The annual conference, SpotOn London, will be taking place at the Wellcome Trust on Friday, 14 November and Saturday, 15 November 2014. The two day event, which marks its sixth year, will be hosted by Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Digital Science and the Wellcome Trust.  We’re also delighted to have Martin Fenner of PLOS joining us as a co-organiser again this year. SpotOn London is a dynamic, lively melting pot of scientists, science communicators, technologists, and those interested in science policy.

This year’s theme will be on the challenges of balancing the public and the private in the digital age. Friday will see panels, workshops and keynotes on topics including: sharing sensitive data, measuring social impact, open peer review and the right to be forgotten. In an exciting change to our Saturday programme, SpotOn London will be hosting an unconference completely picked and run by the community within this year’s theme. Issues explored will include:

• Is our understanding of where the lines blur between private and public keeping pace with technology?
• How do we balance public interest with the right to privacy when it comes to personal data?
• How much are we prepared to share for our own interests, and do we really know how much we are sharing about ourselves?
• How do we balance personal opinion and professional image on social media?
• Has the right to be forgotten managed to strike a balance between the right of information and the individual’s right to privacy?
• Does scientific peer review need to be open? And would this work?

Tickets cost £60+ VAT including a full day of food and drink and will be on sale soon. Full programme details and further information on how you can submit your session ideas for the unconference will be released soon.

Follow @SpotonLondon and the hashtag #solo14 for updates in advance and during the event.

Two years ago we changed our name to SpotOn London – SpotOn stands for Science Policy Outreach and Tools Online – and we re-structured the conference programme to focus around the three broad topics reflected in our name: i) science communication and outreach ii) online tools and digital publishing and iii) science policy.

Finally, if you’re not already on our mailing list, or if you have any questions, drop us a line at blogs@nature.com and we’ll happily add you!