The Intranet Now experience
Easy registration
Join us early to pick up your name badge. No ticket needed, we have you on the list!
Head into the exhibition space for coffee and carbs, and grab yourselves a sticker – or 7? It’s our 7th conference and this autumn we’re encouraging conversation starters by talking about a neutral ground – us! Will it be your first time, or have you been coming to Intranet Now from the very beginning? What are you there to find out about? What should people expect?
Even if you don’t leave with a new friend, you’re certain to meet people with similar responsibilities to you. Not something you can always say, considering the diverse skillsets within the digital crowd.
Exhibition space
The venue is dissected by the old Roman wall of London, so take a selfie with a genuinely historic backdrop, before swanning around our exhibitor stands with a hot beverage.
The place will soon fill up, so get in early to meet friends, acquaintances, and new people before the conference begins. Take a look at the workshop outlines and table talk topics – if you’ve got a question about them, we’re sure our partners will be happy to help!
Kick off with a keynote
The conference opens with a sharp keynote (only 18 minutes) from our platinum partners – more on this to follow!
Lightning talks
There’s much discussion about the optimal short-talk length, but we know that 9 minutes is the sweet spot! We started Intranet Now in 2014 with 5-minute talks, in later years we experimented with 7, and now we know that 9 minutes is perfect. It’s just enough time to lay out a problem, explore the solution(s) and discuss the impact upon people and the organisation. Plus, and this is not being uncharitable at all, if a talk doesn’t interest you, well, we have like a dozen other talks coming up in just a few mins! The agenda covers many aspects of communications, engagement, and collaboration within the digital workplace.
SNAQs
Lightning talks are so fast-paced, there’s no time for your questions. Or is there?!
Before lunch we’ll hand the mic over to you for your 60-second hot take, or question you’d like to talk to people about throughout the afternoon. You’ll have just heard from some great presenters throughout the morning and now it’s time to add your hot_reaction_.gif — Start by saying “This is more of a statement, not a question” (SNAQ, get it?) to be sure of a warm reception.
Breaks
Each break is a chance to catch up with your peers and friends, and make new acquaintances. There’s a good bunch of digital-types that always come to Intranet Now, but I don’t mind telling you that there were loads of brand-new people at the last conference.
We want everyone to feel welcome, and to feel comfortable and confident in discussing their own experiences and challenges. With so much expertise in the room, it’s a brilliant opportunity to connect with people who understand the digital landscape. [Insert promo of IN LinkedIn and Twitter here.] Use everybody’s elemental sticker to start a conversation – debate the pros and cons of typecasting.
Workshop
Straight after lunch, head to either your chosen workshop, or back into the conference hall for table talks.
While there are multiple workshops available, we ask that you choose, and register, for only one.
The workshop leaders will be on stage just before the first break to ‘sell’ you their workshop, and you register on paper during the break (or lunch).
While the workshop is only 40 minutes, it’s great to slow the pace and explore one topic in more depth.
Table talks
When not in a workshop, you’ll be in two informal discussions at tables in the conference hall. Pick your topic, or simply sit with your favourite speaker, and discuss your real-life digital challenges with a small group of peers for 20 minutes.
We’ve tried to take as much pain as we can out of ‘networking’ – with stickers, breaks, table talks and a workshop — you’re not sat in the same chair all day, and you’ll naturally meet new people and get into fresh conversations. If you’re an introvert (or a tired omnivert / ambivert like me), you’re welcome to step outside for a breath, but we hope you’ll take the opportunity to learn with peers outside of your usual circle for at least one table talk.
The debate
We’ll be discussing the best way to govern a digital workplace, with three speakers giving alternate points of view.
It’s more than a panel discussion, as each debater gets to set out their approach in a mini-presentation first. We hope that seeing the success three people have had with different approaches illuminates your intranet choices.
And we hope the debate sparks additional thoughts and concerns from you, as we’ll throw out a roving mic to you in the audience for your questions (and statements) for the debaters to consider. Like I always say, nobody at Intranet Now is an attendee, everybody is a participant.
Not the end
The roving mic brings us to the end of our summer conference; hopefully, we’ll have not only seen some presentations that stick in the mind, but will also have heard some insights from the crowd that we can all reflect upon and take back to the office on Monday.
We’ll publish the photos from the day, and many of the presentation files, so we’ll email you with details and continue the conversation within our LinkedIn Group.
Will you join us?
If you haven’t already got your ticket, Lisa and I invite you to check out our tickets and consider the benefits of bringing teammates from across your organisations. Lessons are easier to learn (and implement) when more than one of you ‘gets it’.
If you’re working to improve communications, collaboration, and productivity across your organisation (and care about people) then Intranet Now is an invaluable experience that will boost your knowledge and energy.
Intranet Now is brought to you by the letters d i g i t a l and w o r k p l a c e by Lisa and Wedge with the support of our sponsors.