My friends, we are living in a new era: a new time that I humbly characterize as "new socialism". But this type of socialism is not the socialism of old, controlling, and abdicating of human rights. It is not about apprehension or the restriction of information. In fact it is the exact opposite. This "new socialism" is about transparency. It speaks to everything that is good about us, enabling others and empowering people to move from where they are to where they want to be. And so this morning it is my privilege to welcome you to the walker speaker series at Webster University... and to welcome you to a new era of human conscientious, one that defies the age old definition of socialism. Welcome to the era of social media.

This new social order, molded by you and me, is shaped and defined by the people who see its power and embrace its potential. There are no walls that keep us from realizing our dream. The only wall you'll face is the limit of your imagination and of course those you post on Facebook. Just a few short months ago the social network welcomed its 500 millionth member. 500 million! My friends that makes Mark Zuckerberg the president of the third largest community in the world, behind only China and India. And if I may dare predict that in two years, Facebook will surpass all to become the most populated community in the world.

This morning we are honored to bring to you an outstanding panel of innovators and new socialism comrades who will help us ensure that we are where the conversation is and that our message is heard. They are: Chris Reimer, Kathleen Manning, Amber Talbot and Dave Collett:

Chris Reimer is the owner of Rizzo Tees and the chief marketing officer for the Scorch Agency. Chris maintains a Twitter account, Facebook fan page and two blogs and was recently named the most influential St. Louis Tweep by St. Louis Tweets-dot-com for the first half of 2010.

Kathleen Manning is a media specialist for Monsanto. For more than two years Kathleen has been the voice behind Monsanto's corporate Twitter account and its blog "Beyond The Rows". She conducts both online and mainstream media outreach and counsels others at Monsanto in social media.

Amber Talbot is the social media marketing supervisor at Scottrade, Amber oversees the company's social media presence and reputation management efforts on the web. I'm proud to add that amber is a Webster University alum who graduated from the School of Communications in 2004.

Dave Collett is the senior vice president and global client relationship leader for MasterCard Worldwide account. He's responsible for setting communication strategy and ensuring performance of all Weber Shandwick teams across more than 50 countries.

""Webster University has the opportunity to represent a stabilizing force in business education in the 21st century - we can be the bridge for the vast underserved population worldwide, preparing students to successfully withstand the strong currents of the present and the future." "

- Dr. Benjamin Akande