Why Does #DiversityInTech Matter? And Why Should We Care?

Lola Banjo is a corporate strategist, a longtime STEM education advocate, and a Young Executive Board member of Code/Interactive, an organization committed to developing the next generation of diverse technology leaders.

Lola is also one of the organizers behind this year’s inaugural “Diversity in Tech Awards” which will take place in New York during Social Media Week. The #DiversityInTech Awards celebrate individuals and organizations ​championing the nationwide movement to increase diversity in STEM education, and will bring together leaders from tech, government, non-profit and education for the biggest celebration of its kind.


Diversity in the workplace

Earlier this month, Intel made its annual diversity data public and challenged other tech companies to do the same. The company also made a public commitment to addressing its diversity challenge by sharing its plans, which includes a goal for 40% of new employees to be women or underrepresented minorities (black, Latino, Native American) and to reach full representation by 2020. Other notable tech companies have however disagreed with Intel’s approach of setting and/or publicizing metrics driven diversity goals. Whether we agree or disagree with Intel’s approach, the announcement has added to the ongoing conversation about diversity, or the lack thereof, in technology, and has led some to ask the question: why does #DiversityInTech matter anyway and why should we care?

A recent survey by Fortune of nine of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley found that only about a third of the overall workforce is female, while underrepresented minorities (black, Latino, Native American) make up just 10% combined. These numbers shrink even further at the executive ranks. In simple terms, today’s tech companies are predominantly white, Asian, and male. Considering the fact that women make up half the population and underrepresented minorities make up about a third of it, this is a significant gap.

Several factors have been highlighted as the cause for this disparity. Many believe it is a pipeline problem, i.e. not enough women and minorities are studying STEM fields. Others have blamed it on subconscious prejudices of hiring managers who on average, as most humans do, naturally gravitate towards candidates with whom they share commonalities. Lastly, others have opined that an unwelcoming culture in the tech world is what forces diverse talent to exit before making it to leadership.

All of the above should be recognized in order to pave the pathway for solutions. Therefore, increasing diversity in tech requires a three-pronged approach: addressing the pipeline (STEM education), recruitment (hiring practices, metrics), and retention (support mechanisms, employee benefits, company culture).

Why it matters

With rapid advances in technology, the proliferation of social media and an increasingly demanding consumer base, the paradigm of global enterprise has shifted. Change is the norm, and it behooves companies to embrace it. From a business standpoint, diversity is no longer just a social responsibility, it has been shown to lead to tangible benefits such as increased innovation, better employee engagement and an ability to reach a wider array of customers, hereby leading to increased sales. In addition, in today’s information age with consumers making more conscious choices when it comes to companies to patronize, the possible risk of being known as a company that does not embrace diversity carries a heavy cost that most companies are not willing to bear.

Today, companies are embracing diversity in more strategic ways that reach beyond increasing the number of diverse new recruits. For example, Mattel’s recent rebranding of the iconic Barbie doll introduced 33 new dolls that more accurately reflect what women all over the world actually look like. The reaction was swift and positive — Barbie was a trending topic all week with a majority of commenters praising the move. Suffice it to say, a well-received product launch will inevitably generate more sales: a win-win for Mattel.

But beyond the business and the numbers, there is a less directly measurable but all the more impactful reason why #DiversityInTech and #STEM education matters. Representation. From a social cognitive perspective, representation matters because it ignites motivation, it sparks creativity and it inspires actualization.

Without a doubt, there is an amazing amount of power that lies in seeing someone in the same social group you belong to achieve success. I, for example, along with plenty of black girls, grew up feeling like becoming a billionaire is within reach because Oprah is a self-made one. Humans are social beings who form connections based on the ability to relate. To relate is to feel that you belong and the late great psychologist Abraham Maslow said it best: “the need to belong is a major source of human motivation”. After-all, why would anyone aspire to be anywhere where they do not feel they belong?

This feeling of belonging, or lack of, has been cited as one of the root causes for the diversity challenge. It is pervasive from the pipeline all the way to the executive ranks. Even when diverse talent are successfully recruited into tech companies, many have cited not feeling like they belong (which comes out in exit interviews often as lack of support, appreciation, etc.) as reasons why they exit. Some have said the culture of some tech companies is not welcoming for anyone who isn’t white, Asian and male, typically due to subconscious bias. Therefore, while companies are taking steps to increase the number of diverse recruits, they must also work to ensure that the work environments are conducive for all talent to thrive. To retain diverse talent, proper mechanisms to train, nurture and support recruits throughout their careers must be put in place.

My personal journey

STEM has always been a part of my life thanks to my father who started teaching me calculus, astronomy and programming when I was only 6 years old. By the time I was 10, I could solve complex partial differential equations and perform numerical analysis with ease. My Dad, an engineer himself, greatly believed that scientists, mathematicians and engineers made the world go and that the pursuit of STEM education is an indisputable avenue for achieving economic prosperity. Learning about science was a norm in our household. I spoke Newton before I could barely speak English. My Dad would make my brother and I read physics textbooks from cover to cover in a day then quiz us on topics when he got back from work. At first it felt like punishment, but by the time I was in my mid-teens, I was so fascinated by math, science and engineering that I wanted nothing more than to pursue it academically and eventually professionally.

My love for STEM did not always earn me praises, however. As a young girl, I was “different” from most of the other girls my age. I was constantly teased and called a nerd that at many points, I considered abandoning STEM for other fields I was being told both overtly and subtly were more acceptable for a woman to pursue.

Despite the social pressures, I went on to study Engineering in university. I was one of the only ethnic minorities in my classes, and also one of the few women — a double minority. By early in my professional career, I had become so accustomed to this imbalance that it became business as usual. But deep down, it felt lonely. So I started exploring ways I could help with changing the landscape. In addition, once I became familiar with the economic benefits a STEM education could provide, I started to see it as a possible pathway to addressing some of the socioeconomic challenges in our communities. I’d talk to anyone I could within my social networks about engaging more girls and minorities in STEM. I also began volunteering to mentor high schoolers in underserved communities so I could lend some personal anecdotes and get them more excited about STEM as an academic and career option, as well as represent someone who they can relate to.

I am aware of how fortunate I am to have had a strong foundation that encouraged my love for STEM. It is not lost on me that without my father’s not so gentle push (I mean really, how many kids get calculus textbooks for their birthday?), I would likely never have known how much I loved STEM and my life today might have never been exposed to the myriad of opportunities that being a STEM graduate has afforded me.

This is not the norm for many of the youth in our communities. Yet, I am encouraged knowing that support can come in various forms. As the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”. Non-family members can play just as large a part in providing a support system for our youth. This was the case for me during my university education, a time when a number of personal challenges almost derailed my academic pursuit. During this challenging time in my life, it was the support of my school’s Associate Dean of Student Development, a strong advocate of minority engineers, which kept me going. His genuine and personalized approach to taking an interest in his students’ success was a breath of fresh air. He was aware of the personal challenges I was facing, which were making an already tough Engineering curriculum seem impossible to complete, and he took a role as a key member of my support system. He was a sounding board every time I pondered abandoning ship and switching to an “easier” area of study. He would help re-center me with words of encouragement and reminders of how far I had come. Thanks to his support, I completed my Engineering education (with minors in Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science) and went on to graduate study.

A call to action

The foundational analytical skills my STEM education provided me have expanded my career options beyond what I once thought was possible. I wish for all youth in our communities to have this kind of opportunity. Yet, many of those in underserved demographics aren’t exposed to STEM. Today, when I find myself as the only woman or underrepresented minority in the room, I can’t help but think of how many others have missed or are missing out on the opportunity because of a lack of awareness of their ability to explore it. This lack of awareness, in addition to the absence of an ongoing support system that encourages the pursuit of STEM, may have led many to exclude themselves from the playing field. Statements like “I am just not good with numbers” become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In addition, societal pressures to be “cool” may be causing many of our youth to shy away from the stigma that being a “nerd” carries.

When actress Viola Davis won her Emmy for best actress in a drama series, she stated that the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. This can be applicable to almost every professional environment. In order to compete, you have to first know there is a game going on. This is why I believe the most pivotal step in addressing the pipeline challenge is creating awareness of STEM in constructive and efficient ways. It is important to fund programs that encourage STEM education for the youth already interested in it, but we must not forget about exposing that opportunity to those who aren’t currently considering it. Organizations like Code/Interactive (C/I) have achieved success with doing just that. By working with high schoolers in their natural environments, C/I is introducing tech to our youth in fun, engaging and constructive ways and completely changing their purview of what their career options are.

According to the 2014 New York State’s comptroller report, the booming city tech sector is adding jobs three times faster than the city overall and pumping billions into the economy. The average tech salary in the city was $118,600 in 2012, almost 50% higher than the $79,500 average salary citywide. The nationwide increase in demand for tech-skilled professionals represents a $500B opportunity in the next 10 years, yet students of underserved backgrounds are largely left out of the conversation. Currently, access to Tech-Ed is virtually non-existent for students from low income households.

C/I’s programming includes 3 programs aimed at helping underserved students overcome the opportunity gap by equipping them with the skills needed to succeed. By providing hands-on training in today’s most relevant technology subject areas, the program serves as a building block for long-term career paths in tech. Graduates of the program are able to attain tangible skills (coding), sharpen their career acumen, develop lifelong connections and friendships and are sometimes placed in internships with leading tech companies in the city. They are five times as likely as their peers to go to college and are able to earn wages that can double their household income. To date, 600+ students have successfully completed the program.

While there is still a lot of work to do to close the gap, there has been some progress. C/I’s inaugural #DiversityInTech < DIV > awards ceremony will recognize the individuals and organizations championing this movement. The awards aims to raise $45,000 which will make providing computer science scholarships to 100 additional NYC students a possibility. If in the NYC area, please consider attending the event on Thursday, February 25th, or donating if you are unable to. Volunteer opportunities are also available throughout the year.

In conclusion, improving diversity in tech and STEM education is not an easy challenge, but it is one that can be overcome. We can all play a part. Whether it is through mentoring, volunteering, financial support or just taking an interest in the conversation, we can help promote and effect the change we’d like to see and help create a world where every child, regardless of race or economic background, is able to explore the opportunities available to him or her, whether in STEM or otherwise, and unlocks the ability to reach his or her full potential in life.

Lola Banjo is a corporate strategist and longtime STEM education advocate. She serves as a Young Executive Board member of Code/Interactive, an organization committed to developing the next generation of diverse technology leaders. A product of a STEM education herself, Lola believes in the importance of technology and the role it can play in the socioeconomic enhancement of lives. She holds a B.S. in Engineering from Rutgers University — School of Engineering, a M.S. in Financial Engineering from NYU — School of Engineering, and a MBA in Strategy, Finance and Decision Sciences from Emory University — Goizueta Business School.

The Inaugural Diversity in Tech Awards Will Take Place During Social Media Week

Code/Interactive and New York’s tech community are joining forces with Social Media Week New York to celebrate the inaugural Diversity In Tech Awards the evening of Thursday, February 25th.

The DIV Awards will celebrate the individuals and organizations ​championing the nationwide movement to increase diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, and bring together leaders from tech, government, non-profits and education for the biggest celebration of its kind.

You can register, get involved, and purchase your ticket to the DIV Awards here, and all proceeds from the event go to Code/Interactive’s computer science education programs to teach low-income students in New York.

100% of ticket sales fund Code/Interactive’s expansion to ensure that even more New York students learn, build, and collaborate with technology.

The five award categories, include:

    Student Ingenuity Award
    Celebrates and honors the amazing work of K-12 students
    Educator Dedication Award
    Spotlights a teacher, school, or district that is making a major impact on students.
    Government Impact Award
    Illuminates a local government initiative that is increasing diversity in the technology sector
    Corporate Initiative Award
    Showcases a 21st century company building a diverse and welcoming workforce
    Community Champion
    Honors an individual in the technology and innovation community that is championing Diversity.

Follow @smwnyc (SMW New York) and @weareci (Code/Interactive) on Twitter for more updates, and watch the video below on how C/I is helping underserved students in NYC better connect with opportunities and access to technology.

About Code/Interactive (C/I)

C/I’s mission is to inspire and equip underserved students with the skills in computing, leadership, and professionalism needed to thrive in the Internet economy and beyond.

C/I’s year-round programs introduce students from underserved communities to the creative power of technology through the teaching of hard and soft skills. By providing hands-on training in today’s most relevant technology subject areas, C/I’s programs serve as the building blocks for long-term career paths in technology.

Learn more about C/I’s history and story here.

Christian Borges’ Fave 5 for SMW NYC

Christian Borges, a leader in the world of marketing, has led a impressive career focused on  reputation and social media strategies that help brands connect with customers wherever they are. Christian is the currently the Senior Vice President of Marketing at true[X] media, a company that helps brands increase engagement and capture the true attention of their customers. We are really excited that he will be joining us for Social Media Week again this year — so, we asked him to share with us some of his favorite events in our lineup this year.

In his words:

First, let me say that boiling down this year’s list of scheduled sessions down to a Top Fave 5 was no easy task. Seriously. This year’s list of topics seemingly takes the SMW NYC experience to the next level, both with regards to relevant, meaningful content and knowledgeable expert speakers. Excited as always to be a part of it!

My Fave Five:

  1. Masterclass: Impulse Response, A Strategic Approach to Algorithmic Encounters
    Wait – I get the chance to learn and interact with the NYTimes R&D Lab and learn about movement tracking and facial recognition, etc.? The Future of Now, damn straight!
  2. Masterclass: Building Wearables: A Hands-On Intro to Open-Source Interaction Platforms
    I’m both personally and professionally obsessed with all things #wearabletech, and see this vertical as one of the key drivers of data and intelligence for marketers in the very near future.
  3. The Future of Social Music, Presented by Spotify
    Music and advertising have forever been linked. In the past few years, music consumption has experienced such a drastic and aggressive transformation with the explosion of streaming music services such as iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and the newly launched Beats (amongst many others). Where’s it all going?
  4. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, a Conversation with Author danah boyd and Andrew Rasiej
    I am a HUGE fan of dana boyd, one of the preeminent experts and researchers on all-things related to privacy and youth-culture. Now more than ever, as a father of two little men, her words of data-driven intelligence and insight resonate with me more than ever before. When danah speaks, I listen.
  5. Man vs. Machine: Advertising’s Epic Battle for Human Attention
    How can brands and agencies compete in an attention-driven economy? Joe Marchese has a vision: less advertising that delivers more powerful storytelling for greater effectiveness. If you can’t handle the truth, don’t come to this session.

Honorable Mention:
The Changing Face of News Consumption, Hosted by WSJ
The past few months has seen the launch of such renegade news outlets as The Information, The Ozy, and even re/code. Couple that with the likes of Circa, Pulse, Flipboard – the shift in news consumption has in fact become the news.

Social Media Week, February 17-21, is fast-approaching so register now! Christian said it himself- choosing just five is hard! So make sure to check out the amazing lineup of other events that you won’t want to miss!

What You Really Need To Know About Privacy on Facebook (Infographic)

With the scope of NSA surveillance unveiled and an focus on curbing digital abuse, taking a good look at our privacy and security is increasingly common. With Facebook remaining the lad for American user engagement for a SINGLE web site (it rakes in around 6.75 hours per user per month — which seems a bit low to most of us…), do we really know what we need to about our privacy on the site? We spend a considerable amount of time there, and that means we’re revealing info to the company and their partners — and to people we may not even realize have access.

This is a topic we’ll be looking at during SMW14, particularly in regard to teens. We’re bringing in researcher and expert danah boyd to open up the conversation. danah’s research focuses on the intersection of technology, society, and policy. For the last decade, she has examined how American youth incorporate social media into their daily practices in light of different fears and anxieties that the public has about young people’s engagement with technologies.

So, before you join us and danah for a deeper look in February, here are some stats and some recommendations to keep you safe and get you started.

Facebook Privacy
Source: BestComputerScienceSchools.net

Uniting the Change-Makers & Do-Gooders: Nancy Lublin at SMW NYC

Creating change and empowering organizations is hard work. And few can do it better than Nancy Lublin. A regular feature on the Nonprofit Times’ “Top 50 Power and Influence” list, Nancy has a reputation for making charity cool and sustainable. As a young professional, Nancy turned Dress for Success into an international success, working in 125 cities in 15 countries.

“Leadership doesn’t always come from the top or from a title or from age or even from experience. It comes from courage—and nobody has cornered the market on courage.”

Now, Nancy is setting her sights on empowering youth to make an impact. As CEO and Chief Old Person at DoSomething.org, she helps get more than 2.4 million teens involved with social and cause campaigns. DoSomething.org has become the largest organization focused on youth and social change, reaching out to tens of thousands of youths and help them rise up from adverse situations. Using the platform she created with DoSomething.org, she saw a void for text-based services for teens. Thus, the Crisis Text Line was born, helping youth with issues ranging from bullying to eating disorders and abuse.

Nancy is also the author of Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business and could be found in the columns of Fast Company for two years. In her spare time, she is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She was named as the Woman of the Year by the New York Women’s Commission and is considered one of the most successful non-profit leaders in the world. Nancy is a doer, making waves wherever she goes.

Join her and other mover and shakers at SMW NYC this February. Get your pass today here.

Kicking-off Social Media Week Hacking for Education

This is a guest post by Yangbo Du.

How can social media and social business plus its technology enablers transform education?

This weekend at General Assembly New York, educators and the New York tech startup community gathered for 24 hours to design and build mobile and web applications for education. Given the importance of connection among educators, parents, and students in education (much like the company, its audience, and platforms in business), all projects involved a social component in some way; the following are a few highlights from the presentations.

Open Board transforms communication in the classroom from one-way to two-way, analogous to Salesforce Chatter and Microsoft Office Yammer for business. Messages from the teacher to students and back are displayed on a single screen, facilitating collaborative learning.

MCASTA enables teachers to evaluate tests from the test taker’s perspective and share findings with fellow teachers. While this version is specific to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it can be easily adapted to tests in place in other states.

Colloquial uses big data from digital and social media to assist English-as-a-second-language learning. The user can discover and immerse oneself in English-language content from a wide variety of genre, including content from major media outlets.

Here are the full weekend’s proceedings via Storify:

(See the second part here.)

The outcomes from #HackInteractive underscore how social media is about human-to-human connection more than anything else. It has been around since antiquity, with the Internet having facilitated its ubiquity and ease of use today. If business is social, education and other forms of human-to-human connection are social.

With the fundamental principle of social media in mind, think about how social media can empower you and your stakeholders to reach your objectives. Compelling reason to engage in the conversation during Social Media Week and share ideas and best practices.

College Students at SMW…or Not

This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here

Taking on Social Media Week NYC for the first time was everything I expected and much more. Nonetheless, I could not help but noticing that there was an obvious lack of college students at the events I attended. I am both a current college student and new to the entire #SMWNYC experience. As a result, I inferred that the lack of college students might be rooted on the fact that they don’t know what to expect or that they are unaware of how insightful it is into any kind of career path to be a part of this conversation.

Social media is not just a tool to communicate with your friends or to find out what your favorite celebrity is doing, they actually might not even be the one tweeting figured that one out in the Ghostwriter panel. If used to its fullest potential social media has the power to change our world, think Arab Spring or OWS, but on a smaller scale it can also change the amount of networking connections we establish. Social Media Week really helps to put this power in perspective regardless of the event you attend. I attended events that varied from Sports, Gaming, and Social Media to an event focused on Education, and I learned something from each of them.

There is a lens through which you are able to see different industries and their use of social media that you are just not able to get in a classroom. Listening to different panelists speak on how essential it is to market yourself as a brand and to really use social media as a leverage to establish connections is valuable advice. The tips and facts I learned throughout SMW resonated deeply because they were all techniques I could implement in the present to help me become a well-rounded candidate when it comes to entering the workforce.

College students might think it is a little too early to be attending events that are filled with established social media personalities, but I personally believe that this is the best time for that. Being exposed to so many successful people is not only motivation itself, but it is also an opportunity to network and pick the brains of those that have already traveled the path. It might be slightly intimidating at first to be the youngest and probably only student in an event filled with experts in a specific area, but it is also eye opening. By attending these events as a student or a person in the industry you really show that you are interested in learning more and have a true desire to experience social media first hand and to its full potential.

To see people speak on their experiences with social media and just exactly how it has helped them get to where they are is inspirational. Even more interesting and insightful is to learn how social media is implemented in everything from fashion to politics. All the events really build on the fact that social media is not only here, but it’s here to stay. I think it would only benefit students to take part in these events because they will be able to handle their online brands appropriately, learn how exactly social media affects their career of interest, and ultimately enjoy meeting such incredible experts in social media.

Youth and Social Media

This post is the second in a series by SMWNYC media partner, Differences Magazine. Written by Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker. Learn more about Differences Magazine and see the original post here.

This is an exciting time to be a young person interested in media! With the advent of mobile technology devices and the growth of social media platforms, many youth have access not only to consume media more easily and quickly but also to make media and share it. As access to both the consumption and creation of media has risen, so have the challenges and opportunities.

Challenges to youth in this new age of quick and easy social media come in both the consumption of media and in the creation of media. One of the greatest challenges that youth face in negotiating new media revolves around sex. With the average adolescent watching television for 12 hours per week and using the Internet for 12.5 hours per week, exposure to media that depicts unhealthy sexual practices and attitudes is highly likely. Not only is pornography more accessible than ever, but also even mainstream media tends to depict sexual behaviors without any mention of risk or responsibility. This creates a very real challenge for youth who may be relying on media to provide them with guidance and information about sexuality and sexual practices.

From cyber bullying to sexting, social media opens up avenues for problems in social relationships that did not exist twenty years ago. As teens and tweens use more mediated forms of communication, the chance for miscommunication expands exponentially. Between texting and social media sites such as Facebook and Tumblr, youth communicate more easily with friends outside of school and extracurricular activities. But because of the lack of traditional social cues such as body language and facial expression, many will end up arguing with friends over issues that may not have arisen if they had been talking to one another face to face. And, of course, the danger of being victimized by an adult predator is always lurking when youth use social media to communicate with people who are unknown to them in real life. Children who use mobile technology to share sexy photos of himself or herself with a friend may find that the ease of sharing pictures leads what they thought were private to become public. Arguments, sexy photos and conversation, and bullying that begin through social media can expand into real life and cause devastating social problems for young people.

These challenges of media use and accessibility are very real, and youth need guidance from trusted adults to learn how to negotiate them in order to make the most out of the opportunities that increased access creates. But, along with these challenges come opportunities for youth to increase their knowledge and skills and to share their own ideas more broadly.

A new wave of learning through social media has opened up doors for young people to learn everything from foreign languages to how to write computer code and everything in between. This kind of access to knowledge and skill development is completely new, and in some ways youth benefit more than adults because of their familiarity with new media and their openness to using it as a source of learning.

Social networking sites and the use of wireless communication programs allow real time conversations with someone from a distance. This provides the opportunity to continue relationships that in the past would gave been too distant and to build new relationships with friends from around the world. This open line of communication builds new understandings and collaborations for young people from very different cultures. They can build worldwide coalitions around everything from special interests and hobbies to activism activities.

The ease of making media provides the chance not only to make original media but also to share one’s creations with the world. Mobile technology puts the ability to take photographs and create films right in the hands of young people. Sites such as YouTube, social networking sites, and blogging sites allow young people to develop a worldwide audience for their work. Instead of waiting until they can afford expensive equipment, young people can use mobile devices to hone their filmmaking and photography skills as they grow and learn. This brings new vision and fresh ideas into media industries.

Youth today have opportunities to use media in ways that could not have even been imagined twenty years ago. There is no doubt that media literacy education is a must for children and adolescents today. With opportunity comes challenge, but when young people are provided with media literacy education, it gives them the tools to learn to use social media safely, to critically analyze the messages that are being sent to them from different sites, and to learn to construct and share media and their thoughts, skills, and knowledge on their own terms. With these new tools and this new knowledge, young people have a wide-open world to explore, learn, and share.

Jennifer Shewmaker, PhD is a nationally certified school psychologist and licensed specialist in school psychology who has worked with hundreds of adolescents and families. She writes about adolescents and media on her blog www.jennifershewmaker.com.

Youth-Focused Media: Announcing Our Partnership With Differences Magazine

Knowing your audience is key, and that’s something Differences Magazine has down. Catering to teens and young adults from ages 14 to 22, Differences Magazine is an engaging online magazine that not only produces content but provides a forum for teens to discuss nearly all areas of their day-to-day lives.

It brings the best of all worlds, looking at current fashion trends and celebrity entertainment news and real-life issues, higher education, finances, healthy living, and global social issues. All this makes Differences Magazine a perfect partner for SMWNYC. As Social Media Week continues to expand and grow, we want to enhance our programs and features for all of our supporters. And this year, we’re proud for this addition. Complementing our addition of Constant Contact as our Small Business Sponsor, Differences Magazine will not only help us ensure we’re providing high quality content for youth and teens but also help us spread the word.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll see content on our blog from Differences Magazine more tailored for our supporters. Learn more about them here, and keep up with them on Twitter and Facebook. And most importantly, welcome Differences Magazine to the SMWNYC partner family!

Teens and Social Media Week: Why Should They Care?

This post is the first in a series by SMWNYC media partner, Differences Magazine. Written by Jessica Bender. Learn more about Differences Magazine and see the original post here.

One of the biggest weeks of the year for social media is just around the corner, and thousands across the Big Apple are just anxious in anticipation for the year’s festivities. One major demographic that might not even know what’s going on, though, is the adolescents and teens that use social media about every day of their young lives.

It feels like the only stories that the news covers about teens and social media usually involve being addicted to the Internet or how sites like Facebook and Formspring give youngsters easier ways to cyber bully. Heads up, news conglomerates; the Internet wasn’t made to brainwash teenagers. Just to prove this notion, SMW 2012 is full of teen-friendly panels and events.

With over 80 percent of American teens age 12 to 17 on social networking sites, here are just a few examples as to why SMW is vital for teens to pay attention to (although we don’t recommend skipping classes to attend – stay in school!):

1. Your education depends on social media. With higher amounts of students dropping out and the higher education bubble on the verge of bursting, our education system is in trouble. Universities and colleges across America are already ahead of the game and plotting ways to make high school graduates interested in going back to school. The rise of online courses and high use of social media to transition from high school senior to college freshman have made earning an associate’s or bachelor’s degree look a little cooler, but can methods like this work for the high school spectrum?

a. Panels that might interest youThe Classroom of the Future: How Social Media Can Better Our Education System; Get “Schooled” By the Class of 2015: The New College Orientation – Powered By Students, Enabled By Social

2. Television will become a lot more interactive in the future. Networks have had a hard time scooping up and keeping viewers from watching their programs in real-time, thanks to their mortal enemies DVR and TiVo. Their only hope is to engage their demographics in interactive ways, like using social and mobile media to interact with their audience and keep them watching. The home of Top Chef and The Real Housewives of Every City in America, Bravo, is just one of the few networks that currently do this successfully – can others follow suit?

a. Panels that might interest youThe Mobile-Social Living Room: How Emerging Media is Reviving the Live Television Experience; Social Television: Opportunities for Broadcasters and Advertisers

3. Your video game addiction will actually benefit society at some point. Games can be fun, but can they actually make a difference? New research has suggested that gaming can create real-world change by influencing positive behavior and creating collaborative communities. While green companies are using mobile apps and social media to reward green actions, new games like America2049 are using pop culture and community mobilization to provoke people to take action for human rights and other important causes.

a. Panels that might interest youGreen Gamification: Combining Social Media & Game Mechanics to Promote Sustainability; GAME/WORLD: The New Collaborative Community

4. Social media will make you more socially responsible. If a campaign or organization wants to succeed in changing the world nowadays, they have to engage their followers and partners using social media to persuade them to jump on to their bandwagon. One cause in particular that has been stirring up global interest is girls’ education. Campaigns and non-profits like 10X10 and She’s the First know that girls will run the world one day, and their methods of social engagement have opened the eyes of thousands across the country.

a. Panels that might interest you10×10: Educate Girls, Change the World; The New Face of Social Good: How to Create Your Own Social Media Magic

With over 300 panels and events to choose from, there’s something to suit every teen’s taste. There’s officially no excuse to miss out on the fun. But, should homework and extracurricular activities get in the way, all the SMW excitement will be covered on Facebook and Twitter.