A few weeks ago I bumped into an old mate. He asked what I was up to and I replied that I was doing more training and consulting on the subject of social media. Then he asked me how my blog was going? I had to admit, like the house painter, that I hadn’t been giving enough attention to my personal blog or even practicing what I was preaching. And it’s no excuse that I’ve been posting on other blogs.

So, while this particular blog started as an idle play thing off to the side, I’ve been shamed into relaunching it in the coming weeks. It will from now on focus on internet and social media issues.

Of course that shouldn’t be too hard given that it’s about the business I’m in. But I will be giving this quiet little backwater a big spruce-up and talking about the internet and social media issues that are really useful and important right now.

Tomorrow I’m conducting a workshop on social media in Levin, so hopefully some of the attendees will come by and say hi afterwards. I’m also inviting anyone with a burning question to throw it my way right here. If I can’t answer it immediately, I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way, or someone who can.

Let’s talk again soon.

I know that I’ve entered into a completely new era when I notice that for the first time in my life, I’m older than the Prime Minister of New Zealand and the President of the United States. Actually, it’s ancient news because it’s been over 12 months since Helen and George W’s departures.

Yes, I’ve grown up with the idea that we have leaders who are smart because they’re older and wiser than the rest of us.

It seems that so many myths are evaporating in today’s world that it has become difficult to know what to trust and what not to trust. We live in an age where everyone wants to know – and can discover – how everything is done and made. So many of us give ourselves the licence to know all we need about our own health, our kids’ education and the rubbish collection.

In the world that I inhabit, I’ve been a working professional for more than 30 years in communications where the creator of a message has had considerable control over all aspects of the message. But unfortunately, the communication was largely only in the hands of those who could afford to own it and the communications were in one direction.

But thankfully that has now changed. Anyone can have access to media channels that allow huge opportunities to promote ideas and issues, and have conversations about those ideas and issues. It’s empowering for individuals and for those who are more community minded about things.

The phenomenon that is ‘social media’ is demonstrating that communicators (read that as ‘everyone’) need to abandon the power-and-control model and enter into the world of conversations that is revolutionising community, business and personal life.

Don’t just take my word for it, the evidence is everywhere – one of the many blogs I follow is by Jeremiah Owyang, a Silicon Valley social media ‘guru. He and many others are not merely evangelists, they’re proving over and over that the benefits of this social revolution is here to stay.

So roll on the ‘conversation age’. I wonder if George W Bush is on Facebook? I’ll check right now!