Thinking Digital brings together leading thinkers, creative’s and innovators from around the world to share and inspire us with their insight and innovations.

So if you can’t make it to Gateshead, come to The Annexe and get a taster of their amazing line up of speakers for yourself. You will be able to ask you questions or comment using the twitter hash tag #TDC11 (and Cornerhouse wifi).

Tickets

£25 full / £20 concs for one day or £35 full / £30 concs for the 2 days

Price of the ticket includes teas, coffees and biscuit throughout the day and a glass of wine at the end of the second day.

Please note: 2 days passes are only available when booking on the phone (0161 200 1500) and in person

More Information

www.cornerhouse.org/thinkingdigital

Programme

Full details, including speaker’s biographies, can be found on the Thinking Digital Website

Wed 25 May
08:15 doors open, 08:45 Live cast starts
08:45 – 10:30: The Future of Media (Gerd Leonhard; Atau Tanaka; Paul Rawlings; Walter de Brouwer)
11:05 – 12:50: Session 2 – Thinking Digital (Nicole Yershon; Bobby Paterson; Steve Rubel; Conrad Wolfram)
12:50: LUNCH BREAK.
14:05 – 16:00 Session 3 – Mind over Matter (Sam Martin; Caroline Philips; Steven Bathiche; Patrick Meier)
16:30 – 18:15: Session 4 – Resonance (Nancy Duarte; Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine; Erin McKean; Heather Knight)

Thu 26 May
08:30 doors open, 09:00 Live cast starts
09:00 – 10:30: The Medium is the Message (Paul Smith; Matthew Postgate; Carlos Ulloa; Caspar Berry)
11:05 – 12:50: From Data to Wisdom (Chris Hatala & Wesley Burt; Vincent Li; Jer Thorp)
12:50: LUNCH BREAK.
14:05 – 16:00 Session 3 – Cognitive Surplus (Dan Serfaty; Alan Cohen; Tan Le; Tom Scott)
16:00: Drinks and networking on The Annexe balcony.

Each event features a panel of experienced digital and social media marketers who discuss social media projects and issues presented by the audience.

The informal networking events offer an opportunity to find out how other companies are benefitting from using free social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to market and grow their businesses.

The next Manchester Social Media Surgery event is on Tuesday 12 April from 5:30-7:30pm at Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA) offices, Lower Ground Floor, 117-119 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 6ED.

The theme for the April 2011 Social Media Surgery is: ‘Social Media for Events‘

Social Media Surgeons

Ian Pettigrew, (@KingfisherCoach on Twitter), Kingfisher Coaching, Surgery participant turned Chair!
Fran Holden, (@franisaholden on Twitter), Creative Recruitment Resourcer, Orchard
Andy Stevens, (@OnlineAStevens on Twitter), Online Manager, Prospects
Adrian Slatcher, (@adrianslatcher on Twitter), Senior Digital Development officer, MDDA

Community groups curious about using social media most welcome.

Manchester Social Media Surgery events are organised by Chi-chi Ekweozor, (@realfreshtv on Twitter), director of Real Fresh TV, the social media training and implementation consultancy, as an outreach project of the popular Social Media Cafe Manchester network (@smc_mcr on Twitter).

Sign up to attend:
http://socialmediamanchester.net/events/april-2011-manchester-social

We’re on LinkedIn! Join our LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3120264&goback=%2Eanh_3120264&trk=NUS_UNIU-ngroup

About the Event Organiser:
Real Fresh TV provides social media consultancy, training and implementation support on digital projects in the region. Recent clients include Contact Theatre Manchester, Junction K and Xyone. Need help with social media marketing? Contact us http://www.realfresh.tv/

If you ask digital and related businesses in the Manchester region what obstacles they face, finding staff with the right skills to grow their business regularly comes top of the list. This is in spite of the fact that there are four major universities producing tens of thousands of graduates each year and that Manchester is at the core of the second biggest conurbation in the UK. You could put this down to three factors:

• The rapid growth of the digital sector, including creative and technical activity from media to software, exemplified by MediacityUK, Sharp etc;
• The notion that the course content in HE institutions is inappropriate;
• A lack of awareness of the opportunities in Manchester for graduates who either assume or are told that they need to go to London.

Many in businesses and in the education institutions are keen to find ways round these problems but there has been little dialogue or progress.

Manchester Digital – working with its partners in the education sector and with the support of Manchester City Council – is holding a Digital Skills Summit to bring the two sides together, along with other interested groups such as business and economic development agencies, recruitment and training specialists. The aim is simply to look at the problems and, more importantly, find solutions.

Solutions like these:

• Opportunities for businesses – including smaller businesses – to influence course content in a way that works for them;
• New opportunities for training providers of all types to communicate with target businesses and to tailor their products;
• Easier ways to take on placements and work with students on projects;
• More awareness among students of the many opportunities in and near Manchester to get work where they can use their digital skills.

Who will attend?

Business owners; business HR; technical and creative managers; teachers; careers professionals; students; recruitment specialists; training providers.

What will the summit achieve?

• A chance for businesses to get information on courses, placements, training
• A chance for educationalists to understand better the challenges for business
• A chance to work together to create lasting solutions.

Talking points

• Why with 50,000 graduates a year is there a skills shortage?
• What skills mixes are digital businesses looking for?
• Can universities produce graduates ready to start digital work?
• What can training providers offer to help SME employees keep up?
• Are universities too divided between creative, business and digital?
• Placements and interns: what works best?
• Is it true that graduates think they have to go to London to do digital?
• What opportunities are there for FE-­‐level student leavers?
• Mechanisms for the future: o How to keep the collaboration going;
  • Raising student awareness of Manchester opportunities;
  • Business input on curricula;
  • A better way of brokering placements.

Come and join us for a celebration of everything that has been achieved since then and for a chance to LOL at the images in the few surviving photos from that time, dodgy haircuts, dodgy suits and even dodgier modems. We’ll be starting off at 4pm in the MDDA office, with a few presentations, phone in discussion with ex-colleagues now in South Africa (Peter Benjamin) and Australia (Alan Taylor), Dave Spooner on film (not to be missed!) and lots of ephemera plus some hardware from the period, finishing off with some nibbles and refreshments by 6pm.

To book a place goto: http://20yearsofdigital.eventbrite.com/

The sector includes companies involved in advertising; architecture; arts & antiques; crafts; design; designer fashion; digital and ICT; music; publishing; radio and television; software; computer games and electronic publishing; video; film and photography; and visual and performing arts.

The North West Fund for Digital & Creative provides finance from £50,000 to £2m to businesses seeking finance to support a broad range of needs from start-up and early stage development through to expansion plans for trading businesses.

In return, the Fund Manager will require an equity share in the business. Capital structures can include a combination of equity and loan support as best suits the needs of the company.

More information

• North West Fund for Digital & Creative website
• The North West Fund on Twitter

Social Media for the Arts, Tue 12 Oct, £80 (£40*), 1 day

Social Media for Local Government, Tue 26 Oct, £80 (£40*), 1 day

Flash Animation, Tue 2 Nov, £80 (£40*), 1 day

Video Podcasting, Tue 16 Nov, £80 (£40*), 1 day

Understanding Music for Film, Fri 19 Nov, £80 (£40*), 1 day

Final Cut Pro Editing, Tue 7 Dec, £150 (£75*), 1 day

Improvisational Methods for Developing and Directing Film Drama, Fri 21 & 28 Jan, £80 per day (£40*), 2 days

Final Cut Pro Color, Tue 25 Jan, £150 (£75*), 1 day

Final Cut Pro Motion, Tue 8 Feb, £150 (£75*), 1 day

* = subsidised price

You can download a copy of our training brochure, you can also click here to find details of the courses on our website.

There are a limited number of subsidised places available on each course for people who are unemployed, in full time education or freelance.

You can book onto any of our courses online, simply select your course, and complete an online registration form. Alternatively, you can call us on 0161 912 1306 or email info@letsgoglobal.tv

Lets Go Global is a creative organisation located in the heart of Old Trafford. We are here to demystify technology, and help people and organisations to become producers, publishers and distributors of their own content and participants in the new digital age.

Register for the Event

Let us know if you are coming by registering at http://windhorse.eventbrite.com

About the Event

In a first for Manchester, a group of international artists are celebrating exhibiting their original art in a Second Life gallery with a Mixed Reality event at MDDA.

Those attending will be taken on a tour of the virtual gallery on big screen, and a digitally made moving image Windhorse Project sequence will play in a darkened room. There will also be laptops and high-speed wireless broadband available to those who wish to independently explore the exhibition at their own pace.

The exhibition features artist Vanessa Cuthbert’s Windhorse Project, which takes the central idea of a prayer flag to a group of contemporary artists who each made a banner to express something that they cared about, with an overall ecological theme. Initially exhibited in Manchester as part of The Cornerhouse/MIRIAD ‘State Legacy’ venture, this project has continued to evolve since its auspicious beginnings, and is now hosted by Leeds University’s Second Life presence, Education UK, in their innovative ‘Art at the EDGE’ virtual gallery.

Dr. Erica Wright brings the Windhorse Project into Second Life, and explains “Bringing this project to the prestigious ‘Art at the EDGE’ gallery, is an important step forward for real world art. Second Life offers the global art audience chance to experience high end contemporary art in a whole new way, simultaneously viewing art in a gallery setting from armchairs and computer desks around the world. Through sharing the experience of viewing and discussing real art with others in a much more immediate way than is possible with other social media, Second Life’s excellent free communication facilities allow for live conversation, note sharing and instant feedback about the art being viewed remotely. The potential benefits offered to artists and educators by this technology are simply breathtaking“.

In addition to the Windhorse Project’s virtual world presence, the original printed banners will continue to travel the globe, as new destinations present themselves. Vanessa Cuthbert says, “The Windhorse banners are part of an exhibition chain that began in All Saints Park and Righton Gallery, on the ‘Oxford Road Corridor,’ Manchester, a route that has been used throughout history for marches and protests. I hope to continue this project by sending the banners to other locations in the real world, so the banners themselves will be carried off into the universe, in a sense, and the message will spread. The next host will add more banners and decide a wide range of cultural, social and political differences on their journey. The banners will change and be weathered, maybe subject to graffiti, and this will reflect the impermanent and ever-changing conditions that we are all subject to.”

This is an opportunity to meet some of the Windhorse Project artists and key figures from Manchester art, education and digital society at a MDDA/MIRIAD/MANCHESTER DIGITAL hosted event.

This event takes place on the 16th September 2010 5-7 pm

http://connecting2communities2.eventbrite.com

About this event

If you are a voluntary or community sector organisation, freelancer or creative who would like to know more about “digital technology” and how it can help your work or your organisation it can sometimes be difficult to know where to go for advice and support.

Yet Manchester has a wide range of digital communities – from programmers, to social media specialists to digital content producers – who meet up regularly to share good practice.

Connecting 2.0 Communities is the 2nd in a series of events to give anyone in the not-for-profit sector an opportunity to meet these digital communities – many of whom are happy to provide free advice and support, and would like to work more with community groups.

Watch a video of the First Connecting 2.0 Communities event here.

What you will find out

At this free to attend “drop in” event there will be an opportunity to:-

- get a one-to-one advice session about your own particular digital needs
- find out more about Manchester’s many “user groups” and informal meet-ups
- hear short introductions about key topics and about other opportunities in the city

Where and when does it take place

The event takes place on Wednesday 22nd September 2010 from 2.00-6.30pm at the Madlab (Manchester Digital Laboratory), at 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester, M4 1HN, in the Northern Quarter (opp. Common Bar) Drop in any time after 2.00 – either stay for a short time, or stay all afternoon.

2.00-4.30 Drop in any time you want

4.30-5.30 Short Presentations:

• Manchester’s free Social Media Surgeries (Chi-chi Ekweozor)
• Find out about Netsquared – a networking event for the community sector (Steven Flower)
• Digital Training and Collaboration with Lets Go Global (Karen Shannon & Sarah McLoughlin)
• Geek Girl Events – opportunities for women to get technical (Samantha Bail)

5.30-5.45 Questions to the panel

5.45-6.30 Drop in Continues

Why register

Its a drop-in so you don’t have to book a place to attend, but if you do, we can send you an update on the lineup, and also you can let us know if you have any access requirements. The drop-in is on the ground floor of Madlab, but the presentations may take place on the 2nd floor and there is no lift, so please let us know if this is a problem so that we can make arrangements accordingly.

I can’t come for the whole event

We’ve arranged the event to be as flexible as possible. If you want to come at 2.00 and stay all afternoon, or come at 6.00 for the last half hour that’s absolutely fine. The city centre location means that if you are passing through town after work then you can pop in. So don’t worry if you’re not able to come for the whole afternoon.

It sounds great, but I’m busy that day

We will be running further Connecting 2.0 Communities events at Madlab in late November and late January.
Who will be attending?

- Manchester Digital Development Agency, offering advice and support on all aspects of digital Manchester
- Madlab, find out about this new “community space” for digital working
- Netsquared, networking events for the voluntary sector
- Social Media Cafe & Social Media Surgeries, find out more about these regular groups to help you use the social media more effectively.
- Wordpress experts – Manchester Wordpress User Group takes place following this event – so there will be local wordpress enthusiasts on hand to talk through your problems.
- Geek Girls – events to encourage women in technology to get together
- Lets Go Global – digital training and innovative digital projects for the community sector

…and others

Need to find out more?

For more information contact Adrian Slatcher (a.slatcher@manchesterdda.com)

Find out more about MADLAB (http://www.madlab.org.uk)

We’ve also set up a Connecting 2.0 Communities group on the Social Media Cafe Manchester Ning. We’ll add new resources here when they become available.

Who has organised it?

This event is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund and run on behalf of Manchester City Council. It has been organised by Manchester Digital Development Agency in partnership with Manchester Digital Laboratory (Madlab). Many thanks to all the digital organisations who have agreed to attend to make this event happen.

Photos courtesy of MadlabUK. Issued under a Creative Commons Licence. Some rights reserved.

http://connecting2communities2.eventbrite.com

About this event…

If you are a voluntary or community sector organisation, freelancer or creative who would like to know more about “digital technology” and how it can help your work or your organisation it can sometimes be difficult to know where to go for advice and support.

Yet Manchester has a wide range of digital communities – from programmers, to social media specialists to digital content producers – who meet up regularly to share good practice.

Connecting 2.0 Communities is an event to give anyone in the not-for-profit sector an opportunity to meet these digital communities – many of whom are happy to provide free advice and support, and would like to work more with community groups.

Watch a video of the First Connecting 2.0 Communities event here.

What you will find out…

At this free to attend “drop in” event there will be an opportunity to :-

- get a one-to-one advice session about your own particular digital needs
- find out more about Manchester’s many “user groups” and informal meet-ups
- hear short introductions about key topics and about other opportunities in the city

Where and when does it take place…

The event takes place on Wednesday 22nd September 2010 from 2.00-6.30pm at the Madlab (Manchester Digital Laboratory), at 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester, M4 1HN, in the Northern Quarter (opp. Common Bar) Drop in any time after 2.00 – either stay for a short time, or stay all afternoon.

2.00-4.30 Drop in any time you want

4.30-5.30 Short Presentations(Details TBC)

5.30-5.45 Questions to the panel

5.45-6.30 Drop in Continues

Why register…

Its a drop-in so you don’t have to book a place to attend, but if you do, we can send you an update on the lineup, and also you can let us know if you have any access requirements. The drop-in is on the ground floor of Madlab, but the presentations may take place on the 2nd floor and there is no lift, so please let us know if this is a problem so that we can make arrangements accordingly.

I can’t come for the whole event…

We’ve arranged the event to be as flexible as possible. If you want to come at 2.00 and stay all afternoon, or come at 6.00 for the last half hour that’s absolutely fine. The city centre location means that if you are passing through town after work then you can pop in. So don’t worry if you’re not able to come for the whole afternoon.

It sounds great, but I’m busy that day…

We will be running further Connecting 2.0 Communities events at Madlab in late November and late January.
Who will be attending? We’ll have more details soon but here’s a taster.

- Manchester Digital Development Agency, offering advice and support on all aspects of digital Manchester

- Madlab, find out about this new “community space” for digital working

- Netsquared, networking events for the voluntary sector

- Social Media Cafe & Social Media Surgeries, find out more about these regular groups to help you use the social media more effectively.

- Voluntary sector digital organisations, learn more about what organisations there are that can help you out.

- Wordpress experts – Manchester Wordpress User Group takes place following this event – so there will be local wordpress enthusiasts on hand to talk through your problems.

- Geek Girls – events to encourage women in technology to get together

Need to find out more?

For more information contact Adrian Slatcher (a.slatcher@manchesterdda.com)

Find out more about MADLAB (http://www.madlab.org.uk)

We’ve also set up a Connecting 2.0 Communities group on the Social Media Cafe Manchester Ning. We’ll add new resources here when they become available.

Who has organised it?

This event is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund and run on behalf of Manchester City Council. It has been organised by Manchester Digital Development Agency in partnership with Manchester Digital Laboratory (Madlab). Many thanks to all the digital organisations who have agreed to attend to make this event happen.

Other Opportunities

Wordpress User Group – follows on from the Connecting2.0Communities event on February 17th. Join the group here.

Social Media Cafe Manchester – March 2nd, Venue TBC. Join the Ning here.