Social media is a critical part of progressive marketing thinking. The consumer, with the rise of social media, has been able to drive the conversation with or without input from the brands. This change in who controls the dialogue has transformational impact: 1. Social media creates a brand/consumer conversation that will transform organizations. 2. Social media blends brand communications, PR, customer care, research and insights as all happen simultaneously via the conversation. 3. Most marketers are still struggling to find a coherent social media strategy. 4. Social media produces naturally occurring conversation and behavior that offers incredibly rich insights, but companies are still learning how to mine this continual stream. The ARF launched its new Social Media Council with a panel of industry experts explaining how social media creates convergence among the advertising, marketing, public relations, customer care and consumer insights spheres.