Eva Spiegel is communications director for the League and can be reached at espiegel@cacities.org.

The League of California Cities 113th Annual Conference and Expo is fast approaching, but you still have time to register before the Aug. 30 deadline and study the program to select the sessions most relevant for your city. Mark your calendar now to attend Sept. 21–23 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco. This conference always offers a great investment for your city. During the three-day event, city officials from throughout California come together to attend numerous educational sessions, learn from experts, find resources for their cities and engage with a large network of peers to explore and share solutions to multiple challenges.

Among the broad range of topics geared to cities are several sessions and expert speakers focused on cutting-edge technology and its role in communication between cities, constituents and others. Understanding how to leverage these tools to effectively provide services and information is a critically important skill for elected leaders and city staff.

Featured Speakers

Beth Simone Noveck will speak at Wednesday’s General Session. An expert in open government, Noveck is currently a professor at New York Law School. While serving in the White House as deputy chief technology officer from 2009–11, she coordinated the president’s policy on transparency, participation and collaboration, which resulted in every federal agency and department adopting an Open Government Plan. Noveck’s current work focuses on the future of democracy in the 21st century — specifically, how digital networks impact institutions and how such technologies can be used to strengthen a democratic culture.

Dom Sagolla, co-creator of Twitter, will address attendees at Friday’s featured session. The advent of Twitter and other social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as the popularity of text messaging, have made short-form communication an everyday reality. But expressing yourself clearly in short bursts, particularly in the 140-character limit of Twitter, takes special writing skill. Sagolla’s book, 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form, deals with the deluge of information in social media and how to command an audience using one’s unique voice.

Technology-Related Sessions

Several interesting sessions will focus on technology-related topics, and panel discussions will cover a wide range of applications and practices. As you plan your annual conference schedule, take note of these tech-related break-out sessions:

• Caught in the Net — Tools and Tips for Managing Employee Misconduct and Other Issues in Social Media;
• Guide to Crisis Communications and Strategic Solutions;
• Library Services for Today and Tomorrow;
• Smart Grid — What Cities Can Expect; and
• Winning Marketing and Networking Strategies for Economic Development Success.

All This and More

In addition, the conference offers specialized program tracks designed for mayors and council members, city managers, city attorneys, city clerks, fire chiefs and municipal human resources/employee relations staff.

Don’t miss this impressive array of engaging sessions, speakers and exhibitors. Come learn from the leading experts in the field. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time. Visit www.cacities.org/AC to register online and discover everything in store for you at the 2011 League of California Cities Annual Conference and Expo.

This article appears in the June 2011 issue of Western City
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