Richard wants to do for online branding what Alan Siegel has done for the concept of brand: make it the crown jewel of the business.

"It’s no longer a luxury," says Pasqua of branding in the new media, "We’re in a time of tumultuous transition," he relates, "The old media are imploding and no one’s sure what the Internet is going to transition to "although we suspect that Richard has an inkling. It involves social media, the wonder of the customer dialogues that smart brands are now encouraging, and recognizing that everything from the search page of your web site to the user interface on your handheld device is a brand touch point. "It’s integral for your identity and growth." And he knows, from experience building brands online for CBS News and Entertainment, Hugo Boss, Universal Pictures, and most recently, as design director for Nickelodeon Online.

Does the online conversation endanger the "crown jewel?" How do you guard the brand? As a builder of such brand communities, Pasqua knows that "Brands are building microsocieties of enthusiasts, true believers, and partisans, and these people are more than happy to contribute insights and ideas and to protect the brands they’ve sworn loyalty to." As for the naysayers, critics, and cranks who enter the dialogue, "You empower the leaders of your microsociety, the people who’ve earned the approbation of others in the community, to serve as monitors. Deputize them."

Richard graduated CW Post University with a BFA in Fine Arts and spends what little free time he has composing electronic music, designing furniture, exploring 3D modeling and dabbling in experimental photography. For a man who spends so much time online, you might be interested to know that Richard, for some reason, has taken up actual surfing, off the shores of Long Island.