Derrick N. Ashong to Give Keynote Address at Social Media Week's Los Angeles Event

Online, September 20, 2012 (Newswire.com) - It has been a busy year for Derrick N. Ashong (DNA) (www.derrickashong.com). After speaking at Google Inc. headquarters in Mountain View, CA in February; guest-hosting Michael Smerconish's nationally syndicated radio show in Philadelphia; being nominated for an Emmy Award for his social media TV show The Stream; and currently covering this year's RNC and DNC conventions for the BET network, Ashong is now slated to give a keynote address (Twitter hashtag #SMWLA #MillionDownload) at this year's Social Media Week (SMW) event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 26th at 10:00 AM, which will be streamed live by the SMW organization.

In his address, DNA will be discussing the unprecedented power of the internet to promote sharing and cooperation which ultimately puts creators and collaborators in the driver's seat of society. While recently proposed legislation like SOPA/PIPA represents the desperation of legacy industries to maintain their control over content, a cultural and technological shift has taken place that cannot be rewound, and there is no one better to engage people in tying together these cultural, political and technological themes than musician, entrepreneur, and former Oprah radio personality, Derrick N. Ashong.

DNA will be speaking about the Million Download Campaign-a project to give away a million free downloads of tracks and remixes from DNA & Soulfège's highly successful album AFropolitan-as featured in Fast Company Magazine this past spring. The goals of the campaign are to engage a global community in a dialogue about the power of "Open Source Culture" as represented by the music and message of AFropolitan. It is also a challenge to the outmoded paradigm of the mainstream music industry, and an illustration of how the power of technology, social media and grassroots networks can be leveraged to "break a band" without a corporate label.

With an established presence in both broadcast and social media, Ashong will discuss how this revolutionary campaign to put the power of music back in the hands of artists and fans is an example of a broader shift towards "Open Source Culture"-a phenomenon that can be seen in everything from technology, business, culture and agriculture, to political movements like the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and related movements around the world-a phenomenon which has only begun to tap its possibilities.

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 10:00 to 10:30 AM
Event Website: http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/event/one-million-downloads-activating-the-power-of-open-source-culture/#.UEEmMKnDKFU
Location: io/LA, 7083 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028, 213.925.2998, http://iola.la/

Contact info for Derrick N. Ashong: Janet Castiel, Redwood Entertainment Inc., (212) 543-9998
info@redwoodentertainment.com, www.redwoodentertainment.com
Management: M. Quentin B.L. Williams, The Butler Lappert Williams Firm PC, (212) 572-4822, info@blwfirm.com ####