Chinwag Team's blog

With February behind us, we are eagerly looking forward to our next Social Media Week, set to take place September 23-27, 2013! And we want you to experience it in a new way.

What if you had the chance to travel to one of our host cities this SMW September? Imagine joining amazing conversations, seeing iconic venues in London, Bogota and more while meeting innovators from all around the world? Thanks to our new Travel Award Program, powered by Nokia, you could do all that and truly have an international SMW experience!

Dr. David Stillwell is Science Director at Cambridge Personality Research. He will be speaking at Chinwag Psych on May 9th, but here’s a preview of his thoughts on the role of tracking Neuromarketing.

Science fiction tells us brain reading is inevitable, but current methods are woeful at providing anything but the most basic insights. The Guardian reports on ad men using brain scanners, while companies such as NeuroFocus use caps covered in electrodes (EEG) or magnetic scanners (fMRI) to find out what we’re really thinking.

Professor Karen Pine is part of Chinwag Psych. She has previewed the event by talking about her project, Do Something Different.

I told a story recently about Mr. West, a teacher whose geography field trips consisted of him telling pupils, “Get as far away from this classroom as you can.”

My friend Jon was one of those pupils. At the age of 12 he and his mates hitchhiked 120 miles to Norwich. Mr West had told the boys to call him and reverse the charges. Yet when the operator announced the caller’s name and location, he refused the call.

There are many psychological drivers that govern the way we share, says Natalie Nahai, aka The Web Psychologist. These subconscious principles can be useful in creating compelling content. Here, ahead of her appearance at Chinwag Psych, she examines three of the most effective:

Social Validation

Social validation refers to our desire to develop ‘meaningful social relationships, and retain a favourable self-concept’ [1].

UKTI and Guardian Activate have joined forces to provide a fantastic opportunity to visit India for a special invite-only day conference on Mar 21 - Big Tent Activate Summit New Delhi at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

Space is very limited for this high profile event which features Google's Chairman, Eric Schmidt, reknowned commentator Jeff Jarvis, new TCIO boss Joanna Shields, Google's MD India Rajan Anandan, advisor to India PM Sam Pitroda, Guardian Editor, Alan Rusbridger amongst a host of others.

Apply to join the trip and secure a place at the event, a travel grant of £550 towards flights/hotel and additional activity planned by UKTI's team in Delhi.

When it comes to “Doing Business in the USA” it is not just the superstars we have speaking you should be excited about.

Lunch and drinks will be provided by, the law firm Rooney PC, founded by Allan Rooney, who will be leading the legal and immigration conversation at the event.

Last year BBC Worldwide launched, BBC Labs a mentoring scheme, for digital media startups. Following the success of the current program which comes to a close next month a second program has been announced for 2013.

To kick-start this fantastic opportunity,there is an induction session to be held on March 5th from 6-8pm at Wayra's London Academy. Giving applicants the chance to meet hear from the Labs team.

If you want to participate, you can reserve a place at the induction session on March 5, or you can just go ahead and submit an application. The deadline for submissions is midnight (GMT) on April 4, 2013.

A two-day workshop and conference, it features industry experts including Katie Delahaye Paine, web scientist Jacqui Taylor and analyst Marshall Sponder.

They'll be talking about:

• Using Google Analytics to Measure the Value of Social Media 
• How to Measure Marketing Success on Instagram
• Astroturfing and The Rise of Fake Influencers
• Discussion: Quality – The Forgotten Metric?

and much more. See the full programme here and book here.

The Guardian’s Activate conference heads to Delhi on 21st March for an invite-only event bringing together leading influencers from technology, entrepreneurship and social innovation.

UKTI have a limited number of passes to Guardian Activate plus a local programme of activities and grants towards travel. There's more info coming soon, but in the meantime...

Youth Marketing Strategy is back for its third year, bringing together the best minds, top brands and edgiest agencies in youth marketing.

There is an exciting schedule overflowing with opportunities to gain insight, network with industry peers, and grab inspiration.

With speakers confirmed from Facebook, Econsultancy, Jägermeister, Nokia, and Milkround, we are confident the event will boost your next youth marketing campaign.

We’re delighted the organisers have offered 2 lucky Chinwaggers the chance to win a free conference ticket worth up to £774.

Retailers have a priority: personalisation. Forrester says a majority are fast-tracking their plans - great timing for Mixing Digital’s Are you Taking it Personally? The Reality of Personalisation & Relevance for Retailers.

Taking place next week - on Wednesday 13 February - it promises insight into enhancing the customer experience, delivering appropriate content and driving ROI.

See results from other brands, enhance your strategy and face the challenges.

UKTI are working with Huawei to offer small and medium enterprises SMEs the opportunity to join them on a Mission to China running on the 18-22 March 2013.

A British Government will be your guide round Huawei’s facilities to discuss their procurement processes and supply chain opportunities in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing & Shanghai.

There are discounts and grants available to participants. Deadline for applications 15 February 2013.

Europe’s leading digital marketing event hosts a stellar line-up of experts as they address the key challenges, opportunities and strategies for marketers.

Search Engine Watch and ClickZ, the 14th annual SES London event which takes place on 18-21 February at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London. (Map)

SES London is Europe's leading digital marketing event, covering the latest trends and challenges facing the industry. The three day event helps you navigate the digital landscape with guidance from leading experts on Search, Social Media, Display, Mobile, Email and more.

EDITD know the secret to a good evening: Johnnie Walker. Well that and an eclectic crowd sparking insightful debate about (Re)Branding in the Digital Age. 

First up was keynote speaker Henry Holland. Not one to shy away from Twitter - 235,061 followers - his take on social media is simple; use it to show the brand’s personality. Promotion comes once trust is gained.

With just over one month till our next Digital Mission to Social Media Week in New York, it seems like a great time to look back on how one of our Mission alumnae took advantage of the countless opportunities to network and connect with like-minded individuals on a Digital Mission trip and what success it was brought them less then just two years later.  

Anna and her colleague Oli, come along on the Digital Mission to SXSW 2011 to help promote their new start-up www.completelynovel.com a book publishing hub which enables writers to access professional design, printing and distribution services and use the power of the web to promote their books.