My own mini Northern Voice blogwalk

Just back from my own personal blogwalk with Seb Paquet who popped over the Bowen for the afternoon. We went for a stroll down to Cape Roger Curtis, which is the soutwestern headland of our island sticking out into the Strait of Georgia. Surrounded by tugboats and logbooms, a lighthouse and a craggy arbutus tree, we talked about blogging, the shift from a socity of experts to a society of co-creative learners and other assorted and interesting topics. It was great to meet Seb, who joins the ranks of bloggers who have pitched up here on Bowen for a walk and a talk (including people like Rob Paterson, Ashley Cooper, Christy Lee-Engle, Jon Husband, Michael Herman, Cody Clark and Fred First’s son Nathan!).

Seb and I shared the observation that meeting bloggers we like in person has never been surprising. It has always resulted in an extension of our friendship into the real world, convincing us that blogging is not just an ethereal exercise but in fact a real world practice of trust building.

Seb has lots of interesting things to say and great ideas went shooting back anbd forth between us all afternoon But the one that is sticking at the moment is the idea of blogging as a new form of currency, which is something I haven’t heard or noticed before. He used the example of Suw Charman who is staying at Jon Husband’s place during Northern Voice and how, without the relationship established through blogging, it would have cost her a lot more to stay in Vancouver during the conference. This is not to say that blogging is a transactional activity but rather that it does have real world value, in the social and economic spheres. Micheal will groove on that idea.

I was sorry not to make Northern Voice but I wasn’t even supposed to be here this weekend, so when my job got postponed I seized the opportunity to stay home, watch Blackadder, drink tea and enjoy the spring-like weather with the kids. Having Seb around was a lovely bonus.

Ahhhh.