Two thousand and twelve was a year filled with incredible advancements in digital and social media. As technology continues to move forward at a breakneck pace, the New Year is a good time to stop, put on our prognosticator hats and make some predictions -- what's hot, what's new and what's trending in 2013?

Join us on Tuesday, January 29 for a panel featuring industry thought leaders that will focus on upcoming trends and how social, with the integration of digital, will impact our lives in this new year.

SMC Seattle January Event 

When: Tuesday, January 29 at 6 - 8 p.m. 

Where: The Social, Seattle (21+)

What’s included: Drink tickets and appetizers

Parking: Street parking and paid lots available (also very convenient via Metro)

About the Panelists:

Sabra Schneider: As the Director of Electronic Communications for the City of Seattle, Sabra works at the intersection of technology, communications and government. Previously she drove web, social media and gov 2.0 efforts for King County. Sabra also teaches an annual workshop for the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs called “Likes, Tweets, and Shares: Managing a Social Organization.” You can find her on Twitter at @sabrak.

Lulu Gephart: Lulu is the manager of digital engagement at REI. She is a bona fide gear fanatic and leads a small and mighty team on all social strategy and execution for REI. The team manages REI’s social presence across the web as well as all social design features and UGC elements on REI’s owned properties. Previously she led the paid search program for REI and in her past life did marketing and PR for travel and tourism clients out of Lake Tahoe, CA. Her favorite site these days is www.REI1440Project.com. You have find her on Twitter at @lux2.

Lourdes Orive: As Director, Community and Online Support, Lourdes drives the strategy for Microsoft’s global social care strategy.  Before joining Microsoft, her professional experience includes working as marketing director for Major League Baseball’s MLB.com (she’s a huge baseball fan!), managing the Starbucks.com website and ecommerce business for Starbucks Coffee Company, and developing online properties as an executive producer for the Oxygen Media network. You can find her on Twitter at @lorive.

About SMC Seattle: 

SMC Seattle fosters an online community where diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn. To learn more, visit http://smcseattle.com/, follow SMC Seattle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/smcseattle or become a Fan of Social Media Club on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SMCSeattle.