feed Virginians

• The U.S. Department of Defence is has offers a Bloggers Roundatable, YouTube channel, Podcasts and more.

There are more examples, of course, let me know and I’ll post more – or plant your own in the comments.

Also, for those who attended my workshop, or wanted to but couldn’t, I’ve posted my slidedeck on SlideShare and embedded it here and to the right. You can download it from Slideshare or let me know and I’ll send you the PDF.

Plus, for fun, check out this video about Twitter. I couldn’t resist, since there was so much Twitter talk at the conference.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I’ve very happy to report that I’ve been invited to deliver a workshop at an upcoming conference. From September 15 to 18, I’ll be in Ottawa attending and actively participating at: “SOCIAL MEDIA For GOVERNMENT: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using BLOGGING, PODCASTING And The Latest WEB 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results”.

The workshop, titled, “Using Social Media To Engage More Canadians – Planting Seeds Online” will look at the following (from the abstract):

“Having a website as your online hub is no doubt important, but establishing a web presence to reach more Canadians on their terms is becoming just as significant too. Today, it’s no longer sufficient to wait for key interest groups to find your website, you have to connect with them on their terms and give them a reason to visit. By “planting seeds” online, you can help people discover you, get to know you and find common interests – all so they can form a solid relationship with your department.”

The conference itself looks to be great, with an amazing lineup of presenters and government case studies. There are some really exciting social media initiatives being taken by government agencies and departments, so there’s no doubt that you can learn quite a bit at this conference, whether you’re a government client or not.

Here’s everything you need to know about the event:

• SOCIAL MEDIA For GOVERNMENT: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using BLOGGING, PODCASTING And The Latest WEB 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results

• September 15-18, 2008 – Ottawa, ON

• Detailed conference agenda

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to help you out. I’m very excited about this opportunity and hope to see you there!