For those of you who couldn’t make this, here’s the webcast from the excellent panel debate with Biz Stone,, Chief Executive of Twitter, Reid Hoffman Chief Executive of LinkedIn, and Stephen Fry…well you know who Stephen Fry is.
Focussing around Social Media: A Force for Good, the event was organised by NESTA as part of their superb Silicon Valley in the UK initiative.

Very much looking forward to speaking at the Capita breakfast event tomorrow this morning alongside Jon from  Google and Patricia from Capita Resourcing. The event is entitled: Deciphering social media:  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

I am going to be taking a different perspective on social networks tomorrow, focusing specifically on the changing role of search (defined increasingly by social search and real-time search [think Twitter]) , UGC [user generated content] and the impact on brand / employer brand.

As you may know, our view is that a brand’s home page is not [companyname.com] but in fact the Google first page of results for a branded search.  Already social sites / reviews are highly placed in these results but - with the advent of Google Social Search , Side Wiki, Twitter and  so on, every site / brand will become “socialized” - and those brands, like it or not, will be defined by individuals external to the enterprise.  The path in travel (meta search > social search > branded search ) will / is unquestioningly happening beyond that space.

How do brands / employer brands manage this? Well (obviously) seeking to provide the best service / products is the first step, but the key is in building effective advocacy / influencer programmes, and encouraging reviews / feedback - using positive choice architecture- at every turn.  The pres I’ll be working from is below.  See you there (or not.)

Details of the event on Personnel Today

Working with Rob from WorkingforWellness.org.uk, demonstrating AudioBoo.fm and discussing the social / web 2.0 we implemented on Mental Health and Employment Hub WorkingforWellness.org.uk

We are loving working again with Wine Australia to help launch the 2010 Landmark Australia tutorial. Wine Australia is looking for the best and brightest wine talents from around the world to participate in an intensive five day tutorial to learn more about Australia’s fine wines.

A blog / online hub will go live today with details about the tutorial, how to apply, a Twitter feed and YouTube videos including TV coverage of the first Landmark Australia tutorial which was a huge success and looks like it is already having an impact on how Australian wines are perceived overseas. Eager participants can search the hub to find out about past participants’ experiences in the first tutorial as well as a complete list of all the 248 amazing fine Australian wines tasted. Paul Henry from Wine Australia talks about the 2010 tutorial below:

Here’s a good overview about what the 2009 tutorial was all about:

I am very pleased to be supporting Don Leslie, director of Carve client BLT, when he addresses the ONREC conference tomorrow. We’ll be talking alongside Google and Travis Perkins amongst others:

Now in its fourth year, onrec.com�s highly anticipated UK Online Recruitment Conference 2009 is set to be the biggest and best yet. Once again, this event will combine a 1 day conference packed with information, insights and innovation with networking opportunities and an expo hall of suppliers.

Full conference programme here

Don’s presentation is entitled: “I heard it through the Grapevine: How BLT recruiters use corporate social networks to connect with clients & candidates”. A copy will be posted onto our slideshare account http://www.slideshare.net/CarveConsulting after the event.

Happy New Year to all of you. We hope you had a great, peaceful Christmas.

Personally I am just back in the saddle from a couple of weeks in Australia (where I was also working with Sarah on our offering over there, more soon), plus some R&R in Bali. Amazing, but trying to get the twins over jetlag could make this a tough week…

In 09 one of our organisational objectives is to develop a more formalised comms programme. One of the first outcomes of that will be our new regular(ish) email, DotSOCIAL.

DotSOCIAL will keep you and organisation up to date with -

- Social Media Marketing, specifically in regard to customer acquisition, sales, employer branding and engagement
- PR and Online PR, including blogging and blog relations
- ProNetworking, including tips and tools to ensure your organisation gets the best from business networking sites like LinkedIn and Xing
- Online recruitment -best practice, innovation, news
- Search Marketing including pay per click and optimisation
- trends, research and examples of best practice on the above

If you’d like to be added to the distribution list, please drop us a line to dotSocial@carveconsulting.com

Just a quick shout out to highlight our recent launch of the new website for award winning London IT Support specialist The Internet Group.

A couple of screen grabs below; W3C compliant and designed with SEO in mind (currently top 10 Google ranked for IT Support London ), the site has a multimedia gallery with podcasts and vodcasts, has a online test for IT engineers who want to prove their mettle, LivePerson on-site help, with a blog coming soon.

We’re delighted to have worked with Tower Hamlets, Jobcentre Plus, the Learning and Skills Council, ELBA, Tower Hamlets College & Employment Solutions, Skillsmatch and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services to put on Knowhow - the innovative careers event that brings together flagship employers and the community.

The event today (March 18th, 2008) is around financial and business services. The event is hosting an extremely strong workshop programme from the likes of KPMG, the FSA and BT openreach - thanks to all of them for supporting this event.

The event itself if being hosted in the brand new, state-of-the-art National Skills Academy for Financial Services in Tower Hamlets (map).

Carve is project managing and promoting the event (case study to follow on our use of social media…) For more information, please see below visit http://www.knowhowtheevent.co.uk

If you live in Tower Hamlets and are looking to get into Finance, please come along - it’s free and there’s no need to register.

Look forward to seeing you on the day!

What is Knowhow?

Knowhow is a local careers event with a difference. Tower Hamlets residents can come along and learn about the different opportunities that are available on your doorstep, and get advice and guidance on how to gain the skills required to apply for these roles in the future.

Which organisations are running and supporting Knowhow?

The event has been organised by the Creating and Sharing Prosperity CPAG of the Tower Hamlet Partnership, and involves major local employers such as the Financial Services Authority, KPMG, LB Tower Hamlets and BT Openreach - as well as support & advisory services such as Jobcentre Plus & Skillsmatch.

Who should come to Knowhow?

Knowhow is open to everyone living in Tower Hamlets who is interested in working in Financial and Business services. It’s for people of all ages and backgrounds, with all levels of educational achievement and work experience.

How will the event work?

The event is open to visitors from 12pm. You’ll be able to meet representatives from flagship employers from Financial and Business sectors, and get practical advice on how and where to develop your skills from the learning, training and careers organisations attending the event. There will also be seminars and workshops about starting a career in Financial and Business services.

About the Carve Consulting blog

Carve Consulting is a London engagement consultancy that helps organisations build and manage their brands - at a corporate, employer or product level.

Our blog - stuff about search engine and social media marketing, and how we harness them to help organisations improve customer and candidate engagement - is reflective of what we’re thinking about, sharing, liking and loving right now.

Blogs as conversations…

Blogs should be like conversations though, and it’s not much fun if we’re the only one’s thinking out loud. So join the debate : there’s a bottle of Carve Cava awarded every month to the most deserving contribution.

We look forward to hearing from you

So we’ve done it, and backed ourselves (and our thinking) to go it alone.

No more frustration of working with clients we wish we didn’t have, no more lip service to BS, no more time wasting on stuff that really doesn’t matter.

If you’re reading this, you’re either already working with (god bless you), thinking about it (you won’t regret it), or have invested in us with confidence, money or both. We’re glad you’re along for the ride.

We’re making it our business to work with people who share our values and have amazing products and services. Check them out in our partners area on our website, carveconsulting.com