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Social Media Week Chicago 2012 will host a lineup of 90 free events across 40 venues throughout the city that explore the social, cultural and economic impact of social media from Sept. 24 -- 28. The event is organized by Zocalo Group and the Chicago Tribune.

In its second year, Social Media Week Chicago 2012 already has more than 14,000 registrations by social media novices, experts and enthusiasts. This year's increased interest from both the consumer and business communities signifies the impact that social media is having across Chicago and demonstrates the shift occurring in the way people are communicating and connecting.

Due to high demand, registration has been extended for many events, including a variety of keynote speakers, interactive events and educational programming covering all aspects of social media. Be sure to check the Social Media Week Chicago event schedule and social channels for current updates. Some of the highlighted events include:

Erik Qualman, founder and author of "Socialnomics" Tuesday, 9/25 from 11 a.m -- 12 p.m. at the Tribune Tower

Brad Keywell, managing partner and co-founder of Lightbank Tuesday, 9/25 from 12:30 -- 2 p.m at the Tribune Tower

Mayor Emanuel's Digital Trio: a conversation between Brett Goldstein, chief data officer; John Tolva, chief technology officer; and Kevin Hauswirth, director of social media Tuesday, 9/25 from 2 -- 3 p.m. at CDW Plaza

Chicago's Startup Masters: a conversation with Logan LaHive, founder and CEO of Belly; Matt Maloney, co-founder and CEO of GrubHub; and Genevieve Thiers, founder of Sittercity Thursday, 9/27 from 3 -- 4:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Theater

"When Social Transforms a City" featuring John Tolva, Chicago's chief technology officer Thursday, 9/27 from 5:30 -- 7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Chicago

In addition, social media and house music lovers are invited to attend one of this year's featured events -- From Chicago to Berlin: Silent House Party, presented by Tostitos® to be held on Sept. 26 at Pioneer Court on Michigan Avenue. The Silent House Party is a collaborative, cross-city music event that unites Social Media Week in Chicago, the birthplace of house music, with Social Media Week in Berlin, a current hub for the house music scene. To kick off the celebration, Kenny Jammin' Jason from the Hot Mix 5, one of the originators of house music, will blend some of the best house music Chicago and Berlin have to offer. Follow @SMWChicago for details on how to join the party!

To see a full list of Chicago events, visit www.socialmediaweek.org/chicago, go to the ˜Schedule' tab and select Chicago from the drop-down menu. Of these events, 35 will also be Livestreamed throughout the week and can be followed at http://new.livestream.com/pages/smw.

Social Media Week Chicago also welcomes Brickfish as this year's city sponsor.

"We're very excited to be the city sponsor for Social Media Week Chicago," said Michael Mullarkey, CEO of Brickfish. "It is great to see so many companies learning about how to leverage social media to better engage their consumers and move beyond ˜likes' to social commerce and ROI."

Other key contributors to the weeklong event include Science and Technology track sponsor CDW and Cisco as well as other sponsors including Beam, Frito-Lay, Follett Software, Qdoba, Nissan and Lab 42.