Latinos In Technology and Social Media Come Together at the Waldorf Astoria, NYC

Influential Latinos in social media are being honored this week in New York at the third annual LATISM Awards Gala.

The event, which is running from September 19 through Saturday, September 21, in New York City, is the third annual conference and awards gala put on by LATISM, which stands for Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media.

At the LATISM 2013 Annual Conference, which is being held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in the heart of New York City, the Latino community - with technology leaders and influential social media managers and personalities - will discuss best practices in social media and explore new ideas in tech, along with honoring some of the best performers in the burgeoning field of social media.

The LATISM 2013 Awards Gala is taking place on Friday September 20, where social media leaders across several categories will be honored, including best bloggers in the fields of Tech, Parenting, and Food, the best Multicultural Campaign, best Latin Vlogger, and more.

LATISM has an impressive list of sponsors for the event, including Google, Toyota, Univision, AT&T, Disney, and McDonalds. Founded in 2009, Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to equip members of the Latino community with the tools they need to succeed in social media and technology, as well as to transform their communities through networking.

This year's conference includes the first ever Latino hackathon (or Hackatón), as well as presentations about monetizing your blog, Latina tech entrepreneurs, and using tech innovation to empower English language learners, as well as workshops on LinkedIn, being a successful tech startup, Vlogging, and the intersection between SEO and social media.

As Latinos Post Tech previously reported, Latinos are some of the most active on social media, according to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study. At a higher rate, a statistically significant higher rate of 80 percent (compared to 72 percent, overall), Latinos use now social media more than other demographics broken down into Race/Ethnicity.

Pew found that Hispanic adults use social networks more than white, non-Hispanic (at 70 percent) and black, non-Hispanic adults (75 percent).

That survey was taken in 2013, but as far back as 2009, Pew was finding that Latinos were leading the charge in social media. Back in 2009, when MySpace was the top social network (a lot has changed) Pew found that "among adults, MySpace is the most popular online social network," and almost half of adult Latinos were using social media, compared to 35 percent overall.

In addition to using social media at a rate higher than the average, Latinos are also using high-tech niche social sites, like the social news site Reddit, at a higher rate as well. In addition, mobile internet is another category where Latinos are leading the growth of an industry, as Latinos also own smartphones at a higher than average rate, according to another Pew study.

The LATISM Conference will wrap up on Saturday, Sept. 21. For more information, go to LATISM's (nifty Google-style) event website here.