Recent Entries

Now here's a rant I never thought I'd need to make! Who would think we would end up with a debate on the wisdom of using embedded hyperlinks in copy?

Nicholas Carr unleashed a blog post last week positing that the wisdom of embedding hyperlinks within copy should be re-examined...

It's become way too common to compare the impact of the internet with the arrival of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press all the way back in 1440. Bloggers and conference speakers continue to argue that the web changes everything we know about marketing and business in much the same way that Gutenberg's ink-stained wooden contraption supposedly changed what it was to be a writer or publisher.

Earlier today, I was asked for my opinion on whether The Age was displaying a misunderstanding of social media by sacking Catherine Deveny for inappropriate tweets during the Logies. I'm not going to retell the whole sorry tale here; there are already way too many news items and blog posts so that if you really have been under a rock, you can follow one of these links.

If you were somehow able to fire a virtual gun at Twitter, chances are you'd hit a social media consultant. Some of you may already be picking up the gun based on that promise, but wait - I'm making a point here. These consultants, marketing experts, tech journos, media geeks, futurists and other whatchamacallits (and I count myself among them, so watch it with that firearm) base their authority on advising brands and businesses on how to manage social media. So what happens when these same people don't behave the way they demand of their clients?

News Ltd excelled itself this weekend with a piece of journalistic sleight-of-hand designed to deceive readers in the quest for more website clicks. The story - Erotic dancers at charity launch for sick kids - first appeared on the front page of the NT News and their website. It wasn't long before other websites in the News Ltd group picked up on the story's "click potential", resulting in the piece appearing at The Australian and becoming the featured story on the home page of News.com.au.

In their efforts to avoid accusations of bias, the modern news media has become more biased and more distorted than ever before. A perfect example of this 'biased impartiality' occurred this morning on Channel Seven's revamped Sunrise program. In a segment on the climate change debate, Kochie interviewed Dr Ben McNeil - Senior Research Fellow for the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales - and Lord Christopher Monckton. Who isn't.

How did Verbatim's marketing team approach a tech-savvy audience with their functional and boringly inanimate digital storage offerings? By bringing them to life in a gladiatorial fight to the death, of course!

The best marketers have always known that strong cut-through isn't just about meeting a consumers need but also creating an emotional connection as well. Especially in markets where brands and products are closely competitive in pricing and benefits, an emotional edge can be immensely powerful in converting more sales.

I've done many, many different jobs in my twenty-odd years of working life - from the fun (working in night clubs) to the disgusting (drawing lots to see who would unpack the hamper from the old folks home in an industrial laundry). But by far the worst job I have ever done was back in 1996 when I spent three horrible months as a door-to-door salesman.

Probably the most overused cliche in digital marketing today is referencing Minority Report when discussing augmented reality (AR). AR is on many marketing prediction lists for 2010 as the proliferation of 3G smartphones and the convergence of GPS, cameras and applications means location-specific informatin can appear on your phone.

Thank you Stephen Conroy! Thank you so much for keeping my family safe. By announcing that your new internet filter is a measure "to improve the safety of the internet for families", I feel reassured that you only have my, and my daughter's, best interests at heart.

I just have a comment - I didn't know the internet wasn't safe!