The panel is called The State of Social Media, but another lengthier title could have been Social Media: Past Present & Future. A lot of the discussion in the early months & years around social media seemed to be focused on whether or not it was actually to be taken seriously. With boys like Zuckerberg, Chad Hurley & Evan Williams leading the way it seemed hard to take all this social stuff seriously. The use of the very word "social" made it seem lightweight and just a bit of fun. But of course those early days are over and it seems everyone is taking "social" a lot more seriously.

The presentation takes us through social media's known knowns, known unknowns and finally, unknowns uknown. Some basic ground to cover includes:

1.     What's driving the growth?

2.     What have been the biggest successes for social in business, in society, etc? Who's getting it right or wrong? Examples of great creativity, innovation, impact? How are organisations & people big & small using it to do things differently.

3.     2014: what does the world like? What's different? Who's winning? Who's lost? How have our interactions with the world & technology changed?