Hi, I’m Todd Defren. In my primary role, I am a principal at SHIFT Communications.

SHIFT is a $12M+ firm with 100 employees in SF and Boston, specializing in handling PR & social media campaigns for tech companies and consumer products. We were founded in 2003 and in that time have attracted clients like RealNetworks, Shimano, Oakley, RSA Conference, Novell, Akamai, and Yelp (among many others).

If I have a “claim to fame” it’s probably comin’ up with the Social Media News Release template in 2006. I also debuted a Social Media Newsroom template in 2007. Industry reactions, ranging from BusinessWeek and AdWeek to hundreds of blog posts, are tracked at http://del.icio.us/SHIFT.Communications. It’s been exciting to see big companies like Cisco, H-P, Coca Cola, Belkin, SAP AG, et al., give this new format a go.

I’ve spoken re: Social Media at venues such as The Conference Board, the NewComm Forum and at PRSA events. I also lecture college classes as a guest speaker on occasion. If you’re interested in having me speak at your event, I’d be happy to discuss it with you. Just drop me a line at the email address below.

The PR-Squared blog has been going strong since mid-2004. It’s been ranked pretty well overall, in AdAge’s Power150, and even dipping in & out of the Technorati Top 10K.

I’ve been a PR guy since 1992. B.A. from Bard College.

Happily married, 2 teenage kids, and a distinctly unglamorous bi-coastal lifestyle.


Reach me at tdefren (at) shiftcomm.com.

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