IABC - International Association of Business Communication, Wellington, New Zealand

It’s that time of year when everyone in management gets a bit more squinty-eyed looking at their budgets. One particularly stubborn challenge can be the ballooning costs of proprietary software licences, which consume IT budgets before breakfast …

Former IABC Wellington President Simon Pleasants, reporting on IABC Wellington’s latest event, captures some of the highlights.

Chris Hall, IABC Chief Information Officer

IABC Wellington members and guests last week hosted IABC Chief Information Officer Chris Hall, over here from IABC World Head Office in San Francisco, at the Technology on a Shoestring event.

Chris suggests amongst other things:

• A full suite of office software — wordprocessing, spreadsheets, presentations etc: www.openoffice.com
• Manipulate all sorts of images with a Photoshop emulator: Gimp (for power users) or Irfanview (lighter weight)
• Create portable document format files with pdfcreator instead of Adobe Acrobat
• Stop that RAM-munching malware with Malwarebytes: http://www.anti-malware-2010.org/
• Get a multi-located team working together better with online collaboration tools … Chris mentioned Basecamp is useful, but there’s a small monthly charge.
• More happy delving in the cornucopia of geeky delight that is the open source community at Sourceforge.

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All IABC members, as part of our membership fees, have access to a wealth of online resources but do you know what they are? Or how to access them?

Join Chris Hall, Senior VP Operations and Chief Information Officer at IABC for a fast-paced and in-depth tour of the many resources online at IABC.

Find out about tools like eXchange, Marketplace, MMA, MyComm, Memberspeak, member search, free Knowledge Centre tools, templates and reports, Leader Centre resources, chapter hosting options and IABC’s upcoming online library initiative.

About Chris Hall
Chris Hall is Senior VP Operations & CIO at IABC World Headquarters in San Francisco. Chris has worn many hats in his 20+ year IT career, from software developer, database architect, network and security engineer to project manager, e-communications maven and social media advocate. In his 8+ years at IABC, he has survived two iabc.com redesigns, ushered in a lot of new technologies on IABC’s behalf and, with your help, intends to usher in a lot more.

Payment and cancellation policy
Once you have registered you will be emailed an invoice, which can be paid: by sending a cheque (made out to the IABC Wellington and mailed to IABC Wellington, PO Box 25417, Panama St, Wellington 6142) OR by making an online payment to IABC Wellington (that includes your name/invoice no.) IABC National Bank 060565 0820794 00 OR with correct cash at the door on the night of the event.
Please advise any cancellations before Wednesday 14 April 2010. Any cancellations received after this date or “no shows” will be charged. You may nominate another person to attend on your behalf.

Date: Friday 16 April 2010
Time: 12.15pm -2.00pm
Venue: Turnbull House, Bowen Street, Wellington, NZ 6144
Price: FREE to members, $30 for non-members
To register: click here. 

Registrations close end of Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Communicators the world over are frequently asked to pull miracles out of thin air on a razor thin budget.  Join Chris Hall (Senior VP Operations & CIO) in this session where you will learn all about the free software movement, why open source is here to stay and how to leverage crowdsourcing for your next project. You’ll find out everything from free alternatives to Microsoft Office and Photoshop products to free options for audio/video editing and conversion tools.

About Chris Hall

Chris Hall is Senior VP Operations & CIO at IABC World Headquarters in San Francisco. Chris has worn many hats in his 20+ year IT career, from software developer, database architect, network and security engineer to project manager, e-communications maven and social media advocate. In his 8+ years at IABC, he has survived two iabc.com redesigns, ushered in a lot of new technologies on IABC’s behalf and, with your help, intends to usher in a lot more.

Payment and cancellation policy

Once you have registered you will be emailed an invoice, which can be paid: by sending a cheque (made out to the IABC Wellington and mailed to IABC Wellington, PO Box 25417, Panama St, Wellington 6142) OR by making an online payment to IABC Wellington (that includes your name/invoice no.) IABC National Bank 060565 0820794 00 OR with correct cash at the door on the night of the event.

Please advise any cancellations before Wednesday 14 April 2010. Any cancellations received after this date or “no shows” will be charged. You may nominate another person to attend on your behalf.

Date: Friday 16 April, 2010
Time: 2.15pm
Venue: Turnbull House, Bowen Street, Wellington, NZ 6144
Price: FREE for IABC members. $30 for non-members, who should pay at the door.  $15 SPECIAL for communicators working in the not-for-profit sector who regularly work magic on a shoestring budget.
To register: click here.

Registrations close end of Wednesday, 14 April 2010

According to the 2009 “Managing Reputation” survey by Senate Communications and Baseline Consultancy, 80 percent of CEOs regard their company reputation as their greatest asset, and their greatest risk. This is followed by the fact that 90 percent of businesses think they are in control of their reputation.

However, there is a serious disconnect. Current monitoring doesn’t reflect identified risks, and senior journalists believe CEOs don’t know how to deal with a crisis, underestimate the power of the media, and don’t respond well when they are at fault.

So who is right? How are New Zealand businesses managing their reputation? And who is doing it well and how are they doing it?

Senate Communications managing partner, Neil Green, will discuss the findings of the recently launched survey and the “menu of top tips” that accompany it. The presentation will be followed with an open discussion on managing reputational risk.

Date: Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Time: 5.15-6.45pm
Venue: Level 4, Deloitte House, 10 Brandon Street, Wellington, NZ 6144
Price: This event is FREE to IABC members, $30 for non-members who should pay cash at the door. Wine and nibbles provided.
To register: Registrations for this event have closed.

An action-orientated communications specialist with strong skills in public advocacy and internal communication is required for the role of Communications Adviser – Public Awareness and Internal Communications.

A major function of the Families Commission is to promote public awareness on issues affecting families, and to be an influential advocate for positive change that benefits families. This position will make a significant contribution to achieving this objective.

Working within a small but dynamic communications team, you will have a significant role in a diverse range of public awareness projects. You will also be responsible for the Commission’s internal communications.

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The fourth AGM of the IABC Wellington Chapter took place on Wednesday 24 February at the Wellesley Club and resulted in the election of Michael Mead as President for the 2010. As immediate Past President, Shona Brown becomes Senior Delegate. The new Board for 2010 (roles are yet to be formally agreed) now comprises:

• Bridget Latter
• Iain McLean
• Brad Tattersfield
• Debbie Gee
• Amanda Woodbridge
• Emma McCleary
• Christine Langdon
• Paul Giles.

IABC Wellington President for 2009, Shona Brown’s overview of her full report follows:

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