8:00 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.
Chairpersons' Welcome and Opening Remarks

Mike Panetta, Vice President for Public Affairs and Emerging Media
Kevin McCann, Executive Vice President of Client Services
GRASSROOTS ENTERPRISE

8:40 a.m.

Building An Online Audience For Government Using The Latest Social Media Tools: Practical And Effective Strategies

What's an effective and proven web strategy for building an email audience for government? Ask Canada. The Canadian Government started Connect2Canada, Canada's Network in the United States, and in less than three years, thousands of Canadians and people with a Canadian interest have signed up to share stories, learn about events, receive newsletters and timely updates. In this session, you will learn about the strategies used in building Connect2Canada, what worked, what hasn't worked, and advice to give to other government entities that need to build an audience.

• The "Cookie" Concept: Connect2Canada'a guiding principal
• Messaging techniques that work
• Leveraging popular networks and growing your own network for social outreach
• Designing of the brand and how it has changed
• The use of RSS, blogging, microsites, external API services and
• user-generated content
• How to overcome the challenges of moving a bureaucracy down the path of
  social outreach -- approvals and roadblocks

Alexi Aldrich, Advocacy Officer (Public Affairs), Washington Advocacy Secretariat
CANADIAN EMBASSY

Kevin McCann, Executive Vice President of Client Services
GRASSROOTS ENTERPRISE

9:30 a.m.

Speed Networking

You'll have a chance to meet and greet fellow attendees in this fun and fast-paced forum.

10:30 a.m.

How To Maximize And Manage Your Blog: Promoting Your Organization's Message And Keeping Current With The Trends While Staying Within A Budget

As people become more saturated in the rapidly expanding world of Web 2.0, it is necessary that the government plays an active role in participating. This is why the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) created Gov Gab – Your U.S. Government Blog.

On Gov Gab, the blog writers discuss how government information is helpful to citizens everyday, and how to easily access and incorporate this information into their lives. The posts encourage dialogue and comments from readers are welcomed and answered by the bloggers and other citizens as well. Gov Gab is a tool for Americans to communicate directly with the Federal government. In September, 2008, Gov Gab celebrated its 1st birthday with a year's worth of valuable content in its archive.

• How to use blogging to communicate effectively
• Why blogging is so popular (inexpensive, offers anonymity, etc.)
• How to maximize your agency's message by the structure of a blog (multi-writer vs. single person, frequency of posts, etc.)
• Using a blog as a media tool (commenting on other blogs to create a "presence" in blogosphere and other marketing techniques)
• Keeping your blog current as trends and technology evolve

Colleen Ann Bayus, Consumer Information Specialist, Federal Citizen Information Center
U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

11:20 a.m.

How To Use Podcasting To Engage Your Audience - - Even When Your Resources Are Limited

Podcasting is a flexible, engaging, and personal way to get your agency's messages and your people out from behind the bureaucracy and jargon. It might also, however, conjure images of expensive studio setups and even more expensive staff dedicated to running them.

At the U.S. Geological Survey, they have brought their science and scientists into thousands of computers and mp3 players on a very slim budget and with a handful of people.

• Podcast with a staff of two or three and a budget under $1,000
• Stretch your dollars on publicity and audience
• Capture a large amount of content without starting from scratch
• Use podcasting as a great audio and video tool

You will also learn what your agency should and should not do when getting started with podcasting.

David Hebert, Writer-Editor, Office of Communications
Scott Horvath, Public Affairs Specialist/Web Developer, Office of Communications
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

12:10 p.m.
Lunch On Your Own -- But Not Alone!

Join a group of your colleagues for lunch with an informal discussion facilitated by one of our expert speakers. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing social media concerns.

1:40 p.m.

How To Make The Audio To Video Jump:
Getting Started With Vodcasting

So you have a podcast and want to add video? Or you want to just jump right in to video podcasting/vodcasting?

In this session, you can learn what it takes to make the jump to video. You will see specific examples of how NIH produces regular video programs and content, plus how video is repurposed for other social media applications.

You will get to follow a story through the entire development process, from concept and press release, through recording and editing, to posting of audio and video to iTunes and YouTube.

• The importance of planning ahead and setting expectations: results and impact are measured against those expectations
• How to identify the strengths of existing materials to see if and how they can evolve and be transformed into visually attractive social media content
• What common mistakes to watch out for and what you can do to make your material stand out in a crowded new medium
• How to adapt according to your audience: the similarities and differences between press releases and podcasts, newsletters and vodcasts
• How much it costs to vodcast vs. podcast – what are the investments in time and equipment you may need to make
• Measurement: tips to determine if outreach is meeting goals

Joe Balintfy , Public Affairs Specialist
News Media Branch, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, Office of the Director
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

2:30 p.m.

Integrating Social Media Platforms Into A Comprehensive And Traditional Communications Toolkit: Challenges And Lessons Learned Along The Way

The United States Army recognizes the importance of using social media platforms as a tool to reach its varied audience members, comprised of Soldiers, retirees, veterans, their family members, and the general public. While it has been engaged in numerous social media platforms for more than a year, the Army recently stood up the Online and Social Media Division to better integrate the use of social media platforms into its communications toolkit.

This interesting case study will share the Army's presence on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and a host of other similar platforms, and the process of launching an Army-level blog. Additionally, you'll hear how the Army plans to expand their presence to other social media platforms, such as Facebook and MySpace. Learn from the Army's experiences in facing numerous challenges along the way, and how, with the support of their senior leaders, they have found ways to overcome those challenges to better reach their audience members.

This session will focus on those challenges, what the Army has done to overcome them, and some of the lessons learned about integrating the use of social media platforms with traditional communications products.

• Ways to overcome organizational resistance
• How to add social media to your communications platform without
  abandoning your traditional media outlets
• Where the Army is headed on future social media engagements,
  and how they plan to get there

Kevin Arata, Lieutenant Colonel
Director, Online and Social Media Division
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, U.S. ARMY

3:35 p.m.

Web 2.0: From Strategy To Implementation In 60 Days – A Roadmap For Success

The IBM Center for The Business of Government (The Center) is a think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to improving the effectiveness of government with practical ideas and original thinking. Last year, they created a presidential transition blog as an experiment and were impressed with the popularity of the blog as it attracted a high percentage of users when compared with their traditional website. The Center now understood the importance of Web 2.0 technologies and why users are heading to Facebook, GovLoop, Twitter, RSS feeds, Digg, and blogs to read their news, discuss articles, and keep abreast of current findings. The Center wanted to do something quickly and with current staffing.

Within 60 days, they developed a Web 2.0 Strategy document, carefully aligned to their business strategies, created a presence with many Web 2.0 tools, and began measuring their progress.

• How to create a Web 2.0 strategy document that is aligned with your overall strategy and current processes
• The art of selecting your tools, creating a profile, and launching
• Measuring and setting goals and when to cut your loses
• What costs to expect as you’re getting started
• How to maintain these new tools and build them into your existing workflows

Ruth Gordon, Managing Consultant
IBM CENTER FOR THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

4:25 p.m.


How Twitter And Other Social Media Tools Can Keep A Community Informed And Bring Citizens Together

We live in unprecedented times. Never have so many communication tools been available to link people together, and to link people to information. Web 2.0 tools have burst onto the scene and many people are clamoring for them. In this climate, Chesterfield County has been successful in implementing Web 2.0 tools to reach out to its citizens and businesses.

The combination of public exposure, first amendment rights and ubiquitous access makes more than a few public leaders nervous about adopting Web 2.0 and social media tools. And yet, we see more and more localities begin to attempt adoption of the Web 2.0 tools. This case study will examine the path Chesterfield County has taken to ease the process of adoption, highlighting the successes and false starts along the way. We will review the achievements in the areas of economic growth, "My County" website development, uses of Twitter and more.

• What the Web 2.0 tools are and where they are going
• How to get started in your organization
• The Chesterfield County approach
• Successes for economic development
• Practical ways to ease adoption of these new tools
• First Amendment considerations
• The Power of a First – MuniGovCon '09

Barry Condrey, Chief Information Officer
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VIRGINIA

5:15 p.m.

End of Day One

5:30 p.m.

Networking Reception: Please Join Us!

We invite you to join us for a drink as you relax with your peers. All conference attendees and speakers are welcome to join us for this special opportunity to continue networking. Don't miss this chance to benchmark new ideas over complimentary drinks!

Sign up during the day for dinner with a group. Take advantage of DC's fine dining while you continue to network with your colleagues.