Gone are the days when social networking was just sitting at a computer sending messages. As we move into a real-time environment online communities are soon becoming real-world communities.

This has been quite clearly brought home to me when attending a regular social media event in Bristol called Brrism. What interested me about the event is that it is all organised through social media and is all about social media. I have met some very interesting people there and had some great discussions. What I realised is that coming from an Online PR/Social Media work environment I had a certain way that I viewed and used social media both for myself and my clients. I soon realised that that my methods for using social media were not the only ones. Customisability means everyone uses social media to meet their own specific needs and hence they have completely different perceptions of it.

However, one common theme that keeps coming up is the concept of sharing ideas and community. It is interesting to see how Brrism has developed since its inception last year. There is still a long way to go and I often feel that we are like kids again trying to establish ourselves in a group. New community formation takes time and I know there will be more challenges along the way.

Social media has also been powerful tool for charities. Since the Haiti earthquake charities have successfully utilised social media in getting messages out and forming supportive online communities.

I have mentioned Twestival on this blog before in reference to this as it is an excellent example. Following a successful event last year there is an event on 25 March 2010. The Twestival event will be is global affair where events are to take place in big cities around the world. This year it will be in aid of Concern which is looking to rebuild the education infrastructure in Haiti.

The entire event is organised using social media (namely Twitter) and online communities. It has created real-world impact though these channels.

It is obvious to me that charities are an area where the community and sharing ethos of social media can really come into its element.


If you are in the Bristol area definitely check out Bristwestival which is Bristol's offering. It features live music, a raffle, goodie bags and other wonderful things all in aid of charity. It takes place on 25 March at the Tunnels and tickets cost £5. See below for more details and book tickets here.

Whether you are single or not the most romantic day in the calendar may prove a challenging time to say the least.

Singletons quite often find this is a dark and gloomy time where they are constantly reminded how single they are and how single they may well be in he future. For gals the only retreat may be lazing around in their pyjamas watching Bridget Jones for the seventeenth time. For the guys it may be found in firing up that games console for yet another seven hour marathon of Call Of Duty 4 or Pro Evo.

Singletons are barely able to take a single step without constant reminders of the day of romance whether it is special offers in shops /restaurants or messages from the 'loved up' media. TV or Radio during this time is a definite no-no. The daunting day arrives and the only mail they have received is a couple of bank statements and the annual heart-shaped card from Mum (which is very much appreciated but does not really count). This all leads singletons to a near murderous frenzy in which they have been known to wander the streets dispensing with all happy couples in their way.

While singletons are made to feel bad about a situation they may not have control over, it is not a bed of roses for couples either. When with someone Valentine's Day always seems to bring with it a big expectation to do something very special. This is in no small part down to the endless 'rom-coms' and other Hollywood movie magic. Partners may now wish to be spoilt with fine wines, foods, cards and gifts before being ushered upstairs to a love suite where they will be covered in red petals before a ravishing night of Valentines passion.

Failure to live up to such expectations could potentially spell imminent doom for any relationship. A box of Quality Street and a half-price bouquet from the nearest petrol station simply may not cut the mustard these days.

However, there are some people for which Valentine's is always a lovely affair. They are the businesses be they restaurants, card manufacturers, florists and others which provide us with our obligatory love gifts. For card manufacturers Valentine's Day is the best day for card sales after Christmas. Florists have been know to double sometimes triple their prices over the romantic period. It all seems quite cheeky really.

Anyway I am sure Saint Valentine had the best of intentions when he created his day. Unfortunately reality does not always live up to ideals.

What comes to mind when you think of the Wild West? Gun totting outlaw gangs, cowboys, stern sheriffs, musky saloons, desperate land and gold rushes....

This all sounds like America of the 1800s which is the era in which TV shows like HBO's Deadwood are set.

Strange as it sounds, however, this world is not a million miles away from cyberspace. Online businesses are in a constant state of one-upmanship and bravado similar to rival cowboy outfits. The online world transcends international boundaries so legal issues can become very confused leading to an almost lawless environment where byte-tottin' gangs run wild looking for gold.

For instance, Steve Jobs' comments about Google and Adobe are the perfect example of an old style bar-room rant. I could imagine him in the Wild West with all his Apple cohorts heckling his Google and Adobe counterparts on the other side of the bar.

"You darn two-bit Google hoodlums!" or

"You lazy Adobe go-fo-nuthins!" he would probably say.

I guess he would also be jumping around with an iPad in one hand and a glass of the strongest whiskey possible in the other. Google's Brin, Page and Schmidt would be sitting in the corner of the bar grumbling to themselves in multi-coloured Stetson hats emblazoned with the words 'Don't be evil'.

Of course the weapons of the online era are not guns but hardware, web apps and online business models and there is much money (gold) to be made. Google is looking to bring some law and order with its evolving web apps and advertising models but recently stepped on rival turf with the announcement of the Nexus One phone.

This was treated as an act of disrespect by Apple and a challenge to Apple's successful iPhone. Apple wants to make it clear that it 'runs the town' as far hardware goes and when you split you will split Apple's way. However, there is now talk of a gPad to rival Apple's iPad and this will only cause more unrest in the town.

Apple have also been increasing unhappy with the Adobe outfit. In their eyes they seem to be just an unreliable bunch of layabouts that spend all day in the saloon drinking whisky.

Of course there is also the Microsoft outfit too and they have been there for a long time. They used to 'run the town' pretty much outright once. Unfortunately, the Google outfit appeared from over the hill just over ten years ago and since then they have been muscling in all the rackets in the town. From operating systems, email and office applications Microsoft found themselves losing ground and have precious gold taken away from them. They have not been happy but struck back at the very heart of the Google outfit with the Bing search engine.

Over the hill there is a new town being built and a new gold rush. Two big outfits have emerged namely Twitter and Facebook. They have started making a lot of noise in their saloons too but this is the subject for another online Wild West tale.

This all makes for some interesting outlaw rivalries and whatever happens the online gold rush is here to stay. Only time will tell who gets to be sheriff (if one appears) but in the meantime there will be plenty of interesting bar-room brawls to follow this year in the Wild West of cyberspace.