I am a senior executive with the communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton and have spent more than 25 years providing counsel on corporate reputation, issues management and crisis communication. I was recently asked to lead the firm's national social media and digital communications practice given my belief that social media are communications game changers.

(Having said that, the ideas and opinions expressed here are my own and can't be construed to represent the point of view of my firm.)

Before becoming a management consultant,  I was a magazine journalist and spent four years as a theater and dance critic for a variety of journals . . . experiences which inform my consulting and my writing.

Besides a busy consulting practice, I teach reputation management at a university in Eastern Canada which focuses considerably on the impact of social media on the discipline of communications.

By the way, I am delighted to receive comments and enjoy debate. So, weigh in.