Around five years ago, several enthusiastic people gathered to discuss the emerging technology known as 'social media'. The result of this meeting was the formation of the first chapter of the Social Media Club in San Francisco. The primary goal of the Social Media Club is to build a global network which helps members become more knowledgeable in the field through relevant discussions, events and consultation. The club was created because there was a need for a neutral third party platform in which people can share best practices, support ethics and standards, and develop programmes to promote digital media literacy.

It has been but five short years and through word of mouth, the support of over a 1000 volunteers and staying true to the club's values of transparency and sharing, the Social Media Club has grown from a single Chapter in San Francisco to over 300 Chapters in across 200+ cities in 49 countries, connecting approximately 200,000 people around the globe.

The Colombo chapter of the Social Media Club, the 48th member nation, brings forth the values of expanding digital media literacy, sharing lessons learned, promoting standard technologies, encouraging ethical behavior, and sharing best practices to the business context. Under the guidance of Social media club San Francisco, Social media club Colombo Chapter was formed as the 318th Chapter by the Chapter leader Shivonne Bambarandage who is currently the President of the club and the Management Board consist of Geethal Fernando, Asith De Silva , Chamindra Hettitantirige , Natasha Mawella, Samantha Mendis ,Indulekha Nanayakkara, Gehan Blok, Ravin De Silva and Umair Wahid. SMC Colombo will spearhead key initiatives covering relevant aspects of business and education as it applies to the social media context and its responsible and effective use in these areas consistent with the club's missions.

One of the Priorities of the club’s far reaching impact will be a Social Media Awareness Programme for Students and Schools. The aim of this programme is to promote digital literacy amongst students in the responsible and safe use of social media tools. Likewise, for schools it revolves mainly around creating an identity that students can connect with strongly that then carries with them far beyond their school years no matter where they are.

Social media is currently one of the most powerful tools that business professional can wield.Research done by the Colombo chapter on their discussions with industry professionals, educators, and corporate shows that awareness level of social media, and the control measures such as privacy are not at a satisfactory level across the board. However, conceptually, social media, digital media and social networks will continue to grow and an increasing number of corporate and students alike will embrace the technology as a part of their routine. With this in mind Social media club Colombo chapter will engage in various awareness sessions targeting corporate and students, Colombo Chapter is in a position to collaborate with many professional associations Corporates and educational institutes for this purpose as a representative social network brand and as a brand which is in line with today's fast growing technologies in the world. With improved social media literacy community is expected to use better judgment in their businesses and personal lives building a more responsible social media consumer for the future.

Website to register - http://socialmediaclub.org/chapter/colombo
Face book - http://www.facebook.com/SMC.Colombo
Twitter - http://twitter.com/SMCColombo or @SMCColombo
LinkedIn group - Social Media Club Colombo Chapter