Unconferences are starting to become mainstream. Events where the attendees themselves shape the discussions Hyper WM in the West Midlands is in its third year. So what did one comms person learn?

by Emma Rodgers

Last week I went to the third Hyper WM in the impressive neon surroundings of the Public. For those who didn’t make it, I thought it would be useful to share what I learnt.  

Hyper WM is a West Midlands unconference that brings together people under the banner of making local government better. There is no set agenda - attendees pitch ideas for what they want to discuss and it goes from there. Ideas become workshops and if there isn’t enough interest, the idea gets shelved and the next idea gets pitched.

At this particular event topics ranged from the welfare reform to open data. I was approached to pitch an idea so put forward e-newsletters for residents, not because I am an expert but because I wanted to learn from others about how they did it. That’s one of the great things about unconferences, even if you don’t have all the knowledge someone else will or you will at least be reassured that others are struggling to find a solution too.

So in no particular order here’s my top 3 reasons for going to the next Hyper WM and why I’ll definitely be signing up.

Three years ago at the Hyper WM unconference a press officer kicked off a heated debate with bloggers by claiming that he didn't see the point in talking to them. Three years on he's just signed-up a blogger to his press release distribution list. So, has his personal views changed? Errr, not exactly...

by Mark Allen

A few years ago I went to an unconference in Walsall and was met by some very closed minded bloggers – very dismissive of traditional media.

Just lately, bloggers and other non-journalists who have been posting comments in the media spotlight.

I'm so glad that a Tory Lord is looking to prosecute some of those people. It is time social media played by the rules the rest of us have to - I thought I would put forward my point of view.

Other delegates at the unconference seemed shocked that I said I would always give print and traditional media  like radio, and TV more priority if I was on deadline for a number of outlets and had an number of enquiries to answer.

To me it is a no-brainer. In my experience bloggers are the the online version of jazz musicians.

I was struck by how many people – mostly local bloggers – seemed to write off the newspaper and local radio industries their online partners as yesterday’s news.  It is obvious they have never tried to get a message out to a large group of people.

Having gone down the traditional route one forward thinking organisation turned to the awesome power of cake to get the right people.

by Alex Abbott

Having presented at the CIPR North Conference on social media, the thing that captured most people’s attention out of all the things I mentioned was our success at recruiting through Twitter.

In particular our #gottalovecake campaign. With this in mind I thought I’d share the story behind the campaign.

So here’s the dilemma: We have five communications roles ready to recruit and we advertise in all the traditional spots like Guardian, PR Week, Monster etc.   

The response was … well, luke warm. The result was no suitable candidates. Sound familiar?

Sometimes digital communications can create unexpected results. Take this tweet after a tragic hit and run incident.

Social media is a cruel mistress.

In years gone by communications professionals could pen an informative press release or piece of news and send it out into the world.

Evaluating how well it was received was difficult. Apart from the piece being picked up by the media, and the prominence it received, it was hard to assess how the general public felt about it.

Not today, not thanks to the power of the Like and the Retweet.

Now you can add your piece of news to your social media channel and wait for the verdict. These days we’re awash with stats about online traffic, page views and the many Facebook metrics. Analytics can inform you about ‘reach’ and how many people have seen it, but the one that matters is the Like – the stamp of approval from a grateful public.