I will be presenting at the LGC sponsored “Fundamentals of Information Management” Conference tomorrow. 17th June 2008. The presentation will cover:

I will be presenting at the Limehouse software user’s group today, 10th June, on the topic of Web 2.0 and the issues that local authorities face in bridging the digital divide.

I will be running one of the Open Space sessions at the Web 2.0 Strategies event being held at the New Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden, London on 12th June.

I believe this will be stimulating discussion, and of particular relevance to any public sector delegates who are currently using or thinking of deploying Web 2.0 collaborative technologies in their workplace.

We will explore some of the lessons learnt and tangible outcomes from a case study example of a Web 2.0 strategy to build a network of Communities of Practice across the public sector.

Some of the key points to be explored include:

• Social media applications as a means to effective networking and knowledge sharing
• Building a collaborative culture in the workplace.
• Communities of Practice (CoPs) in local government - from 0 to over 320 CoPs in 18 months.
• Policies and governance for use of social media applications in a highly regulated environment.

I hope this session will appeal to anyone currently grappling with the world of Web 2.0 and how the benefits can be safely deployed and exploited in the public sector. I look forward to seeing you there!

Please Note: There is a special rate for public sector attendees of £350 plus VAT bookable by calling 0207 316 9126 - you cannot book this rate online.

“Putting Enterprise Search and Discovery to Work: While entreprise technology might be an end in itself for some organisations, fo other is is only the beginning, as they start tio buiold search-based business applications”.

I will be talking about the Personalised Community Search facility that i introduced to the local government Community of Practice platform earlier this year. This gives users the ability to pre-select the web site they wish to include in web searches, thereby inproving precision and relevance for their domain of interest.

The project is on-going with lots of interest being expressed in using the CoP platform by central government departments. Watch this space!

The following is an abstract from the Conference synopsis:

During the course of the two days, gain a real understanding of what social software can do for your business and pose questions to the panel on what “Web 2.0” is and what it can do for you internally. Also benefit from key knowledge and insight, highlights include:

• British American Tobacco examining the benefits and pitfalls of collaboration
• Cabinet Office discussing how Government bodies plan to implement social software over the coming months
• Guardian Unlimited revealing the way in which they effectively utilise their online blogs

See collaboration in action on our exclusive online demonstration from BT and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), who have successfully implemented technologies to harness the power of collaborative, “Web 2.0”-style applications. BT will talk you through expanding your communications strategy with social software and LSC will review the process of developing social networking in the public sector.

Steve Dale (Director, Semantix (UK) Ltd)

Steve developed the knowledge management strategy at IDeA, culminating in the launch of an online community platform. He’ll be talking about his experiences and lessons learned in his talk at the conference.

New areas of the site include case studies, white papers, a portfolio of our work and much more. Don’t forget to check the latest from Semantix Managing Director Steve Dale’s renowned blog, Dissident, which is displayed on the left of the screen.