So just what does PR stand for these days?

Here’s a thought, which I’ll happily attribute to blogger and social media guru Neville Hobson: PR stands for not just “public relations” as we’ve always known but also “personal relationships” – especially, in today’s connected world, those relationships enabled through web 2.0.

That was the theme of a masterclass given by Neville at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in London today.

Delegates from agencies and in-house communications teams discussed the merits of twitter, friendfeed and yammer in reaching influencers and commentators as well as spectators.

We looked at the growing credibility of bloggers and the emergence of a new “digital information commons” where everything is online. Although it’s driven by technology it’s not about technology – it’s about having conversations with people at a time when channels of communication have fragmented in all directions.

There’s a lot of terminology to get your head around involving social bookmarking, file sharing, feeders and so on, but the straightforward message is that listening and talking to customers using these online tools is a PR practice that will only become ever more mainstream.

Will Obama stop the fear and loathing?

Better than sex! That was how the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson described his obsession with US political campaigning.

I wouldn’t go that far but watching the election results unfold on television in the early hours of this morning was compelling viewing.

Both Obama’s victory address in Chicago and McCain’s concession speech in Arizona were delivered with tact and vision on what was undeniably an historic night. The scenes of jubilant and despondent supporters couldn’t have been more contrasting.

One key PR message from the marathon election campaign was the power of engagement through the web. The blogosphere was a completely new battleground while Obama talked of a world connected through science and imagination. Certainly his campaign team used new media and the internet to great effect. Anyone logging on to find out more about Obama was met with a host of online options and different ways to get involved from supporter to donor to activist.

It will be interesting to see to what extent the new President can bring new media to bear on keeping people interested in politics and involved in the workings of their government.

It is no small challenge given his other immediate priorities – two wars, a faltering economy and disenchantment with America around the world – but change is in the air. Perhaps the fear and loathing that Hunter S. also spoke about can pause for a moment. As has been said elsewhere, things can only get better – can’t they?