Smart Autos panel with Pandora, Verizon and Koons Automotive

Social Media Week is in full swing here in D.C. I moderated a panel on social media and smart automobiles yesterday, discussing how recent innovations are impacting the automotive, wireless and technology industries. We filled a room at Verizon in downtown Washington with representatives from virtually every angle of the automotive industry – from developers to government agnecy folks to manufacturers and public affairs teams. Read through these key takeaways from our discussion and then check out the Twitter conversation on the event hash tag (#SMWauto) via Storify slideshow.  Thanks again to our esteemed panelists Link Hoewing of Verizon, Rena Shapiro of Pandora, and Dave Telfer of Koons Automotive – click here to get their Twitter handles and follow them. Key #SMWAuto Takeaways:

• Technology and social media have brought the wireless, technology and automotive industries together. Ten years ago, they had no real reason to work together, but all that has changed.
• The dealership experience continues to be reshaped by technology – not just the cars themselves but also the way dealership sales people present information about their products to customers.
• Driven by consumer demand, 85 vehicle models now offer Pandora radio integrations.
• Smart roads, and not just more highways, are key to resolving our traffic and congestion woes.
• Time spent at the actual dealer is greatly reduced (from 2-3 visits to just 4 hours on site) because of how much time shoppers are spending online doing research before walking into the showroom.
• Government and industry working together on how to make all these technologies feasible without distracting drivers.

*Photo credit: Ryan Emge