New Media Training Day - 7th March 2007

Yesterday we hosted our first ever "training" day. It was an interesting experiment for the Group - and I think a successful one. The numbers attending were too large to allow for practical hands-on training, but the speakers tended to give some very practical advice.

In particular, our "Get Creative" session seemed to go down well, with many attendees seeing this as a good way to break the ice with fellow delegates and start sharing their own ideas. It was also a good way to turn the conference venue into chaos, creating a more relaxed environment for the rest of the day.

Our keynote speech from CIPR President, Lionel Zetter, touched at the heart of our day - the importance of training and skills for PR professionals, and the development CIPR's new social media guidelines, which I recommend our members read. Personally, I value the CIPR's code of conduct and these new guidelines for PR professionals and I think it's important that all practitioners - in-house and agency - be aware of them and help to shape them.