One principal behind the concept of Local Social Summit ‘09 is inclusive participant engagement.  Below is the current summary of one of the panels for people to provide input about what topics should be covered and questions asked.

Please feel to comment here, on the LinkedIn group or via Twitter.

Local Content & Monetisation – A View from Europe

The local media landscape in Europe is unique in many ways and in particular is different to the US market. However, Google still dominates on the search side (both in terms of advertising and traffic volumes) in many European markets and is particularly strong in the UK. Yet Google is also a great source of traffic and revenue for many local publishers. In this panel we examine what makes local media different in Europe.  We will explore how media owners are attracting users and growing traffic. Will look at innovative partnerships and business models. In addition we will discuss what strategies are working for attracting local advertising revenue and look at where growth is coming from 2010 and beyond.
Moderator: Jonathan Ewert, Co-Founder Skepsis Group
Panel:

• Simon Greenman, MD – Online, European Directories
• James Thornett, Executive Product Manager, BBC Local and Location Services
• Ben Barney, Akesios
• Joachim Helfer, Müller Medien
• Roland Bryan, Associated Northcliffe Digital