The Personal Democracy Forum's Conference.

The Personal Democracy Forum is hosting the eighth annual PdF conference  in New York City on June 6-7, 2011. PdF is the world's leading conference exploring and analyzing technology's impact on politics and government.


This year's theme is "Agents of Change." It deals with how people use Facebook and Twitter, among other Social Media tools, to change the world. Instead of merely talking about how the Internet is revolutionizing politics, we must talk about how people are using the Internet to change politics. At the end, the Internet doesn't empower anyone. We empower ourselves. 


The Forum will be about all the new uses people come up with technology, as well as the policy changes that we may need in order to make such activity safe and productive (think about the past events in the Egypt and Libya).


For the list of speakers, experts and practitioners.


Here, to register.



WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Do you know of any Social Media related Conference or Forum?

Wallpaper's Magazine Free iPhone App.

Wallpaper magazine launches a brilliant app that helps people to find the best events of the  Milan's Salone del Mobile and the fastest way to rout to them.


The Milan's Salone del Mobile is certainly the most important furniture/design event of the world and Wallpaper Magazine and Apple were smart to capitalize on the difficulties people find to get around it. To save people's time, Wallpaper's edited must-see shows, installations and pop-ups, and also important designs suggestions of not to miss events. 


In addition, you will get Wallpaper's daily news, galleries, and videos. 


WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you seen any smart way a company capitalized on an event or situation by making an app?

TV is Dead and Facebook is Irresistible.

An essay contest asked teens about the most impacting Media and the results were surprising. The essay contest was a StageofLife.com initiative and revealed that TV is dead and Facebook is Irresistible - at least among teens and college students.


StageofLife.com asked its teens and college visitors, "What form of media impacts your life the most, and why?" as part of its monthly writing contest series for students. Over 5,190 students from all 50 U.S. states and 69 countries visited the teen writing contest page.


From the scores of submitted blogs to the contest, four trends/themes emerged about teens' attitudes towards the media:

• The Internet - Nearly a quarter of the students said Internet was the media that affected them the most.
• Television - It received the most negative responses. Many students talked about its "mind numbing" effects and felt TV is distracting. 
• Facebook - A large percentage of teens cited Facebook as the most influential media in their lives. It connects them to friends, and family and keep them informed. They also mentioned the downfalls of this medium, such as privacy and cyber-bullying. 
• Overall media is positive - The majority of students felt that media in all forms is an important , powerful, and positive influence on a person's lives.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What's the most influential media in your life?

Social Media helps Fighting Diseases.

Ferrokin Biosciences, a Californian pharmaceutical company is more one example of the power of Social Media and technology to make our lives easier and better. It's a small company with only seven employees who work from home, and a collection of about 60 vendors and contractors who supply all the disparate pieces of the drug-development process. And its headquarters is in at the attic of the farmhouse-style home of Dr. Hugh Young Rienhoff Jr.


Rienhoff founded the company in 2007 as a start-up, a virtual biotech company. Since then, his team has picked up talent and resources as needed, raising $27 million and seeing a drug from development into Phase 2 clinical trials. However, how can they accomplish all this without a lab? 


Because Ferrokin has replaced the big lab building with a global community of vendors and freelancers linked by e-mails, social networks, and file sharing the company has a low-cost structure. This is a small company only connected by the tendrils of the Internet and the relationships that grow so easily there. The consequences are more variety of drugs in the market, and more niche drugs targeting neglected or rare diseases.


It is a smart way of using the complexity of the global community to fight the terrible complexity of diseases.


WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you ever heard of a way Social Media and technology have helped science and medicine?

How to "Engage!" with Social Media?

Brian Solis released the second edition of his acclaimed Social Media and business book, "Engage! the Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web." The new version has been edited and focuses in supporting executives and strategists to craft, execute, and assess social Media engagement strategies.

The second edition offers brand new content, including Facebook commerce, how to measure ROI, Social Media tools, and the human touch of Social Media. It is truly a practical guide on how to use this new form of communication effectively. "Over the past year, I listened to what people loved about "Engage!" and also what they needed to get the job done. I preserved the original with the sole purpose of creating a highly targeted resource for busy executives and business owners. Throughout the process, I kept the following question in mind: What do I need to do? How do I do it? And how do I measure success?" said the author of the book, Brian Solis.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Do you recommend any Social Media book you've read that helped you in excelling in this medium?