WORLD OF PUBLISHING CHANGING

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (May 2008) - The online community of communicators is changing and the traditional worlds of journalism and public relations need to catch up, declares a Detroit-based marketing and communications expert.

"If you're not on Google, the world thinks you don't exist," says Pam Perry, chief visionary of Ministry Marketing Solutions who counsels media and marketing operatives to "amp up" their online activity as social media such as blogs and podcasts strengthen their domination of these sectors.

Speaking ahead of Counterpart International's 12th full edition of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx), hosted in San Juan by the Puerto Rio Tourism Company from May 15 to 19, Perry said the shift from "old school" media to the Web 2.0 era is rapid.

"The rules in journalism and public relations have changed because of this 'online community' - complete with metrics to prove it. If you want to be a real player in this game, you must learn 'how and why' people are embracing this digital world of social media and fully embrace it yourself," she said.

Perry, a ministry marketing pioneer and expert in the African American Christian market, will share tactics with CMEx delegates on how to get messages out. Generating on line buzz without using traditional media, how to use blogs, eblasts, PR hubs, podcasts, YouTube, MySpace and other tools to promote products and platforms will be featured by the respected communication maven.

"The history of marketing communications - about 60 years or so - has been about pushing messages to convince prospects to take needed action. (Today)marketing communications, largely because of the overwhelming power and influence of the Web and other electronic communications, is about engaging in conversation with prospects and leading/ persuading them to take action," says author Roy Young, Chief Revenue Officer at MarketingProfs.com.

Pam Perry's public relations and advertising career spans over two decades. She spent the first 10 years working in advertising agencies and secular media. She has dedicated the past 10 to ministry marketing. Her company has a roster of some of the most well known Christian publishers and African American Christian authors in the industry.

At CMEx in San Juan, reporters, editors, young people, and marketing and development specialists will interact over four days with representatives of the hospitality sector, civil society and government to explore the theme "Embracing the Diaspora, Connecting Communities." Key is examining how tourism can improve the health, wealth, environment and culture of destinations.