social

22/022016

Social Connections 10, we will go to Toronto!

News 10, abstracts, canada, event, ibmchampions, ibmcnx, june, registration, soccnx, soccnx10, social, socialconnections, toronto by Wannes Rams

We know we have kept you waiting. Maybe longer than both you and we wanted. But it was for a good reason!

After the great success of our last event in Stuttgart, and because this is our 10th event, we have cooked up something extra.

We won’t release all the details yet, there are much more exciting things to come.

But we can say this: It is with great pleasure that we can announce the dates and location for our next event. This time we will be crossing the Atlantic again, but to a new country for us. We are going to Toronto, Canada! Yes, you heard it right, the beautiful city of Toronto is waiting for us!

So gear up with your biggest smile and join us on June 6 & 7, 2016 in the vibrant capital of Ontario, Canada.

As before we are running a 2 day event filled with good speakers, captivating sessions, lots of IBM Champions, a Gala night you wont forget and of course the amazing Social Connection team.

But we cannot do this without you! So send in your abstract for that session you already have in the back of your mind here, or register here.
And last but not least, there is much more to come. Keep your eyes open here for more details, news and announcements. We will updating you on a regulat basis from now on.

16/102014

Announcing the venue for the Social Connections VII Gala Reception

News gala, reception, soccnx, social, stockholm, vii by Wannes Rams

The event’s gala reception takes place on the evening of Thursday 13th November, between 7:30pm and 10:30pm.

The team know that we have a lot of live up to when it comes to our gala receptions – a castle in Wales, the historic Guinness factory in Dublin, overlooking the lake in Zürich, and then that majestic view (and fireworks) in Prague! However, after much searching, we think we have found one of the very best venues in Stockholm for this event’s evening gathering…

We are truly delighted to announce that we be hosting the gala reception at Fotografiska – the world-renown photography museum:

It all began in 1940 when the court photographer Sundgren presented a proposal for a photographic museum in Sweden. The Magazine Photo spoke with museum directors and photographers who showed interest and enthusiasm. Although the idea of a permanent home for photography was discussed back and forth, nothing happened until 70 years later when the doors to Fotografiska finally opened in Stadsgårdskajen in Stockholm.

The initiators and founders of Fotografiska are brothers Jan and Per Broman who both have a long history working in the photography industry. To assist them they have a dedicated group of coworkers with expertise within various fields.

This incredible location is on the water’s edge, with views across Stockholm:

Fotografiska is housed in a former industrial Art Nouveau style building dating back to 1906. Designed by Ferdinand Boberg, the building was used for the customs control of goods and is listed as a building of cultural interest. The original brick facade of the beautiful customs building is intact, while the interior has been renovated to house the museum. The city of Stockholm has funded the 250 million crown restoration costs. Today, the entire 5,500 square meter space is filled with photographs and exhibitions from around the world.

The evening will begin with welcome drinks, before an optional tour of the museum’s finest exhibits:

Exhibitions are the foundation of Fotografiska. Our ambition is to exhibit world-renowned photographers, many who have never been shown in Sweden, as well as those who are not yet established. Since our grand opening, May 20th 2010, we have shown legends like Annie Leibovitz, David LaChapelle and Nick Brandt and introduced new photographers like Helena Blomqvist, Klara Kallstrom and Johan Wik.

We believe photography is an art form with a bright future that grows increasingly important for us humans. In addition to being a place where humans meet, we find inspiration, peace and strength from it.

This will be followed by a three course meal designed by the museum’s chef, Paul Svensson:

Our kitchen pride themselves on the same excellent quality and standard as the rest of the museum. Our aim is to create experiences for all the senses – where tastes, fragrances, our choice of raw materials and the surrounding environment combine as part of a well-considered whole.

Down at Fotografiska’s kitchen, our ambitions are just as high as in the rest of the building. Our goal is to create experiences that will appeal to all the senses, where the tastes, fragrances, choice of raw ingredients and the ambient environment all contribute to a carefully considered total concept.

Our philosophy is rooted in Swedish culinary traditions, however we dare to differ and are happy to go beyond national borders to seek inspiration.

We are convinced that you have the same high demands on what is served as we do. That is why it goes without saying that the starting-point for our menus is the change of seasons. This means that we try to avoid unnecessary transportation and use organic products as far as possible. We work together with carefully chosen suppliers and our preference is always for Swedish raw ingredients.

Paul Svensson, one of Sweden’s most celebrated chefs, is closely involved in our activities as a source of culinary inspiration and a concept developer.

There’s something very special about sharing a meal together, so with plenty of opportunities for networking and enjoying each others’ company, we believe this will be a wonderful way to cement the relationships made or continued at the event!

The Social Connections team have no doubt that this will one of our best gala receptions yet. So if you haven’t already registered for the event (and the reception), please do so now!

20/092013

Social Connections VI – the next chapter…

News connections, event, norway, soccnx, social, sweden, zurich by Wannes Rams

Social Connections V was a blast!

Beautiful city (Zurich), great turnout (180), fabulous sessions (26), wonderful sponsors (10) and much much more besides…

We still have lots of great content and photos to share from the event, so look out for those over the next few weeks as the team recover from their post-event stresses and strains and plan for the next event.

Next event?!

Yep, you heard it right… We’ll be back for yet another fantastic Social Business and IBM Connections user group very soon.

When?

After five events in just under two years (it seems crazy just saying that), the team has taken a well earned break and is now planning for the next event to take place in April 2014.

This has given us an extra four months or so to pull together the details for an even bigger and better event next time. This will ideally allow us to grow the agenda into a multi-day event and thus give everyone involved even better bang for their buck (or in the case of attendees, even better value for their free registration fee)!

Where?

The million dollar question!

After events in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, there has been talk of heading to locations in Europe or even to the USA. The team are keeping all options open for the future, but after much consideration, have decided that the immediate plans are to continue to grow and sustain our wonderful European community.

We are therefore looking for an event location in Sweden or Norway for Social Connections VI. Finding a classy location with good travel links that can accommodate up to 250 attendees, can host 3 or 4 sessions simultaneously and have space for sponsors and networking is not as easy as it may seem, particularly for a self-funded user group!

Therefore, we are definitely open to suggestions! We have already had some great ideas flow in over Twitter, but if you know of a great location that we might be able to use for Social Connections VI, please do let us know. Likewise, if your organisation would be interested in helping us to organise the event in your neighbourhood then we would love to hear from you!

Who?

As you may be aware, Social Connections is run by a team of experienced, passionate, knowledgeable but slightly mad volunteers! As attendees to previous events would hopefully attest, this group manages to put on large, well-organised events that would put many a professional events organisation to shame.

This event will see some significant changes in this team (more details later) so we are on the lookout for more willing folks to step forward to join the team, particularly those native to Scandinavia. We can promise lots of laughs, strong coffee, camaraderie, in-jokes and lengthy Skype chats. In return, there’ll be no pay, but you’ll get to be part of one of the best teams and events around! If you’re interested, get in touch by email or reach out to Stuart, Sharon or Simon over one of the many social networks.

What next?

Look out for more details on socialconnections.info, on Twitter and in the LinkedIn community. We hope to have some date and location details for you very soon.

03/062013

Social Connections V – Less than four weeks to go!

News connections, soccnx, social, zurich by Wannes Rams

We’re into the home straight! Social Connections V takes place at the end of this month, and it’s full steam ahead as the team pulls together the last of the logistics, prints banners and brochures, confirms bookings for buses and dinners, orders beer for the SpeedSponsoring and much more! Whilst we still have a few spaces available, registration is fast filling up, so if you’d like to attend this fantastic event in the beautiful city of Zurich, there really is no time like the present – register now!

Remember, thanks to our sponsors, it is absolutely free to attend…

With that in mind, we thought it was worth bringing you up to speed on some updates:

The full agenda has been published, along with event timings, sessions and speaker names
The event reception has been announced for all registered attendees, with a fabulous dinner arranged on edge of Lake Zurich (there are less than ten spaces available for the evening event, so if you haven’t registered yet, do so now!)
Local hotels are filling up fast. Our recommendations are the Novotel, Ibis, Ibis Budget, and 25 Hours. More details available on the event FAQ.
The ‘Doing Business with IBM Connections’ Masterclass with Michael Sampson workshop has been announced and is attracting great attention. This TagItOn session is a chargeable day’s event taking place at the same venue on the day before Social Connections V, allowing attendees to maximise the value they receive from their trip to Zurich. Michael’s new book on attaining personal productivity and business value from Connections has just shipped, and this masterclass will lead attendees through the core topics covered, including using the platform for managing meetings, holding discussions, running projects, making decisions and more. Of course, the greatest benefits of attending will likely be the opportunities for discussion and learning directly from Michael and others on the day

With this in mind, we have a fantastic opportunity for you…

At close of play this Friday we will draw one lucky person from our list of registered Social Connections V attendees to be awarded a complementary ticket to the masterclass (worth €449), and another 3 to receive 50% discounts (€224.50). All you need to do to be included is to be registered for the main Social Connections V event. Should the winners already be registered for the masterclass, we will of course honour their discounts and refund the difference.

So, if you’re like to attend the biggest and best IBM Connections event this summer, or to learn from one of the true gurus of social collaboration, you know what to do… Register now!

We’ll see you there!

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!!

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!