New free Think Digital webinar – 8th September, 11am

There was a lot of interest in my last webinar on Think Digital, where I talked through the ten principles fairly briefly, just to give folk an overview of what I am on about.

I think it’s time to go into more detail about how you can make this happen, so over the next few months I will be running a webinar on each principle.

The first of these will be taking place on 8th September at 11am BST. It’s on the topic of strategy, leadership and capability which are the foundations of the Think Digital approach and are vital to get right if digital transformation is going to take place.

Sign up for your free place here!

Innovative ways of training

I’ve been thinking about using some new ways of providing training on digital engagement stuff to those working in public services – in tandem with the traditional approach that we are taking in our workshop tomorrow.

Webinars are something I’m looking into, and I’ve written about my experiences of running them previously. What I am looking at doing is something a little more structured over a period of time.

So, how about a twelve week course on digital engagement? One webinar per week on a chosen topic, with a private discussion space so everyone can talk to each other about the topic afterwards.

Here’s a draft list of weekly topics:

  1. Introduction to digital engagement
  2. Designing your strategy
  3. Designing a policy
  4. Operational engagement plans
  5. Managing risk
  6. Developing a Facebook page
  7. Effective organisational use of Twitter
  8. Blogging for organisations
  9. Crowdsourcing and online open innovation
  10. Social media for events
  11. Social media in a crisis
  12. Community building and sustainable engagement

Would this be something you or people in your organisation would be interested in?

Also… would you (or your organisation!) be willing to pay for it? How much?

The wacky world of webinars

I’ve done a few webinars now with the Learning Pool posse and am planning to do a lot more as both a marketing thing for Kind of Digital and as a part of the training work we do.

Webinars are going to be a really important part of the training and communications mix, as they provide a lot of the benefits of face to face learning without the travel expense and time lost of traditional events. The only thing that really sucks about webinars is the name, but I guess we’re stuck with it.

Here’s some lessons I’ve learned from my experiences of running a webinar.

1. Have a wingman

By this I mean someone sat behind the scenes, not talking but just keeping a watching brief over what’s happening. Someone to ping the odd message out to the chatroom, help manage the questions, and to remind you to do and say stuff.

Presenting a webinar can be a bewildering business and having someone to keep you on track is vital.

2. Have a co-presenter

This came as a bit of a surprise to me, but it turns out people don’t want to sit and listen to me talk at them for an hour down the phone. Madness!

Having somebody else involved can make a real difference to the dynamic of the webinar, especially if it brings multiple perspectives to the session. Also, it means that witty banter is on the cards, which improves things for delegates no end.

3. Practice

Always have a run through an hour or so before the actual performance. It improves flow, points out any obvious problems that might happen and gives everyone a chance to rehearse what they will say.

Never skimp on practice!

4. Keep talking

As I found out when doing  webinar this morning, stuff either goes wrong, or at least goes slowly – especially when you are demonstrating a website or online service. If you’re waiting for something to happen, or if you are having to have multiple goes at getting something to work, don’t go quiet!

Keep chuntering on – not just moaning about how the technology never seems to work, but go over some of the stuff you’ve already said, which will probably be a fairly useful refresher to the attendees. Not saying anything can make attendees think that everything has broken, including the sound, so even if you aren’t exactly setting the world alight with your commentary, keep it coming.

5. Interact

Webinars without audience participation can be pretty dull. Set up a couple of polls to run during the event. One great feature of GoToWebinar, the software both Learning Pool and Kind of Digital use, is that it shows you who is paying attention – ie those who have the webinar window in focus on their desktop.

If someone has flicked to check their emails while you are talking, you know about it, and that’s always a good time to launch a poll! You can also get people to type in questions and comments throughout the webinar which keeps participation up and people concentrating.

6. Follow up

When people register for the webinar, they leave their email address – so use it! Send them a link to a recording of the webinar so they can share it with their colleagues and other resources. You can also get attendees to fill in a quick survey at the end which is another great way of grabbing a bit more information from delegates.

Do you have any tips or experiences to share about webinars? Leave them in the comments!

Webinars a-go-go

Two more upcoming webinars from Learning Pool to tell you about – both free of course.

Closing the third sector skills gap

New for 2011 is My Learning Pool – a suite of over 20 online courses that have been designed for community and voluntary groups, small charities, social enterprises and others in the third sector.

During the webinar you will receive a guided tour of the training available on www.mylearningpool.com and learn how the bite sized chunks of learning can help improve your organisation or yourself from as little as £25 per subscription.

To find out more about My Learning Pool you can follow @MyLearningPool on Twitter, visit the Facebook page or log on to www.mylearningpool.com.

Find out more and sign up here.

#Walsall24 – an experiment in local government radical transparency

Join Learning Pool’s Dave Briggs and Walsall Council’s Dan Slee for this exclusive free webinar discussing Walsall’s groundbreaking Twitter experiment – #Walsall24.

Over a period of 24 hours, Walsall Council tweeted a cross section of what they were doing, providing a unique snapshot of the daily activities of a local authority.

Dan will discuss how the project came about, what the barriers were to making it happen and how they were overcome, and what the Council has learned from it.

Find out more about Walsall 24 at http://www.walsall.gov.uk/walsall24.htm.

Find out more and sign up here.

FREE listening online webinar

Following up on my post about the importance of listening to what people are saying about you and your organisation online, we’re delighted to be running a free webinar on the subject along with our friends at RepKnight.

It’s taking place on Wednesday 16th March between 10:30am and 11:30am.

The webinar will include some general thoughts on why listening online is so vital, as well as a demonstration of RepKnight and what it can do.

You can sign up using this link.

Sign up soon, as places on these webinars go pretty quickly!

Free webinar on how technology can support public sector collaboration

I’m hosting free webinar, thanks to Learning Pool, that will take you through the benefits that technology can bring to collaboration within public services.

Covering the main tools and the strategies to implement them, attendees will be able to identify the right solutions to enable them to manage change, talent, knowledge and learning within their organisations.

It’s happening on Wednesday 9th February, between 10 and 11am.

Sign up here.

The webinar runs on GotoWebinar so you might want to check that you have access – you’ll need sound as well (unless you’d rather not listen to me, and provide your own soundtrack).

Free webinar on social care training and e-learning

A short commercial break, if you’ll excuse me. Learning Pool are rather proud of our new social care e-learning offering, and if you, or a colleague, would like to know more, we’re running a free webinar.

All the details are below:

Delivering efficiencies on your social care training has never been as important.

This free webinar will help you create a more efficient and effective way of delivering training via e-learning.

Learning Pool Social Care is a suite of e-learning designed around the delivery of the Care Pathway with the added capability of tailoring content to your audience.

In a climate where cuts in every sector is inevitable, we can demonstrate savings of up to 80% to your current training budget.  Let us show you how we can do it.

Those who sign up before 1st August 2010 can get an early bird discount of £10,000 on their subscription.  Ask us today.

Title: Need to make savings on your social care training?

Date: Thursday 22nd July 2010

Time: 2.00pm – 2.30pm GMT

To reserve your Webinar seat click here or email amanda@learningpool.com or call 0207 101 9383.