Getting Social at Web 2.0 Expo Berlin

Many publishing businesses are heavily involved with the events business too, and I find the growing use of the web to support conferences before they occur increasingly fascinating. In a blog post earlier in the week, Janetti Chon outline the [online initiatives they’re using to support Web 2.0 Expo Berlin](http://blog.web2expo.com/2008/09/dear-europe/) this year. 

There’s a [social network for the event at Crowdvine](http://webexberlin2008.crowdvine.com/). I first saw these springing up for conferences last year, and they’re a really excellent way of identifying in advance contacts who will be at the event. Here’s [my profile in the network](http://webexberlin2008.crowdvine.com/profiles/30631).

There’s a whole series of satellite events around the conference (not unlike the ones you see at our party conferences in the UK, I suppose), including a [BarCamp](http://barcampberlin3.mixxt.org/), which are being gathered together under the banner of [Berlin Web Week](http://berlinwebweek.de/). 

And then there’s the [blogger outreach programme](http://blog.web2expo.com/2008/09/blogging-web-20-expo-europe/), of which I am a part. That’s why I have a handy-dandy [discount code for Web 2.0 Expo Berlin](http://www.onemanandhisblog.com/archives/2008/09/web_20_expo_berlin.html), that you can use to save 35% off the registration price. Just use the code webeu08gr9 when you [register](https://en.oreilly.com/webexberlin2008/public/register). I’d really like to get some blogger outreach going with some of RBI’s events, so I’m finding my participation in the programme an educational experience…