Dear Magazine Media Colleagues:

It was a mere seven years ago that a Harvard undergraduate launched a social network from his dorm room in Cambridge, Mass.  That very network, now known as Facebook, has more than 800 million active users across the globe. In that same time, thousands of other social networks were created, including Twitter and YouTube, and more recently, Foursquare and Tumblr.

Today, more than 1.5 billion visits are made to social networks each day. People are connecting with others, not just in their local communities, but in connections that span continents. They are no longer passive viewers of online content, instead they are active contributors who create and consume media in ways never imagined before. Not only have the venues changed, but the conversations and forms of engagement have transformed entirely.

What does the growing importance of social media mean for the magazine industry? How do we open our brands up and change our relationships with consumers? What is the role of brands and marketers in social media? How do we measure success? And how do we generate revenue in social media?
 
We’ll explore these challenges December 7 with insights and ideas straight from industry leaders and analysts, including Andy Mitchell, manager of media partnerships at Facebook.  You’ll hear from your magazine industry colleagues as they share their keys to success, things that have failed and other best practices they’ve employed to open their brand up to the world of social media.
 
At National Geographic, my team has realized that social media needs to be embedded into the very fabric of the way we create content and empower consumers to deepen their relationship with our brand. By doing so, we become better prepared for the changing landscape of social media. I am looking forward to connecting with all of you to learn and discuss where we go from here.
 
Best,
 
Robert Michael Murray

Conference Chairman

Vice President, Social Media

The National Geographic Society