I’m looking forward to attending the latest Social Media Influence 2012 conference in London on 12 June which is now in its seventh year. I remember attending a couple of their first events and was thrilled to be in the company of fellow bloggers, a rarity back then in the UK as we were a much rarer breed in those days.

I remember smiling to myself as PR delegates in the audience asked the panel, “But how can we control online conversation if our company starts blogging? What if somebody says something negative about them?”

As we all know, it happens, but it is how it is managed that is crucial for companies who must listen and share concerns of their customers, and respond accordingly; companies now understand that the conversation is global.

I’m particularly looking forward to hearing Francis Brindle, Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at the British Library, as my blog is archived there. Another key speaker I shall be keen to meet is Alex Balfour, head of new media for London 2012, whose task is to  oversee the London 2012 Olympic Games’ internet results and information service across web, mobile and social media and is expected to record over 1 billion visits. Alex was also a senior member of a team that built the Guardian newspaper’s websites, and in 2011 he was one of Wired Magazine’s top 100 digital influencers and one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 most influential Londoners, so he’s pretty hot!

It will be great to see the charming duo Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans again, both founders of Social Media Influence.

Here is the programme for the day, and a full list of speakers. I look forward to seeing you there.