Toronto

The planning for SMWTO 2011 is well underway and we’re thrilled to be sharing with you today our initial list of event partners.

Before we do that, we’d like to pay special thanks to JWT and Nokia, two global Social Media Week sponsors that will be making big contributions to the Toronto event as well.

In addition, we are pleased to welcome Marketwire to the SMWTO team, as our media distribution partner.

Here are the great organizations we are proud to be partnering with – each will be hosting at least one event during Social Media Week Toronto – Feb 7-11, 2010:

• Google Canada
• Facebook
• Sysomos
• LinkedIn
• Marketwire
• WWF-Canada
• Bank of Montreal
• Urban Strategies
• ING Direct
• Bunch Family
• Artez
• PowerPoint Karaoke
• NKPR
• American & Canadian Red Cross, in collaboration with the Toronto chapter of the Social Media Club
• Ryerson University School of Fashion and Ted Rogers School of Retail Management at Ryerson University
• Spotlight Toronto

Excited yet? We sure are!

Look for a more detailed schedule in early January.

And, if you have a brilliant idea for an event to add to the mix, keep it handy – we’ll also be putting out a call for additional event hosts from the community in January.

Happy Holidays everyone,

The SMWTO Team

We’re pleased to announce that JWT is a Global Sponsor of Social Media Week and as part of that sponsorship, will be producing several events in Toronto.

JWT believes that its core business is creating ideas that people want to spend time with – a focus that is especially relevant in the social and mobile web era.

As a Global Sponsor, JWT will be hosting a number of content rich events for New York, London – and now Toronto.

In Toronto, JWT events will highlight advertising, marketing and brand engagement using social media – showcasing local and global work across the non-profit / social good, retail and other industry verticals.  JWT Toronto will also share international content.  JWT New York, for instance, has been selected as one of the four content hubs in New York with a focus on Business, Media and Communications.

We’re excited to have JWT as partners for SMWTO – look for more detail about their events very soon.

Nothing pleases us more than seeing Toronto’s creative communities come together to discuss the growing impact of social media on the way we live, communicate and do business.

If Social Media Week’s most recent, record-breaking global conference series has taught us anything, it’s that we’re not alone in this passion.

More than10,000 participants flocked to September’s Social Media Week events in cities all over the world. In just a few months, this will happen once again – and you can take part.

From February 7-11, 2011 Toronto will be joining New York, London, San Francisco, Rome, Sao Paulo and Paris in hosting this unique, simultaneous global conference.

Jyotika Malhotra and I are your Curators this year, and Sara Falconer is SMWTO’s Community Manager. Entrinsic is producing social media week for the second time, and overall our collective, we couldn’t be more thrilled to provide one of the world’s most active social media communities with a platform for collaboration and conversation.

This conference is designed to attract a broad array of social influencers, practitioners and thinkers – from CEOs and brand managers to bloggers, non-profit coordinators, and traditional media mavericks.

There are a number of ways for you to get involved with Social Media Week outside of attending as a guest.

We’re currently recruiting dynamic team members to serve as panelists, speakers, curators, event promoters, and general volunteers.

Please feel free to contact us with information about your skills and interest in Social Media Week Toronto if you’re interested in taking advantage of this exciting opportunity.

We look forward to connecting with you.

DONATE to SickKid Hospital, the official charity for Social Media Week Toronto. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to renovate the Critical Care Unit waiting room at the hospital. Donate online or through your mobile at SickKidsCCU.ca.

Everyone who donates will have their name on a plaque in the new CCU Waiting room.

If you have been enjoying the free events of Social Media Week, then please support us in this cause.

Special thanks to Claire @ Artez Interactive for building our web and mobile donation form.

Thanks to Michael over at ScribbleLIVE for setting up this amazing #SMWTO livestream! Enjoy!

Post written by Michael Cohen, @michaelgcohen

During this year’s Social Media Week, DJ ASE (along with other top DJs Lissa Monet, Wristpect and Mista Jiggz) will share his experiences with social media and will give his take on why it is important to stay in the loop and network using multiple social media outlets. Learn from DJ ASE on how he is using social media to drive online clicks, share word of mouth referrals and grow a national reputation in an effort to enhance business revenue.

With over 30 events booked in just the first two months of the year there is no doubt that DJ ASE is one of Toronto’s hottest DJ’s.

Owner and C.E.O at All Star Entertainment, DJ ASE brings not only a sense of style and flair but also diversity to Toronto’s music and entertainment scene. Coming from a music and entertainment background (his uncle was a drummer and father was an event planner), ASE has been active in the entertainment industry since an early age. When he was seven years old he was given a drum set and at the age of fourteen started experimenting with a home tape player, turntable and mixer. After a few years DJ ASE began to circulate his demo CD’s and began his first residency at Atlantis Nightclub. After graduating college, he worked at making music a full time career. Working out of his home office/studio for the past 5 years DJ ASE has gained the experience and knowledge to keep moving further in the music industry.

Spending nights DJ’ing at nightclubs, high schools, universities, corporate functions and weddings, DJ ASE has grown a following across Canada and uses a combination of blogging, Facebook, Twitter and a collection of podcasts and music mixes to connect with fans across the country. Today DJ ASE is in demand, playing the top nightclubs in the megacity’s Toronto’s massive dance party scene, being featured on national television programs and putting together private parties including for the likes of Jay Z, 112, Sean Paul, Belly, Kardinal Offishal, and more.

Blogging at www.djase.com, Tweeting as @djase, and regularly sharing music via mixtapes and podcasts at www.allstarmixshows.com, this Canadian DJ has found that sharing and connecting through social media is one of the most effective and business savvy ways for him to stay in touch with fans, promote upcoming events and stay up to date on other DJ’s across the globe. As DJ ASE has grown his own name and hence his brand he has discovered the pros and cons of using social media and has learned to balance between sharing enough without exposing his entire life online.

During this year’s Social Media Week, DJ ASE (along with other top DJ’s Lissa Monet, Wristpect, Mista Jiggz) will share his experiences with social media and will give his take on why it is important to stay in the loop and network using multiple social media outlets. Learn from DJ ASE on how he is using social media to drive online clicks, share word of mouth referrals and grow a national reputation in an effort to enhance business revenue.

Sign up Reach and Remix: SMW DJ Showcase at Pravda Vodka Bar (www.pravdavodkabar.com) and hear four of Toronto’s top DJs – Lissa Monet, Wristpect, Mista Jiggz, and DJ ASE speak about how they use social media to source, share and create music for thousands of adoring fans, friends and followers. Then, set your social self free and let loose on the dance floor when these spin masters (and mistress!) bring the house down. You didn’t think there’d be an event called Social Media Week without a dance party, did you?

SMWTO is blowing the roof off our expectations.  Over half the our events are full, there is clearly more demand than we had anticipated.

So this is a public call out to companies, clubs, agencies, government offices and individuals to come up with event ideas and invite the Toronto social media community to participate.

If you plan an event, you’ll be in the good company of The Globe and Mail, CaseCamp, Rypple, Artez Interactive, Social Media Group, The Canadian Film Centre, AdLounge and Refresh Events to name a few.

This is a great way to connect with digital early adopters and influencers in their fields from across Toronto. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some talent to recruit, clients, or make one of those connections that you’ll never forget.

Planning an event is free and as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Come up with your event name, pick a place, and time during the week, and send Eli, Jyotika and Sara all the information.
2. We’ll work out the tweaks with you, and then post it on the community Schedule with an Eventbrite page.
3. Our team will help you promote your event with out blog and Twitter page.

So what are you waiting for?  Time is ticking, and this kitty needs your help!

Your SMWTO team has been working hard since Jan 1 to put together an exciting program in Toronto. We’d like to unveil the first set of events below.  Visit the calendar for more details and to sign up for all events.

If you want to plan your own event, let us know and we’ll get you into the program. More on this later, but planning an event under the SMWTO umbrella is free and easy to do, just ask us how.

There are more events on the way, so stay tuned.  For now, follow us @SMWTO or check the calendar which is updated as events get announced.

We are thrilled to be one of six cities to be hosting Social Media Week in 2010, and have high hopes for Toronto’s contribution to this great event.

Our goal is to use this week of free events to help facilitate conversations across Toronto’s many creative communities about the impact of social media on business, culture and society.  We’re hoping for a massive mash-up of interests and ideas.

More news to come, but if you want to get involved as an event host or a sponsor, get in touch @smwTO or directly with one of the city organizers: Eli Singer, Jyotika Malhotra, Noorin Ladhani and Soniya Monga.

A very special thank-you to our brilliant advisory board.