As a PR specialist, it's always exciting to meet new people and hear interesting stories from within our client's industries. This past week was no exception, when I attended LT Pact '08 in Las Vegas. One of our clients, Layered Tech, was hosting their third annual conference to provide attendees with the most current information in the hosting industry. Besides Layered Tech, we also work with two other companies that are involved with the hosting space, 3Tera and Woopra. That's why it was great to hear first-hand from industry analysts, key industry players and a slew of other companies and individuals who are leaders in the hosting environment. But the best part of the week for me was meeting three of our clients, numerous members of media and a handful of company executives in person.

In today's connected world, we are so accustomed to corresponding through email, instant messenger, Facebook and now Twitter - the phone call and face-to-face contact are limited when you have clients all over the world, as we do. Here at BLAST, we utilize them all. We are in constant contact with our clients, to not only keep them updated with everything that is going on from the media outreach front (interest, feedback, coverage, etc.), but also to hear about everything that is going on with their company. That's why we jump at opportunities like this past week to get to meet and hang out with three of our awesome, and unbelievably fun clients. Not only did we get to soak up more knowledge about their industries and products, but we also got to know our clients on a more personal basis, which is always vital to maintaining good relationships.

Also at LT Pact, I was able to meet a couple of my media and analyst friends from GRIDtoday, Web Host Industry Review, Forrester Research and Tier 1 Research, to name a few. Introducing them to our clients to see and hear what our clients really have to offer is priceless. All the phone calls and emails in the world cannot match putting your client in face-to-face conversation with members of the media. Besides conferences, trade shows, and press tours, do you have any interesting places you have put you clients in contact with the media?