Jump-start your conference experience by attending these interactive workshops. These information-packed sessions are a great opportunity to network with fellow attendees while taking a hands-on, common-sense approach to mastering social media that will enhance your understanding of the informative, case study presentations throughout the entire conference.

Choose A or B or BOTH for maximum value and learning

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
MORNING PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP A
Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m. for the morning workshop attendees.

Social Media 101:
How Government Can Leverage Web 2.0 To Improve Their Communication Strategies

What are blogs? What is Web 2.0? Why should I use podcasts? How will RSS feeds help me communicate better to employees and customers/citizens?

This pre-conference workshop will answer these questions and provide a comprehensive tutorial on the various social media tools and technologies and teach government communicators what they need to know to get started. Specifically, you’ll learn how government organizations can leverage Web 2.0 technologies to improve their communication strategies. This session will be visually-centric and will draw from practical, real-world experiences at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and now at PORTER NOVELLI, counseling government clients and others about best practices.

• What is Web 2.0? (vertical vs. horizontal influence, where we are today)
• Ways which a government agency can promote itself online
• How and why to blog
• Agency blogging guidelines
• How to use online video distribution as a marketing tool—how it can help you distribute your message, what’s out there, & where to post
• How to search optimized newsletters and RSS feeds—how they work and why they are important
• Google Adwords and Search Engine Optimization
• Examples and samples
• How to get started
• Q&A

WORKSHOP LEADER: Paul Vogelzang is Senior Vice President, Director of Persuasive Technologies at Porter Novelli and is influencing the way his employees communicate internally. Prior to joining Porter Novelli, Paul was a leader in implementing a higher standard of communications within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He is also the founder of MommyCast, a nation-wide podcast on parenting.

1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
AFTERNOON PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP B

Developing Editorial Guidelines For Your Agency’s Wiki To Ensure Long-Term Value And Support Communication Goals

Wikis have become a popular tool for storing and creating knowledge. Some agencies use wikis to give citizens a forum for commenting on proposed policies. Others use wikis to enable collaboration among far-flung teams, to manage meetings, or to develop presentations. Some agencies have even replaced their dead-end intranets with thriving wikis. But all wikis come with a level of risk: if everyone can contribute, will the content be valuable? Will it be accurate?

The essence of every government wiki is the quality and readability of content. And wiki content authors must be given writing guidelines (plus training and support) if the wiki is going provide long-term value and not become just the newest communication toy.

During this workshop, we'll review samples of government wikis and react to wiki editorial guidelines developed by other government agencies. You are invited to bring a sample of your agency’s wiki, if you have one, as well as your questions about writing wiki content.

• Develop wiki editorial guidelines that cover content organization issues such as creating categories and naming articles
• Develop guidelines that cover linking, attribution, tone, and scannability
• Publish wiki editorial guidelines
• Get content authors to follow the editorial guidelines

• Government wiki samples to help you learn what topics wiki editorial guidelines must cover
• A high-level outline of wiki editorial guidelines that you can customize for your agency's wiki
• A resource list detailing wiki content best practices

WORKSHOP LEADER: Leslie O'Flahavan, a Partner at E-WRITE, is a seasoned workshop leader and passionate about helping government organizations communicate.