+ Everyone's A Detective

Or at least has the opportunity to be. Check it out at The Punch.

+ The Pigs Without Wings Foundation

I've said in the past I will never put AdSense on this blog. But I wonder if there is some type of sponsored deal you and I could organise?

It doesn't neccessarily have to be a link or ad on the side, in fact I don't want that. But I wonder if something more can be explored, something more creative and flexible, that adds value to you, me and my audience.

Would you sponsor this blog? Let's talk.

+ Both Important And Talkative

Head nod to Jessica Hagy. I have completely stolen her style here.

+ A Print Dinosaur

So this John Hartigan bloke, News Ltd CEO, had this to say in regards to the future of journalism...

“Then there are the bloggers. In return for their free content, we pretty much get what we’ve paid for - something of such limited intellectual value as to be barely discernible from massive ignorance.”

In his speech he then proceeded to point out sites like Crikey and Mumbrella as leeching off journalism in Australia.

You take out these two points and his speech might have had some decent ideas behind it. You'll notice he didn't mention anything about The Punch which, funnily enough, is owned by big bad News Ltd. He also failed to mention that a significant amount of their contributors are also bloggers.

This is the dinosaur you've selected to keep newspapers and journalism alive in Australia? Good luck with that.

Also, as I write for The Punch I'd just like to say the people running the site do a smashing job, and thankfully do not take the piss out of us bloggers.

+ Balls On The Line

This week, is Man Week. And I've been tagged by Gavin Heaton to write about it. However, like Stan Lee, I tend not to write about much personal stuff here unless I can tie it into marketing or blogging.

Which is convenient, because my post is about this blog.

I'm still a teenager. And as my amazingly dirty attempt at a beard would suggest I'm not even sure if I can use the word "man". In fact on some levels I'm fairly immature and don't even act my age at the most inappropriate of times. But the biggest change in my personally, as far as I can tell, is I'm no longer as quiet as I once was.

My childhood was normal. I don't have an amazing story to tell. My parents separated before I could say the word marriage but I can't complain about how I was raised. I was labelled a geek at school who sat at the top of every class academic wise, but not harshly done and it was even something I called myself. While the rest of the kids were busy talking in class, I was busy working.

And I think that made me quiet. I'd still talk and socialise of course, but no one would ever mistake me for "the loud one" in the class room.

But around Year 10, I decided to start being louder. Not neccessarily talking more, just putting myself out there, taking opportunities that came up and generally expressing myself when I wanted to.

I'm not sure why, but I do remember it being a conscious decision.

And it was fun.

And it taught me my opinions and thoughts are valid.

And to not work too hard.

I think over the past five years it's continued to build, especially when I look at how much I've changed since, even still if you compared to my first week at Uni to now.

And one of the ways I've been able to do this, is with a blog.

I've always said starting this blog was one of the best things I ever did, and not just career wise. This is one of those "not just career wise" things.

It's given me a platform to express myself and express my passion.

It's let me be as loud as I want.

It's gotten me thinking, writing and doing something I love.

And it's been an important aspect in shaping me into the man I am today.

+ Rudd Wins The Internets

Here is a disappointing page. It's the top sponsored channels on YouTube sorted by the most amount of subscribers of all time in Australia.

These brands must be paying for this privilege. I've been told they do receive banner ads as part of that package, but that's about it. They're pretty much normal accounts, ones that you or I could register.

But of all the brands who are sinking money into these channels, the most popular channel has just 1,300 subscribers. And it's the Government.

I find it beyond disappointing that's the best we can do, particularly with the budgets they would have been allocated. Where's the ROI on that? Maybe they'd have been better off with a normal, free account.

+ Don't Hate Me

This article over at The Punch explains why.

+ You Sir, Are Anonymous

Sorry to beat a dead horse here guys, but let's have a quick chat about posting anonymously.

I honestly don't mind if you do it. I'd prefer if you attached a link to somewhere I could contact you, and if not then even just a name, but I understand some of you just want to post anonymously for the sake of it. I'm sure you've realised by now I actually relish abusive comments. And that's okay, if posting anonymously let's lets you say something you wouldn't normally say otherwise then go nuts.

But please, don't give me personal branding advice if you're going to do it anonymously. That is where I draw the line.

+ The Right To Remain Silent

Joseph Jaffe just wrote a post saying every time your brand is mentioned on a blog you need to respond. But he's wrong. And I reckon Adam Ferrier might even be onto something when he said brands should just leave consumers alone.

Just because someone mentions your brand name, it doesn't mean you have to go in and "engage". Just because someone says something about jeans on Twitter, it doesn't mean you have to follow them if you're Levi. And just because someone mentions something remotely related to your product, it doesn't mean you have to comment on my blog.

This is called spam. And if you do it on this blog I have no problem tearing you to shreds.

I'm all for monitoring the social media environment. But when it comes to responding, don't do it all the time. Only do it when you can provide value. If it's relevant, and you can answer a question, point someone in the right direction or even give them something free or discounted, then you may respond.

And if you want to see somebody doing social media response well, the Body Shop is a good place to start. Joseph and Adam, I give you both permission to respond if you please.

+ Another Umbrella

A few weeks ago Mumbrella launched their first sister site, Thumbrella. And in what can only be described as extreme procrastination during an exam period, I give you their next launch...

What started as an innocent conversation between myself and Kate Kendall about possible brand extensions, it saw me get home and created this. It quickly turned into a little experiment (and time killer) where I sneakily seeded it on a few blogs under the name of Fake Tim Burrowes. The goal was to determine how long it would take to surface, how much buzz I could create and how long until it appeared on Mumbrella.

Just hours after seeding, a comment appeared on Twitter from one blogger. At this stage just two of the dozen blogs it was seeded on had said something outside of their blog with a couple of others responding with comments. Less than 24 hours after the first seed, Tim posted about it.

It was merely intended as some fun. I don't think it was deceptive or non transparent. Now I must go study (rote learn) for my exam in two hours.