Tony Ahn's unique blend of education and experience makes him one of the most highly sought after social media evangelists in Asia.

Tony's baccalaureate degree focused on ethnography, a branch of anthropology that studies and describes contemporary human cultures. Ethnographers capture and communicate "webs of meaning," defining the interworking of cultures from an inside perspective. This equips Tony with a deep understanding of the culture of social media networks and communities.

Tony holds a master's degree in counseling from Penn State University, giving him rich insights into human motivation and behavior. Simply put, Tony knows what consumers want and why. He has used this knowledge to reshape online customer service practices on two continents.

Tony's first entrepreneurial venture came in 2005 when he co-founded a publishing company. As CEO, he innovated new uses of social media for crowdsourced content creation. The following year he made the move to Asia to pursue opportunities there, successfully running his company from abroad while working as a communications consultant for the Korean military. He then took on another leadership role in 2008 as the communications director and spokesman for a professional association in Korea. One of Tony's primary responsibilities involved using social media to drive membership and connect with both the media and the public.

In 2009, Tony reunited with his baccalaureate discipline when he was hired as CEO of a Manila-based management consulting firm that utilized anthropologists to study consumer behavior. A year later he poured his knowledge of ethnography, human motivation, and social media into Sterling Rep Social Media and Reputation Management, the first independent social media agency in the Philippines, which he directed until it was acquired by GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications. In 2012, Tony Ahn opened the doors on Tony Ahn & Co., a new hybrid public relations agency, integrating traditional media relations activities with digital marketing tactics. He directs Tony Ahn & Co.

Customer Service, Marketing, Social Networking, English, Startup, Europe, Japan, Asia, Blogging, User Generated Content, Technology, Media Professionals, Search Engines / SEO, Customer Experience, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, China, Social Media,