This conference is a must-attend event for all those who are serious about using social media to engage employees and citizens by using blogging, podcasting and the latest Web 2.0 technologies to drive communication results. You will benefit from:

1. More than 20 innovative speakers at your disposal to share their strategies and experiences in social media fundamentals that are already proven to work
2. Over 20 hours of intense, interactive learning - we guarantee you will recoup your money spent by implementing just a few of the strategies shared during the conference
3. The opportunity to customize your learning by participating in unique and interactive workshop that will enable you to practice and apply your skills in peer groups -- you will walk away with strategies and tactics that you can begin to implement in your own organization
4. An abundance of networking opportunities -- you will make many new contacts so be sure to bring plenty of business cards to exchange with your fellow attendees
5. A comprehensive overview of social media strategies and processes from leading practitioners like the U.S. Department of State, National Wildlife Federation, Internal Revenue Service, City of Richmond, Virginia and many more
6. Acquiring new knowledge to lead your organization through the imperative, yet sometimes extremely difficult, responsibility of ensuring that the right information gets to the right people, efficiently and effectively
7. A complimentary packet of research materials that will serve as a helpful resource long after you have attended this conference
8. A formal Certificate of Completion which documents your training achievement and commitment to continuing professional development
9. Optional networking lunches that give you the opportunity to brainstorm and benchmark solutions with your fellow attendees
10. Participating in instructional sessions that will share real-world examples, tactics and lessons learned from leading social media initiatives that will ground you in advancing your own strategy
11. The opportunity to learn how to engage your employees and citizens by using social media from leading government agencies and organizations

Dear Federal, State and Local Government Communications Professionals:

In the early days of the Internet, now referred to as Web 1.0, the conventional approach was to create websites and measure success in terms of 'eye balls' and 'stickiness.'’ Web 2.0 has changed this dramatically. Today's Internet has successfully evolved into a platform, based on XML, that we all collectively program each time we log on. This "Web 2.0" world, or social media, is full of RSS feeds, embeddable html, links and video. People are living their online lives in a distributed fashion, requiring your organization to be open, fluid and exist in multiple places at one time.

Another level of complexity in this new environment is that everyday citizens are empowered with tools that allow them to create, publish and distribute their own thoughts, opinions and expertise on a global scale. And, in many cases, these voices are as influential as journalists, industry experts and Government officials. In other words, you have lost 100% control of your brand. It isn’t what you say it is, but what Google says it is.

So, is all hope lost? Not quite. Another important aspect of social media is that it allows you to listen to conversations in areas where you may not have been invited in the past. And you can do so in real time. This provides tremendous opportunity for government communicators to understand the issues that concern citizens, as well as determine how best to engage them in conversation and provide solutions.

How Will This Conference Help You And Your Organization?

• Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency uses social media, combined with traditional communication tools, to promote their Fugitive Safe Surrender program to offenders and their families as a legitimate and safe opportunity
• City of Raleigh, North Carolina used creative budgeting and collaboration to get their social media video project off the ground
• National Institutes of Health started producing regular video programs and content, plus how video is repurposed for other social media applications

Register today online or call our conference hotline at 888-362-7400 to attend A.L.I.'s conference on "Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results." this March in Washington, DC. Take this opportunity to hear from leading communicators and organizations that are already using social media to change the way their organizations operate and communicate, and how they engage key stakeholders.

I hope you will join us as we plan for social media successes throughout the New Year!

Eddie Garrett, Senior Vice President, Digital, leads all aspects of digital strategy and implementation communications for Porter Novelli’s Washington, DC office. He brings extensive experience in external and internal communication strategies and is an expert in building successful digital businesses and implementing innovative social media campaigns.