Acknowledgments

There are many PR and marketing professionals who are the inspiration for Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional. To them, I give my thanks and appreciation. I’m amazed at my colleagues who seamlessly incorporate social media into their programs as they educate and influence others around them. We are increasing our knowledge and skills, and should give thanks to one another as we share, innovate, and learn together.

Special thanks goes to my executive editor, Jeanne Glasser, for believing in me and my book’s concept. A big thank you also goes to my project editor, Lori Lyons, for her help in getting this book to market and to the Pearson marketing team, including Megan Graue, who I have worked with on earlier books, and whose promotional support is always appreciated.

I also want to thank the many experts who participated in the book’s development by sharing their knowledge; they truly helped me to illustrate the eight new practices. These experts include Mike Robertson and Kyle-Beth Hilfer, Esq, for Practice #1; Michael Brito and Ariel Hyatt for Practice #2; Derek Skaletsky and Jason Kintzler for Practice #3; Joseph Provenza, Jay Baer, and Priya Ramesh for Practice #4; Sarah Evans for Practice #5; Arik Hanson and Steve Momorella for Practice 6; Leon Chaddock, Amber Naslund, and Mark Ragan for Practice #7; Katie Paine, Shonali Burke, and Valerie Simon for Practice #8; and Brian Solis and Chris Brogan for helping with the chapter on PR influencers and change agents.

I’d like to acknowledge the marketing and PR colleagues who have contributed to my writing process through their participation in #PRStudChat, which is my student, professional, and educator community on Twitter. Here, they shared ideas and insights, and constantly gave me excellent information to shape the pages of this book.

Of course, my deepest appreciation goes out to my family. I thanked my husband publicly on my Facebook Wall for being my “rock” throughout the writing process. However, the thank you also extends to my daughter, who did an incredible job with the social media wheel graphics in every chapter, and to my parents and stepchildren, who see much less of me when I’m writing a book. I’m very thankful for all of their support and patience as I ventured down this writing path for the fifth time.