Better Moderation Seminar September 27, 2007

Note: The event will be limited to 15 organisations, in order to allow for time to consider each organisation’s questions and dilemmas. More than one person from an organisation can book, however. Tickets cost £110 per person and must be booked through the link below before the event.

Organisations and brands are keen to adopt social media tools and invite contributions from members, supporters and consumers. But there is a potential problem. Inviting your former audience to contribute to your website carries certain risks. What you want is a constructive, healthy community that is contributing to and supporting your efforts. What you could end up with is a divisive and destructive realm of anarchy that leads to media scandals, court appearances and hefty fines.

This seminar is designed to allay those fears with a practical toolkit of advice, tips and examples of best practice.

The seminar will be structured to provide three formal sessions covering key aspects of the topic followed by a less formal ‘clinic’ session in which attendees can ask about issues that are affecting or might affect their own community and user-generated content sites. We’ve drawn together three experts in online communities to provide the best information available on the topic.

The event is targeted at anyone who is running or wants to run a community or user-generated content site and wants to know how to make it run as smoothly and as fruitfully as possible.

Tamara Littleton will lead the first session with guidelines for creating healthy, safe and valuable community environments. How can you stop trouble from ever starting and use a velvet glove rather than an iron fist to guide the community. This will be followed by Paul Massey’s overview of how the law might affect the moderation of community sites. From copyright to defamation, he’ll advise on how to steer clear of the long arm of Law. Lizzie Jackson will discuss the ways in which better facilitation can create the atmosphere in which moderation is almost unnecessary and the ingredients for creating that environment. Following these sessions, attendees will be able to quiz our experts regarding issues that they have or anticipate on their own sites, and also to learn from the experiences of other delegates.

Tamara Littleton is eModeration’s CEO and founder. She has an established background in editorial quality control, fault escalation and process management gained from previous work as the Product Delivery Director for Chello Broadband and Online Operations Manager for BBC Online. Tamara is a member of the Home Office Committee advising the British Government on moderation of communities to help safeguard children and she is also the Chair of e-mint, the online community for community professionals.

Lizzie Jackson created and ran BBC Communities. She is now a Consultant for Online Communities at Children’s BBC. Lizzie was voted ‘One of the 100 Innovators of the UK Internet Decade’ in October 2004 by NOP World and e-consultancy.com.

Paul Massey is an associate at law firm K&L Gates and he practices in the Intellectual Property field. Paul’s experience includes advising on patent and domain name disputes, trade marks, copyright, and design rights with a focus on telecommunications, digital technologies and e-commerce.

Official Website: http://69.89.31.94/~nmkcouk/2007/07/10/better-moderation-seminar/