Take social media from complexity to clarity through these interactive workshops guaranteed to jumpstart your training experience. These workshops are a great opportunity to advance your learning and 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 training.

Choose A or B or BOTH for Maximum Value and Learning

Social Media 101: How To Begin, Learn The Tools Of The Trade, And Strategize A Plan To Get Social Media Started In Your Government Organization

This session is intended for anyone who is responsible for social media programs within government. Whether you are an experienced practitioner or new to social media, you'll find something you can use in this workshop.

• What social media is and how it revolutionizes communications, collaborative action and the formation of community
• How to make a business case for social media, when it makes sense to use it, and when to avoid it
• Impediments to the use of social media in a government context and how to overcome those impediments
• Which social media tools are most useful for listening, conversation, community building, and measurement

We'll look at examples of the successful application of social media in government contexts. What do the best examples of social media used by government share in common? What can we learn from them?

The session will be highly interactive. You will be encouraged to share the challenges you have encountered. The group will draw on the presentation material and experience to suggest strategies and tactics to resolve the problems being encountered in implementing social media in a government context.

You are encouraged to bring your notebook computer as this will be an interactive, hands-on workshop. However, there is plenty to learn with or without a computer.

WORKSHOP LEADER: Joseph Thornley is CEO of Thornley Fallis Communications & 76design. Joseph Thornley established Thornley Fallis in 1995 to provide senior executives with communications counsel and programs that contribute to achieving their business and organizational objectives. Mr. Thornley has a longstanding interest in the enabling potential of online technology applied to corporate communication. His blog, www.propr.ca, is dedicated to best business practices, practitioners and building the ideal PR firm. Mr. Thornley has been a driving force behind the establishment of the Third Tuesday Social Media events which bring together social media enthusiasts and communicators to explore new developments in social media and their impact on society, organizations and citizens.

Testimonials From Past Thornley Fallis Communications Sessions:

"Excellent presentation. The speaker kept the interest while addressing important questions. If more attend presentations like this, we would have more on board with social media."

"Excellent, engaging content and stories. Joe provides an excellent perspective and understanding of social media in the context of government."

"I liked the presenter and the topic was very good. Well worth the cost."

"Great information and great start for the training."

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon break/lunch on your own

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
AFTERNOON PRE-SEMINAR WORKSHOP B

This workshop will focus on creating and sustaining social media value through innovation management and crowdsourcing – leveraging the collective intelligence of the “crowd” - and applying these techniques successfully in public sector organizations.

You will learn why crowdsourcing, a principal part of the social media “toolset,” is growing exponentially in importance and popularity among public sector jurisdictions.  This will be an interactive, engaging session in which you will have the opportunity to crowdsource yourself, ensuring you understand the core principles of ideation strategy, idea creation, improvement, and rating in a public sector context.

Key takeaways will include:

• An overview of innovation management - - what it is and isn’t, and how it can be leveraged for any environment, especially government
• How to successfully apply crowdsourcing both inside and outside your organization
• Understanding the direct and indirect benefits that you (and other public sector organizations) receive from innovation management and crowdsourcing
• Recognizing the importance of following through on participants’ contributions in a timely and effective manner

WORKSHOP LEADER: Geordie Adams is the Managing Partner of PubliVate Inc.  PubliVate provides innovation and collaboration management end-to-end solutions for the public sector marketplace.  They have empowered many public sector partners to meet their business objectives by leveraging the collective intelligence of the “crowd” to create good ideas and develop them into great ideas.