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User Engagement - Highways & By-laws (NMK)

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A communications revolution is happening, putting control of screen-based experiences into the hands of consumers. But can regulators keep up with innovation never mind patrol it? And can safety and unfettered people-power evolve in the same space? This event brings together practitioners in user engagement and those who seek to police its highways to explore the issues...

A communications revolution is happening, a shift in power putting control of screen-based experiences into the hands of consumers. But can the regulators keep up with innovation? And can safety and unfettered people-power evolve in the same space?

This event brings together practitioners in user engagement and those who seek to police its highways to explore the issues...

What are commercial, cultural and regulatory issues for organizations that arise from the increasing popularity of social software and online communities? How can we ensure that we protect participants where necessary without infringing the libertarian spirit of the online world?

Up to now the UK Internet has been self-regulated and Britain is seen as a source of knowledge on the moderation and facilitation of digital social spaces in particular.

In December 2005, the Home Office Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet brought in ‘Good Practice Guidelines for the Moderation of Interactive Services for Children’. In January 2005, moves began to create ‘The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’ which would draw together expertise from police, the children’s charities, ISPs, mobile phone operators, the media and other interested bodies. Their aim? For the UK Internet to be as safe as possible for children and young people.

Can regulation and innovation co-exist?

What impact does this have for your brand, business or media operation? Moves towards the regulation of the Internet to protect minors will also affect all those who provide social and interactive content via the Internet. Will smaller and UK-based businesses get bogged down in new red-tape while the big players (Google, MySpace et al) and massive semi-legal P2P networks (eg YouTube) surge ahead?

With more and more businesses thinking about starting ‘Communities of Practice’ or community areas for customers and clients, will the increasing ‘by-laws’ of the SuperHighway stifle eCommerce, eLearning, and general enjoyment of digital public space?

Session 1: Audience and User Engagement (show & tell)

A look at some of the ways large and small companies are engaging with users online; the benefits and pitfalls, opportunities and infrastructures necessary to facilitate shared public spaces online.

Amazon, eBay and time-shifted TV and radio enable you to get content when it suits you.

‘Audience and User Engagement’ will feature four experts from very different businesses - an eCommerce service, a media organization, a peer to peer network environment and a mobile phone operator – the opportunity to show you how they are engaging with users, and how they are facilitating that engagement.

• Do audiences and users now expect interactive services and social spaces to be offered as a matter of course?
• What benefits do the businesses get from audience and user engagement?
• What benefits do the audiences and users have from interactive, collaborative and community services?
• What future plans do the organizations have to extend their engagement with the public?

Session 2: Facilitation and Regulation

A discussion on the existing and forthcoming regulatory frameworks which are being adopted both here in the UK and globally.

Businesses and organizations including NGOs, Charities and Educational bodies, have been self-regulating online social spaces and services, of whatever kind, since the Internet began. There are moves to bring in legislation, on top of the existing codes of conduct for the operation of chat spaces and moderation (Home Office Task Force).

• The Dfes is putting forward The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill, which will require employers to conduct criminal records checks.

• The Council of Europe Group of Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (CoE MC-S-IS) held its fourth meeting in Strasbourg on the 9th and 10th of March, 2006. Dr Rachel O'Connell and Jo Bryce (University of Central Lancashire, CyberResearch Dept) presented their report which offers classification on what should be considered 'harmful' content re: children and young people. Evidence such as this will help form both industry practice and influence any subsequent legislation.

Chair – Lizzie Jackson, consultant and former Head of BBC Communities

ISPs – Camille De Stempel, Head Of Policy, AOL (UK)

EU Policy (Internet safety) – Rachel O'Connell, Director Cyber Space Research Centre, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England.

Policy for the 'digital social' industry – Tamara Littleton, Acting Chair eMint and CEO of eModeration

Michela Ledwidge - CEO, Mod Films
Michela will be demonstrating the work Mod Films are doing to extend the boundaries of new content forms on the Internet (gaming and content modification around feature films) delivered via the Internet and controllable via a mobile device through the television.

About the Speakers:

Chair: Lizzie Jackson - Editor Internet Safety, BBC; former Manager of BBC Communities; conducting Doctoral research on the facilitation of user generated content.
Lizzie joined BBC Radio in 1982 becoming a senior studio manager in charge of Radio 4. She started Soundbite Productions Limited in 1992 producing series for BBC Radio 2 and 3. She re-trained in Multimedia at Birkbeck and was named 'Multimedia Student of the Year' by the DTI in 1997, this was followed by an EU Funded course for six Television and Radio Producers from across Europe on producing Multimedia run by the BBC, The University of The West of England, Swedish Television and the Institute of Sound and Light in Paris. In 1997 the BBC invited Lizzie to work in the team launching bbc.co.uk, where she co-created 'WebGuide' the BBC's guide to Internet websites, she then built up the BBC’s message boards, live chats and chatrooms from scratch becoming Editor of their online Community. In 1998 she worked with a small team to launch bbc.co.uk/asianlife which was nominated twice in the Guardian's 'Race in the Media Awards.' In 2002/3 Lizzie managed the BBC 's Interactive Presenter Scheme, with BBC Talent. She was a founder member of Emint the online community for community professionals (www.e-mint.org.uk)

Michela Ledwidge - CEO, Mod Films
Michela is a film-maker and systems architect. In 2004, she founded MOD Films with an award from the UK National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts to produce re-mixable films and tools for film re-use. She has been a member of the UK Cabinet Office's Special Interest Group on Open Source Software, and the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Committee. In 2001 she made the short film Horses for Courses awarded the Web3d art prize at SIGGRAPH 2001. In 1993, she set up the first web site in Sydney and the new media consultancy, thequality.com, now based in London. http://michela.thequality.com

Camille De Stempel - Head Of Policy, AOL (UK)
Camille joined AOL in 1995 as Customer Services Manager, AOL France, and became Director of Security and Network Policy, AOL Europe, in February 1998. She was appointed Director of Public Policy, AOL Time Warner in 2002 and covers high priority matters such as law enforcement and security, child protection, data protection and consumer confidence issues from a policy perspective. She previously worked for telecoms companies having read Law at University Paris V. Camille is a board member of ICRA, Vice Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation and a member of the Internet Crime Forum. She sits on both the Law Enforcement and Internet Safety ISPA sub-groups. www.aol.co.uk

Rachel O'Connell - Director Cyber Space Research Centre, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England.
The Cyberspace Unit is currently the UK co-ordinator within SafeBorders, another European Commission funded project working towards a multinational awareness campaign about a safer Internet. The Unit has also carried out research for the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills in the UK. Rachel sits on the Home Office Task Force and Department for Education & Skills Schools Internet Safety Strategy Group. She frequently speaks at online safety and child welfare conferences, and is regarded as an expert in her field by both the British and Irish media. www.internetsafetyzone.com/

Tamara Littleton, Acting Chair eMint and CEO of eModeration
Now CEO of eModeration Limited, an online content moderation and reputation management company (www.emoderation.com), Tamara has an established background in editorial quality control, fault escalation and process management gained from previous work as Product Delivery Director for Chello Broadband, Online Operations Manager for BBC Online and a history in consultancy and publishing. She is a member of the Home Office Sub Committee advising the UK Government on moderation of communities to help safeguard children. She is also Acting chair of e-mint. Tamara is well respected in her arena having been involved in the internet since 1994 and part of the original team that started many of the early BBC communities online. www.emint.org/

Report on the event.

Location

01Zero-One, Hopkins St, Soho, London W1F 0HS.