Cong – One of these days…

I posted last December about a great event I was at in November called Congregation. I recently got an email from the organiser, Eoin Kennedy, to let me know that the date is set for Congregation 2014: November 29th. If you are interested in attending this unique event you should express your interest via this handy wee form.

Eoin is also pulling together the social media hacks we shared on the day at #cong13 in an eBook so keep your eyes peeled for that one as well. This is my contribution:

Buffer logo
I have been using Buffer on my desktop browser, my phone browser and through it’s native app and lovely integration with Feed.ly for over a year now (https://bufferapp.com/extras). I would highly recommend it if you are responsible for pages on social networks including Google+ (a premium service). Their blog is a wealth of social media and time management information and advice too. If their own extensions aren’t enough for you you can set up your own bookmarklet for iPad too.

I’m still involved with the IIA in a very roundabout way: I remained a member of the Social Media Working Group. Like any voluntary group it is active in fits and starts. I was very happy recently to get a notification about an upcoming meeting. As usual I learned tonnes and hope I shared some information myself. There was a few things that are well worth looking at if you are interested in social media so click on to read more.

Eoin Kennedy, the group chair gave a presentation about Managing a Social Media Crisis, which is well worth a look at if you fear the worst. (But I was at pains to point out that your company is more likely not to get this amount of attention. As a complete aside I would love to do some research about how badly affected companies really are by Social Media Crises similar to those Eoin covered. I know Schoolbooks.ie didn’t seem to be… but I wonder how honest the companies themselves would be in responding to research questions.)
Lisa Jackson of Leman Solicitors. gave a presentation about the legal aspects of creating Social Media Guidelines for the workplace. This includes very helpful tips and advice and is well worth a look. Also lovely use of Prezi 🙂
Lastly the aforementioned Eoin Kennedy has taken it upon himself to organise a social media gathering in Cong, Co. Mayo which he is dubbing CongRegation. Here’s the deal from the CongRegation.ie website:

“CongRegation is a one day ‘un-conference’ social media gathering taking place in Cong, Co Mayo on Saturday November 30th.
This free ‘earned entry’ event focuses on peer to peer sharing of quality information and social media insights through a ‘huddle’ style collaborative structure.
Congregation also creates a fertile base for true social engagement and connection.
The un-conference takes place in the village of Cong in County Mayo with 100 speakers spread over 7 venues with 4 sessions.
With CongRegation:
Tickets cannot be purchased.
You pay with your insight.
You blog your way in.
Everyone is a speaker.
Open sharing of insights.
True social setting.
Inclusion in post event eBook.
All attendees are equal.”

I think this is going to be a very interesting, insightful event and would highly recommend that you get your thinking cap on and “blog your way in“. I hope to be there once I get my rant on…