I feel very privileged to have once again secured a ticket for the Thinking Digital Conference. The conference organised by Codeworks and headed up by Herb Kim, runs from 13th to 15th May at the Sage Gateshead.
Building on last year’s success, the conference kicks off with a choice of 3 half day workshops, following the tracks of social networking, gadgets or enterprise. This year’s workshops look even bigger and better than last years with even more speakers and have have been billed as the ‘Digital University’. In addition to conference goers, tickets for the workshops are available to codeworks members and none members a like, giving those people that can’t get to the whole conference a change to see at least some of the key speakers in action.
As IT manager at BALTIC, it’ll be my honour to play host to the enterprise session in our cinema, from 2:30 – 4:30 on Wednesday. We’ll be getting our best leather swivel chairs our for the panel of 7 distinguished speakers to dispense some ‘practical wisdom’. The panel consisting of Mike Southon (FT), Harry Drnec (former CEO Red Bull UK), Barry Vitou & Danvers Ballieu (Bootlaw), Andrew Barke (Google) and Andy Redfern & Ben Mawhinney (EthicalSuperstore.com) will be giving us some valuable advice on running a business and legal issues and some insights into online advertising.
There are now some 38 speakers signed up to give keynote speeches over the 3 day event, including some of the best known people in technology, learning, media and social networking from companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, The Financial Times, and Newsweek, as well as top tech and social media authors of books like ‘The Whuffie Factor‘ and ‘The Pirates Dilema‘.
And if that is not enough for you… there will be some 400 or so delegates attending the conference, so there will be plenty of opportunities for networking and discussing the latest technologies, innovations and trends at the variety of parties, dinners and lunches during the conference. I even think i heard that singer Oonagh Cassidy will be putting in an apearance at some point.
Finally for the real hardcore, if 3 days of intensive training just isn’t enough (or if you can’t make thinking digital, or the boss was just too stingy to send you!) there is always Barcamp NorthEast 2, taking place on the 16th and 17th of May. Quite unlike Thinking Digital, barcamps are often refered to as an unconferences, or sometimes as a sleepovers for geeks, there is no planned itinerary, admission is free, anyone can attend (provided they book a ticket) and everyone must present (or help out in some way).
So get those moo cards printed, get your twitter profile up to date and get your geekiest teeshirt on and we’ll see you in the North East in May.
