Peter Shankman

Peter Shankman–PR Week Magazine has described Peter as "redefining the art of networking," and Investor's Business Daily has called him "crazy, but effective." Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and make it work to your advantage. An entrepreneur, author, speaker, and worldwide connector, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about social media, PR, marketing, advertising, creativity, and customer service.

Peter is perhaps best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO), which in under a year has become the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline, offering them more than 125,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,500 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO's tagline, "Everyone Is an Expert at Something," proves over and over again to be true, as thousands of new members join at helpareporter.com each week.

In addition to HARO, Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique marketing and PR strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. His blog (www.shankman.com), which he launched as a website in 1995, both comments on and generates news and conversation.

Peter's PR and social media clients have included the Snapple Beverage Group, NASA, The U.S. Department of Defense, Walt Disney World, The Ad Council, American Express, Discovery Networks, New Frontier Media, Napster, Juno, Dream Catcher Destinations Club, Harrah's Hotels, and many others. In addition, he sits on the board of the Scott-e-Vest, the world's first technologically enabled clothing line.

Peter is the author of Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them (Wiley and Sons 2006) and is a frequent keynote speaker and workshop presenter at conferences and tradeshows worldwide, including The Public Relations Society of America, The International Association of Business Communicators, CTIA, CTAM, CES, PMA, OMMA, Mobile Marketing Asia, and the Direct Marketing Association.

A marketing pundit for several national and international news channels, including Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, Peter is frequently quoted in major media and trade publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and USA Today.

Peter started his career in Vienna, Virginia, with America Online as a senior news editor. He helped found the AOL Newsroom and spearheaded coverage of the Democratic and Republican 1996 conventions, which marked the first time an online news service covered any major political event.

Born and raised in New York City, Peter still lives there with his two psychotic cats, Karma and NASA, who consistently deny his repeated requests to relinquish the couch. In the few hours of spare time Peter has per month, he's a frequent runner, with 13 completed marathons and 3 Olympic distance triathlons to his credit, and is a "B" licensed skydiver, specializing in free-flying.