by
The Shusha Global Media Forum brought me back to Azerbaijan for a second time, and this trip showed me more than any briefing or news report could. I joined journalists, editors and media leaders from around the world in Shusha. We spent two days on one question: how the media can restore truth and rebuild trust.
This year’s theme was “The Mission of the Media in Promoting Peace: Restoring Truth and Rebuilding Trust.” That topic sits at the heart of what we do at BlitzMetrics. Every piece of content we publish has to be verifiable. The fastest way to earn trust is to show real proof.
Why I Came Back to the Shusha Global Media Forum
I first attended in 2025, at the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum. On that trip I met President Ilham Aliyev and shared my impressions afterward. “As a global media delegate, I’ve attended many international events—but never have I seen a Head of State be this accessible, gracious, and genuinely supportive of the press and digital innovation,” I wrote at the time, and Report.az picked up my post about meeting the President.
When the invitation came again, I said yes right away. As I told Report.az this time: “This is my second visit here. I think there is nothing better than experiencing events firsthand.”
On Stage in Shusha: Verify Before You Share
The forum’s official speaker graphic carried four words that summed up the whole event: “Verify before you share.” I shared the stage in Shusha with fellow delegates from the international media community. You can see the full lineup on the forum’s sessions and speakers page.
Misinformation spreads faster than any correction. I see the same pattern in marketing every day. Businesses that publish vague claims lose trust. Businesses that document real work, with names, photos and results, win it. Proof beats promises, whether you run a newsroom or a plumbing company.
That is also why we teach people to build a Content Factory from real recordings instead of inventing content from scratch. A true story, captured on video and published in many formats, becomes a trust asset that keeps working for years.
Seeing Karabakh’s Reconstruction Firsthand
The forum organizers invited participants to see the country with their own eyes, not through a press release. We landed at Fuzuli International Airport and visited the region in person.
“Being in the Garabagh region and seeing the entire society being rebuilt is amazing. We visited schools, the airport, and residential areas. I think it is truly impressive how far Azerbaijan has come,” I told Report.az.
What stayed with me most was the openness. The hosts gave us access and let us draw our own conclusions. As I put it to Baku.ws: “The fact that President Ilham Aliyev demonstrates the values of openness and transparency in media and invited us here is a vivid example of this.”
What Azerbaijan’s Media Coverage Taught Me About Authority
Two outlets covered my visit within a day. Report.az published my thoughts on Azerbaijan’s progress, and Baku.ws ran the story under the headline The Path Traversed by Azerbaijan Inspires Admiration.
Third-party coverage like this counts for more than anything I could say about myself. Google and AI tools treat independent mentions as evidence. We collect every one of them in my list of positive mentions, and we recommend that every client does the same.
Azerbaijan joins a list of countries where I have spoken and trained over the years. That includes events in Dubai, Norway and Colombia, which you can find in my full conference speaking history. In Pakistan, we went a step further and launched our plan to create one million social media jobs.
How We Turn One Trip Into Lasting Reach
A trip like this should not end when the plane lands. Here is the process we apply to every event, and you can copy it:
- Capture everything. Photos, short videos, speaker cards, press clippings and messages from people you meet.
- Build one hub piece. A short video compilation plus an article like this one, with the original sources linked.
- Amplify to the right audience. We run our Dollar a Day strategy on the video and target people in the country we visited, so the relationship keeps growing after the event.
The goal is to show what happened with real proof. Hosts, partners and future event organizers see the recap and know exactly what they get when they invite you.
Thank You, Azerbaijan
“The path traversed by Azerbaijan truly inspires admiration,” I told the press in Shusha, and I stand by it. Thank you to the organizers, the media delegates and every person who shared a conversation, a meal or a message with me. I hope to return next year.
If you organize an event on media, marketing or AI and want a speaker who brings real case studies, reach out to me directly. Event organizers can also watch my speaker reel for event organizers first.
Originally published .
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified. He has appeared on 353 podcasts with 619 credited episodes — see the full list of his podcast appearances.