RSS, Blogs, Podcast and Social Media Experts to Share Knowledge at PR Online Convergence Conference

(LOS ANGELES/March 21, 2007) Experts on the use of RSS, blogs, podcast and new media in public relations and corporate communications campaigns are converging at a premier conference in Los Angeles May 16-18, 2007. PR Online Convergence 07: Deploying Social Media for Business Advantage, a 3-day event set for the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles, will address critical issues facing PR and corporate communication professionals in the age of social media.

"The way people get media, information and entertainment has and continues to change. It?s become strategically unwise for PR and marketing to let online presence be handled exclusively by the web guys down the hall. For those executives who have accepted that denial is not a business strategy, we?re bringing this professional development opportunity to Los Angeles," says Eric Schwartzman, PR Online Convergence Conference Chair and founder and chairman of iPressroom Corporation, which helps organizations extend the reach of their PR and marketing campaigns using the latest new media tools and services integrated into one powerful, online dashboard. ?

"Corporate communications, public relations and marketing is being forced to make the seismic change from controlling messages to facilitating conversations," says John Gerstner, President of the Communitelligence Learning Academy, which is producing the event. "We?re challenging the most knowledgeable and experienced PR and new media pioneers to connect the dots for business executives needing to adeptly deploy the new media tools and services for competitive advantage.?

Sessions:

Integrating the Web into Conventional PR Campaigns ? Building Public Awareness through Social Networking ? Integrating Blogs and News Feeds into Corporate Communications ? How to Drive Traffic and Transactions Online ? Building a Business Case for New Media through Measurement of Results ? How Organizations are Integrating Their Web Presences into their Organizational Outreach Agenda ? Benefits of Podcasting: Beyond the Press Release with Sound and Picture ? Generating Word of Mouth through Peer Marketing Initiatives ? Practical Applications of Real Simple Syndication for Marketing and Public Relations

Keynotes:

Adapting to a Fragmented Media Landscape: Integrating the Web into Conventional PR Campaigns, by Eric Schwartzman, Conference Chair ? Bloggers and PR People: Why Can't We Just Get Along?, Stowe Boyd, Editor, /Message ? PR in the Age of Blogging -- How to stop spinning and be authentic, Jason Calcanis, CEO and co-founder, Weblogs Inc.

In addition, there are four pre-conference half-day workshops scheduled for May 16 on effective business podcasting, strategizing social media, establishing a social media dashboard and keeping up-to-date about conversations online.

About Communitelligence: Communitelligence is a knowledge-sharing portal aimed at improving organizational and interpersonal communication.