I’m sure consistency is valuable for building an audience for a podcast program, such as my Des Walsh & Friends program, but last week it was rather pleasant not to have to rise at 5 am as I usually do for my 6 am (Australian eastern time) show. The bit of indulgence was because my guest was fellow Australian, Canberra-based Stephen Collins, one of the most prolific thinkers and doers I know in the social media space.

It made sense, as well as being mutually convenient, to run the show in the early afternoon of our time zone.

To listen, click on the player below or download the episode from the link at the end of this post.

The recorded session can be accessed via the player below or the link at the end of the post.

One of the early advocates, users and experts in the social media space, Axel recently initiated Social Business One, a community focused on how businesses are adopting social computing to engage with customers, improve employee productivity and create a competitive advantage.

Conversation with Sheila Scarborough, co-Founder of Tourism Currents

My guest on my Des Walsh & Friends show on BlogTalkRadio a couple of weeks ago, Sheila Scarborough counts among her many achievements the establishment last year of Tourism Currents.

Tourism Currents is a membership site which provides a range of information and education, with a focus on social media, for people involved in destination marketing.

Corporate social media policies need to ensure the risk management parts are aligned with the culture

Last night in Brisbane, Australia, I spoke to a group of business people on aspects of social media and risk, as part of a seminar on the topic “Minimising Risks of Social Networking for Organisations”.

I have studied many corporate policy documents in this field and thought I had a fairly good grasp of the issues and how to frame a policy statement. Nevertheless, in preparing the talk, I became increasingly aware that I was having a challenge in identifying general principles and practical guidelines for social media policy generally, and risk management in particular.

Corporate culture key to appropriate social media policy

As I proceeded, I became convinced that an essential pre-requisite for a sound corporate social media (risk management) policy is to identify and delineate the corporate culture, especially about risk and, in this context especially about risk in communications between the workforce and the rest of the world.

The other week on my Des Walsh & Friends show on BlogTalkRadio, I had the pleasure of speaking with a woman of great accomplishment and business sagacity, a specialist in cross-cultural communication, especially for business between China and the rest of the world.

Being invited recently to participate on the Founders’ Council of the new online community, Social Business One, was definitely an honour: accepting the invitation was a no-brainer.

It was not just that I was delighted to be invited to join such a dynamic group of social media practitioners, but that the new community was being formed around a conversation which I believe needs to be built and expanded, the conversation about social media from a “whole of business” or “whole of enterprise” perspective. It’s worth noting that there is a related conversation to be had, or in some cases already underway, about social media from a “whole of government” viewpoint: related, but different.

A Triple Book Notice Because I Haven’t Yet Reviewed These Books and I Feel Remiss About That

It was actually a resolution of mine well before New Year’s Day, to review all the books that have been piling up alongside my desk, mostly books on or relating to social media.

But New Year’s Day came and went.

So this is a notice as a precursor to the review I still plan to do of each of three of those books.

And while I have read only one right through, I have read enough of the others to be able to recommend all three wholeheartedly.

Without further ado, they are:

Paul Chaney’s the digital handshake – seven proven strategies to grow your business using social media

Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crushit! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion

Shel Israel’s Twitterville – How Businesses Can Thrive in the new Global Neighborhoods

Enough to Hold Their Own Blogging Convention

In his message for World Communications Day, May 16, 2010 – getting in early – Pope Benedict XVI has issued a challenge to priests to become serious users of digital communications, including blogs (via Mashable).

With some 406,000 Catholic priests around the world, there would be more than enough to hold their own blogging convention.

We should not hold our breath.

Because, thinking about how some people “get” blogging and others don’t (or won’t), and then about how many start out but do not really persevere, you would have to wonder how many of the clergy will take up the challenge in any serious way and how many of those that do will stay the course.

A relatively small proportion on both counts, I dare say.

Not because of any wish to defy or even just ignore the Pope, but because this is a really tough challenge.

Tag cloud provides an easy way to see something of how you are perceived on Twitter

At the end of the first post in this short series, late last week, on learning how Twitter lists work, I promised some information on getting a picture of how others see us on Twitter – as represented by the lists we are on.

This is made possible by the MustExist List Tags application, which makes a tag cloud from the names of lists which people have chosen to put you on.

Given that my main professional interests are in social media and coaching, I was pleased to see that represented, the former considerably more than the latter, in the the tag cloud.

This could be very useful not just for monitoring how our own brands are seen on Twitter – positively, neutrally or negatively – but also for clients.