Get Social, Do Business - And have fun - Social Connections, 4 July 2011

This from @StuartMcIntyre

Good morning.

The first Social Connections event is now just days away, taking place on Monday 4th July.  Thank you for registering for the event, we can't wait to meet with you on Monday.

The event takes place at Salvation Army's International Headquarters in London.  The address is:

The Salvation Army
International Headquarters
101 Queen Victoria St
London
EC4V 4EH

Here is the Google Maps link. There is no parking available on site, so public transport is definitely the preferred method of getting there.  The Blackfriars underground station is closed at present (though the mainline station is still operating), so use either Mansion House (Circle/District Line) or St Pauls (Central Line) - both are within 400m of the location.  On entering the building reception, turn right to go down a level to the Cafe 101, a you will see signs pointing you to the area being used for this event.

Registration opens at 9:00am, with the welcome and keynotes kicking off at 9:30am.  Thanks to our great sponsors (Portal and Ascendant Technology), breakfast will be served as you arrive, and all refreshments will be provided through the day. Sessions will end at approximately 5:00pm, with the option to retire to a local pub or restaurant for those that wish to continue the conversation - more information will be provided at the event.

The full agenda has been published on the Social Connections site - we have a packed schedule lined up, with a series of 30 minute sessions to keep the pace high and the topics varied.  We have a mix of great speakers from IBM UK, the IBM Dublin labs, business partners and customers, and will be covering both technical and management areas.  There is also the opportunity to provide feedback directly to Mike Roche who heads up the Connections development team in Ireland on new features for Connections Next, to ask questions of an expert panel, to discuss how this user group moves forward, and to network throughout the day.  In fact, we will encouraging all our speakers to make time to speak with you - there is no speakers' lounge at this user group, it's all about the connections we can make in the precious time we spend face-to-face.

In short, the organising committee is really excited that so many of you have registered and thank you for making the effort to attend. It will be a great day!  See you on Monday.  If there are any questions before then, please do not hesitate to ask.

(If for any reason you cannot attend the event, please could you cancel your registration on the Social Connections site.  Having an accurate count of numbers really helps us with catering requirements. Thanks.)

See you there :-)