“I am a recovering news media addict,” admits Eric Schwartzman, founder of iPressroom and Schwartzman & Associates. As a former PR professional, Schwartzman was addicted to controlling the message. From the client to agency side, he aggressively worked to map, train and time the message.

Working in the pressroom of the Grammys in 1999, however, Schwartzman had a “moment of clarity”—there was a room devoted entirely to communications over the Internet. In the years to follow the Internet gave way to a slew of social media such as blogs, social networks and micro-blogging.

With the dawn of this social web, Schwartzman realized that media training, message mapping and press releases, or “anti-social communications” as he refers to them, were less effective. As difficult as it was to admit, new media was becoming the new mass media. He could no longer control the message by focusing on volume and frequency.

Mass media was diminishing in its ability to drive purchase decisions; while Web sites, email and search were becoming the drivers. He realized it was about the clicks instead of the clips as Google began inbound linking and looking at what others were saying about brands.

Today, Schwartzman believes that “placements or third party endorsements develop when you tell the story so well that others have no choice but to link to you.”

As a result, we’re no longer able to hide or completely control the message. Messages are not for immediate release, they’re for immediate discovery. PR professionals must anticipate the needs and make content available quicker in light of faster communications as well as a dwindling number of placements.

And once you proactively begin the conversation about your brand, Schwartzman instructs that you must monitor the conversation on all social media using tools like knowem.com.

“You must constantly be there, because the minute you leave ‘they’ will define you—and to someone that is the truth,” said Schwartzman.

With the constant evolution of social media, many fear the end of the conversation on mainstream media. But, Schwartzman reassures us that “New media doesn’t kill mainstream media, it adapts.”