connections

02/052013

A bonus for those attending Social Connections V: ‘Doing Business with IBM Connections’ Masterclass with Michael Sampson

News business, connections, ibm, ibmcnx, masterclass, soccnx, social by Wannes Rams

As many of you will already be aware, Social Connections V takes place on 28th June in the beautiful city of Zurich, Switzerland.

As has become the format for these events, we have three very full tracks of great Social Business and IBM Connections content, including business, technical and case study tracks, more than 25 great sessions from the best speakers around (the final agenda will be published this week), and some fantastic social and networking opportunities too! Once again, this event is absolutely free to attend as eleven superb sponsors have stepped in to cover the costs of the event.

However, we know that many attendees and sponsors will be travelling from a distance to attend the event, and thus we wanted to deliver the most bang for their bucks (or ‘fizz for their Francs’ perhaps!). Therefore for the first time, Social Connections has an option for a second day’s content at this event. We’re calling this TagItOn and this time, we are thrilled to offer a true masterclass by one of the worldwide-experts in Collaboration and User Adoption, Michael Sampson!

Michael will be running a full-day workshop on Thursday, 27th June at the same venue as Social Connections V. Featuring strategies to help the attendee, their organisation and their colleagues focus on doing business better with IBM Connections, this workshop strips away the technology focus of so many training sessions and gets right to their heart of how we operate as individuals and teams, and how this can be improved through the right use of the IBM Connections platform. With a maximum capacity of 25, this session is going to be really focused, packed with value and offer tremendous opportunities to learn from both Michael and the other attendees’ experience.

The early bird rate is just €349 (or €279 for non-profit and academic users) – this rate ends on 17th May so if you want to attend, now’s the time to register!

Online Ticketing for ‘Doing Business with IBM Connections’ – a Michael Sampson Masterclass powered by Eventbrite

This is a real opportunity that is not to be missed. Michael only travels from New Zealand to Europe once or twice a year so opportunities to learn direct from the expert are few and far between. Book this TagItOn workshop alongside your free attendance at Social Connections V and get the very best value from your travel.

We can’t wait to see you there!

08/032013

Social Connections V – Keynote speakers announced!

News connections, keynote, keynotes, soccnx, social, switzerland, zurich by Wannes Rams

The Social Connections organising committee are delighted to be in a position to announce the two (yes, two!) keynote speakers for our next event in Zurich, Switzerland to be held on Friday, 28th June 2013.

Opening the event will be the fantastic Heidi Ambler, Director of Social Computing at IBM, presenting her perspective on the latest and greatest news on IBM Connections and the new Connections Content Manager solution.

Heidi is a long-time Loti (joining the organisation in 1991), and has previously been product manager for Smartsuite, Notes, Workplace and Connections. Now Heidi is responsible for the product management team for IBM’s Social Business products, so has the challenge of managing such talents as Suzanne Livingston, Baan Slavens and Luis Benitez. We are honoured and delighted that Heidi will be making the trip over from the USA to take part in the event.

Closing the day will be someone who will have travelled even further to be with us, over 11,000 miles from New Zealand. Industry analyst and collaboration strategy guru Michael Sampson will be wrapping up the event with a bang, delivering a second keynote on how to take Social Business solutions and ensure they truly add value to individuals and teams in your organisation.

Michael’s passion is helping organisations to make collaboration work, when their employees have to work together effectively while separated by distance and time. Michael advises end-user organizations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and the United States on making collaboration work.

And a very special bonus…

Given Michael is travelling so far to be with us, it would be madness not to make the most of his time in Europe. Therefore we are thrilled to announce our first Social Connections +1 event.

On the day preceding Social Connections V, Thursday 27th June, Michael will be delivering a special workshop for Social Connections attendees. Entitled ‘Doing Business with IBM Connections‘, Michael will be delivering a full day’s training on how to best use IBM Connections to solve your personal and organisational problems, to deliver enhanced productivity and to get the very best value from the investment you’ve made. Unlike Social Connections itself, it will be a paid event but we have no doubt that attending the workshop will pay for itself many times over! We’ll be announcing more details in the couple of weeks, but definitely keep the date free!

Call to action…

If you haven’t registered for Social Connections V yet, go do it now (see button below) It is shaping up to be the biggest and best Connections user group ever! We now have 9 amazing sponsors who are funding what will be an incredible day.

We are also looking for additional presentation abstracts for the event. If you are a seasoned presentation veteran or someone who has never stepped on stage before, we would love to hear from you. We plan to review the session abstracts on 1st May, so you have just a few weeks to get those sessions in!

Also, look out for more information on hotels and travel very soon… In the meantime, get registered!!

26/102012

Social Connections IV is just 6 weeks away

News amsterdam, attendee, connections, iv, netherlands, registration, soccnx, sponsors by Wannes Rams

I can not believe it has come round again so quickly, in 6 short weeks the Social Connections user group hits Amsterdam. On the 30th of November the IBM Forum will be invaded with IBM Connections users, developers, managers and administrators!

We are expecting people from across the globe with some even traveling as far as Russia, the US and Australia to hear our amazing speakers.
Joining our keynote speaker Mr Christopher Crummey (IBM) are an incredible list of 30 speakers from IBM, business partners and customers who together will be responsible for 27 highly informational sessions. With a great mix of Management, Case Studies, Technical and Development sessions there should be a something for everyone.
Full details on all the speakers and sessions can be found on this page, and the full agenda is available here.

Not only do we have an incredible day program, we are continuing it right into the night with an exclusive dinner for Social Connections participants. We do this to give participants who would like to continue their conversations in a more relaxed and informal way the chance to do so while enjoying a good glass of wine and a dinner in beautiful Amsterdam. This evening program is free of charge thanks to our fabulous sponsors but does require pre-registration and is only open to registered Social Connections participants. So don’t be late to sign up!

For people traveling who need information on transportation and or hotels check out the FAQ page. We have deals with two nearby hotels: Hotel Artemis and Hotel Mercure Amsterdam Airport that could be interesting but make sure you book in time as we cannot guarantee availability. Information on how to apply for the special event price is included on the FAQ page.

Lastly I have to mention our incredible sponsors – without whom we would not be able to run these events: IBM, Silverside, E-Office, Ilionx, Time to Act, Collaboration Matters, Portico, Ephox and BLUG are making it all possible.

So, not registered yet? Well don’t wait too long as we only have a limited number of seats left and register now.

Time for social business in Amsterdam!

17/072012

Social Connections IV registration is open

News abstracts, amsterdam, connections, iv, netherlands, registration, soccnx, social, sponsors by Wannes Rams

No sooner has Social Connections III in Dublin been and gone than thoughts turn to the next event!

As may know, so far the IBM Connections user group has visited England, Wales and Ireland. Therefore the next step is to head to mainland Europe and to one of the most ‘social’ European cities, Amsterdam!

On Friday 30th November, Social Connections IV will take over the IBM Forum in central Amsterdam for a day of tremendous IBM Connections content, Social Business education, customer case studies, ‘Birds-of-a-feather’ style discussions, networking and fun.

Registration has just opened, and thanks to the generosity of our sponsors is completely free once again.

An action-packed day of 30 or so sessions is planned, and we are inviting abstracts from potential speakers – we’d love to hear from you if you would like to present on a business-related or technical subject, or if you’d like to chair a panel or BoF-style session. We’d welcome sessions from Lotusphere veterans and never-spoken-before newcomers alike, and if you have a Connections customer story to tell then you’ll be pushed to the head of the queue!

We are also very keen to sign up additional sponsors, so if you have solutions or services to sell to the IBM Connections community, please do get in touch!

The entire day is completely free to attend, and there will also be a reception on the Friday evening – details will be shared ASAP.

As you can see from the wrap-up video from Social Connections III below, the day will be incredibly informative and also great fun, so there is really no time like the present – register today!

18/062012

Social Connections III is this Friday. Last chance to register!!

News connections, dublin, ibmcnx, ibmcnxdev, soccnx, social by Wannes Rams

The latest and greatest IBM Connections User Group event takes place this Friday (June 22nd, 2012) in Dublin (at the home of IBM Connections development in the IBM labs). We have 100 awesome attendees scheduled to attend, 20 superb sessions, 6 super sponsors and a diamond (sorry, that was a stretch!) day and evening planned!

If you have been sitting on the fence about attending the event, you have just today to make up your minds as we need to close registration to get badges, security and wifi set up. As the saying goes, ‘if you’re not on the list, you can’t come in!‘.

Here’s the amazing agenda we have planned:

Featuring at least 7 current IBM Champions (including Connections101.net authors Gabriella Davis and Paul Mooney), key executives and developers from the IBM labs (Mike Roche, Martin Donnelly, Tony McGuckin etc) and some tremendous customer case studies, this really is a day jam-packed with ‘mustn’t miss’ sessions for both business- and technology-focused attendees. Once the day concludes, we’re off for an all-expenses-paid evening at the home of Guinness, the Storehouse in central Dublin for the opportunity to learn how to pour (and drink) the perfect pint of the black stuff and of course, great food and drink too. It promises to be an amazing day in the friendliest city in Europe!

So how can we put on such a great event? Put simply, none of this would be possible without the incredible support of our sponsors:

Platinum (funding the event location and reception):

	IBM is a globally integrated enterprise operating in over 170 countries. Today IBM UK has around 20,000 employees, bringing innovative solutions to a diverse client base to help solve some of their toughest business challenges. IBM is a global business and technology leader, innovating in research and development to shape the future of society at large.
	Sogeti is a leading provider of professional technology services and recognises the importance of Social Business both from a services perspective and for internal usage. Connections is used pervasively throughout our organisation to drive communities in the consulting teams, enhance employee skills development, distribute innovations and have fun.

Gold (funding catering, A/V and brochures):

	Connections101 helps guide you through implementing IBM Connections. Paul Mooney of Bluewave and Gabriella Davis of The Turtle Partnership have partnered to share their experiences of IBM Connections implementation – the result is Connections101. For the latest from Connections101 go to our blog at www.connections101.net.
	Simplify the administration of IBM Connections with the Connections Administration Toolkit (CAT) – an easy to install and easy to use web interface tool. Complex multilevel administration commands can be done with just a single click, even by administrators without WebSphere background.

Silver (funding transport and reception drinks):

Teamstudio Unplugged is a mobile offline business engine. With Unplugged and Domino Designer you can quickly create secure mobile apps for iOS, Android and Blackberry devices. These apps sync to your Lotus Domino servers and other enterprise back ends, so that users can access data whether online or offline.

Collaboration Matters is one of the UK’s leading Social Business consultancies. We have constructed a dynamic team that can call on some of the most innovative minds in the fields of Collaboration and Social Business. Based in the UK, we operate throughout mainland Europe and further afield, delivering IBM Connections hosting, consultancy, training and adoption best practice, not to mention the amazing Kudos Badges solution.

So, are you going to attend this fantastic event we have planned? You’ll regret it if not! If so, you need to register by 5pm GMT today. No excuses!

If for any reason you can’t make it in person, please look out for the video recordings and presentations that we’ll be publishing next week. Social in focus, thought and deed, we’re determined to share this event with as many people as we can… Also, make sure you follow the Twitter users @soccnx and hashtag #soccnx for coverage during the day on Friday.