Visible Banking: w2s

Yesterday, I was speaking at Web 2.0 Strategies 2008 about web 2.0 and online innovations, and I had the pleasure to share my views of social media in the banking industry with some of the key European banks at the EFMA/Microsoft roundtable hosted by my bank.

It was another great day for networking. As usual, it was a pleasure to brainstorm with my peers and fellow members of the EFMA, and I was honored to meet the famous Julie Meyer, Founder and CEO of Ariadne Capital. I also enjoyed Dion Hinchcliffe's presentation on entreprise 2.0.

What's the appetite for social media in the banking industry today?
Even though banks shouldn't wonder anymore if they should embrace web 2.0, it was disappointing that just a couple of banks attended the incisive media event, and very few European banks are currently working on client facing social media projects.

The level of knowledge and understanding is still low in the banking industry. It is a great opportunity for the banks which appreciate the potential of web 2.0 to differentiate themselves.
Think customer advocacy: people's expectations have changed, they want more transparency and they expect their bank to listen to them.

Web 2.0 Strategies 2008 in pictures

Web20strategies2008london

I will speak at the Web 2.0 Strategies 2008 conference in London on Thursday 12 June. The event will be chaired by Euan Semple, ex BBC and social computing expert.

My boss, and fellow blogger, James Gardner asked me to replace him. I will take part to the keynote conversation: Innovators on the spotlight, with Jeremy Gould from the Ministry of Justice, and Salvatore Reina from PWC.

Speakers
I look forward to meeting the other speakers, and in particular:
* Salvatore Reina, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC
* Paul Tarantino, Web 2.0 & eGaming Sector Manager, Sun Micro.
* Stuart Townsend, Startups and Emerging Markets Manager, Sun Micro.
* Jeremy Gould, Head of Internet Communication, Ministry of Justice
* Greg Marsh, Associate, Index Ventures
* Julie Meyer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ariadne Capital
* Jeff Schick, Vice President of Social Software, IBM Lotus
* Ran Shribman, Vice President Sales, Europe & Asia Pacific, WorkLight

Please check the full list of speakers.

Advisory Committee
I look forward to meeting the committe members, and in particular:
* Richard Dennison, Intranet and Channel Strategy Manager, BT
* Ross Mayfield, Chairman, President & Co-founder, Socialtext
* Roo Reynolds, Metaverse Evangelist, IBM

Please check the full list of Committee members.

If you are a startup, a VC firm, a bank, or a major vendor in the online finance space, please do not hesitate to send me an email (cm_langlois[AT]yahoo[DOT]co[DOT]uk) to organize a meeting and shoot a video interview.

Related articles on Visible-Banking.com
* Coverage - Online Retail Banking Services 08 (NYC)
* Coverage FinovateStartup 08 (San Francisco)
* Interview with WorkLight (April 08)