Are you a meerkat, an ostrich or a beaver?

look around!

Last week in Wellington I realised something about the people I meet at conferences. There are three kinds of people, those who can count, and those who can't. Hang on, that's a different joke...

No, when it comes to social media - or change generally - there are roughly three kinds of people:

1. Meerkats - overwhelmed but aware of the need to look around and see what's new. A lot of observing, not a lot of action.
2. Ostriches - convinced that what is currently happening is mostly bad, and a passing phase. Their attitude is - let me know when everything's back to normal. Meantime, I'm getting on with some important stuff!
3. Beavers - these are the ones who've discovered a tool that intrigues them, and relates to what they do. They're busy, building. Don't think of building websites, I mean building community. They're getting on with it.

That last point brings up a big question people ask - what if we invest a lot of attention and time into, say, Facebook, and then it's no longer flavour of the month next week?

It's a very real danger, which is why you should be focused on building community across as many social networks as you need to. It's not about the technology, it's about the people.

That's it for now. A more detailed post to come on the iJump blog.

I'll be (probably) presenting at BarCamp this weekend!

I'm a bit behind in blogging about BarCamp Auckland, the unConference happening in East Auckland this Saturday.

I've written about unConferences before, but this is the first time I'll actually be attending one. As far as what time I'll be presenting, or even my subject, it's hard to say. At an unConference it's all organised (or disorganised) on the day. It's spontaneous and in the spirit of conversation. I love it!

Find out more at the BarCamp Auckland website. See you there?

Thanks so much!

Just got some great feedback from Conferenz, who have summarised the feedback of attendees at the 5th Annual Media Relations Conference:

"Simon was my favourite speaker! Great content as well as audience participation"
"Liked the interaction, great start to the Conference"
"Entertaining & informative"
"Very keen/enthusiastic - made blogs interesting"

Blush. Thanks all for making it a great session!