Exploiting Social Networking in Organizations

A one-day conference presented by Gurteen Knowledge and Bizmedia in collaboration with the London Knowledge Network

29th September, 2004, Novotel London West, Hammersmith, London, UK

The 5th Gurteen Knowledge Conference looks at Social Networking, Social Networks, Social Network Analysis and Social Network Tools. It not only provides an introduction to these concepts but takes a look at them from a practical viewpoint and how social networking can be applied and exploited within organizations.

The keynote speaker is Verna Allee. Verna is recognized worldwide for her work in value networks, knowledge management, intangibles, communities of practice, and new business models. She is a practitioner, thought leader, author, and frequent keynote speaker.

This conference is followed on the 30th September by a workshop facilitated by Verna: Value Network Strategies for Competitive Advantage 

What is Social Networking?

Just as a computer network is a set of machines connected by a set of cables, a social network is a group of people (or organizations or other social entities) connected by a set of social relationships, such as friendship, co-working or information exchange.

As widespread communication via organizational intranets and especially the internet develops, we need to go beyond understanding and supporting single users and small groups to the computer-supported social networks that flourish in the workplace and virtual communities.

Social networks and social network analysis [SNA] have been studied for decades. Social network analysis is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers or other information/knowledge processing entities. The nodes in the network are the people and groups while the links show relationships or flows between the nodes. SNA provides both a visual and a mathematical analysis of human relationships.

Some of this research has made its way into popular culture, such as the notion of "six degrees of separation." This is the premise that there are no more than five intermediates between any two people on earth.

In moving to computer based relationships however, we can now search e-mail folders, CRM databases and instant messaging logs to determine peoples likes, dislikes, expertise, or to discover friends-of-friends. This leads to one of the more obvious applications of social networking - social tools and social software to help find other people with whom we would like to work, share knowledge with, sell to, date or engage with for a host of other reasons.

Social tools/sofware inlclude:

• Social Network Analysis Tools and Expert Locators such as Tacit and Metasight.
• Social Networking Platforms such as Ryze, LinkedIn or Spoke.
• Weblogs and Wikis
• Instant Messaging and Presence

It is these sorts of scenarios and new social tools that support them that have led to the emergence of social networking as a hot new phenomenon in the last year or so.

Who should attend?

The Gurteen Knowledge Conference is designed for:

• CKO/Knowledge Managers • KM Project Managers • Information Managers • Research Managers • Innovation leaders • Heads of Strategic Management • IT Directors/Managers • Management consultants • HR/training professionals • Business development/marketing professionals

Conference Programme

08:30 - 09:00	Registration, coffee and networking
09:00 - 09:30	Welcome and Introduction to the Day, David Gurteen, Gurteen Knowledge
09:30 - 10:30	How Network Dynamics are Changing the World of Business, Verna Allee, Verna Allee Associates
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee and networking
11:00 - 11:30	An introduction to Social Network Analysis, Prof. Leslie Johnson, Head of School, University of Greenwich Business School
11:30 - 12:15	Social Network Analysis in Scottish Enterprise, Gavin Laird, Knowledge Analyst Scottish Enterprise
12:15 - 13:15	Lunch, networking
13:15 - 14:00	Enabling Enterprise Networks using the power of Social Networking, Mark Newman, MD, The Morphix Company
14:00 - 14:45	Building Informal Knowledge-Sharing Networks using Social Software, Lee Bryant, Headshift
14:45 - 15:15	Coffee and networking
15:15- 16:00	Understand the activity of your employees for Competitive advantage, Lionel Baraban, Co-founder and President, Entopia
16:00 - 16:45	Making the Business Case for Instant Messaging, Jim Moffat, Director, Smith Ivanson
16:45 - 17:15	Review of the day, David Gurteen, Gurteen Knowledge
17:15	Close, followed by networking in bar

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Registration
Attending this Learning Event costs just £325 + VAT (discounts are available - see booking form) and includes:

• Attendance at the event
• 3 course lunch
• Morning and afternoon refreshments

To register online - please click the button below. You can pay by credit card or request an invoice.

Online Registration
To register by mail/fax - please download the PDF version of the registration form.

• Adobe® Acrobat Reader is needed to view and print PDF files.
• Fax your completed form to +44 (0) 118 960 2821
• Mail your completed form to:
  Conference Registration
  Bizmedia Ltd
  Royal Station Court
  Station Road
  Twyford
  Reading
  Berkshire RG10 9NF

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Sponsored by Entopia

Entopia is an innovator in solutions for information discovery that drive the collaborative enterprise to competitive advantage. Entopia enables collaboration by noting people’s activity around content and using this value-add to ensure delivery of truly-relevant discovery services including enterprise search, expertise identification, visualization and social networks analysis. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, with offices in London and Paris, Entopia has received extensive industry recognition including debuting as a visionary in Gartner’s 2004 Enterprise Search Magic Quadrant, eWeek’s Excellence Awards and "100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management" by KMWorld Magazine. For more information, visit http://www.entopia.com.