And we all know that sometimes images can be a lot more powerful than words.

Except, you can’t interact with them (unless of course your images are moving, and it’s an embedded YouTube vid or a Ustream live feed).

And right now, interactivity is where it’s at. Thanks largely to what most people are calling social media or Social Media. I like to call it interactive media – and it’s something I’ve been participating in online for maybe 10 years now, primarily through message boards and forums.

Not a huge number of different ones, a small, select group … I have started a few, currently moderate one, have been a very active participant in three or four.

One of them is an online Success Team (once again, a la Barbara Sher) that originated from her message boards … we started out with 7 or 8 members, had a few fluctuations over the years, now down to just four of us and these days we probably all blog more and post more on Facebook than we do on the message board itself.

The thing that has held that little group of women together – since none of us have met in person, are the words we share, the words about our lives, our families, our jobs and businesses, our sorrows and our joys. And in more recent years, technology has allowed us to share some images too … which is great since two of our members are artists and it is always a treat to see their work.

My membership of the SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) message boards, firstly Camp Sark, and then the Marvellous Message Board (MMB for short) took me to the US to stay with women I had only ever met online – a hugely brave thing for me to do at the time, and a wonderful adventure I will always remember.

Then there’s the Tavern – where I am one of the “buxom wench hostesses”. This inspiring group of women is spread between New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the UK, Europe, the US and Canada. Over the years I have laughed, cried, lived and loved with them. They are some of the most supportive, intelligent, creative and downright hilarious women I have ever come across and my life is richer for having them all in it. Some of these women I have met in person, some I have had in my house, some I have travelled to meet in Melbourne for our “wenchfest”.

Once again, we mostly share in words, but we also upload pictures of our lives, the places we live, people we love, food we make … all that jazz.

Then of course there are the raw boards, the most important one to me being a spin off from the Tavern (yeah kinda like a sitcom). Started by my friend Lucie Walker in Canada, this board has also been a powerful source of information and inspiration for my raw food journey, and her blog is a font of tremendous wisdom.

I guess this truly is a stream of consciousness ramble tonight, but my point is that our words are very powerful for building bonds between you and the very real people who are out there reading what you have to say.

Never forget that.

Don’t be afraid to open up and share, and be open to the fact that the internet has become an incredibly powerful way of building relationships from one side of the world to the other, and of helping bring about change on an international level.

Oh and, back to those flashy websites that are all about the look. So often they have no soul – they just look pretty, but we get bored with them really fast, because they are not a place where people feel comfortable about hanging out. Bit like a fancy show home where you are afraid to sit on the white leather couches. It looks really cool, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

To me, the trick of creating websites that really work is making your site feel like a place people feel comfortable – and want to come back to. Because you have interesting stuff to say – and because you are happy to listen and have made it possible for your customers/readers/members to get onboard and share.

If you have a moment please share in the comments some of the online places you feel relaxed hanging out in.

Thanks again for reading.

Karen