Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi, is in the news this week, as his “Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund” looks to address the housing needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

We’ve more in common than just the name, then – my professional life having brought me into close contact with aftermath and recovery efforts of both the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Kashmir earthquake over the past couple of years.

The Governor and I have never met, of course. Pre-internet we’d probably never have heard of each other, remaining many more degrees separate than Stanley Milgram would once have had us believe.

But now I can quite happily link to the Governor’s web page and read all about him thanks to my favourite news search engine. He can read about me, too, if he likes. So, for those of us suitably connected, Web 2.0 really does appear to be shattering the “six degrees” theory. I link to you, you link to me, and bing!, we all know each other. Julian’s ramble on the subject a month or so ago is well worth a read.

Back to Governor Barbour … According to the Des Moines Register, he declared on 16 August that he’ll not be running for President in 2008. Which is a shame, if only for the opportunity it would have afforded to buy loads of “Vote Barbour” merchandise off eBay.

You never know, it might have come handy in my own future political career.

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