Staying Ahead Of The Digital Game: Social Media Week In NYC

In a world where everything is so 27 seconds ago, knowing the future seems like the only way of staying on top of things. That's exactly what Social Media Week (SMW) is here for; the leaders of social media - advertising and public relations agencies, technology developers, the media, including tumblrers and bloggers, and all other interested users gather together (60,000 total annually) in the 25 cities where SMW is held from February 13-17.

Such cities include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Sao Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Istanbul, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Glasgow, Berlin, Moscow, Beirut, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, DC and Miami.

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The ways in which we communicate and interact have been altered and still are changing so rapidly that it's hard to keep up with. How to establish and maintain a valuable relationship with customers, followers and target audiences is at the core of Social Media Week, but it is also about staying relevant in an ever-changing digital world. With the latest technological innovations, and the most up and coming new platforms, SMW is on top of it all.

Founded only three years ago, SMW has has become a truly globalized phenomenon. With partners such as PepsiCo, Ogilvy, Nokia, the Guardian and Financial Times, the importance of social media in basically every realm is obvious. With social networks influencing everything, from politics to our love lives (see video below), Social Media Week is a topic that should be of interest for everyone -- and talks such as Men are from Foursquare, Women from facebook seem to confirm this notion.

Check out some of the following talks happening this week in NYC below!:

- Chocolate Tasting Networking Party for NYC's Social Goods Community. Does a networking partywhich focuses on chocolate (and wine!) tasting need any more explanation to make our hit list?

- Social Media Singles Tweetup. A new kind of blind dating.

- How Street Style Blogs Affect Retail and Design. Long live the democratization of fashion!

- Using Social Media in the Fashion Industry hosted by Parsons the New School for Design and open for all their students with ID.

-Instagram NYC Community Party . We bet that party is going to be well documented in a vintage filter sort of way.

-Medioke: karaoke for media professionals and those who aspire to get there: "a night of caterwauling, cocktailing, carousing."

To check out all the events happening during SMW, check their schedule.

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