Hi. Welcome to my new blog, The Talking Shop. This blog is all about the past, present and future of social media. It’s about the conversation economy and the power of peer-to-peer storytelling. It’s about how to make media, make meaning and make money all at the same time!

Here’s why I’m starting this blog now: Recently I was telling my boss, Joe Thornley, who is a passionate advocate for social media in the world of public relations, that he should book me to speak at one of the industry events he organizes. Joe’s response surprised me. “But you don’t blog”, he replied, as if that said it all.

I pointed out to Joe that blogging isn’t the only medium available in which to discuss or promote social media. But Joe was singularly uninterested in the fact that I had published a book providing a historical context to social media, called Digitopia Blues – Race, Technology and the American Voice (Banff Centre Press, 2002). Nor did he seem to care about the book’s impressive reviews: “Digitopia Blues begs to be read, and what’s more it begs to be discussed” (Georgia Straight, Vancouver); “Digitopia Blues is a cutting edge, highly recommended look at an American popular culture of the future.” (Midwest Book Review). Joe also cared little for the fact that I had been touring a one-man show about contemporary media culture called Two Million Years of Technology to equally solid reviews.

No. The only thing that mattered to Joe was that I didn’t blog. (Actually, I did have a GigBlog for a while, but shut it down.) Joe’s a very direct guy, and very smart, and in the short time I’ve worked for him I’ve learned to respect his opinion. And to Joe, blogging is simply where it’s at.

I’m not one for arguing lost causes. I’m all about dialogue and solutions and going forward. So rather than trying to prove myself by my past accomplishments I took the bait. Because if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right? And after all, maybe he’s right.

So let’s get it on. Welcome to my new blog. I’ll be posting a lot, so grab the RSS feed while you’re here, and maybe drop me a line. It’s going to be a wild ride, and the more of us there are aboard, the louder we’ll be. Because The Talking Shop is ready to make some noise!