Eternity is…

• Eternity is a two-month break from blogging, watching fellow ‘PR bloggers’ analyze countless issues that I would have loved to discuss, but for lack of time… and realizing that after all that, nothing has changed… really.
• Eternity is the moment, frozen in time, when after sunset on a breakwater by the sea, I asked Ruth to consider a courtship with me… and she said yes.
• Eternity is the rock – Chronos – upon which all our grandest endeavors to communicate clearly and build trusted relationships, is built on or smashed against.

I am amused to realize while I pen this entry, that after a two-month break from blogging, I unintentionally resume with the same theme with which I first started this blog – time.

Why I’ve not been blogging…
The one question I have to answer here is the one that many of you have asked me via e-mail, instant messaging and even when we meet face-to-face – “Why have I not been blogging?”

If it would serve no other purpose, this excuse-riddled post will explain everything.

This is one entry that has seen the most number of revisions starting from the first draft two months ago. And even now, I post this with some hesitation.

Separating the person from the blog
For a long time, I’ve tried to keep this blog completely free from accounts of my personal life. I wanted it to serve as a guide and a resource to those who needed to know more about how the discipline of Public Relations has changed in the new Web 2.0 economy. And I remain rather sure, that what I will write next in this post will do very little in accomplishing that.

Therein laid my dilemma – for two months, the very most pressing thoughts I wanted to share with the rest of the world, I refrained from doing. And because of that, every other ‘PR 2.0’ entry I intended had taken a backseat.

But in finally putting this post up, I now truly appreciate first-hand, how hard it is to separate the person from the blog, and the blog from the person.

So yes, contrary to popular opinion, I’m still alive and blogging. And while I can’t promise that this will be the most insightful piece on the blog, it will certainly be the most personal one so far.

… Changes in my life
Another reason I refrained from blogging over the last two months because life was very much in transition… and for lack of time in grappling with the changes and transitions.

A Relationship
I was adjusting to a life in a relationship… And… between spending time with Ruth and taking time to discuss communication strategies on a blog post… come’on…

Career-change
During the past couple of months, I was also working through a decision to leave Burson-Marsteller to pursue…

Independent Consulting
It seems that most of the foundation for ‘PR 2.0’ has been laid and this is the season to develop strategies from principles and put words into action. It’s time for Execution. Execution. Execution.

In a timely convergence of frustration with age-old PR bad-practices, opportunities in consulting for companies that seek to understand social media and operate in the new environment, I’m leaving to do just that.

Project O.F.
Final reason for my tardiness in blogging – I’m working on a project that I shall codename ‘O.F.’ for confidentiality. It’s got everything to do with social media, public relations and business leadership. Needless to say, I look forward to opportunities to collaborate. If you are keen, drop me a line… I may not be able to reveal very much; but would love to chat anyhow.

Project O.F. will be the one constant in my schedule over the next couple of months until it’s launched and I move on to something else.

… But back to this blog and back to writing…

The purpose of this blog
I started this blog to get the unacquainted started on their journey in PR 2.0. And after having compiled the PR 2.0 University reading list, after putting up Paul Holmes’ brilliant manifesto with his permission, and after pointing to some brilliant minds who are blazing the way in the industry, it feels like my job is done, and I don’t intend to spend much more time commenting on incidental issues (the Debbie Weil-GSK Blog fiasco, Edelman’s Walmart boo-boo etc) when others are doing it so brilliantly. (I still intend to join in the discussions though, because I think there will be valuable lessons there… and for that same reason, I will attempt to point the way to those conversations).

You and I
Finally… You. You do realize… that I dragged my seat back into writing because of you? I do want to talk. I want to talk about your interest in PR and social media and how we can do what we do better. How we can build strong relationships with the people that matter to us and to whom we matter. How we can make a difference in the world, by not only having the best intentions, but by also articulating our vision clearly. By engaging in fruitful dialogs with people and getting others involved in what we do. Not shutting our organizations and businesses away from people, but by opening up the doors and inviting them in.

This blog has been a great way for me to engage in those discussions with you; and it will continue to be a great way for us to grow together. And I look forward very much to our next conversation.

Aside:
As I return to blogging, I read with interest an article by The Friendly Ghost about the decline in volume of blog posts by PR Bloggers (specifically in the UK). This is somewhat cathartic since I feel somewhat better that I’m not the only one who’s been spending less time blogging.

Walter Lim also wrote a piece titled (the) Death of Blogging, pointing to Steve Rubel’s post on the same subject. More validation (and excuse) for my eight weeks of silence in the Blogosphere. But that’s another post altogether. Meanwhile, this blog is still alive!