Dear readers

Thank you for your support during 2011. I really appreciate you sticking with me as I launched myself into the social media universe with this blog and my twitter account @thebriefingnote (by-the-by, most of you are fellow Aussies, half of you found me via Google, another 20 per cent found me via twitter or Linkedin referrals and the rest of you seem to know my URL. Perhaps these are my family members).

Engaging in social media has been and remains a very steep learning curve. I think that’s one of the main reasons why it’s become such a key area of interest for me.

In fact, I’ve evolved into a bit of an advocate for social media technologies as a learning and development, engagement and leadership channel for professionals.

I consult across a number of areas so my blog posts are varied in subject. According to my Google Analytics, the five posts you liked the most this year were:

1. Who Needs the King’s Speech When We Have Anna’s, which was about the speech Queensland Premier Anna Bligh delivered following the tragedy of the State’s extensive flooding;
2. Raising the Bar on Stakeholder Engagement, which was about AccountAbility’s Stakeholder Engagement Standard;
3. A Dozen Ways to Build a Better Corporate Culture (self-explanatory really);
4. Four Reasons Why Journalists Should Pay More Attention to Corporate Responsibility Reports; and (drum roll)
5. Material That Won’t Lose the Plot, which is about the importance of materiality in corporate responsibility strategy and reporting.

A highlight of the past year has been discovering the work of other bloggers. I’ve learnt so much from you all. The top five posts that I felt pressed my ‘Eureka’/great insight button over the past year are:

1. From a leadership, governance and social media perspective, Lucy P. Marcus’ post What it Means to be Connected Today (via HBR blog);
2. From a corporate responsibility reporting viewpoint, Elaine Cohen’s post Heretical Thoughts on Integrated Reporting;
3. From a blogging as a valuable personal and professional learning experience, Peter Bruce’s post Reflections on Blogging; 
4. From a social media, leadership and career path perspective, Rosabeth Kanter’s piece (read in 2011, but written in 2009), On Twitter and in the Workplace, it’s power to the Connectors;
5. And for the ultimate reality check (and a quiet tear), Sally Sara’s piece on leaving Kabul, Afghanistan as the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Alexis