Following on yesterday’s post by Toby Daniels, we thought it might be helpful to provide some inspirational examples of some ways in which the Social Media Week platform can deliver upon these new ideas of “experience design” for events.

In just a few short years since its inception in February 2009, there have been hundreds of Social Media Week events that have taken place across the fifteen cities that have hosted SMW. It’s true that many of these events have been panel discussions, but there has also been a consistent stream of exciting, innovative and creative attempts to bring people and ideas together while making use of the flexibility of the Social Media Week platform and the outgoing and adventurousness of its community.

While there are countless examples to draw from, I wanted to pull out three particularly innovative ideas that constitute a sort of “trains, planes and automobiles” theme.

TRAINS

Possibly my favorite Social Media Week idea yet, this event in SMW Rome last February really shows how a smart idea can pick up steam and carry a freight train’s worth of impact when executed well and by the right folks (pardon the puns).

“Journey to the Center of the Net”, organized by Augmendy, SMW city partners for both Rome and Milan,took the idea of a pre-SMW kickoff event and put it rails. Many SMW cities host pre-week launch events as press conferences, lunches or virtual events, but Augmendy had the ingenious idea to go above and beyond all of that with a cross-country blast that managed to combine all of the above plus networking, high-speed travel and multiple SMW city connectivity.

How did it all happen? For ”Journey to the Center of the Net”, the Augmendy team worked with SMW Rome sponsor Ferrovie Dello Stato, aka the Italian Rail, to commandeer a high speed train heading from Milan to Rome for an SMW journey like no other. This event pulled in leaders and luminaries from the Italian tech, media and press and invited them to take the three hour trip across SMW cities to connect and learn more about social media “in Italia”. This event featured an immersive cultural speed dating experience where attendees rotated on 10 minute shifts of meeting face-to-face with other train attendees. The event then wrapped with a press conference at the Central Station, where SMW Rome held court throughout the week.

PLANES

Another great example of the flexible, multi-city framework of Social Media Week providing event inspiration in ways no other conference platform can provide includes last February’s participation of PepsiCo, who sent Bonin Bough, their global director of digital media, on a worldwide tour across three cities during the February SMW program.

Beginning at the opening global press conference in New York on the Thursday before the week, Bonin helped commence the week with remarks about SMW and the exciting things to come throughout the week. He then began a whirlwind of activity to discuss the idea of Brands in a Borderless Society that should include the phrase: Don’t Try This At Home:

• He flew to London to oversee PepsiCo involvement in a panel there on the week’s opening day,
• Then flew to Sao Paulo to give a midweek keynote to a packed crowd and
• Finally, returned to New York to provide closing remarks at JWT’s Business Media and Communications Hub

And somehow Bonin even had the energy to attend the official Closing Party that evening! Truly a showcase of what can be accomplished when a conference connects not just a city but a global community, and a great opportunity for PepsiCo to make a worldwide impact in just one week.

AUTOMOBILES

Not every great Social Media Week event idea must involve high-speed transit or international travel.

One great city-focused idea put forth during the February 2010 conference in New York was by an organization called Dollar Van Demos, who decided to enact their unique brand of travel-meets-art on an excited and willing Social Media Week audience. Dollar Van Demos showcase musicians, rappers and comedians performing inside a “dollar van” with real passengers. They brought their talents to SMW by integrating with the platform and to provide rides and entertainment for conference-goers all over the city through tweet and email requests for pickup. Dollar Van Demos Live!” was not just a hit, but a great showcase of how an organization can think outside the box to showcase what the do and connect with a larger network.

See below for a quick example of one Dollar Van Demo captured during the week:

So what can your brand do to take part in Social Media Week this September? Brainstorm and think big, and maybe your organization just might be the one to make a splash this September in your city or perhaps around the globe. If you know already, go here to submit your event or get involved, or contact us if you want help talking through an idea.

The post Trains, Planes And Automobiles: Getting You Outside “The Conference Center” appeared first on Social Media Week.

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli sent us all a very special message – directly from space! – via Twitter. Here’s what Paolo tweeted:

“Greetings to all participants at Social Media Week in Rome!”

He accompanied his message with a beautiful picture of Rome as seen from space!

http://twitter.com/astro_paolo

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/Italy.html

The post Astronaut Says “Hi” to Social Media Week Rome From Space! appeared first on Social Media Week.

• What’s this event called? Journey to the Centre of the Net
• Where will this event be held? A high-speed train going from Milan to Rome
• When will this event be held? Tuesday, February 2, 2011 at 9:15 am
• Who is hosting this event? Journey to the Centre of the Net will be hosted by Augmendy
• What’s this event all about? From Milan to Rome, the first train to discover the opportunities of the Net. Three hours learning about the world of the Internet. A real journey to the center of the Net to understand the full potential of the Internet through a cultural speed dating, 10 minutes face-to -face on a rotation basis, with a renowned host from the Net or a testimonial of the Internet opportunities.
• So, what is Augmendy? According to Augmendy’s site: The Mission of Augmendy, through different types of assets, is putting companies in contact with market participants in social media, creating events and training initiatives.

If you’re in Milan, be sure to pack lightly before boarding this ride to the centre of the Net.

Clare Brown is a contributing writer to the Social Media Week blog and works in Digital Communications at Deep Focus

image source

The post Event Spotlight: Journey to the Centre of the Net, Hosted by Augmendy appeared first on Social Media Week.

Taking place simultaneously in New York, London, São Paulo, Toronto, San Francisco, Rome, and Paris, plus two to three additional cities soon to be named, Social Media Week February 2011 will be its biggest and most inclusive iteration yet.

As an open and collaborative platform, Social Media Week provides many ways to ‘Get Involved’, including curating and hosting events, speaking and presenting, designing workshops, facilitating interviews, sponsoring events, providing editorial coverage and volunteering to participate on the local host committees.

There are opportunities for every organization and individual to get involved this February, on both a global and local level:

• Host an event: You could join the ranks of Sony, New York Times, MTV, Drop.io, JWT, Razorfish, MoMA, Porter Novelli, and others who have all hosted events at their space during previous conferences
• Volunteer: Join the host committee in your city, work at the events, support the communications team, help with outreach.  There are many ways to get involved individually
• Provide in-kind products/services to attendees: Much like Foursquare, Livestream, Pegshot, Mobile Roadie, your company could provide services to SMW attendees that enhance and improve their experience
• Sponsor an event: There will be at least 500 events taking place across the all the participating cities.  Through these events, your brand can connect and engage an audience of hyper-social influencers
• Speaking Opportunities: Do you have domain specialism?  Do you want to share your ideas with a broader audience?

Follow the links below to learn more (event teams in parantheses):

Get Involved: Globally

Or Get Involved Locally! (city organizer in parantheses)

• Get Involved: New York (Crowdcentric)
• Get Involved: London (Chinwag)
• Get Involved: San Francisco (Swirl Integrated Marketing)
• Get Involved: Paris (La Netscouade)
• Get Involved: Rome (Augmendy)
• Get Involved: Toronto (Entrinsic)
• Get Involved: São Paulo (SixPix Content)

If you have any questions about Social Media Week or getting involved globally or locally, please contact Ben Scheim by email at ben@crowdcentric.net for more information.

Go here to see the press release for this announcement: http://bit.ly/9OMLWp

The post Get Involved in Social Media Week, February 7-11, 2011! appeared first on Social Media Week.

The next iteration of Social Media Week will take place simultaneously in New York, London, San Francisco, Toronto, São Paulo, Paris, and Rome, with more cities to be added in the next couple weeks. The first five are all returning cities from February 2010 and Paris and Rome are new additions to the community.

Social Media Week has quickly become one of the world’s most unique conferences, providing a global perspective on emerging trends in social & mobile media.  In 2010, New York-based organizers Crowdcentric hosted over 450 individual events in eleven cities, reaching more than 18,000 attendees with over 200,000 users connecting through the online and mobile experience, generating millions of impressions throughout the social web.

Unlike many traditional conferences, Social Media Week strives to maintain a model where free access to content, programming and events is made possible by support from brand partners including PepsiCo, Vodafone, Nokia, Meebo and SalesForce.com.

“Over ninety percent of our content and programming is free and accessible to all attendees”, said Toby Daniels, CEO of Crowdcentric and Founder & Executive Director of Social Media Week.  “We believe that access to high-quality learning experiences, business networking and buyer /seller market places should not be exclusive to a limited number of executives and organizations that can afford it.”

The driving force behind Social Media Week in each respective city is the local city partners.  In Toronto, Entrinsic will be returning to produce Social Media Week for the second time.  Chinwag will be leading the effort in London.  São Paulo-based SixPix Content will produce the Brazilian conference.  Social Media Week San Francisco will be co-produced Swirl Integrated Marketing and Social Media Club, and La Netscouade will lead in Paris.

Paris city partner Benoît Thieulin said, “The opportunities to sit together for a moment and think collectively how social media will transform and further our relationships with the world (ourselves, the media, brands, institutions) are still rare.  It was natural to La Netscouade, as a leading social media agency, to step up and take care of introducing this global event to Paris and its flowering of initiatives on the social web.”

Milan-based Augmendy, producers of Social Media Week Milan, will also be bringing the experience to Rome.  Augmendy leads Marco Montemagno and Marco Antonio Masieri said, “We are absolutely delighted that Social Media Week Milan was such a success.  Over 5,000 people attended our ninety events during the week, with 20,000 more people visiting our headquarters, proving that 2010 is the tipping point for growth and development in the Italian web world.  We’re looking forward to an even bigger event in Rome in February.”

Beyond the Crowdcentric organizers and regional city partners, Social Media Week is made possible through its framework of globally connected organizations and individuals who contribute a significant amount to the programming of the conference.  If you or your organization would like to get involved as a city partner, event organizer, host, speaker or brand partner, please go here! Or, if you are a brand looking to reach a global audience of hyper-social influencers, either locally or globally, please contact Ben Scheim by email at ben@crowdcentric.net for more information.

Stay tuned for more exciting information about Social Media Week February 2011!

The post Social Media Week Announces Dates & Cities for February 2011 Event appeared first on Social Media Week.