Businesses wary of the new world of social networking websites will discover how they can help create wealth at a pioneering conference at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester.

The NLab Social Networks Conference is a two-day exploration of networks such as Facebook and how they – and the new models of communication they represent – can help or hinder businesses. The conference is on June 19 and 20 2008.

DMU’s Professor of New Media Sue Thomas, the conference organiser, said the event is bringing some of the leading minds on social networking from Silicon Valley, London and elsewhere to Leicester.

Speakers include Andrea Saveri from the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California and Steve Clayton, a software and strategy head for Microsoft International in London.

Prof Thomas said: “A lot of companies know this wave of new networks is growing in importance. They acknowledge they are or will be affected by this but don’t understand how. Some are scared by it, but our conference will equip them to harness such networks to work for their business rather than against them.”

The conference is suitable for businesses of all sizes and in any sectors, she added. “Social networking can be used both internally within a business and externally, for instance as a marketing or recruitment tool. It also stimulates creative thinking between colleagues within their own companies and beyond.”

Through a series of workshops and presentations by leading thinkers in the field, delegates will be given ideas on what can be done now to benefit their businesses. One such session is titled Social Networking Beyond The Dogma: Let's Make Some Money.

Prof Thomas said: “People will go away from this event feeling they have more control over the way their company engages with social networking. They will feel more confident and understand the business opportunities of enhancing, protecting and leveraging their reputation.”

Registration for the conference, which is at DMU’s Queens Building, is now open. The fee for the two day event, including a networking dinner, is £125. Some concessions are available.

See the conference website: http://www.nlabnetworks.com.