Category: Uncategorized

When coffee was first brought to Europe it caused a sensation. And as coffee houses sprung up across Europe, they became viewed variously as dens of iniquity and places of underhand dealings. Gradually though, coffee became respectable, and now I can hardly string two words together without a cup. Underlying this is, of course, a powerhouse global business that revolutionised the economies of the great trading nations of the 1700s.

Mario Sundar has a great post today over at MarketingProfs, talking about the ROI on blogging for businesses.

He draws on some very interesting analysis from Charlene Li at Forrester. Of course, when it comes down to quantifying the potential or real returns of blogging it is very difficult. Sure we can track user traffic, we can monitor the flow of users from a blog to other parts of a site and we can count comments, subscribers or feeds. But how do we measure engagement?

Mario’s view is that you start with an understanding of “ownership” … which is a great concept. But it presupposes that your corporate content is worthy or, or in a state ready, for sharing/co-ownership. However, it is a very interesting topic of conversation, and one that is many corporate and non-corporate bloggers are interested in — my friend Lewis Green recently started a conversation on exactly this topic.

And while Blog ROI is a great topic, it is just like a great cup of coffee — we know what we like and have a taste for particular brands. And while we may not know why some of the metrics make sense (we may even prefer to go with gut feel) … there is no doubt that the team that cracks this code will be worthy of the millions that will be bestowed upon them.

For some reason I can’t comment on ANY Typepad blog at the moment. The comment fields rarely appear, and when they do, my submission times out …

Kind of frustrating … but I will try and write up my comments here and reference YOUR site/posts that way.

Around semester’s end at university we all got some good house cleaning done. Even in a share house of stinky boys (them not me ;)) the urge to clean was greater than the urge to study/write essays. It doesn’t quite get that bad when you are working on pitches for clients … and certainly blogging can become a pure form of procrastination that becomes more addictive as the deadline nears …

And while procrastination can take many forms, I had never considered taking portraits of myself in my underwear. Ariel claims that "self portrait strip tease" is a common practice for ladies — but I was wondering whether it was something guys do. It brings a whole new level of double entendre to AgencyWorld’s tendency to work on late night proposals — just so long as some of those "procrastination" shots don’t end up in the pitch documents.

Oh, and Ariel also points to this Flickr set by Violet Blue, for more procrastination shots.

It has been a while since I took a freeform trip along the hypertext trail … of course, there have been some detours, like the various memes as well as the fabulous Z-list … but these were more structured, and somehow lacked the randomness that I love. (The Z-list started, of course, as a meme about marketing blogs.)

But tonight, there was a touch of serendipity — an email/comment from Maryam in Marrakech. Now I am always going to be intrigued by an email address like that … I felt certain that there had to be a story attached.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long and I was sucked into this exciting and exotic blog about living in Africa. It is full of the sites and sounds of Africa, touching on the vibrancy and history but also looking at the challenges of expatriate living. There is certainly a strong sense of wonder peppered throughout the articles, whether it is fascination with shopping and markets, history or even the making of personal histories in a foreign land. And while Maryam’s blog is fantastic, it also led me elsewhere …

Maryam showcases some of the cutest kids products I have ever seen — handmade modern toys for kids. Unfortunately, ZidZid do not have an online shop … BUT Julie Klear very kindly forwarded me a catalogue of the latest items (all the way from Marrakech–don’t you love email?). I am sure if you e-mail her she would send you one too (use the Contact Us link on the ZidZid site).

Got caught in a massive traffic jam coming back into Sydney last night. The delays were caused by a bushfire burning on Sydney’s northern fringe … the fire had leapt across the freeway and had made it too dangerous to drive.

For those of you who don’t know Sydney, many people head north each weekend, driving about an hour or so to visit the beaches of the “Central Coast”. Unfortunately, all those who went away this weekend were caught by the bushfires on their return. Our delay meant that we took over four hours for a one and a half hour trip — and we left late to try and avoid the traffic! That meant there was no writing last night, and not much tonight … but I can sleep well knowing that the fires are well away from my home. Not everyone has the same luxury.

Just when I thought that Tim MasiGuy Jackson’s Saturn debacle had died down … Becky over at Customers Rock comes out with a GREAT thought provoking piece.

As a former Saturn fan, Becky bought into the whole tag line "A different kind of company. A different kind of car" (was that your work Mike?). But now, 15 years on, things are different. As Beckie says:

Bad customer service, as evidenced in this Saturn saga, will not only drive away existing customers, but through negative word-of-mouth, it will also drive away potential customers.

Anyone else taking this one on? You have got to love the web!

UPDATE: Sorry all … got Becky’s link wrong — this is the right one!

Looks like there really is going to be a BarCamp here in Sydney in March. There are even a number of interesting presentation topics starting to appear. I was thinking of presenting a little something on digital storytelling … but thought I would get your input first — a la Russell Davies.

What do you think?

Oh, there is a BarCamp Sydney blog too. Keep upated by checking it out here.

The eyes have long been associated with truth — and with deception. When we are told to "open our eyes", it often means that we should re-look at a situation. When we are said to have "wide eyes" then it implies surprise or in other instances, clear vision. There are many variations on this …

But this new year, on January 1, "eyes wide" means a whole new world of hope.

I would like to thank all who have sent emails, comments, and MORE. When I have a moment, there are emails heading your way!

S.

I remember seeing someone in a crowd and thinking to myself, “well I haven’t seen her for ages!”. So I walked over to her, smiling, catching her eye and attention. We were only steps apart and I can remember being happy … pleased to be reconnecting. I just couldn’t remember the LAST time I saw her …

AND THEN IT HIT ME.

The woman I was smiling at, who was smiling, strangely back at me was not a long lost friend, but a newsreader on TV. I quickly readjusted my line of vision, waved at the bartender directly over her shoulder and ordered a martini. BOY I needed a drink!

I have often wondered how this happens. Then I saw this great post by Helen … on the 5 things meme … explaining her inability to distinguish between blog reality and … well whatever world she lives in 😉 And then the answer turns up on Diana’s blog — serial thoughts — with some great research into the effectiveness of interactive websites. Check it out … it is fascinating!

S.

Now this has to be the funniest blog name.

I found this site while reading one of Jon Howard’s excellent pieces on community. What I like about the Arsenal Blog is that it is absolutely true to the tenor of the audience — because is of the audience, by the audience and for the audience.

And if you don’t like it, see the complaints department 😉

S.