events

  A strong public relations campaign can be invaluable to any business. Join us at next month’s Think and a Drink to learn about and understand the importance of a good PR strategy. PR is a great way to manage communication between your company and your key audiences and to build and sustain a positive image and reputation. Free to Connect and GameHorizon members, £15 to non–members  

An informal meeting for entrepreneurs to meet up and talk, meet other like minded people, and grab a coffee (or other drink).

The Flag and Bell IT Pub Crawl is held on the first Tuesday of each month. It is a free, networking event for anyone interested in search engines, the Internet or web technology. The London Web Technology and London New Technology groups are both invited to attend. We have over 400 members signed up through meetup and on our own mailing list.

A one-day course designed to give delegates a thorough grounding in the latest web trends for talking about your brand, business or organisation, as well as your own professional profile. Social Media is the next generation of communications, going beyond the traditional media to personal communications with individuals, fostering genuine relationships, creating your own messages and creating value through sharing useful and interesting information. Date: July 3rd, 2008 10:00 to 17:00 Venue: University of Westminster Full price: £175.00 Discount price: £150.00 Book a place Social Media for Business will cover: Blogs: why they are useful; how to set one up in five minutes; what to write; what not to write; dealing with comments; measuring ROI. RSS: what is it and why is it important to your business? Social Networks: does your brand or business belong on Facebook/MySpace/Bebo?; why?; Video Sharing: more than 99% of the videos submitted to YouTube are complete flops - how can you create something that stands out from the crowd? Virtual Worlds: the next big thing or the next big way to lose a lot of money fast?; strategy and tactics for deciding on emerging technologies. Buzz Monitoring: how can you keep track of and measure the impact of all this activity? Course Tutor Will McInnes is managing director at Nixon McInnes - his job is advising on and implementing web strategy for clients. He practises what he preaches when it comes to social media. For starters, you can read his blog here, catch his bookmarks here and the music he’s listening to here. There may well be additional ways to track him down.

Playing games online and off is an incredibly popular pastime and an industry that’s increasing in size all the time. Whether via consoles, computers, mobiles or online, people can’t get enough of gaming as entertainment. Writing for games is an often-overlooked career path, but it’s a great opportunity for writers who want to flex their creative muscles. It can involve plot development, script-writing, copywriting, dialogue creation, project documentation, humour writing, characterisation and character development and a load of other elements that exercise a writer’s abilities. But how is writing for games different to other kinds of writing? How do you get into it as a job? What do games developers and designers look for when selecting a writer to collaborate with? At what stage of the process does a writer get involved? What exactly does a games writer do on different types of games? Is it a good way to get into other forms of writing like TV and film (or is it the other way around)?

Whitaker Associates (www.whitaker.com) has announced that the keynote address for this year's European Directory Marketplace 2008 (EDM08) conference, Search in the Mobile Era, will be delivered by industry veteran and leader Mike Short, Vice President, Research and Development, O2. Mike's focus today is on Third Generation cellular, Mobile TV and steering Telefonica O2 Europe's Group Research and Development in mobile. Consistent with the development of new services, Whitaker Associates also announced the Innovation Showcase at EDM08 and invited firms with innovative products and services to submit entries to participate in EDM08 Innovation Showcase on June 9, 2008 in London. Recognizing the dramatic changes that are underway in this industry and the importance of innovation to success in the directory and search space, this year's Innovation Showcase represents an evolution of the EDM awards program, first introduced in 2006. Last year's winners were WDN Europe and Apptera. This year, successful entries will have an opportunity to present on June 9 in London at the EDM08 Innovation Showcase session and to discuss their innovations with investors 3i, Delta Partners, DFJ Esprit, DN Capital, and other EDM08 delegates. Organizations are invited to submit entries, describing the innovation that has made or that will make their product or service successful in this market. Entries are invited in the five key areas of the directory and search ecosystem that have been identified (information service providers, advertising, operators, technology, and content) or in other areas. To enter, send the following information to info at whitaker.com by Monday, May 26: * your name * your company * name of the product or service * your email * your phone number * a description in 250 words or less about your product or service and why it should be selected for presentation at the Innovation Showcase * a web link to the product, service, or company for further information Entries, including the product or service name, the description of the product or service, and the web link for further information, will be posted on the EDM08 site at www.whitaker.com/conferences/edm08/showcase.htm. Selection for presentation will be made by the Advisory Board and Whitaker Associates. Registration savings are still available but will expire soon. More information and registration is available at www.EuropeanDirectoryMarketplace.com. Whitaker Associates has extensive experience in the directory and search services industry, offering conferences, The Operator Online (www.theoperatoronline.com) news service, and consulting. EDM is an annual event that was first held in 2001. For more information, visit www.whitaker.com.

You want to improve your project success rate, and need practical dos and don'ts you or your staff can implement immediately, but don’t want to pay huge consultancy fees….where do you begin? This course is a chance for you to learn to use basic and advanced project management tools and techniques, and to tailor them for use on your projects and in your company. The two-day course involves practical assistance, workshop theory and 1:1 consultancy, aimed to give you the best possible advantage in a highly competitive industry. You’ll be mentored by a seasoned project management expert, Rob Purdie. With over 11 years experience in the software and web application development industries, Rob has successfully managed hundreds of projects, led project management departments, established Project Management Offices and worked with senior management teams and staff to develop, implement and maintain strategic plans, processes and best practices. Book your place now for an opportunity to learn from him. How the course will benefit your business: • by positive, measurable impact on your company’s project management practices • by helping you to clarify your organisational project management processes and what practical steps you need to take to achieve your goals • by giving you the tools and confidence for practical implementation, immediately Who the course is for: This course is specifically aimed at digital agencies employing teams of account managers, business analysts, developers and testers responsible for delivering web projects to both internal and external clients. If your projects suffer from cost or schedule overruns, or your team members are burning out due to the stress of poorly-organised and chaotically-run projects, this course is for you. Objectives: • To introduce participants to both fundamental and advanced project management concepts, tools and techniques • To build project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closing skills • To empower participants through shared learning and practical immediate implementation. Places on this course are limited to help Rob focus on what you need. Book your place now.

Following on from their seminar on Social Network Marketing, which took place in November, KMP will be hosting a half-day seminar on the topic of Marketing 2.0. Marketing 2.0 is next generation and future of marketing. We will be discussing how the web is dramatically influencing the way in which people communicate and interact with brands and companies. Ever the since the emergence of social networks, blogs and other online communication channels, there has been a shift in power, meaning that the customers are now in charge, and have the power to influence and control companies. The half-day seminar will be held at 60 Cannon Street, and tickets are available at 25% early bird discount of £125 + VAT. This exclusive rate is available until the 17th June, so register now to avoid disappointment!

This half-day seminar promises to offer a valuable insight into the Future of PR Technology. Long gone are the days of writing press releases! We'll be talking all about the revolution of PR 2.0, and the importance of social media newsrooms, blog monitoring, blog technology and video distribution. Speakers include KMP's Chairman Bill Daring, Jennifer O'Grady and Ross Brown from Democracy PR, Stuart Bruce (Wolfstar) and KMP's Paul Fabretti.

Following on from their seminar on Social Network Marketing, which took place in November, KMP will be hosting a half-day seminar on the topic of Marketing 2.0. Marketing 2.0 is next generation and future of marketing.  We will be discussing how the web is dramatically influencing the way in which people communicate and interact with brands and companies. Ever the since the emergence of social networks, blogs and other online communication channels, there has been a shift in power, meaning that the customers are now in charge, and have the power to influence and control companies. The half-day seminar will be held at 60 Cannon Street, and tickets are available at 25% early bird discount of £125 + VAT. This exclusive rate is available until the 17th June, so register now to avoid disappointment!

KMP's next Manchester event will be a half-day seminar on the topic of the "Future of PR Technology". The seminar will be held at Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA). Book Now to register at the early bird discounted rate of £95 + VAT. This exclusive rate is only available until the 27th May, so make sure you book early to avoid disappointment.

We are delighted to invite you to the launch party for WhisperMag.co.uk, a new women's magazine unlike any other. The launch is taking place at the glamorous Maya on Dean Street, Soho and will be a night of live music and burlesque, faboulous atmosphere and great DJs playing tunes guaranteed to get you hitting the dance floor. See the attached invitation for more details. Please RSVP to this invite via email to ensure your entrance. The event is strictly guestlist only, but please feel free to email us the names of any additional people you would like to bring. For media information, please contact [email protected] Very best wishes and see you there!