July 2010. This month I found myself in a dusty tent listening to a panel of 6 people working in media, music and comedy talking about social media. It was in the middle of a music festival attended by 30,000 people, and here are my notes from the session.

After a long and somewhat demanding summer, I am now in the wrap-up phase for Earth Hour in Australia. In this project, I became fully immersed in the rapidly evolving and changing social media landscape, as it was my role to look after all the on-line communications. In effect, this meant website content, email blasts that were relevant and useful to over 100,000 willing particpants, plus keeping the discussion flowing on newer mediums like facebook and twitter !

I had to keep in close contact with those managing the traditional media liaion, plus sponsorship and also tie into the overarching online strategy of WWF-Australia, the organisation that fosters the Earth Hour brand. In the digital space, Australians were very much connected to literally millions around the world - to share views, activities and committment to address climate change. 

 I've just started on public relations and media for a very exciting new project called World Wide Views on Global Warming (or WWViews for short). It was initiated by the Danish Government to give citizens a voice in the crucial climate talks in Copenhagen, December 2009. It works on a model of 'deliberative democracy', getting 100 randomly selected people together to hear the facts then talk amongst themselves, then vote on pre-set questions. On the day, the same thing will be happening around the world in up to 50 other countries and all the results complied one one big global tally room.

There will be some great stories generated from the people's individual journey, not to mention the policital implications of what they are discussing. Plus this forum may lend itself to some of the rapidly rising new media channels. Check it out and see!

The 1967 prison film Cool Hand Luke is remembered, among other things, for a line spoken by the prison warden to Luke, an inmate who persistently rebels against authority. "What we have here," says the warden, "is failure to communicate." Both of them know that communication is not the issue. Luke understands the warden, but chooses to defy him. What the warden really means is "failure to do what I want you to do".

The above is a quote from Deborah Cameron, Oxford University Professor of Language, from the recently released book called "the Myth of Mars and Venus". In it, she disputes a range of ideas put forward by self-help and populist science about gender and use of language, concluding that men's and women's methods are not so different after all. As she makes this point, it reminded me of some issues for communication about change and especially about change for sustainability. That is, don't forget the content. . .