In his own words: "You wouldn't report what's sprayed up on the walls of buildings. Social media has its place, but it's anonymous. It's often very abusive and has about as much authority and credibility as graffiti".

If this was a seriously analytical column I could pontificate along the pretentious lines that: "An anachronistic pre-modern perspective on a post-modern electronic paradigm such as this contributed in no small way to the former prime minister's demise."

Thank God this isn't a seriously analytical column; I'll leave that guff to the text perts.

What I have been doing is trawling social media (which I think is different to trolling), searching for some of the better (in other words more humorous) observations of the past few days.

Among the better threads to have emerged are those related to the negative reactions by Ray Hadley, Alan Jones and one-time Fairfax cadet, Andrew Bolt, to the leadership change.

Their opposition to Malcolm Turnbull's elevation is one of the best reasons to welcome the development. As Mr Abbott found out the hard way, with friends like them who needs enemies?

Anyway, these are some of my favourites:

An Idle Dad: "Good news is Ray Hadley is now a Greens voter, I assume. He'll never vote for any party that knifes a first term prime minister."

The meme turbine: "Last time I was in a Sydney a cab driver explained to me that Ray Hadley was `the voice of Sydney if Sydney was one giant RSL Club'."

Bendit straight: "Ray Hadley's investigative skills are being tested this morning as he hunts down Libs who voted for Turnbull."

On a more general level Spring Enjoyer offered a number of witty observations. My faves were:

"Coalition builds a new leader from meaty offcuts. Press gallery says 'better than Abbott', 'appealing to western Sydney' and 'salty when licked'."

And:

"Welcome to the future, your choices are bike tories or the tmblr left."

Sam Kriss had some inside information: "Tony Abbott is being deported to Antarctica, 'the Australia of Australia', to rule a new colony of fair dinkum, bogan, wobbly, racist penguins."

I just hope they (the penguins) have a sense of humour.

The best of the lot was Leonie Doyle's pithy observation: "[It] turns out the phrase 'one term Tony' was a bit optimistic."

On a sadder note, I went in search of what Mellie, Malcolm Turnbull's three-legged dog, who has guest posted on First Dog and other prestigious social media sites, had to say about the whole affair on Facebook.

I was sorry to discover her eulogy, posted by the Turnbulls, from June 2013, when she died at "nearly 11".

Having survived the cancer that claimed a leg, Mellie finally succumbed to heart disease and now waits at the rainbow bridge.

For a barrister and a politician, Mr Turnbull has a sentimental streak.

He wrote: "Why do we love dogs so much? Is it because they are loyal and loving? Is it because they love us for what we are, without judgment? Is it because, as Byron said, our dogs have all the virtues of man without his vices? Dear little Mellie, you were such a brave, fond and loyal friend. All your pack will miss you and never be quite the same without you."

Regardless of what Jones, Bolt and Hadley have to say, I reckon a man who loves a dog that much can't be all bad.