Privacy Lab and Networking Skills

Privacy Lab is an excellent opportunity to build your skills in partnering and networking, especially when searching for topics, speakers and host venues and getting the most out of your attendance at a Privacy Lab.

Using Partnering and Networking Skills to Find Speakers

• Search for Privacy NGO's (non-government organizations) in your area. If you don't find any in your area, look for those that are well known internationally, such as Privacy International or EFF. Also check for associations such as the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). From their websites, find a contact you can email to ask for names of privacy experts in your area.
• Ask local librarians. Libraries are strong privacy supporters. Check with organizations such as the Library Freedom Project or the Radical Librarians Collective (UK) to see if they are aware of privacy organizations or experts in your area.
• Check with local universities to see if they have privacy experts on their staffs.
• Check with local Privacy Commissioners offices to see if they have suggestions for speakers
• Check with large global companies that have privacy departments (example: Google, Facebook, Twitter). Ask if they have someone in your area who would like to speak.
• Create a Google Alert for "privacy" - skim through the articles for names of experts and popular topics.
• Check LinkedIn look for keywords of "privacy" and your location.

Create a tracking system for yourself

• The key to networking is to be responsive and organized. Keep track of who you've checked with and what their responses were. Keep track of all the email addresses you've gathered in the process. Create a file system in your email and/or a spreadsheet. Determine what type of tracking system works best for you.
• It's always helpful to have something you can offer in return, so keep track of where you found their name. If you watched a video of a presentation they gave, mention how much you enjoyed it. Or if you found an article related to their topic, attach it.

Using Partnering and Networking Skills to Find Venues

• As you are talking to companies about speakers, ask if they are aware of companies in the area that have large open spaces for community talks. In San Francisco, CA there are several. Most of our SF Privacy Lab hosts are companies.
• Check with local universities to see if they have spaces for hosting community talks.
• Ask libraries - many have community space for meetings or are aware of community spaces.
• Check with local NGO's to see if they have space or are aware of spaces - especially those who would be interested in attending and perhaps co-hosting a Privacy Lab.

Using Networking Skills at the Event

• Make an effort to meet as many people as you can as they arrive at Privacy Lab. Welcome them. Ask them questions like how did they discover Privacy Lab? What topics are they most interested in?
• The second hour of Privacy Lab is open for informal small group discussions and networking. This time is intentionally set aside for people to talk to each other, using the theory that great things happen with passionate people talk to each other.
• Think about what you would like to get from talking to others. Brainstorm a list. Then think about what you will need to do to accomplish these goals. Brainstorm a list of questions you can ask to gently direct the conversations towards what you'd like to get out of it.
• Set a realistic goal for how many people you would like to meet at the event. Base this on your personality type. Are you an extrovert who likes to work the room? Or do you prefer deep conversations with just a few people.
• Create openings for conversation by asking questions that will help you Ask others what they are working on. How did they get interested in privacy? Have they read any good articles on privacy recently? Who are their favorite privacy gurus?