Posted: February 2nd, 2011 | Author: Ed Walker | Filed under: Journalism, social media, web | Tags: blog preston, community building, david perkins, gemma cameron, online communities, preston bloggers meetup, preston geekup, preston tweetup | 2 Comments »
You’ve got the twitter followers, you’re getting the thumbs up on Facebook and your stats are on the way up. But does anyone in the non-virtual community know who you are?
There’s no doubt having a good online presence is important for your hyperlocal site – and by that I mean a well-stocked Twitter feed, and tended Facebook page and all the other bells and whistles. But watch your stats go up when you get offline and make the connections. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 26th, 2009 | Author: Ed Walker | Filed under: conferences, web | Tags: #open09, barcamp blackpool, barcamps, blackpool barcamp, geekup preston, innovation unconferences, lancashire conferences, open 09, open 09 uclan, preston conferences, preston geekup, unconferences | No Comments »
Preston and Lancashire are home to two very exciting unconferences this autumn, it does seem as though the UK is going unconference mad at the moment!
First up there is Barcamp Blackpool on Saturday 17th October, I’m in London so can’t go to it, but it’s an opportunity for creative, innovative and passionate people to come together to talk about whatever they like – the agenda is set on the day. It’s going to be held at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and there are going to be well over 100 people discussing everything from the latest tech stuff to the best way to rear a ferret! Gemma Cameron who organises Preston Geekup is behind it so it’s bound to be a success, she’s seeking sponsors so if you’re interested get involved.
The second is Open09. This is being organised by the people behind Sandbox at the University of Central Lancashire and it’s going to be another unconference but it also involves Turtles. I’m not 100% sure what Turtles are but the website says:
An informal workshop with a group of up to 40 participants. Each Turtle has its own dedicated website with its own authors, participants and agendas.
The topics at Open 09 range from the future of journalism and media to the latest goings on in the world of fashion. If you’re in any sort of creative industry you need to make sure you’re involved in this, it looks like it’ll be immense.
So, I’ll be joining in with some of these unconferences this autumn and I shall report back about my experiences at these rather unstructured events. How will they compare to the stand up and be presented to with a powerpoint events?
Image credit to Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
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