Social Media Week and Nokia: Building Something Amazing

When Social Media Week began in 2009, we set out with an aim of redesigning the traditional conference experience with a focus on making it more collaborative, open and inclusive.  In three years we’ve hosted more than 2,000 free events for 70k attendees in 20 countries worldwide, with at least 75% of the content curated by industry leaders who most impacted by social media.

None of this would have been possible without the investment and engagement of our brand partners– most notably our global sponsors. We are therefore pleased to announce that Nokia has committed to serve again as global headline sponsor of Social Media Week in 2012, reprising a role they held in 2011. By powering SMW in 2012, they will substantially enhance the intrinsic value of SMW, making it easier for attendees and participants to experience content, engage in conversations and connect with other attendees

In returning as global headline sponsor of Social Media Week in 2012, Nokia’s contributions will make some significant enhancements to the attendee experience, and together, we will work to make advancements in connecting the next billion to social and digital media. Chief among these is the launch of the first official SMW Mobile App, which will run on Windows Phone, Symbian, Android, and iOS (both iPhone and iPad), and be available to attendees worldwide in 6 languages.

Helping make SMW12 more convenient and connected, the SMW Official Mobile App will allow users to see the schedule, and track and add preferred events, speakers, and venues to their SMW Profile. Registration will also be easier, allowing users to quickly log-in to their SMW account to register for events and access their personalized schedule. Finally, the SMW Official Mobile App pulls in content that matters, including Twitter feeds and stats, related Facebook pages, and blogs for all the latest news and SMW-related conversations, including special content from additional content and media partners. Access to social media platforms from apps and the mobile web on smartphones is growing exponentially, and this move will help connect SMW supporters quicker and more smoothly than ever- all through the power of their preferred mobile device. Starting with Symbian, the SMW Official Mobile App will be available for download January 20th, rolling out to other platforms within the next week. You can learn more at socialmediaweek.org/mobileapps.

Complementing the global Social Media Week theme of empowering change through collaboration, our SMW/Nokia 2012 partnership will also focus on events and speakers embodying this concept. This includes, not the least of these, Nokia rolling out a range of initiatives focusing on making attendees and supporters’ days better in small, and some not-so-small ways. Each day will bring something unexpected. From Global Keynote Don Tapscott to interactive events in Singapore, San Francisco, London, NYC, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo, both Nokia and SMW will be helping attendees and supporters discover how to best utilize social media in their lives- whether it means networking with like-minded people, promoting their own business or participating in community initiatives for positive change.

Nokia’s contributions to Social Media Week–from apps, to ideas, to just helping participants have a brighter day– will go a long way toward making SMW12 a success. We loved what came out of this partnership for SMW11 and look forward to bigger and more exciting developments this February.

Stay connected by following SMW on Twitter and Facebook and show our support to Nokia by following them on Twitter and Facebook.