LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Bestselling author and social media expert Michael Hyatt will headline the upcoming 51 Digital conference at 51 — a three-day conference that aims to help attendees use digital technology thoughtfully and successfully in business, ministry and the classroom.

The conference, which runs from June 4-6, 2013, will welcome social media leaders and digital technology newcomers alike to explore their choice of three tracks: education, strategy or theology.

“The 51 Digital conference has always had one goal: to empower Christians in the use of social media and other digital technologies,” said conference director and 51 professor Dave Bourgeois. “I believe that this year's lineup at 51 Digital is the best we have ever had. Michael has a keen understanding of proven strategies for using these tools well.  We have speakers from several different universities and ministry organizations sharing their research and insights.”

The three-day conference will include the opening keynote with Hyatt and 17 breakout sessions focused on three key topics: how the use of digital tools impacts faith; strategy to form effective and successful digital plans for organizations; and how technology can be used for academic and community-building purposes.

Hyatt spent his career in book publishing and is now an author, popular blogger and social media expert. His newest book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His blog, , is ranked by Google in the top one-half percent of all blogs with more than 300,000 unique visitors a month. His podcast, This Is Your Life, is consistently in the top ten in the Business category on iTunes and downloaded by more than 100,000 people a month. He has more than 150,000 followers on Twitter. Hyatt will give the opening keynote address for the biola.digital conference on Tuesday, June 4, at 7 p.m. Hyatt’s opening session is open to non-conference attendees for a partial entrance cost of $29.

A number of Christian digital media’s leading experts will host breakout sessions delving into subjects such as the current state of digital ministry in the church and corporate world, how to use digital technologies to push your organization’s mission better, and how to implement technology in the classroom and to build community.

Hyatt is available for interviews before the conference. Contact Jenna Bartlo at 562.777.4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu for interviews, press passes or more information. Full conference registration is $199. Discounted rates are offered at $59 for faculty and $49 for students.

SPONSORS

The conference is sponsored by 51’s Crowell School of Business, The Steve and Lois Mihaylo Family Foundation, HyperWord Services, iChurchMethod.com, allogy, and Grupio.

ABOUT CONFERENCE

For more information and to register, visit http://events.biola.edu/digitalministryconference/. The 51 Digital Ministry Conference, formerly known as GodBlogCon and Christian Web Conference has continued to expand its mission since its establishment in 2005. Its mission is to empower individuals with the vision, knowledge and relationships necessary to be thoughtful designers, developers and practitioners of digital technologies for the cause of Christ.