Social media exists in the context of communities—communities built of
people who develop and nurture relationships by creating, cocreating,
sharing, commenting, and engaging in content. One could say that this
book grew out of just such a community inasmuch as it has benefited
from the contributions of others. My community includes people playing
in many roles: sponsor, believer, assistant, coach, cheerleader, and friend.
I thank Jeff Olson (and the rest of the Praeger family) for believing in this
project and for his encouragement and advice as it developed. I am
indebted to those whose work is cited herein. There are many working
to develop the field of online advertising, particularly the emerging
social-media advertising platforms. I am truly honored by the praise
and enthusiasm offered for the book by Bob Witeck of Witeck-Combs
Communications, Kristen Cavallo of The Martin Agency, Nina Lentini of
Marketing Daily News, and Ellen Kolsto of GSD&M’s Idea City. I extend
my sincere thanks to Thomas Gresham, Rebecca Ortiz, Caitlin Judd,
James Brown, Scott Sherman, Tom Donohue, and Joseph Charles, all of
whom assisted me in various ways from planning promotional strategies
to tracking down the latest developments and introducing me to the
arena of alternate reality games, to offering smiles when it was in short
supply. I am especially grateful for my ‘‘social network’’—my family,
especially Terry and Susan Tuten, Jackie and Russell Wynne, and Joyce
and David Milligan, and those close as family, Presha, Rachel, and
David—for their cheerleading along the way.