Tag: Buzzfeed

Learn How 360° Video Is Changing The Content Game at SMW New York

Posted on by Tyler Becker

If you’re a marketer or content creator that engages audiences, you need to understand 360° video, and its potential to revolutionize the content ecosystem. While 360° video is quickly emerging as a new content frontier, it is still in its infancy. Now is the time to get in the game.

Register for your pass, and hear Brian Cristiano (CEO, BOLD Worldwide) explain the value, excitement and execution of 360° video through an in-depth discussion and real-life examples. Attendees will walk away with a deep understanding of the technology, why brands need to use it, and how to leverage social media to drive interaction.

Brian’s session at SMW New York, “How 360° Video is Changing the Content Game” will open your eyes in all directions and shed some light on how you can utilize this technology for entertainment, engagement and sales. This event takes place Thursday, February 25 at 3:00PM at the SVA Theatre (EDU Stage).

Building Your Social Presence at #SMWNYC with BuzzFeed’s Social Team

Posted on by Tess Kaytmaz

In this interactive presentation, BuzzFeed social experts Rachel Christensen and Summer Anne Burton will discuss how they helped successfully build the largest social networks in media—by rethinking the way the industry sees social media editors, content, and distribution.

They’ll cover how BuzzFeed stuck to scrappy and unconventional ways of thinking about and creating content for social platforms, and how they used data to inform their strategies. There will also be examples of BuzzFeed’s biggest wins and fails (in the form of a quiz!), with insight to how, why, and where BuzzFeed experiments.

Summer’s session “Building A Great Social Presence The Resourceful Way, Presented By BuzzFeed” will take place on Wednesday, February 24th at 11:00am at the SVA (EDU Stage).

★ Register today by purchasing your pass ★

About Summer Anne Burton

Summer is the Editorial Director of BFF, a team at BuzzFeed that makes cool original stuff on social networks and platforms. She was previously the Managing Editorial Director in BuzzFeed’s editorial department, and once upon a time she was BuzzFeed’s first Weekend Editor.

Before she started at BuzzFeed, Summer lived in Austin Texas as a freelance illustrator and writer who contributed to ESPN: The Magazine, The Hairpin, Fangraphs, The Classical, and more. She was also a waitress, barista, bookseller, toy store clerk, advertising manager, hair salon receptionist, a writer at a now defunct website for tweens, and a stablehand.

She also has a new project called “Every Hall of Famer,” a blog where Summer is drawing every single member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. (via Summer Anne Burton)

About Rachel Christenson

Rachel Christensen is the managing social media editor for Buzzfeed, the social media manager for Food52, the James Beard Award-winning online food community, recipe hub, and home and kitchen shop. She formerly led social media for Real Simple magazine and at NBC’s Television Without Pity. She lives in Brooklyn.

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from these speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass.

Image Credit: Texas Monthly

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: BuzzFeed’s Lessons to Build Your Social Presence the Resourceful Way

Posted on by Tess Kaytmaz

In this interactive presentation, BuzzFeed social experts Rachel Christensen and Summer Anne Burton will discuss how they helped successfully build the largest social networks in media—by rethinking the way the industry sees social media editors, content, and distribution.

They’ll cover how BuzzFeed stuck to scrappy and unconventional ways of thinking about and creating content for social platforms, and how they used data to inform their strategies. There will also be examples of BuzzFeed’s biggest wins and fails (in the form of a quiz!), with insight to how, why, and where BuzzFeed experiments.

This event is targeted both at social media editors and their employers, and will include a short presentation via PowerPoint, along with a Q&A. Some of the biggest mistakes we see in media are caused by an outdated way that brands and publishers look at their social talent.

Participants will leave with a new way at looking to hire social candidates, the best ways to manage a social editor’s workflow, and how to create sharable content without a sizable budget.

Rachel Christensen, Managing Social Media Editor at BuzzFeed, will lead a session at SMW New York with Summer Anne Burton to discuss how they went outside of the box to rethink how successfully create large networks on social media platforms.

Rachel’s session “Building A Great Social Presence The Resourceful Way, Presented By BuzzFeed” will take place on Wednesday, February 24th at 11:00am at the SVA (EDU Stage).

★ Register today by purchasing your pass ★

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from visionary speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass. You can also save 20% until January 14th!

BuzzFeed’s Advice For Creating Emotional Bonds to Video Content

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

“Content is King, Distribution is Queen, and she wears the pants.” One phrase that resonated with many attendees during John Perelman’s session. Perelman, the Vice President of Buzzfeed Motion Pictures, discussed BuzzFeed’s goals on reaching specific niches and groups with the intention that their videos will gain more shares, especially if the viewer forms an emotional connection to the video (i.e. “A left-hander living in a right-handed world”).

By creating videos that people emotionally bond with, these individuals are more likely to remember, share, and recommend that video to others, eventually building a community within itself! BuzzFeed definitely has the intention to “make you feel some type of way” while viewing those videos!

Currently a student at Queens College, I hope to work in the Entertainment and Media world. As for now, you’ll find me on all forms of Social Media. Tweet me: @graciaskristine

Creating Video Content For How It’s Consumed

Posted on by Nicole Brown

On Tuesday, February 24, join us as Jonathan Perelman, BuzzFeed Motion Picture’s Vice President examines the evolution of media and how new innovations in distribution technologies have changed how it’s consumed.

From LOLS to CUTE cat videos that pull at your heartstrings, Jonathan will dive into the science behind creating shareable content for the social web.

 

To learn all the event details and to get your pass, check out the description here.

Make Videos That Matter With These Tips From BuzzFeed, Mashable And Vimeo

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Video is the future of content marketing. That is, if it’s not the here and now. But celebs, cute cats and babies don’t guarantee viral success.

To learn the secrets for making killer videos, we’ve highlighted the best events taking place at Social Media Week NYC:

Creating Video Content For How It’s Consumed

Join us as Jonathan Perelman, BuzzFeed Motion Picture’s Vice President examines the evolution of media and how new innovations in distribution technologies have changed how it’s consumed. From LOLS to CUTE cat videos that pull at your heartstrings, Jonathan will dive into the science behind creating shareable content for the social web.

Storytelling with Vine: How to Create Short Form Videos That People Remember 

Today, storytellers are finding increasingly imaginative ways to share their ideas with interactive and visual elements, bringing their messages to life.

As the head of the visual storytelling team at Mashable, Jeff Petriello is responsible for the creative behind many branded social advertising campaigns, having worked with Olympus, Hewlett-Packard, Hot Wheels, MasterCard and more just in the past few months. This masterclass will explore Jeff’s storytelling techniques using Vine, specifically how to create short form videos that people remember.

Vimeo Video School Live: Creative Toolsets To Engage A Global Audience

Video is exploding online for many reason and the experts at Vimeo are here to teach you how to make your videos better and reach global audiences using their creator toolsets.

Vimeo will give a hands on tutorial on their industry leading creator toolsets with examples showcasing how to use video to engage your audiences more deeply and for those professional creators, best practices to market and even sell their work to viewers worldwide.

 

See the full preview of Campus at Highline Stages here, then get excited to join us for a week you won’t forget. Grab your pass to get full access to SMW14!

Getting Pinned

Posted on by Allison Heaps

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In a cyber-friendly world, be careful what you wish for — you just might get it on sale.

This week at Social Media Week New York, Huffington Post’s  Bianca Bosker moderated Reading Is No Longer Fundamental: The Shift To Visual Vocabulary (hosted by JWT) by engaging industry leaders from JWT, Nokia, and Curalate. Among the various topics surrounding the visual vocabulary discussion was a new model of marketing utilizing visual social media images procured from Instagram, Pinterest, and Buzzfeed.

Apu Gupta, CEO and Co-founder from Curalate, stated that “the shift from people and places to networks about things” is now here. According to the Pew Research Center, the social media users behind the “networks about things” have been classified into three categories: the creators, curators, and online image creators. Creators take pictures of themselves, curators post pictures found online and post to sites used for sharing images with others, an online image creators are a little of both. Which one are you?

The endless surge of social media “exhaust” allows companies, such as Brandwatch, to work with more than 700 leading brands and agencies in monitoring and identifying key insights from text-driven social media. Indeed, the current visual images created by curators and creators presents additional opportunities for businesses to partner with social media. Target and Nordstrom have utilized specific consumer-driven images displayed on Pinterest. Nordstrom has effectively created store merchandizing displays based on those most frequently “pinned” items.

Simply put, brands now know exactly what you want because you have told them! This, of course, is based on the assumption that all the ‘pinned’ items are analogous to a Facebook ‘Like,’ as opposed to a snarky “OMG” or the elusive “dislike.”

Craig Hepburn, Global Head of Digital & Social at Nokia, observed, “The biggest challenge is managing the images themselves.”

Hepburn also asserted that even news articles are being written entirely around images, while Gupta added that that is now a necessary to restore ”context to content.”  Will Palley, Trends Strategist at JWT offered this advice, “Brands need to be judicious about the images they use.”

It is evident that we live in a transparent world — even President Obama was busted taking a selfie. So the next time you pin, post, tweet, your fabulousness consider what you have released to the cyber universe.  In a final comment, Hepburn conceded, the “Biggest challenge is going to be around reputation management and privacy.”

Allison Heaps is corporate wellness advocate living in New York. In her spare time, she practices yoga, runs marathons, and sings jazz. She is a master’s candidate at NYU with a concentration is organizational effectiveness. Contact her here.

SMW NYC: You Made It, So Thank You!

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Thank you for playing your part in helping to make Social Media Week such a huge success. We were thrilled that you were able to contribute to the incredible energy at our new Campus experience last week.

Together, we saw some inspirational speakers, from Don Tapscott exploring how we can solve problems together to Seth Godin joining Robin Chase and Lisa Gansky to expound on the future of the sharing economy. Other highlights included:

  • + Fabien Cousteau announced the launch of Mission 31, his first attempt to live and work underwater.
  • + Jonah Peretti of BuzzFeed joined our founder for a keynote interview.
  • + Percolate showcasing the power content and distribution at scale.
  • + We held our first Wearable Tech Fashion Show, in partnership with Tech in Motion.
  • + Chipotle launched their new (unbranded) series, “Farmed and Dangerous.”
  • + 10 incredible social entrepreneurs competed for $10k with Yoxi.
  • + Our NOW Studio, powered by Nokia, was packed full of some of the world’s most prolific Vine artists, illustrating how to become a better content creator.
  • + Leica was at Campus shooting beautiful portraits of our attendees.
  • + 140 Proof brought to life your social profile with a caricature artist.
  • + Under Armour presented daily yoga.

While off Campus AOL threw a great bash, and SUXORZ returned to give out worst in social awards. Sociality Squared and Contra Studios explored how creatives can keep their creativity and sanity in our always on world. And this is just a handful of all the activities last week.

Most importantly, we were honored to have you join us. As our first year hosting all Official Events in our new Campus, we know we faced some challenges, but thanks to your real-time feedback, we adjusted our process, which we hoped improved your experience over the course of the week.

As we reflect and regroup, we are asking for you to tell us what you thought of the experience. How can we get better? What needs to improve? What was missing for you?

Please take 5 minutes to complete our survey here — and we’ll be giving away a prize pack, allowing you a chance to win either a Nokia Icon or Lumia 1520 plus, Purity Monster In-Ear Headphones and a FitBit.

Thank you again — for your time, for your participation, and for being a part of SMW14.

A very special thank you to our production partners MKG, our Global Headline Sponsor, Nokia, and supporting sponsors including, Spotify, Merck, Prodigy Network, Google+, Unmetric, and Percolate. We want to give credit where credit is due, and SMW wouldn’t be what it is without them.

The Present and Future State of Media, Featured at SMW NYC

Posted on by Nicky Yates

Many have touted 2013 as the year that changed publishing and media. From listicles taking over our news feeds to the growing dominance of native advertising to Upworthy’s staggering growth numbers (which have outpaced even that of the New York Times), last year we witnessed a seismic shift in the industry.

We’re diving deep into these at SMW NYC, and you’ll be able to know what lays in store for media in 2014 with event like these:

Distribution is Key

Few companies have scaled quite the way BuzzFeed has, especially with its range. It truly is the epitome of a digitally native brand and a perfect case study, which is why we’re bringing in CEO and Founder, Jonah Peretti for a conversation on original and branded content, data analytics, mobile apps, and which social platforms are most important for BuzzFeed’s model.

Later in the week, BuzzFeed will be sharing specifically on how they have emerged as king of content distribution. Social is the new starting point for how we discover, consume and share content. But good content doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll go viral. So, Jonathan Perelman, VP of Agency Strategy and Industry Development at BuzzFeed, joins us to explain how content and distribution can work successfully together. If your brand is engaging in content marketing on any level, this conversation is one you can’t miss.

Harness the Power of Social

If it’s not BuzzFeed clogging up your newsfeed, then you’re seeing the world’s fastest growing media brand, Upworthy. Upworthy curates meaningful content on social, economic and societal issues that is then massively shared by the site’s community. Upworthy.com routinely breaks its own traffic records and has more views than the New York Times, FOX News or BleacherReport — meaning, Founder and CEO, Eli Pariser, knows how to harness the power of social media. He’ll be on hand at SMW NYC to share his secret sauce and where Upworthy as a media entity is heading.

Get Mobile

Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. Adults now get their news on Twitter, with 85% of those consuming it on a mobile device. This means media organizations are more than ever needing to address this change. So, we’re featuring a debate between publishing industry leaders and an interactive audience discussion centered on the future of digital, mobile, and social platforms for news organizations. At the end of this event, we’ll all have an understanding of how outlets can make the most of mobile and social platforms and what journalists and editors need to know.

Overall, we’ll be presenting a solid look at the present state and future of media, along with a focus on leaders you can look to. All we need is you.

Get your pass today here and join us for a serious look at media.

Stealing The Show: Jonah Peretti on The Colbert Report

Posted on by Nicky Yates

We know BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti has a few things to share about the future of journalism. So, when he took the stage with Stephen Colbert last night, we were thrilled to see what came out. Colbert brings his normal satire, grilling Jonah about sexy pandas, Syria, listicles, and click bait.

It’s a great 6-minute interview that will get you ready for Jonah taking the stage with us in February. Watch it below, and share what you want to hear Jonah share this SMW14! In the words of Colbert, “go click on it.”

BuzzFeed & Entrinsic Create the Ultimate SMW Videos

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood


One of our FAVORITE things about Social Media Week is all of the incredible content created around it. Memes, GIFs, photos — you name it. This year, both BuzzFeed and Entrinsic’s Eli Singer, went above and beyond by creating these hilarious videos.

BuzzFeed: The DOs and DONTs of Social Media

Entrinsic: Nobody Wants To Be Your Friend…

Have you created content for SMW? Shoot an email to lindsey@crowdcentric.net. We’d love to share it with our community!

12 Events to Register for NOW

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood


With hundreds of events (over 200!!!), we aim to highlight the ones that catch our eye and share them with you. Here are a dozen that grabbed our attention this week, each from industry leaders — several of which were just named Fast Company’s most innovative companies of 2013 — aiming to bring you the best content and conversation at SMW NYC:

  1. Ogilvy presents: Contextual Awareness: What Is The Future of Social Intelligence?
  2. BuzzFeed presents Genuine Appeal: Creativity and Authenticity in the Social Age
  3. Games for Change presents: Half The Sky Movement: Using Transmedia to Inspire Real Impact
  4. Pfizer & LiveWorld present: How to Improve Social Media in Regulated Industries and Consumer Sensitive Markets
  5. OfferPop presents Keeping Up With the Agile Consumer
  6. Time.Inc presents: The Secret Sauce of Native Advertising? Authenticity.
  7. Conversocial presents: The Social Engagement Hub: Re-Imagining the Contact Center as a Critical Marketing Tool
  8. Imagination presents: Connections: How the Internet of Things is Transforming Our Social World
  9. Code for America Presents: We Built This City: The State of Civic Technology, with Code For America and IDEO
  10. House Party presents: All Earned Media is Not Created Equal: Winning Hearts, Minds & Wallets via ‘Experience-Driven Social Marketing’
  11. Google Presents: Google+ Hangouts: Go Way Outside the Box(es) – expert tips & tricks to further innovation
  12. SideTour presents: SideTour: The P2P Experience Economy: Four Unique Events for the SMW Community

For the FULL SCHEDULE click here. And keep in mind, if you want to skip registration and lines, and attend events that are already full, you can still BUY A PASS here.

5 Minutes with BuzzFeed’s Jon Steinberg

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood

We sat down with SMWNYC Supporting Sponsor Buzzfeed’s Jon Steinberg to talk journalism, branding and more. BuzzFeed is the leading social news organization, intensely focused on delivering high-quality original reporting, insight, and social content across a rapidly expanding array of subject areas. Here’s what he had to say:

What is BuzzFeed’s greatest success with social media to date?
I’d largely attribute it to our singular focus on social, which really comes from Jonah’s vision and focus for the company from day one. Our technology, editorial, and ad products all focus on creating and optimizing things that excite and inspire people to share. This has allowed us to grow the site rapidly and do only truly social advertising in lieu of banners.

What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the emerging technology and/or new media space right now?
Well, it’s certainly the big move to social and mobile. And I think that’s one trend. This summer, the BuzzFeed Partner, which includes 300 million unique visitors from sites like Time, Daily Mail, and Huff Post got more traffic in aggregate from Facebook than from Google. And at BuzzFeed we now get about 30% to 40% of traffic from mobile. People are literally discovering and consuming media in a completely different channel then even a few years ago.

What are you looking forward to most at SMWNYC 2013?
I always like to hear about what brands that I’m unfamiliar with are doing. It’s always a great place to get ideas, and the sessions tend to always have people who are eager to chat after their panels. I love catching a few sessions each day.

Tell us about your goals for SMW. As the 2013 Official Supporting Sponsor and a host of several events, what do you hope attendees will take away from the experience?
I hope that people who have never heard of us will get to understand what BuzzFeed does in Social Advertising and that those who are curious already will attend events and panels where we can answer their questions.

What is the most creative way you’ve seen social media used?
I love these new social illustrations and infographics we’re doing for brands like AT&T and AMC’s Walking Dead.

…………………

It’s a new genre for our social ad products that our new Chief Creative Officer Jeff Greenspan has rolled out.  They are very native to the web are a designed to be shareable and relatable to fans (of say Zombies) or people interested in a given area (Classic Literature).

This year, our global theme is “Open & Connected: Principles for a Collaborative World.” How does BuzzFeed embody or support this idea? 
In many ways BuzzFeed is a site that couldn’t exist without a connected world where people collaborated to share and and inform each other with all varieties of content. BuzzFeed is the oposite of an isolated, individual in front-of-a-disconnected-terminal scenario.

What brands do you think are leading the way in innovation with social and digital?
I look every week at the campaigns we’re running and think about which one interests me the most and why. I’d honestly say the answer is different every week. This week I’m loving the AT&T and AMC campaigns. From a longer term perspective, GE and Virgin Mobile have been working with us in a deep and long term fashion and are consistently pushing and innovating in what it means to be a social, always-on publisher.

 
We couldn’t be more excited to have Buzzfeed on board for SMW NYC! Stay tuned to the special announcements coming out on Buzzfeed, like this video reminding us how to do social media. Then, see them in action during the week at JWT with Genuine Appeal — Creativity and Authenticity in the Social Age on Wednesday, February 20th; at The Golden Age of Storytelling on Thursday at Hearst; Longform in a Shortform World at 92Y on Friday; and at our Opening Reception on Tuesday!

My Top SMW NYC Events

Posted on by Nicky Yates

When I was asked to share my top SMW NYC events, I must admit I got a bit excited. Coming from the non-profit background, I love the tools that SMW NYC provides to organizations seeking to create change and the discussions that evolve around making a positive impact. It’s interlaced in so much that we offer- and that excites me. But the best part is — that’s not all SMW NYC offers. There’s a bit of everything for everyone.

So, when I’m not exploring our new Global HQ (and seriously, why wouldn’t I be with our hands-on classes, disruptive speakers and interactive exhibits), I’ll have my eye on these events for the big week. If you’re there, make sure you swing by and say hey!

1197 Monday Event: Opening Reception 1197Juried Exhibit & SMW PicYourCity
There’s no greater feeling than seeing a project come to fruition; and having spent the past two months manning the PicYourCity competition, I couldn’t be more excited to see the gallery with 1197! Plus, there’s wine & cheese. Monday, evening, I know my plans. And if mobile photography is your thing, 1197 is a weeklong series of events entirely devoted to the topic, brought to us from our friends at Nokia. If you don’t make it out on Monday evening for the reception, I encourage you to check out many of their events throughout the week!

gsummitX- Gamification in NYC
I had the pleasure of hearing Gabe Zichermann drop his gamification knowledge last year. And let me tell you, the man is a phenomenal speaker. I’ve never heard the concepts broken down in such an intuitive and easy to understand manner. So, on Tuesday, if you’re wanting to learn more or wanting to go deep with gamification, loyalty and engagement, be here. There will also be 1-2 demos from companies using gamification in their business model, and Gabe’s unique workshop-like game called “Play for a Cause.”

So You Think You Can Start Up?
Ok, confession time: the recovering reality show junkie in me LOVES pitch events. So, when I saw our friends at Hearst were putting together the ultimate fashion startup pitch event, I was in heaven. On Tuesday, digital fashion start-ups will go head to head in this ultimate “elevator pitch” challenge and demonstration. Teams will have a total of 5 minutes to impress the judges, competing for editorial coverage on ELLE.com. Just make sure we all dress to impress for it.

Giving Gangham Style: An ideation With the #GivingTuesday Team
If you’re into NGO’s, the phenomenon that is #GivingTuesday is something you’re well acquainted with. The backstory: on November 27, 2012, thousands of companies, NGOs, small businesses and individuals came together to celebrate the first-ever #GivingTuesday— a new social media-driven campaign to create a national day of giving. It was a success and on Tuesday of SMW, the creators behind will share what made it a success and how social is a major player in philanthropy.

The Rise of Visual Social Media
Being in community management, the increase in visual is something you learn to deal with. Images are so vital to telling stories. But the ethics of using them is still a bit more nebulous. So, on Tuesday, the WSJ is bringing together photographers and social media editors to talk about how images can be used ethically in social. With everything from copyright issues, elements of a viral photo, photoshopped images, the use of filters and Instagram’s TOS changes, it’s a must if you’re in the field of social media content.

Girls Empowerment & Women’s Empowerment in Real World Social Networks
Kicking things off on Wednesday, She’s the First will touch on the power of education and female empowerment. It’s a serious topic and one we can all contribute to to create more sustainable and lasting change. And the panelists on this event know what they’re talking about.

PSFK: The Future of Work
Ok, another confession for you: over the past 3 years, I’ve become a big PSFK fan girl. If you’ve not read through any of their reports, you’re missing out. And this year, PSFK is delivering big again. They’ll be sharing an exclusive preview of their upcoming Future of Work report, part of a series of in-depth analysis of trends driving key sectors and subject matters. Don’t miss it.

Equalizing the Playing Field
Social media is the great equalizer. It’s been fascinating to see how small and large companies respond to it. Pulling together 3 unique companies of various sizes, we’ll be exploring how each is navigating the space. The best part- it’s got Nokia’s Craig Hepburn. This guy drives some serious discussions around social and doesn’t hold back. If you missed him last year, don’t make the same mistake again.

Daria Musk and Google: Social Media and the Rock Star
Continuing on the trend of exploring case studies, few make a greater example of the power of collaboration on Google+ than Daria Musk. With the power of social media, Daria has become a self-made rock star. Dara will join a fireside chat to talk how social has helped her career (and dreams) grow- and perform a mini-set for all those in attendance. It’s sure to be inspiring, and our friends at Google+ will share tips on how you can maximize the platform. Win- win.

How To Be Funny in 140 Characters or Less, Part Deux
I missed the original last year- and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. Seriously. Our How to Be Funny in 140 Characters or Less was amazing. It was funny; relevant; and informative. I’m not missing the sequel. You better believe come Thursday, I’ll be in the audience taking notes, and all my friends will hope I pick up better jokes and comedic timing. So, join me as we watch Lizz Winstead, Julieanne Smolinski and Jon Friedman break down comedy in brevity and aim to take the #1 trending spot in an hour.

Deep Focus Presents: An Evening of Disruption
We’re big fans of Deep Focus and Advisory Board member Ian Schafer. It’s really hard not to be. They are pulling together some of the industry’s biggest disruptors for a thought-provoking evening of why we should all learn to feel very comfortable being uncomfortable. Knowing them, it’s bound to be insightful, humorous and an all-around great time. Thursday evening, this is where it is.

Betting on Journalism: Andrew Sullivan & Buzzfeed
Ok, if you’re never gotten a chance to view the Buzzfeed offices, you’re missing out. But aside from that, this Thursday event will pull together two seemingly opposite styles of journalism and talk how these models work. Exploring what content counts online and dissecting what everyone means when they talk about “the future of journalism,” this event will be great for the news geek in us all.

A Student’s Perspective: Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed CEO, discusses the state and future of our social world

Posted on by smwnyc

Donovan X. Ramsey is a student at Columbia’s School of Journalism and one of ten students providing on the ground coverage of SMWNYC.

Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, took to the stage at Social Media Week NYC recently to discuss online trends and the future of content sharing. With Facebook going public and the relative success of new sites like Pinterest, it’s an important, big question and one that Peretti might be qualified to answer. In a packed auditorium at the Hearst building in Manhattan, he rolled out his vision.

“There’s a big shift happening and we’re at the beginning of it,” he said. “There are still industries to be disrupted. You need to think from the perspective of a user that wants to share something…The real key to a lot this stuff is emotional intelligence.”

Peretti cofounded the Huffington Post, a site that has revolutionized blogging and news online by mixing the two. Now he runs BuzzFeed, a hub for headlines like “Goat Massage” and “40 Things That Make Corgis Happy,” based on a type of emotional intelligence. In his address, Peretti referred to BuzzFeed as a “giant content site for the social world.” He described this world as one identified typically through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter but getting more social by the minute.

The socialization, so to speak, of content online happened in stages, according to Peretti. The first stage was that of portals like Yahoo, which catered to a general audience. They were the sites, with big home pages and categories, through which users had to go for content. The next step was the search stage. Think Ask Jeeves and About.com. Users began finding content by requesting it. The Internet was opening up and users were starting to have an influence on the creation and promotion of content. That led to the social stage.

He said one of the most interesting trends he’s spotted in the social stage is the tide of users who go to BuzzFeed looking for something to share on their Facebook pages. He said it represents a shift from how content was consumed before. It’s a sign that the audience sees themselves less as just that. They’re aware that they’re more than an audience. They’re participants.

Peretti’s big prediction was the streamlining of content online. “Facebook is the best example of content expanding from friend updates,” he said. “As Facebook matures, there’s news now and people are getting comfortable with a social world where everything their friends care about is mixing together.” In preparation for this, BuzzFeed has made changes like the addition of ex-Politico writer, Ben Smith as editor-in-chief. Their first scoop with Smith was Sen. John McCain’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. According to Peretti, BuzzFeed beat CNN by 30 minutes.

His strongest case study seemed to be his own company. BuzzFeed, with its simple headlines and variable content, is mostly directed by the interests of its users and their reactions to content all over the World Wide Web. In fact, the site goes as far as to organize content into categories based on users’ reactions. With one click, you could vote something as a “fail” and with another, browse a lists of “wins.”

During the presentation, Peretti brought up a slide of basset hounds running, their droopy folds flapping in the wind. He said such content is decidedly shareable because of its common appeal. It can go onto your best friend’s Facebook wall or be sent to your grandmother in an email. The key to creating sharable content in the social age is finding material that defines a moment, said Peretti. “Let the user become invested in the story…People are the gatekeepers in the social media world, not Google’s algorithm.”

SMWNYC Day 3 Recap: Crowdsourcing, Community, Quizzical

Posted on by Greg Bodenlos

Social Media Week 2012, NYC hump-day edition continued the momentum built up during the week’s first forty-eight hours of events, featuring an exceptional keynote from Behance‘s CEO, as well as two spirited, highly interactive discussions around creating community and social engagement. Here were some of Day 3 highlights:

  • Keynote: Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance, followed by GOOD Panel: Beyond Crowdsourcing: Using The Community To Report: Behance CEO, and Cornell grad (Go Big Red!), Scott Belsky kicked off the full-house session with a keynote addressing many his company’s initiatives to organize and empower the creative world to display and find talent every month. Named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”, Scott kept packed audience compelled by sharing dynamic examples of how companies can harness their creative energy to yield the optimal output. The ensuing “Crowdsourcing” panel was a more broadly focused discussion on media’s relationship with its community – addressing media’s failures and successes to get authentic, meaningful anecdotes from its communities directly.
  • Creating community around your blog: Savvy self-promoting bloggers and freelancers alike came out in droves to the quirky Gershwin Hotel to enjoy an animated and refreshingly candid debate, hosted by Blogads, addressing ways bloggers can build strong communities. The discussion benefitted from each of the panelists’ divergent backgrounds and their keen willingness to offer very specific, actionable advice to the hyper engaged audience they were speaking to. Big kudos to the bloggers at GalaDarling.com, JessicaHarlow.com and ConcreteLoop.com for a job well done.
  • A Quizzical Evening in Social Media, hosted by BuzzFeed: Closing the day at JWT meant an early evening of light-hearted panel banter, a highly entertaining, rapid-fire game of Pub Quiz, and free T-shirts, food and booze to boot! Relevant thought leaders from BuzzFeed, OMD Word, GE and AdAge engaged the audience with a brief debate on how good social content is almost always surprising, unexpected, and – of course – quizzical.  The open bar and prizes that followed were just delicious icing on top of a very scrumptious #socialmediaweek cake.
Greg is a motivated Cornell University Hotel School alumnus, affectionately known as a Hotelie for life, with keen interests in social and digital marketing for hospitality and lifestyle brands. He’s passionate about sales and marketing in the hospitality industry, specifically as it relates to the dynamic online space. In his free time, Greg obsesses over growing his musical intellect (both modern and past-time artists apply), tennis, and running skills. Check out his lifestyle blog covering these topics at http://www.thesocialsonictraveler.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter.
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About a Hub: Art & Culture

Posted on by Sara Haile-Mariam

This is the first of a part of a continuing series of posts spotlighting our 6 #SMW12 Content Hubs. We’ll be posting profiles of all the hubs throughout this week so keep checking back for more! 

The Art & Culture Hub is your go to location for all things music and tv and funny and style. We’re excited about the eclectic breadth of these events and look forward to seeing you there!

You can view all of the events from the art and culture hub by clicking HERE but check out a handful of our favs below!

On Monday check out The Mobile-Social Living Room a panel on how emerging media is reviving the live television experience from 9-11am. From there, be sure you don’t miss this, newly added to the schedule, keynote by Media Personality and Founder of Abrams Media, Dan Abrams from 12-2pm.  Then spice it up by heading over to a keynote by hip hop legend Jermaine Dupri on Building a Community (3-5pm) before digging into a panel on social sharing and the Art of Doodling from 4:30-5:30pm.

Tuesday morning– get up and at em with a panel on Digital Voyeruism from 9-11am before heading over to a keynote from Entrepreneur Kevin Slatin with a corresponding panel on E-Commerce (12-2pm).  Take a quick lunch break and then head over to The New Ghostwriter  from 3-5pm OR maybe decide that this panel on Social Syndication from 3:30-5:30 is more your style.  No judgement either way.

Okay.  On to Wednesday.  I know, all that and we’ve still got THREE MORE days of events for you. Kick the day off with a Keynote from Chris Kaskie, President of Pitchfork from 9-11am then make your way over to a panel on Street Style blogs from 12-2pm or maybe you’d prefer a discussion on the Grammys and digital from 1:30-2:30pm. I know, it’s a touch decision. I promise. You will survive it.  Once you’ve made that call the rest of the day is easy.  Head straight on over to a panel on how to be funny on twitter from 3-4pm  then take a quick breather before going to a panel on the state of curation.

Phew.

Thursday. I know, I can’t believe it either! Start your day with a keynote from Elisa Camhort with a corresponding panel on Companion TV from 9-11am. Then dive into a keynote from Jonah Peretti founder and CEO of BuzzFeed with a corresponding panel on Start Ups from 12-2pm.  What a morning.

Grab some lunch and recharge before heading over to a panel on Transmedia and Social Media from 3-5pm. After that there’s a panel called IN THE TWITTER KITCHEN: A MODERN COOKIE BAKE-OFF.  It’s happening from 4:30-6:30pm. I’m not going to tell you what it’s about.  You can click through to find out for yourself. But I will tell you that maybe you should go.

Friday? Friday! Already. This week will absolutely fly by but if you’ve waited until the last moment to get your fill of #smw12, no worries, we’ve got you.

Aruba, Jamaica Oo I want to take you to a 9-11am panel on social media and the travel industry in 2012.

Then maybe layover your way into a panel on how entrepreneurship is revolutionizing daily life through social media from 10:30-11:30.

If all this activity is making you hungry then you’re not going to want to miss a panel from 12-2pm that features Robyn O’Brien, Amanda Hesser & Bun Lai followed by a panel on food trends.

One panel left and sure enough we’re ending things off with a bang.  From 3-4pm don’t miss Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll: Social’s Steamy Side.

Yep. That’s it for this hub.

See you next week.

Spotlight: Advisory Board Member Peter Himler

Posted on by Michelle Welsch
Peter Himler, twitter: @peterhimler

Esteemed SMW NYC Advisory Board member Peter Himler has served as Senior Media Strategist for several of the world’s top PR firms (think Edelman, Burson-Marsteller, Hill + Knowlton, and Cohn & Wolfe) before forming his own Flatiron Communications, LLC.

Peter is a master of teaching communications professionals techniques and trends that will serve them best. Not only does Peter advise companies on how to best take advantage of the latest tools, he also leads the Publicity Club of New York, at which he’s organized SMW12 event The Socialization of News.

An avid social media user and author of award-winning weblog The Flack, Peter is more than qualified to moderate a discussion on the way in which news content is shared and marketed. Leaders from Bloomberg News, CNN U.S., NBC News, The New York Times and Thomson Reuters will be joining him.

Peter’s also responsible for The Dawn of Companion TV, to be held at Art & Culture Content Hub at Hearst Magazines. Recognizing that the TV industry has been changed by social TV and the “second screen,” Peter has created a conversation that will dive into the phenomenon of check-ins, content, and conversations with leading personalities from Bluefin Labs, Bravo (NBC Universal), Get Glue, HBO and Umami TV.

With so much going on in Peter’s world, we asked him for a few quick thoughts, hoping to get his advice on what —and who— we should be paying attention to.

How do you stay current on what’s popular?

I enjoy the News.me app on my iPad, which captures the articles linked to by those I’ve chosen to follow on Twitter. I also find inspiration in LongReads, the TED videos in the iTunes Store, and the current crop of non-fiction books about media and technology.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love working with uber-smart entrepreneurs who’ve developed or are in the process of creating pathbreaking technology, apps and products. I appreciate people who recognize and understand the value communications professionals can add. It is especially gratifying to see the media engagement strategy you’ve developed yield notable, meaningful results.

You’re certainly an expert at organizing panels! Who’d be a part of your Dream Panel?

Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Tim Cook. David Carr and Nick Bilton as moderators.

You can pick one person to have coffee with. Who would it be?

Buzzfeed co-founder Jonah Peretti. I caught him at Business Insider‘s Ignition conference and was impressed by his uncanny ability (and track record) in both starting and fueling memes.

What do you do to recharge?

My wife and I live vicariously through our three sons’ lives, and most recently, our third son’s exploits as a Princeton University varsity lacrosse player. We also love to go to the Metropolitan Museum on Sundays when it first opens, grab headphones, and explore different wings. We’re out of there by noon when the crowds arrive.

If you could have any client in the world, who would you help?

I suppose it would be fun assisting Andreesen Horowitz or Kleiner Perkins discover the “next big thing.”

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

Discovering new tunes on Turntable.fm or Spotify.

What advice would you have given to yourself 5 years ago?

To have attended SXSW in its early days!

Look for Peter during Social Media Week and share with him your thoughts on TV programmers, advertisers, and audience engagement. You can also follow him on twitter @peterhimler.