In February of this year I was an organizer of PodCamp Toronto. This year we had about 900 people in attendance–up from 650 in 2009. It was our fourth year, my third as an organizer. WHIR (Web Host Industry Review) sat down with me at the end of the weekend to get my thoughts on how PodCamp has evolved over the years, as well as people’s awareness of social media generally. Also in this interview is superstar podcaster Steve Saylor.

Connie Crosby Update: February 15, 2010 from Connie Crosby on Vimeo.

Some of my mentions in this episode:

• ChangeCamp meeting in Toronto on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 working on a civic engagement toolkit. While the session is full for participants, we are looking for volunteers to act as scribes as I mention in the video. If you have a laptop with good battery and would like to join me in liveblogging at a table via Scribblelive.com feel free to contact me and I will pass your name along. Scribes show up at 4 pm, and the show gets underway around 5:30 or 6:00 pm. I mention one of the people leading us in the evening, Mark Kuznicki, who inspires me to do more in leading and connecting people.
• PodCamp Toronto - will you be joining us? February 20 & 21, 2010 at Ryerson’s Rogers Communication Centre.  The Schedule is now live so that presenters may add their sessions in.
• Personal Brand Camp 2 - an event including Humber PR students learning about social media and how to build an online presence. I am giving Michael Cayley a hand with this. This event will be held in conjunction with Third Tuesday Toronto on February 23, 2010, a speaker series about social media for the PR industry, courtesy of Joseph Thornley. Our speaker for the evening will be Mitch Joel on (what else?) personal brand.
• Ontario Library Association’s OLA Superconference, February 24-27, 2010. Look for me at the Knowledge Ontario booth where I will be helping out periodically.
• Over on Slaw.ca I usually post every Monday. This week’s post:  Google Buzz Already Raising Privacy Concerns.

And did I mention my book? No? I’ve been proofreading the final proofs! We’re almost ready for the printer!

This message was cross-posted on my personal blog at http://conniecrosby.blogspot.com/2010/02/connie-crosby-update-february-15-2010.html.

Something a little new: catching you up on all I’m doing (well, except real client work!) in a chatty video.  Let me know what you think–is this of interest? Should I do this again? Are there questions you would like me to answer??

Cheers!
Connie

Connie Crosby Update: My New Brainchild from Connie Crosby on Vimeo.

Links to a few things mentioned:

• Knowledge Workers Toronto
• My new book from Neal-Schuman: Effective Blogging for Libraries (Part of the new Tech Set series) scheduled to be released in March
• PodCamp Toronto 2010
• Ignite the Web! Audio & Video in the Law webinar with Connie Crosby presented courtesy of Nina Platt Consulting Inc.

Also posted on my personal blog conniecrosby.blogspot.com.

Steve Matthews’ Web Law Connected column on Slaw.ca Social Media & Business Productivity struck a nerve with me today. He talks about how there are real reasons on both side of the argument whether to block or not block staff from using social networking sites. I like how he breaks down both sides of the issue. I have to admit being on the “not blocking” side of things. But, reading his article has made me soften my view, if perhaps only slightly.

That being said, I am speaking Wednesday at the Acuity Forums conference Executing Social Media [pdf] and will be tackling the big question of social media and social networking inside the organization. I’m incorporating some of Steve’s thinking. I also came up with a list of ways staff may be using social media that should not be blocked.

Many staff have legitimate reasons for accessing these sites, such as:

• monitoring the Internet about your company and brands
• engaging in public relations on behalf of your company
• researching what your competitors are doing for Competitive Intelligence and Business Intelligence programs
• checking potential business partners
• legal due diligence
• background checks on new recruits
• learning from experts in their areas (for free!) from sites such as blogs and podcasts
• attending professional webinars
• organizing professional association committees and conferences
• connecting with business contacts through networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook
• registering for professional development events and training through sites such as Facebook, Upcoming.org and Meetup.com

What other reasons are there for giving staff access to social media/social networking sites?

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to the HR Forum of the Information Technology Association of Canada. I was given the task of talking about social networking, how business uses social networks, and how they may be used in human resources. Since members of ITAC are in the technology industry, I also talked about online spaces and communities that IT staff may be involved in. My slides are below.

Also speaking were Dan Michaluk of the law firm Hicks Morley and Sheldon Silverman, Counsel at AMD. Dan spoke to the question of managing employee use of social media applications, especially how to manage risk. He has shared his slides on his blog All About Information. Sheldon rounded out the discussion by providing an interesting case study of internal social media policy.