The twelfth session in NMK’s evening discussion and networking series turns to innovation in PR. In a world where consumers are making up their own minds about the worth of companies, products and services, and where the CEOs and product managers of companies are creating their own presence online and interacting directly with their customers, how has PR changed? And what is its proper role? The Panel: Roger Warner (chair) is a director of Squiz.net, a company that helps organisations work with its own open-source content management system. So what’s he doing on a panel about PR? Roger has over ten years of corporate communications experience, including spells as head of web development at Airbus and PR Director for IBM Europe. Drew Benvie is the man behind The Blog Consultancy - one of the best-known PR blogs in the UK - and advises his clients at Hotwire PR on the use of social media. Will McInnes is co-founder of Nixon McInnes. A ‘net native’, Will’s job is to come up with clever web strategies for clients that actually respond to real-world business and marketing needs. Sarah Ogden is MD of Sussex-based PR firm Midnight Communications, first PR consultancy in the …

This will be the seventh Cybersalon/NMK Xmas Lecture. The lecture was established in 2001 as an opportunity for leading members of the UK new media industry to talk freely about their work and speculate about how media and communications technologies are interacting and impacting on society, economics, politics and culture. Lectures are attended by a mixture of new media professionals, academics, commentators, journalists and policy makers. This year Martyn Ware Martyn, best-known as a seminal 80s pop icon and co-founder of The Human League and Heaven 17, will head up this exciting event. As record producer and artist, he has has contributed to recordings totaling over 50 million sales worldwide. More recently through the Illustrious Company - his recent creative venture with Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure - and his current Arts Council supported art project, the Future Of Sound, Martyn has developed a reputation as a convergent media ‘Svengali’ - working with and and showcasing some of the latest developments in immersive media and emergent technologies. Cost: £5 To book and for a full description of this event go to http://xmaslecture.eventbrite.com/ .. or visit our website www.nmk.co.uk

At our next networking event, we’ll be tackling the topic of VRM, vendor relationship management. Turning traditional relationships between individuals and companies on the their head, VRM promises a future where we’ll decide when and how brands get in touch. The goal of VRM is to improve the relationship between Demand and Supply by providing new and better ways for the former to relate to the latter. In a larger sense, VRM immodestly intends to improve markets and their mechanisms by equipping customers to be independent leaders and not just captive followers in their relationships with vendors and other parties on the supply side of the marketplace. For VRM to work, vendors must have reason to value it, and customers must have reasons to invest the necessary time, effort and attention to making it work. Providing those reasons to both sides is the primary challenge for VRM. The panel will feature the UK’s leading thinkers on this subject: JP Rangaswami - CIO BT and Confused of Calcutta Adriana Lukas - Media Influencer and Big Blog Company Alan Patrick - Broadstuff and Broadsight More details and panellists @ www.nmk.co.uk Price: £25 Booking: At present, bookings must be made via email to …

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. When: May 13th- 14th; 9.30am - 4pm Price: £350; concessions £250 (charities, not-for-profits, businesses with 1-10 employees). Booking: At present, bookings must be made via email to Ingrid Fiszpan - i.fiszpan@wmin.ac.uk - who will contact you for further details, or by phone to …

Following in the footsteps of Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield, Bradford is the latest to join the 82-city strong global OpenCoffee new media networking community. The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries. The free events are informal and see a range of technology entrepreneurs, designers, bloggers, developers, geeks, investors and anyone else who’s interested in digital media and technology exchanging ideas and striking up relationships that would otherwise never have flourished. The philosophy of OpenCoffee is very much of an Open House of ideas and people. bmedi@ is sponsoring the inaugural OpenCoffee Bradford, using its role at the hub of Yorkshire’s commerce, academia and technology to leverage its network of new media, companies, organisations and individuals. Bradford’s first OpenCoffee will take place on Tuesday 20th May at YoYo’s Bar & Restaurant from 10am to midday. The event is open to anyone who is interested in the region’s digital, creative and new media industries. You’re welcome to enjoy the coffee, the cakes and the company :) http://www.bmedia.org.uk/blog/ http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/598487/?ps=5

Following the success of our first OpenCoffee event held in May, bmedi@ are running another event on Thursday 19th June 2008. The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries. The free events are informal and see a range of technology entrepreneurs, designers, bloggers, developers, geeks, investors and anyone else who’s interested in digital media and technology exchanging ideas and striking up relationships that would otherwise never have flourished. The philosophy of OpenCoffee is very much of an Open House of ideas and people. OpenCoffee Bradford(Shipley), is being sponsored by Bradford College (WOW Hub) and the YoYo Bar & Restaurant. Bradford’s second OpenCoffee event will take place on Thursday 19th June at YoYo’s Bar & Restaurant (Shipley) from 10am to midday. The event is open to anyone who is interested in the region’s digital, creative and new media industries. You’re welcome to enjoy the coffee, the cakes and the company :) To book a place just e-mail steve@bmedia.org.uk. We look forward to networking with you.