In partnership with Technology Ireland Innovation Forum, Trinity College and the ADAPT Centre, Dublin, Digital Catapult* invites you to join this half-day workshop in Dublin on Tuesday 17 April. 

What is and how will the future social media look, how we are going to get there, and what has to be done to enable it? It’s well known that during the last one-two decades, social media applications have introduced significant changes to the way people and businesses communicate, and moreover, to the way entire online communities are established and organised through common interests.

Its capabilities are tremendous to obtain information about the acceptance of a new product or service, identification of needs, or even the determination of ways to influence particular social acts and events. Opportunities as much as challenges are abundant – be it in relation to data protection, consumer trust, new areas of social media brought on by the convergence of technologies, disruption to business and cooperation models, and citizen/user education. 

As advanced digital technologies** – immersive, intelligent, data-driven and future networks – become more prominent in enhancing users’ social experiences, technology providers and creative content makers need to work together effectively in order to deliver relevant, accessible, cutting edge and user-focused innovations, products and services.     

A little more info

Digital Catapult is delivering this workshop and Open Call as part of the Horizon 2020-funded Vital Media project. As part of our contribution to the project (which comes to a close on 30 May 2018), we are creating networking events within the UK and Europe to facilitate collaboration between technologists and creative content makers, and the creation of a roadmap for digital media content and media innovation. A snapshot report from the first event that we held, in April 2017, can be found at https://nem-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/new-realities-report-presentation-april17.pdf.  

Vital Media is aligned with the NEM (New European Media) Initiative - one of the largest research and innovation communities focused on media and content in Europe. The Towards the Future Social Media White Paper was published in December 2017 aiming to identify the next steps towards the future social media, including required research and innovation activities to achieve defined goals, as well as related standardisation, regulatory, and policy actions – underpinned with a European approach. 

** For the purpose of this workshop and Open Call, we describe advanced digital technologies as:

• Immersive (Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, haptics)
• Intelligent (Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML))
• Data-driven (blockchain/distributed ledger, cybersecurity)
• Future networks (5G, low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), IoT) 

Agenda

10.00am: Arrive and refreshments

10:30: Welcome, introductions, overview and objectives of the day

• Audrey Crosbie, Industry liaison Manager, Trinity College (5 mins) “Welcome to Trinity, industry engagements and commercialisation of research”
• Kathryn Geels, Policy, Strategy & Reseacrh Lead, Digital Catapult (5 mins) “Driving the early adoption of advanced digital technologies” 

Key note: Mark Little, CEO and co-founder of NevaLabs (15 mins). Mark was Founder of world’s first social news agency, Storyful, and led Twitter's media team in Europe. He's also a former TV news anchor and foreign correspondent. Mark is building solutions for those who want a more productive and empowering news experience.

Prof Vinny Wade, Diretor, ADAPT Centre (5 mins) “Transforming Global Content, Managing the Global Conversation, Personalising the User Experience”

11.00: Panel session and provocation: Innovation opportunities and barriers for future social media for technology providers, creative content makers and research.

Chair:  Prof Vinny Wade 

• Mark Little, Co-Founder, NevaLabs
• Jennifer Jones, Media for Communities - Research, Education, Advocacy and Lecturer in Service Design, Scotland's Service Design Academy
• Kevin Marks, Decentralised Web Fellow consulting on standards, data and strategy, Digital Catapult and University of Cambridge
• Prof. Dave Lewis, Deputy Director for Industry Spokes, Trinity College Dublin / ADAPT Centre

12:00pm: Refreshment break (grab a quick tea / coffee and settle in for the pitches)

12:10: Future social media pitch session: Three Open Call finalists pitch their innovation to the investor and accelerator community (10min pitch / 10min questions from panel)

Pitchers

• Tony Burke and Keith Curley : Gladcloud. Gladcloud has developed an Integrated Enterprise SaaS platform that connects Brands and On-Demand Services with their affiliated merchant partners, addressing the key parallel challenges and opportunities of improving customer engagement and increasing revenue at each merchant partner location. Gladcloud’s platform provides these Brands and On-Demand Services with: - Aggregation & AI-based analysis of Social & Review data at scale for both affiliated and potential merchant partners (e.g. Restaurants & Bars), - An integrated, easy-to use-dashboard within On-Premise portals for these local merchant partners to better manage customer engagement on social and review sites and, - Simple to use social video advertising tools to increase revenue at each location by publishing unique, customised and locally relevant video ads at scale across multiple platforms”

• Luke Rynne Cullen, Conor Clery and Eoin O’Reilly : Applaud Events. Applaud Events is an online booking platform for performers. We are aspiring to develop into a Tripadvisor/Airbnb style website, with the networking qualities of LinkedIn. We are implementing an escrow service for performers to get paid once both parties verify the booking. Our MVP includes integrated spotify, soundcloud, bandcamp, youtube and so much more to allow performers to showcase their best content on their profiles, like an online portfolio. We are also aiming to provide a crowdfunding feature that allows performers to set goals like kickstarter/gofundme, this will assist in the websites promotion as the performers will advertise it themselves.

• Nikita Zdanov and Ilya Kuznetsov : Fussy. Fussy's innovation will use AI to recommend relevant, local Instagram micro-influencers to promote and review restaurants to their highly engaged and local following. Accumulated data will also be used to help improve restaurant operations and increase revenue for restaurants.

Judging panel

• Chair: Liam Cronin - Executive Director, ADAPT Centre
• Alison Crawford - Director, University Bridge Fund 
• Neil Gordon - Start-up support Manager, Trinity College
• Thomas Melia - Senior Commercialisation Specialist, Enterprise Ireland 
• Julian Seymour - Syndicates Manager, Halo Business Angel Network  

1:15: Networking and ‘table talks’ lunch (sit-down lunch in 1592 restaurant in Trinity Dinning hall)

2.30 - 3:30: 

• Mentoring session for the three finalists 
• 1:1 brokering session for the participants with each other or experts 
• AND/OR
• Workshop participants have the opportunity to partipate in a talk with
• Liam Cronin re. Business Model Canvas development
• Declan McKibben about how to create impactful prototypes / MVPs

Getting there: Refer to this map for how to get to the venue https://www.tcd.ie/Maps/map.php?b=238.