Social Media is an obnoxiously hot topic. We have all listened, watched, and read about this ‘gotta have it’ new Internet trend and how it is revolutionizing the way in which businesses reach their target markets. Determined not to be left behind (many of us still traumatized from slow Internet adoption in the 90’s), business professionals are eager to learn how Internet tools such Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc. can be leveraged to drive business value and elevate brand awareness. However, as the topic of Social Media is so broad, the majority of marketing professionals are approaching Social Media as another component of their Internet Marketing strategy. What we don’t get is that Social Media is NOT Internet Marketing. This is a ‘true confessions’ session where I - an ‘old school’ Internet marketer - shares my own struggles with this realization, the social media mistakes I've made (and contributed to), and how we can learn from those experiences to build relevant, value-added social dialogues to engage our prospects and customers. This presentation covers: - The Social Media Gold Rush - Why there isn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rush - My top five Social Media Blunders - How to find your authentic Voice and how it evolves into Strategy