Acknowledgments

Writing PR 2.0 was an amazing experience. I learned so much from the many professionals who contributed to this book. Every chapter of PR 2.0 has expert commentary from the PR service providers, communications and new media executives, technology gurus, and journalists who took the time to answer all of my questions. These individuals also played an instrumental role in helping me to put together a book that answers many of the questions that communications professionals are asking today about the convergence of public relations and the Internet.

It was a great learning experience hearing the insight from executives at PR Newswire, Business Wire, Market Wire, Harris Interactive, Bulldog Reporter, FAS Research, Lawrence Ragan Communications, Cision, Delahaye, and Tekgroup International. These are the forward-thinking companies leading the PR 2.0 revolution by providing new media services to brands. There were executives who spent hours with me, speaking on the phone and then reviewing the material I prepared. Special thanks goes to Harris Interactive and Humphrey Taylor and his team of executives, Randall Thomas, and John Bremer. Also a special thank you to Rachel Myerson who, every time I write a book, works so hard to find the right PR Newswire executives to interview, and Mary Durkin who pulled together the Cision executives for me.

I also want to thank the many communications executives from companies that were willing to discuss their challenges and successes with PR 2.0. It's a long list: Jeanette Gibson, Cisco, Ynema, Mangum, TalkBMC, Bill Barrett, Deloitte & Touche (set up by Deb Harrington), Dave Walton, JVC, Scott Delea, Adverb Media, Tim Bray, Sun Microsystems, Dan Kurtz, Quality Technology Services, Stephen Johnston, Nokia, Brian Phelan, ASCO, and Jennifer Wilhelmi, Reed Business Information. These executives are all extremely busy and they took the time for telephone interviews and/or participated in my Q&As.

There are several agency professionals and consultants who really put the finishing touches on this book with their insight and examples of PR 2.0 strategies and successes. They include Andrew Foote and Ted Birkhahn, Peppercom, Brian Solis, Founder of FutureWorks, Brian Cross, Fleishman-Hillard, Bill Southard, Southard Communications, Jane Quigley, DigitalGrit, Phil Gorman, Edelmen, Mark Brooks, Online Personals Watch, Steve Lubetkin, Communications Consultant, Jason Miletsky, PFS Marketwyse, and Michael Schneider of Success Group Communications.

There are a number of people who stand out in my mind and whom I cannot thank enough for their participation in my book. Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia, was kind enough to meet me in New York City and speak to me about how he brought Wikipedia to life and the best uses of social media. I also want to thank the journalists who gave me their honest, straightforward answers about the relationships between PR pros and them. These professionals include Anne Holland, Jeremy Caplan, Jeffrey Chu, Kate Coe, Andy Teng, and Paul Grzella.

Another very important group in this effort is my Pearson Education Editorial team. Martha Cooley and Russ Hall were excellent editors. I also really appreciate the efforts of the marketing team, including Amy Fandrei (who has since left Pearson), Megan Colvin, Julie Phifer, Amy Neidlinger, and Pamela Boland. This was a great team to work with and I want to thank you all!

Also many thanks to my PFS interns, staff members, and business colleagues for their help in securing interviews with their contacts and for feeding me information and articles that helped me during the writing process.

Finally, a special acknowledgement goes to my family, who always gives me support and strength when I write a book and who understand how much time and effort it takes to complete this type of project.