Will Rockstar Pete Wentz Attract Social Media Experts?

Americans spend one quarter of their online time on social networking sites and blogs. According to Nielsen, social activity has displaced previously common activities like email and IM. And Adweek's Social Media Strategies Conference will capitalize on this by bringing several self-proclaimed visionaries in one place in New York City from October 13-14.

Among the list, Greg Coleman, President and Chief Revenue Officer –The Huffington Post, Naveen Selvadurai, Co-Founder –Foursquare and Jimmy Wales, Founder —Wikipedia and Wikia.com, musician Pete Wentz will host a keynote a session titled "Rock Star Connects - How to Build a Following of Dedicated Fans."

Just looking at that list, Pete seems out of place. He's in there with the Wikipedia guy and Foursquare.... It may be a little disconnect for many.

But what few know is that Pete actually has over 2 million followers on Twitter, has also effectively harnessed millions of fans other social media outlets to promote his music, the music on his Decaydance record label (Travie McCoy and Gym Class Heroes, The Ready Set, Panic at the Disco, Cobra Starship and more) and his Clandestine clothing line, all along developing a rock solid, ongoing relationship with his fans.

So although many overlook is success because of tabloid fodder, Pete's comprehensive social media footprint is one of the largest in music and continues to grow with new outlets including Ping on iTunes.

And as you can tell, yes, I am a Pete Wentz fan so when I found out he would be a keynote speaker I was motivated to share this news. As many of you know, I'm not keen on awards show but I do like music so I'm excited to see how he connects music, entertainment and social media at the Social Media Strategies Conference.

Now my question, will Pete's tabloid and music presence outshine the the learnings and key insight during the conference? Who knows? I guess we'll see.

Tickets available at https://www.socialmediastrategiesconference.com.
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