Posted by Doug Lacombe

Credit: dreamstime.com

Everyone knows the first month of the New Year always represents an opportunity for change, renewal, and a fresh start. Calgary associations seem to be taking this fresh start very seriously with a dizzying array of events to choose from in Q1 alone. Forget six degrees (or pixels) of separation, if you go to all of these you’ll know everyone in Calgary! Well, almost. At least you’ll beef up your LinkedIn profile!

Here’s a sampling of some excellent “communications” events I’m either involved in or aware of:

• Jan 18 – Third Tuesday evening lecture and pub meetup - Yes it’s called Third Tuesday and yes, this event is on a Monday, but that’s when social media rock star Julien Smith was available! Julien is co-author with Chris Brogan of Trust Agents, a New York Times best-seller that has been singled out on Amazon.com as one of the top 10 business and investing books of 2009.
• Jan 19 – CPRS breakfast – Issues Management at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games – On the eve of the Vancouver Olympics CPRS Calgary is hosting a breakfast with John Larsen, acting as the military’s Senior Liaison Officer to the Government Operations Centre – Government Partners Public Affairs Group (GPPAG). Learn how his highly skilled team is working on issues management to tackle risk and crisis communications issues potentially affecting the games.
• Jan 19 – IABC lunch – The Digital Discussion – It all used to be so simple – segment your audience, target a demographic, pick the media mix that best reaches that group, launch your campaign and count impressions. Now audiences are migrating to the Internet in increasing numbers, while mainstream media struggles to survive. So should communicators turn their sights from the press to the net?
• Jan 19 – CMA/Digital Alberta supper/keynote – New Years Evolution – Digital visionary Alexander Manu is coming to Calgary January 19, and you are invited! Prepare yourself for the 2.0 world now, with the keen insight Manu normally reserves for the Fortune 500. A great deal for members at $55, or $95 for non-members, for this must-attend business keynote.
• January 21 – CIRI day-long seminar – Write it Right - Write it Right is an intensive one-day workshop for professionals in investor relations, financial services and the securities industry. It is designed to help make your writing more effective and dynamic.
• Feb 24 – CPRS lunch – Public Engagement Around Calgary’s LRT Extension - What does it take to communicate with a City of 1,000,000+ on issues impacting the community? Come and here how the City of Calgary is conducting its extensive stakeholder engagement process to build support and provide opportunites for involvement in the City’s LRT Expansion program.
• Mar 9/10 – Canadian Institute conference – Managing Social Media - Champions of social media suggest that social media is not a business risk; not using social media is a business risk. Indeed, social media applications can be great tools for your organization and many are seeing the value first-hand. But with value comes volatility, with reward comes risk. As more and more organizations dip their toes in the social media pool, now is the time to learn to truly manage these evolving tools.

Do you have any Calgary PR, marketing, or investor relations events to recommend  for Q1/2010? Suggest for publication via the comments below.