Bluegrass Consulting: Blueblog

Monday: 08 February

It’s been just over three years since the wide spread emergence of Facebook and there seems to be four types of users in my mind…..

1. The facebooker who signed up and couldn’t really figure it out so left it dormant
2. The facebooker who puts every gritty detail of their life online, with photos (often self taken photos) going up every Monday morning to document the weekend’s activities, these people usually want people to look at their profile
3. The facebooker who is starting to ‘de-friend’ because they realize their facebook has grown to become their online bedroom and don’t want everyone snooping around in their personal photos
4. The facebooker who uses facebook completely unawares of privacy issues and wouldn’t know whether their profile is available for anyone to see or if its restricted

Facebook culling is now a popular catch phrase as people add more and more personal information to their pages and are feeling the need to limit access to that information…

Linkedin has seen a similar phenomenon; with many users believing it is quite rude to ‘connect’ to someone who you hardly know.  Check out Art Petty’s blog (very funny) about social networking etiquette, he knows what I’m talking about!

What type of facebooker are you? Have you considered overhauling your privacy settings?

Thursday: 04 February

Some people love to use Avatars instead of their real photo online, others like to make up Alias names (or their alter egos) and then some just like to stay plain ‘Anonymous’.

You may have heard recently that South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson tried to ban online comments about the South Australian Election unless they were accompanied by their full name and postcode to verify the comment as one from a real person, not a party hack. He’s since had to do a back flip just 24 hours later due to the outrage it caused among bloggers and the like.

I can see why some people like to retain their anonymity such as political bloggers & pollsters, corporate whistleblowers or staff complaining about their company or work conditions or Trolls who go around seeking trouble! Being anonymous allows us to basically view our opinions and battle others without fear of retribution or personal judgement…

I’m glad Attorney General Michael Atkinson did a back flip on this, after all we are in a day and age where you have to be careful what you say online for fear of being sacked or sued which certainly can impede on a person’s freedom of speech.

Being anonymous allows people to post opinions on behalf of themselves, without paranoid or logical concerns about what will happen to them professionally or personally if they speak up on an issue.

What do you think? Do you comment on news sites etc with your real name? Do you think it’s important we are able to remain ‘anonymous’ in public debate if we so choose?

Annabey

Thursday: 14 January

As a communications professional and the daughter of an artist, I am very passionate about freedom of information and expression without censorship so I felt compelled to add to the plethora of people talking about Google’s problems in China.

I’m so happy that Google are making a stand in China by not folding to the Chinese Government’s demands on internet censorship. It will be interesting to see how this will unfold as Google are now operating illegally and it is predicted they will likely be forced out of the country.

Hillary Clinton issued a statement about the stalemate, saying “We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy.”

I’m not sure you will get an explanation from the Chinese Government Hillary….

It really is a bold move by Google who may be forced to lay off 600 workers and relinquish their estimated 36% share of one of the worlds largest and fastest growing economies - handing it over to their competitor Baidu, who currently have the estimated majority 58% market share. Then again, Google do have a substantial portion of the market share globally!

So I guess this is just a quick hat tip to Google for taking a stand on such an important human rights issue, despite the likely loss for their bottom line.

Annabey

Thursday: 19 November

No – It’s not a mob of people who show you what’s behind their trench coat!

You might have heard of them before, they have been around since 2003 – The ‘official’ (Wikipedia) definition of a flash mob is:

“a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.”

Here are some of my favourite flash mobs:

DANCES:

My Favourite – Bondi Beach

More:

• Tokyo, Japan (I love it that someone came in a Pokemon costume) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_hEVKYdafI
• Central Station, Belgium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k
• The Black Eyed Peas on Oprah’s Show, Chicago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjQxYbW6nBw

MUSICALS & MORE FUNNY STUFF

Pillow Fight, San Francisco

More:

• Check out Improv Everywhere http://www.youtube.com/user/ImprovEverywhere
  (Have a look at the human mirror LOL)

FREEZES:

Central Station in New York

More:

• Pitt St Mall and Martin Place, Sydney http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be2hJJIu8pM

Are you in the loop on up coming flashmobs? Have you been in one before? Let me know, drop a comment

Wednesday: 18 November

Have you thought about Christmas yet?

Don’t sigh - If you haven’t then NOW is the time and I have some ideas & places for you to look which will hopefully ease the pain…

Some of you might say it’s too early, but if you are going to give yourself the option of buying presents online then you need to do it this week so that you get it in the post in time for Xmas day!!!

I thought I’d share with you some cool sites I’ve found for buying unconventional presents that don’t cost a fortune:

1.GHILLIE GEAR

http://www.ghilliegear.com/index.php

This one is in for kicks – (unless you know someone who LOVES paintball and takes it pretty seriously?) They call themselves the ‘invisibility experts’ – I think you need to see the site for yourself!!

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2.PERPETUAL KID

http://www.perpetualkid.com/

Their motto is: “Entertain your inner child” – need I say more? These guys only post to US but allow you to use a service called BongoUS which gives you a US shipping address and then reroutes it to your international address – I haven’t used it before, clever idea: http://bongous.com/

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3. WHAT IS BLIK

http://www.whatisblik.com/

This site has fantastic (and reasonably priced) wall art that sticks on like a sticker (and in some cases can be peeled off and restuck) – Before you get too excited though, they only ship to Canada and US so this is only suitable if you have friends or family abroad… worth a mention though, I hope they start shipping to Australia

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4. THREADLESS

www.threadless.com

Cool and unique T-shirts, hoodsies, hoodies, onesies (for kiddies) and wall art – these are printed on American Apparel – I have heaps of them and they’re a good fit & quality

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5. OXFAM UNWRAPPED

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/

Be REALLY original and give someone some manure, a goat or sewing training – there are so many more original things that you can buy on this site! The unwrapped gifts send you a nice card with a picture of your goat (etc.) to give to your gift recipient and at the same time you’re both giving to those less fortunate around the world.

TIP: Get your Christmas cards from these guys

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6. ASHIDASHI

http://shop.ashidashi.com/

Why buy dad boring old navy or black socks when you can get some like these? My personal favourites are the ‘meat socks’, followed closely by ‘kick the habit’ and ‘pencil’ – They post to Australia!

Help someone kick their habit with these cigg socks?

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7. COOL MATERIAL

http://coolmaterial.com/

Fantastic site for buying those hard to buy ‘man-presents’ - could spend hours looking through this site!

TIP: Check out the Elite Marshmallow Blaster! (A must have for everyone!!)

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8. EBAY

www.ebay.com.au

Its obvious, but it has to be said because its one of the best sites on the internet!!

TIP: enable “search worldwide” to get a far better range of cool stuff to choose from

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9. PHOTO JOJO

http://photojojo.com/store

With everyone these days claiming to be a semi-professional photographer there is bound to be something on here to please!

TIP: Check out the bottle top camera tripod – and only $10!

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10. URBAN OUTFITTERS

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/

There is a whole bunch of interesting, and reasonably priced present ideas on this site – I like the apartment section of the site best, but they sell a whole range of things

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Good luck, don’t forget, if you’re buying something from o/s start shopping now so it arrives in time for Christmas!

Let me know if you come up with any other awesome places online for out-of-the-box presents! Share!! Post them below

Annabey

Tuesday: 17 November

I just came across this awesome list of people/organisations who have made a commitment to affecting meaningful political change through the use of the Internet and new technologies - there are some fantastic case studies here and some really interesting reading. These are the top 10 entries from all of the nominations received….

Have a look at the site I got these from: http://www.edemocracy-forum.com/2009/10/awards.html They do this every year and you can write to them to nominate….

(more…)

Friday: 18 September

LISTEN TO ONLINE CONVERSATIONS

• Conduct a conversation audit - Analyse who is talking about you, your competitor, your issues and find out what is ‘hot’ now and likely to remain popular for a reasonable amount of time

DETERMINE KEY CHANNELS

• Find out where your audience is talking online and which of these places are most important to your campaign
• Develop a presence in these digital environments - you don’t have to invest huge amounts of money into web design I the content/purpose of the site is strong enough (content and purpose should be first priority, design: second)
• Choose tools to use in these environments that are appropriate to your campaign

CREATE AN EDITORIAL CONTENT STRATEGY

• Develop a forward focussed editorial strategy - this needs to be relatively fluid to account for the interest and issues you receive throughout your digital campaign but it should include the key messages and specific activities of interest to maintain consistently interesting and purposeful content.
• Tools can be used to schedule the publishing/tweeting of content (such as peoplebrowsr) but these tools should be used with caution
• Aggregated information from quality sources can also be used to bolster the content but should not be solely relied upon
• Content should be driven by the brand where possible

DO SOMETHING INTERESTING!

• You need to provide readers with something - whether it be you taking them on a journey, giving away prizes, recognition, a laugh etc
• Make sure that you have integrated tools into your content that will allow the user to easily virally spread your content
• Invest time to make sure the offering is a genuinely attractive, interesting and (relatively) sustainable one for the reader
• The content needs to feel unscripted, fresh, organic, instant and creative - not ‘suit language’ or marketing mubo-jumbo (bloggers and social networkers will not read this let alone spread it virally & it could be used against your brand by networkers who are keen to shoot down ‘corporates behaving badly’!)

DELIVER ON EXPECTATIONS

• If you set up expectations that you are there to listen, then you need to continue listening and responding in a timely matter
• Quite a large amount of time is required to build strong relationships
• Try to make it clear if the campaign is only a short term campaign… don’t let it die unexpectedly
• Maintain consistent updates across all channels to give readers a reason to come back to your site

Annabey

Thursday: 17 September

There are about a million reasons why your organisation should be engaging online these days… Here are five that come to my mind - let me know if you have any to add!

Online engagement is another communication channel an organisation can use to reach large numbers of people, instantly

Online engagement can be targeted to and reach specific audiences (and you can establish and connect to key influencers)

Online engagement can be useful for communicating detailed or technical information (whereas normal TV, print or digital ads cannot convey such a level of detailed information)

It forms an invaluable platform for further/future campaigns - You never know when you might need a few people ‘on your side’ online (get your positive messages out where crises often break first!)

Public third party endorsements add to your brand’s reputation and appeal

Annabey

Tuesday: 08 September

I asked myself a few questions this afternoon (I’m not crazy I swear)….

Let me know what you think.. I’d be interested to know what answers come out of my questions in blue (at the bottom)!

1.      How can businesses use new technologies to engage with their stakeholders?

• find out where (online) people are talking about issues that affect your business, your brand or your competitors
• using these social media and digital communications/communities as another channel to listen and respond to their stakeholder

this includes:

- adapting through taking criticism head on;
- encouraging cultivation of open communities by respecting communities and opinions; and
- working with stakeholders to improve their business by encouraging innovation and new ideas.

2.      What are the benefits of using digital technologies versus analogue to engage with stakeholders?

• immediacy
• relatively cost effective
• can be targeted to specific stakeholders
• the internet and information on the web is widely accessible to stakeholders
• authenticity of feedback - businesses are now able to hear what is being said about them or issues which affect them from a source other than media (which can represent a skewed view)
• provides a forum for open conversation and accountability for the business - as a result it can develop and enhance the organisations brand awareness, trust and personality

3.      How can businesses develop social networks online?

• cannot ‘develop’ a social network as they are organic - a business can only encourage cultivation and engage
• cultivation and engagement in social networks requires large amount of time investment by the organisation - also requires internal employee buy-in and commitment

4.      What’s the best way to use blogs to develop stakeholder relationships? What sort of content should you include in blog posts?

• listen and monitor online conversations extensively before engaging online - online communities have their own culture and appropriate language etc - misinterpretation of these nuances can cause more damage to a brand than not engaging at all
• blogs can be used to enhance a brand/person’s position as a thought leader in their field
• engaging with relevant bloggers (like engagement with social networking community members) can enhance the organisations awareness, accountability,  personality and trust
• key bloggers should only be approached with relevant information and only after the business has a sound understanding of the blogger and their previous work (same as a journalist)
• a blog can be used by an organisation for a number of reasons and depending on the purpose, all types of content can be included - from interesting, quirky information to industry news and facts - all posts should encourage interaction and feedback from the reader and should be relatively short and interesting (provide something new, inform or entertain the reader)
• self-promoting blogs are rarely interesting, entertaining or informative
• there is no point using digital technology for the sake of it - it should compliment wider business strategy

5.      Is it better to manage your blog/website yourself or outsource this?

• it is crucial the business has internal buy in (the desire and drive to engage online) it is therefore crucial the owner of the blog/website contributes to, at a minimum, the drafting and final approval of content being published
• there is nothing wrong with outsourcing your website/blog maintenance, hosting, content development and design as long as the site content and online engagement strategy is maintained with at least a collaborative input approach

Now a couple of questions for you to think about:

• Do you have an online engagement strategy for your business?

• Have you got an online crisis plan?

• Do you know what your stakeholders are saying about you and your competitor’s businesses?

- Annabey

Monday: 15 June

Sad news from Victoria - Peter Costello announced today that he will not stand for re-election for the seat of Higgins at the next federal election (whenever that may be).

I am amazed at the harsh comments that have popped up on the news.com.au and SMH websites by various readers / bloggers.

For someone that has made a huge contribution to Australia, surely he deserves at the very least a quiet tip of the hat even from his opponents?

Just like I have asked before; where would we be today without the work of Paul Keating during his tenure as Treasurer and PM, and the economic reforms of his era, I ask - where would we be today if it hadn’t had been for Peter Costello’s work between 1996 and 2007 and without the reforms he took our nation through?

I wonder if we will be saying the same in years to come about Wayne Swan?

I wish him well in his future endeavors, wherever they take him.

Do you have any thoughts on his departure? If so, drop me a comment below….

Nathan