When writing a book about the transformation of an entire industry—one that is socially driven by so many incredible people who collectively work together to form one voice—the acknowledgments necessary to thank and credit everyone could be a book in itself. The creative, visionary, and brilliant minds, voices, and architects in journalism, marketing, PR, New Media, and online development have not only inspired us to write this book, but more importantly have stimulated the change necessary for the entire ecosystem for the creation, sharing, distribution, and learning of new information, thoughts, and ideas. These names include everyone we mentioned in our book as well as the scores of additional influencers who have worked so hard to carry the flag forward.

Also, we would like to specifically thank Keith Cline for his incredible advice, support, and developmental work on our book. A special thank you goes to Martha Cooley for giving us the opportunity to write this book and educate PR professionals on the challenges and exciting new changes as a result of Social Media. We’d also like to thank our production team, which includes Lori Lyons and Krista Hansing, who did an exceptional job to get this book to print. Many thanks go to the Pearson marketing team, including Megan Colvin and Laura Czaja, whose promotional support is truly appreciated. A big thank you also goes to the rest of our fantastic team at Pearson who have helped and encouraged us to write this book.

We also want to acknowledge our agency partners, executives, and colleagues who have worked alongside us every day throughout our entire writing process. They have been instrumental in our research and constantly provided excellent information and resources that have helped to shape the pages of our book. And, of course, our families, who sometimes see very little of us for long periods of time—we’re thankful for your patience and understanding as we went through the writing process.