Dearborn, Mich., home to Ford Motor Co., the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, is steeped in automotive history. Murals of Henry Ford cast their stoic gaze on guests of the Dearborn Inn, a stately colonial-style hotel built in 1931 that sits in the shadow of Ford's world headquarters.  

This was the backdrop for the first "Forward With Ford" conference, a three-day media event that explored the social and demographic trends -- such as the aging population and the green movement -- that are shaping consumer behavior.

After three days of behind-the-scenes access to Ford's engineering labs, opportunities to test-drive Ford's latest vehicles -- decked out with high-tech options such as Ford's self-parking system -- and keynote speeches by thought leaders Malcolm Gladwell and Joel Garreau, the nearly 200 media representatives in attendance left with plenty of fodder for stories.

But in a sense, the conference itself was the story.

For three days, Ford executives, engineers and communications staffers rubbed elbows with a ragtag group of self-proclaimed "social media geeks" from all walks of life.

Armed with iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, BlackBerrys, Droids and electronic gadgets that I've probably never heard of, Ford's invited guests came hawking social media sites with handles like connectwithyourteens.net, seejanefly.com (custom travel guides and tips for women), earth911.com (an environmental-services site for consumers and businesses) and sugarjonesblog.com ("short and sweet, sometimes bitter").

This was not your grandfather's gathering of the "automotive press."

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