Social Media Week Partners with CNN iReport to Cover the Events of Social Media Week Worldwide

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Social Media Week (www.socialmediaweek.org), a unique, week-long global conference that takes place in 12 cities simultaneously between September 19-23rd, announced today a partnership with CNN iReport, CNN's global participatory news community. Social Media Week and iReport have teamed up to create a joint co-branded assignment that allows citizen journalists around the world to create and share stories regarding how social media is impacting people's lives. Through the assignment, iReporters will be able to interact with each other to tell a story and to upload photos and videos of the events and happenings of Social Media Week in real-time.

Reflecting the global impact of social media – and its role as a catalyst in driving economic, cultural, political and social change – Social Media Week is one of the world's most unique global platforms, offering a series of interconnected activities and conversations around the world on emerging trends in social and mobile media across all major industries. Social Media Week goes beyond just providing content and engages with top brands and companies. Through these partnerships and with the help of advisors and boards, Social Media Week cultivates top quality content, free and open to anyone who wants to participate. Those who are unable to attend in person can follow the action and join the conversation online.

iReporters from all over the world come to CNN.com and an array of CNN's mobile platforms everyday to share photos, video, audio and stories they deem newsworthy. The iReport community has more than 900,000 registered contributors, who are extremely passionate about the news. The iReport/Social Media Week assignment found at http://cnnireport.com/SMW, will ask iReporters to share how social media is affecting and shaping their lives, their jobs and their communities. Additionally, the assignment will ask iReporters to share how social media is changing their political actions and their entertainment choices and the way that they receive their news.

"Social media is redefining our world in so many ways – everything from entertainment to the way we consume news, and CNN's iReport is the perfect example of this," said Toby Daniels, founder of Social Media Week and CEO of Crowdcentric. "CNN's iReport platform has shown us that there is a huge demand for reliable and trustworthy citizen journalism, and that's why it's the ideal partner for Social Media Week."

"CNN iReport is thrilled to be partnering with Social Media Week," said Lila King, participation director for CNN Digital. "This global event is a perfect opportunity to connect iReporters across the world and invite them to share their personal stories on how social media has changed so many lives."

Launched in February 2009, in New York City, Social Media Week's presence has rapidly grown from one city to 21 cities across the globe, with this year's 5th biannual event taking place simultaneously in Los Angeles, Chicago, Milan, Berlin, Glasgow, Vancouver, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Beirut and Moscow.  

The last Social Media Week in February drew over 30,000 registered participants to live events and 300,000 connecting to the experience online.  The upcoming conference will be the biggest to date and is expected to draw thousands of participants from across the globe.

Registration for Social Media Week began Tuesday, September 6th.  For the latest news and updates and information about how to register, visit www.socialmediaweek.org, or follow SMW on Twitter (@socialmediaweek) or Facebook for the latest news.

About Social Media Week

Social Media Week is owned and operated by Crowdcentric Media LLC and is a global platform connecting people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.  Delivered primarily through a network of internationally hosted conferences and online through social media, Social Media Week literally connects hundreds of thousands of people every year through learning experiences that aim to advance our understanding of social media's role in society. To learn more, visit www.socialmediaweek.org.

About CNN iReport

CNN iReport is CNN's global participatory news community. iReporters are given the opportunity to form communities around shared interests and engage in impassioned discussions. iReport represents the best of both a user-generated content and a social networking site. CNN iReporters may gain additional recognition for their content by having that material, once vetted and approved for use, appear on a CNN platform (CNN television network or a CNN Digital property). iReports are vetted for CNN with the same journalistic and editorial standards as any other kinds of footage from CNN staff, affiliates, stringers, story subjects and other parties. To learn more, visit www.ireport.cnn.com.

SOURCE Crowdcentric Media LLC