Natasha (right) and Michelle - the IWMW Events team

I am Natasha Bishop, Events and Marketing Manager at UKOLN, responsible for all the logistical arrangements for IWMW.  The Events Team of myself and Michelle Smith are there to ensure that people arrive at the right place, attend the right sessions and eat the right food.

If you have any questions (sensible or otherwise!) you can find us at the registration desk throughout the workshop.

I am the only person to have attended all 13 previous events and am fascinated to see how the Web management community has developed over the past 13 years (which, incidentally has coincided with the period of the Labour government).

I’m looking forward to meeting many of the friends and colleagues I’ve got to know over the years and also to make new contacts.

Particular interests of mine are the ways in which new Web technologies can be used to enrich the effectiveness of events such as IWMW.   We will continue to support use of Twitter at this year’s event (note that the event hashtag this year is “#iwmw10#) and will be using the iwmw Twitter account to provide news and updates (so if you are new to Twitter feel free to follow the iwmw account).

A new feature this year is use of the BuddyPress plugin on this blog which will provide an opportunity for participants to engage with their peers in advance of the workshop.  So as well as the discussions  we will have during the three days at Sheffield I hope that the collaborative aspects of this year’s blog will provide an environment for discussions to be had prior to the event.

I’ve been attending IWMW since 2000 and have been co-chair with Brian Kelly since 2006.  I do a lot of the organisation, pull together the programme, create the Web site and blog and add my feminine touch to the event!