How can you make any sense of today’s dizzying ways to communicate … the media, the online world and things like social media? What has real value, what’s merely a passing trend?

Actor Rainn Wilson from NBC’s “The Office” sums up the value of the new book by David E. Henderson — “Making News in the Digital Era“ — when he says:

“Henderson gets it. He knows the online media world and has interesting things to say. Besides, he’s the dude who got me on Twitter.”

Wilson turned to Henderson earlier this year for tips about how to use Twitter to promote the actor’s new spiritually based social media gathering place, SoulPancake.com. Since then, Wilson has attracted a staggering one and a half million followers on Twitter (@RainnWilson) and SoulPancake.com is a big success.

Why did Wilson turn to Henderson? Because Henderson is an accomplished media strategist and expert in a new medium that many use but few understand … and even fewer know how to make money with it.

His new book is packed with timely, practical examples and guidance for anyone who wants to easily decipher today’s complex and changing media world and generate attention, whether for a small business, major corporation or for themselves.

In today’s scramble for competitive leadership, the status is no longer quo. Today’s organizations, large and small, are seeking the best ways to bypass mainstream media to communicate their news, their way, directly and effectively, to their publics. “Making News in the Digital Era” has the answers.

Henderson delves into the back-stories of how many public relations agencies teeter on the brink of obsolescence, not unlike the newspaper industry, because they have been slow to learn and embrace the strategic importance of online communications. He details how one of the most controversial cases of an online crisis was actually caused by a major public relations agency.

For executives, business people, communications professionals, not-for-profit executives, brand managers and you, Making News in the Digital Era makes sense of the merging online and traditional media and delivers practical, clear and step-by-step ways to communicate more effectively in today’s competitive world.