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All this week, organizations across Los Angeles — and the country — hosted workshops and events in honor of Social Media Week. While some events drew famous speakers and celebrity guests, others centered on more discussion-heavy panels. Hopefully you were able to attend a session or two, but if not, here’s a handy guide to highlights from the week.
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Monday
Kicking off the week, events focused on topics such as crowdsourcing and the future of journalism. The Los Angeles Times’ Dawn Chmlelewski relied on her experience to moderate a discussion centered on how audiences prefer to consume news today. The day’s later events focused on the cross-section of politics and social media, as well as how being connected affects small businesses.
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Tuesday
There were plenty of big voices on day two of SMW, but the day’s highlight was undoubtedly Larry King’s interview with Star Trek alum and social media wizard George Takei. The chat gave Takei yet another platform to candidly share his personal views. Takei touched on his internment during WWII, being a part of Star Trek, his decision to come out in 2005 and more. Social media influencer that he is, Takei even introduced a new term, Instacurity, or an excessive concern with one’s social media presence — obviously something he doesn’t have to worry about.
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Wednesday
While tons of people would kill to have breakfast with Mark Suster, a number of SMW attendees got to do just that on day three, where the entrepreneur and investor discussed the future of video. Given that 40 percent of the global population watches YouTube every month, it’s no wonder the Google-owned site has 63 percent market share. Suster said that sharing video on Vine and Instagram is a good idea, but producers should design for YouTube and then figure out how to distribute across channels.
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Thursday
Day four’s best event was all about powerful entertainment ladies who lunch. The four-woman panel included Sarah Penna from Big Frame and others. One of the biggest takeaways from this discussion was the role social media plays in creating community for women in entertainment — particularly important considering just over a ¼ film roles these days are intended to be filled by women. Using digital, women in the industry can reach not only their peers but also prospective audiences.
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Friday
The final day of SMW — today! While it’s still too early to determine the highlight of day five, we’re certainly into the theme: Celebrity, Lifestyle and Culture. The day’s talks explore the importance of engagement, social media’s transformative power in the TV world and the role of bloggers vs. celebrities in fashion marketing.
Which were your favorite talks from the week?
