Social Media Week comes to Johannesburg

It will join Sydney, Rotterdam, London, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Berlin, Miami, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Rome and Toronto as host cities during that week.

Crowd-sourced event

Described as one of the world's leading multi-faceted events dedicated to social media and technology, it is hosted in South Africa by DigiSense. Globally in its sixth year of operation, it has reached attendees in 26 cities and racked up an online audience of 1 million, plugging in by streaming video, social and mobile experiences.

One of the unique things about it is that it is a crowd-sourced event made up of content curated and planned by members of the business and start-up communities. It is an opportunity for both established and emerging business leaders, entrepreneurs, brands and organisations to meet, collaborate and share ideas, all driven by the power of social media and technology.

Host an event

All are invited to help design Johannesburg's first experience by hosting an event; applying to be a speaker or becoming a partner, thereby enjoying an opportunity to amplify their messages and to develop new relationships.

Submissions for event ideas and speaker opportunities opened yesterday and will run until 18 July 2014. Ideas can adopt a variety of formats including keynotes, panels, fireside chats, networking mixers, virtual hangouts, hack-a-thons, master classes and more.

There are also opportunities for volunteers, sponsors and in-kind partners who wish to take part in the production of SMW Johannesburg. For more information, go to www.socialmediaweek.org/johannesburg.