Paull is moving "Forward."

A few weekends ago, I was fortunate enough to attend UGA Connect, a social media conference sponsored by Grady College. Sessions like "Blogging 101," "Social Media's Influence in Georgia" and "Blog Measurement" reinforced the importance of blogging and creating online communities. (This is especially critical for me, a public relations student!)

Unfortunately, I missed Paull Young's case presentation on Forward blog. Forward is a collaborative blog for young PR professionals and students -- one of my must-reads -- and in the top 150 marketing blogs worldwide.

Well, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to interview Paull. On of the most accomplished 24-year-olds I've met in a long time, I knew he had to be a pretty interesting guy. I was right! I used Paull's personal blog to come up with some good questions. Check the e-mail interview (he was glad to be writing about something other than PR), minus the Australian accent.

You say you enjoy "good books, good music and good beer." What's on your current reading list? iPod?

"I'm a bibliophile. I love reading and wish I had time to devour more books. At the moment I've got a stack next to my bed. I'm polishing off David Weinberger's 'Everything is Miscellaneous,' and its really changed my thoughts about how information can be sorted and processed.

Next on the list is 'Empire' by Niall Ferguson - a look at the British Empire and thoughts on what it means for us today. My good friend and Forward colleague, Richard Bailey, gave me Niall Ferguson's book on America, 'Collossus,' when I visited him in Leeds in January. At the time I couldn't put it down, learned a bucket load from it, and it shifted my political thoughts on war, peace and the home front - pretty powerful stuff!

My iPod is full to bursting-point with my standard favorites - For Immediate Release, Six Pixels of Separation, Trafcom News, Engaging Brand and a handful of NPR programming."

As far as beer goes, I'm still looking for a good Yank one, any suggestions?

Where do you currently live, and what's the best thing about it?

"I moved to New York almost 6 months ago. I've traveled extensively, and I have no doubt that this city is the best place in the world for a 24 year old to be living. When I first moved here, I lived in Harlem, which wasn't as scary as many people thought it would be (though I did get some funny looks in that neighborhood when I'd go for a run in my short pair of rugby shorts).

Now I'm living in the Upper East Side, and I really feel like I'm on the set of a movie. It's like the Manhattan you've seen on TV, and I can walk to dozens of bars and restaurants as well as Central Park. I live with a bloke from Kentucky and a couple from Ohio, so we've got a little redneck enclave in a trendy area - I can't see myself moving for a while."

I see you like rugby. I don't know much about it... Any pointers for someone wanting to start? (Obviously, these pointers are not for me...)

"Ha ha - women's rugby is huge! I've been playing rugby since I was 6, and I've got several hundred games under the belt - it's a great sport.

If you're interested, I'd say just get into it. Americans tend to worry that it's a little violent, but in 18 years playing the game I've only ever had surgery a couple of times and other than that I've only got a few scars on the head to show for it.

The best thing about playing rugby is the international flavor of the game. I play for a great club called the Village Lions in New York, and we've got 40 different nations amongst our players. On top of that, I've got friends from home playing in Italy, Glascow, London, Hong Kong and a bunch of other spots around the globe."

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

"I've developed a huge weakness for those white chocolate Reeses peanut butter cups. We don't have 'em back home, and try as I might, I find it hard to avoid them, especially when paired with an afternoon coffee."

What's the coolest thing you've learned recently?

"Wow, that's a tough one because I'm learning something new every day because of the job I'm doing. Last night I was watching a documentary about the Vietnam War memorial and learned that the amazing design came about from a Yale undergraduate student through a contest. They opened up the design submissions to all Americans and found that a rank amateur outdid the experts and created something that is not only one of the most important American monuments but has touched the heart of thousands.

In the online space there is a lot of buzz about crowd sourcing, and it's an area I've been really interested in since reading Don Tapscott's 'Wikinomics.' It was funny to see such a beautiful example pop up, pre-web, while I was relaxing."

Well, I certainly learned something from Paull.