I spent a very enjoyable evening last Saturday hobnobbing with some elite A list bloggers. My friend Keith Collins had organised this gathering as part of his continuing evangelism of the blogosphere and its benefits to the business community.

Shel Israel is one half of the authorship of Naked Conversations – a bible for anyone interested in what’s going on in the business blogging world, so it was a privilege to meet him on the first night of his world trip to research his new book. He asked each of us what we or our companies did, and after the standard pitch from me about digital communications media and all that jazz, I confessed my alter ego which is in the world of album cover art and limited edition prints of the same.

When I mentioned Pink Floyd, Shel’s repost was that they had been the last band that he ever got excited about before he was swallowed up by the world of PR, marketing and corporate life.

There was then a bit of a debate about the ‘golden age’ of rock music, which I think is a bit of a myth as it’s all to do with the age you are and your influences at the time. Every era has its very special music and now is no exception. Anyone who disputes this should listen to Radiohead.

Hugh MacLeod was also present and I must admit I was fascinated by his sense of humour, his cartoons and his unusual choice of the back of business cards as a medium. Originals of his work are up for sale now on eBay, but I’m going to jealously hold on to the creation he drew and gave to me on the night. I’ll keep my eye on the going rate though!

The background to this is that Keith has brought together a group of like minded individuals, all of us running our own companies and all faced with the daily trials of being creative for our customers and at the same time making a hard earned buck. We are all convinced about the benefits of opening up the conversations about our businesses and the issues that we face. We are all new to the game, but already Nick and Andrew at Stonk Media are posting like mad, and Adrian Moss has dived in as well.

As well as this personal site, I am setting up a company blog for Signals to give a voice to the people in my team. We have some very talented and knowledgeable individuals in the organisation and I think it’s very valid for them to share their thoughts about the industry we are in.

Watch this space. . . .