Stephen Collins, Social Media and TEDx Canberra

March 15, 2010 By Des Walsh

Leading Australian thinker on social media in business and government, Stephen Collins on Des Walsh & Friends

I’m sure consistency is valuable for building an audience for a podcast program, such as my Des Walsh & Friends program, but last week it was rather pleasant not to have to rise at 5 am as I usually do for my 6 am (Australian eastern time) show. The bit of indulgence was because my guest was fellow Australian, Canberra-based Stephen Collins, one of the most prolific thinkers and doers I know in the social media space.

It made sense, as well as being mutually convenient, to run the show in the early afternoon of our time zone.

To listen, click on the player below or download the episode from the link at the end of this post.

Living and working as he does in the Australian National Capital, Stephen has a special insight into and practical experience of how social media works in government, as well as in business.

Some comments:

There are a lot of government agencies, federal, state and local, together with Australian businesses, now using social tools to be able to communicate more efficiently with their customers, constituents and other stakeholders.
There is a recognition it’s about much more than marketing, or simply a better way of selling stuff.
Marketing should be the least interesting thing you can do, in government or business

Among his many activities, Stephen is the founder of Social Media Club Canberra. SMC Canberra operates as a breakfast, or coffee or lunch event, usually on a fortnightly basis. The style is casual.

He is also the licensed organiser of TEDx Canberra. We talked about TED, self-described on its website as “the nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading” and famous for its four day, now five day annual events held simultaneously in Long Beach and Palm Springs (TEDActive) California, and the local TEDx versions, one of which Stephen with a group of fellow volunteers, is organising for Canberra, October 23, 2010 – TEDx Canberra.

Stephen on TED:

It’s like spending a week in a classroom with the 500 smartest people you’ve ever met
You bury yourself in big thinkers for a week and it’s crazy and it’s inspiring
People for whom “No” or “not possible” isn’t an answer
An amazing mix of people

On TEDx Canberra:

TEDx Canberra will feature a selection of Australia’s leading speakers, innovators and storytellers showcasing their Ideas Worth Spreading.

The organisers are still open for speaker suggestions and for sponsorships to defray costs – sponsorship in-kind preferred, including sponsorship of specific elements of the program (AV costs, refreshments etc).The expectation is for an attendance number around 300 and the aim is to make admission free.

We also spoke briefly about Barcamp, the unconference. Stephen and colleagues have now run three barcamps in Canberra.

Stephen explains what he does at his company acidlabs as: “I make websites not confusing to use”. We could all use more of that!

To find out more about this social media dynamo, including how he and his company acidlabs, could help your business or organization, check out his website, acidlabs and find him on Twitter at @trib.

[If the player above does not appear, use this link to hear the recording].

Image credit: Stephen Collins, from trib via Flickr, Creative Commons

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Barcamp Canberra, Social Media, Stephen Collins, TED, TEDxCanberra

Stephen Collins, acidlabs.org: Interview

March 20, 2009 By Des Walsh

This interview with Stephen Collins, CEO of acidlabs.org, at the end of the day’s proceedings at Enterprise 2.0 Executive Forum in Sydney on Feb 24 is like a good espresso – strong and short. It’s strong because of the clarity and focus of Steve’s observations. It’s short because the batteries on the Flip camera ran out!

I had thought of not posting it because it finishes rather abruptly. Then I decided that would be a waste of the valuable comments Steve provides on the state of the Enterprise 2.0 nation in Australia right now, drawing on the day’s presentations.

And it is a positive picture, for example in that, as Steve mentions, we now have some real case studies, with real stories of execution, from Australia. I concur: so good not to have to rely solely on overseas case studies to tell the story and help make the business case.

Steve comments approvingly that one of the key messages through the day was that getting Web 2.0 adopted effectively is “all about people’s problems long before it is about technology problems”.

Filed Under: Enterprise 2.0, Social Media, Web 2.0 Tagged With: acidlabs, Australia, Canberra, E2EF, Enterprise 2.0, Stephen Collins, Web 2.0

Successful Launch for Social Media Club Canberra

January 16, 2009 By Des Walsh

Great news from the Australian National Capital: house full at Social Media Club Canberra launch

It looks as if Social Media Club Canberra founder Stephen Collins (aka @trib on Twitter) had a not unpleasant problem at the SMC Canberra launch breakfast this morning in the national capital: evidently a bigger than expected turnout.

Not long before you’ll need the National Press Club, Steve!

Filed Under: Events, Social Media, Social networking Tagged With: @trib, Australia, Canberra, Social Media, Social Media Club, Stephen Collins

First Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp in the Southern Hemisphere

August 25, 2008 By Des Walsh

Web 2.0 and social media expert – and friend – Stephen Collins has teamed up with US based hinchcliffe & company to deliver their Web 2.0 University programs in Australia and New Zealand. That tells me that Web 2.0 University, which frankly I had not heard of until now (not that that means anything other than what it says) is a quality item (otherwise Stephen would not have touched it).

Web 2.0 University offers participants “a thorough grounding in the revolutionary world of Web 2.0, a set of design patterns and business models that are reshaping the face of the Web today”. Stephen Collins

Stephen, CEO of acidlabs, is not only a human dynamo, highly entrepreneurial and an active participant in online social networks. He is also immensely knowledgeable about Web 2.0 and all sorts of related geeky subjects. He is an excellent communicator, generous with suggestions and advice to others and has the gift of being able to explain very geeky concepts in terms the rest of us can grasp. And he has a great sense of humour. If you’re not following him yet on Twitter – where his handle is @trib – you’re missing out.

From conversations with Stephen and an interview I did with him some months ago, I know that he has a keen sense of the challenges facing companies in terms of grasping what Web 2.0 is about and how to design and implement strategies to get the most value from what Web 2.0 offers.

And as Stephen’s business is based in Canberra, the Australian national capital, and he does work for government agencies as well as in the corporate/private sector, he also understands the rather special circumstances within which public servants have to operate to wrangle Web 2.0 solutions. I’m not guessing here: I’ve talked to Stephen about this and, as a former public sector executive myself, I know that he knows the language.

So public sector managers and executives, as well as those from the private sector, can be confident of getting value from any course Stephen runs.

The first event planned as part of the linkup with Web 2.0 University, the Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp, happens next month in Sydney, on Tuesday, September 23, as a pre-conference day for the Web Directions South conference, September 23-26.

The Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp is described in the company brochure as follows:

An in-depth, single-day workshop that explores the use of social media platforms to increase collaboration productivity and business outcomes by using Web 2.0 tools. Includes a detailed examination of early case studies and best practices.

For more information such as who the program is geared for, see the explanation on the Web 2.0 University site under Web 2.0 Bootcamp.

I understand from Stephen that the regular market value of the bootcamp is US$895, which is just over AU$1,000 today. The inaugural southern hemisphere Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp is being offered for less than 50% of that price, AU$450. A steal.

You can register for Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp at https://secure.webdirections.org/wds08/register/billing

Filed Under: Enterprise 2.0, Web 2.0 Tagged With: acidlabs, Stephen Collins, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Executive Bootcamp, Web 2.0 University

Enterprise 2.0 and Knowledge Management: Interview with Stephen Collins

February 12, 2008 By Des Walsh

Picture courtesy Ruth Ellison

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen Collins, Founder and CEO of acidlabs, a company focused on supporting enterprises with the organization and management of knowledge.

After speaking with Stephen, I’m even more convinced than previously that private and public sector enterprises need to address seriously the implications of the social media revolution. “Wait and see” is a recipe for going backwards.

Stephen is passionate about this. As his website says and as the interview shows “Stephen is more than a little passionate about leveraging great social applications as a way to help people and organisations do their jobs better.”

We talked about:

how Stephen works with companies (if you are looking for someone savvy to help your company or to partner with, you need to listen to this)
how valuable and enjoyable he found it to meet others with related interests at Office 2.0 in San Francisco last year and how those meetings were made easier using social networking tools
how risk-taking is inherent in corporate social networking and how to manage the risk, e.g. by starting within the firewall
how younger employees are using social media tools even though they are not provided by the enterprise
how companies implementing social networking can and should engage employees in a conversation about acceptable use obligations that come with the provision of tools

The interview runs for about 30 minutes. You will notice that in the lead-in and exit comments I mention that this interview is part of the Social Media Show, the new podcast show I’m setting up. The site is actually being set up over the next 24 hours: once it is up the interview will be posted there too.

Click here to download…

Stephen and acidlabs are partnering with Ross Dawson’s Enterprise 2.0 Executive Forum, billed as providing “a pragmatic overview of how Web 2.0 and social media technologies are being applied inside the enterprise to create business value”. The Forum is to be held next Tuesday, February 19, in Sydney, Australia, with a great lineup of speakers, some of whom we will be watching and listening to via live video streaming from the USA and Europe. If you are going to be there, I hope you will say hello on the day.

I’m hoping to interview, over the next week or two, some of the other partners and participants in the Forum.