A couple of months ago I put a note out on Twitter about how my car had been written off. I also put a note on this very forum to the same extent. I had a predictable response - nobody said anything except one wit on this blog, who added the epithet 'no-one cares about your car'.
Indeed, it could have looked like something of an indulgent blog post. Why indeed should anyone care what's happened to my motor?
You can tell this is going somewhere. I was in fact testing out a theory for my social networking book, due out in October. Did anyone actually care, I wondered - or if they did, other than expressions of sympathy (and contempt from our friend here), would I get anything like an offer of help? Social media is supposed to be like that. Informal. Friendly.
I'm being loaned a Jaguar.
No, seriously. Among the people who saw the original Tweet were Jaguar's people responsible for digital engagement. They got in touch. They wondered whether they could help. Granted these things take time, and there's an internal 'sell' before they can start giving cars out to stray hacks and bloggers. So we've compromised on the timing.
But I'm impressed. Social Media has allowed me to borrow a Jaguar for a weekend sometime soon, it's an elderly brand reinvigorating itself through social networking.
I can't wait to see who makes the move next.