It's day two of Social Media Week in Toronto, and one thing we've realized this year is how few people (outside of our digital space) actually know about SMW. In a nutshell, Social Media Week was started 3 years ago by the folks at Crowdcentric - a New York based strategy firm that specializes in bridging the gap between media, communications and technology.

In this short amount of time, Crowdcentric has managed to expand SMW to over 21 participating cities and attract a whopping 60,000 attendees spread out over a thousand individually organized events. In Toronto, SMWTO will be gracefully taking over major venues, pubs and agency boardrooms to discuss the power of social media, it's impact on society and where all of this is heading.

Toby Daniels, CEO of Crowdcentric, British native and creator of SMW, confessed in an interview with The New York Observer to hating web industry conferences. "I spent my first two years in America traveling the country going to conferences, so I really grew to hate them," said Daniels. “A schedule set in stone, expensive full conference pass, demo booths at the Javits Center, I mean, just shoot me.”

It would be hard to argue with the man in this case!

Redefining the conference culture is no easy task. It's a million dollar business full of glorified gurus and self-proclaimed experts. What makes Social Media Week unique is it's "distributed" approach i.e. any person or company can create and host an event - and all events held are free of charge. Sure, big brands like Yahoo Canada and BMO are involved, but for the most part, events are organized by participants.

By the people, for the people. Smart.

Though most events in Toronto are full, there is a waiting list and attendees are encouraged to "release" their seats should they not be able to show face. For event schedule and venue information, click here.