Online Insights on FIVEaa Sunday May 13 2012
This month on Online Insights we drive down memory lane in Adelaide in full technicolour, discover a resource to stop grey-haired people around you turning your hair grey, recoil at Vegemite’s woes and discover what brand you would be, given your personality.
Life in Adelaide
Believed to be Deckers restaurant in Adelaide circa 1966 (Image Film Australia via YouTube)
I have started a new habit.
It is so cold and dark at dinner time these days, that I am alone at the BBQ while the family is inside. So I arm myself with a glass of wine and my iPhone, dial up YouTube and throw in a random search term.
However, the first term I have been using is ‘Adelaide’.
Apart from a particularly nauseating case of road rage, the second video I ever found was some Film Australia archival footage of Life in Adelaide shot in 1966. It runs 20 minutes and is very, very intriguing.
You get to see grapevines growing in the suburbs, red and white taxis, old rotary dial phones, the Cox Foys playground atop its Rundle Street building, the Paris nightclub, and all the retro finesse that you would expect to find in Mad Men if it were situated in Adelaide.
ANZAC Day 2012: Remembering the fallen, scarred and damaged from all wars
April 25, 1915: A boatload of 6th Battalion soldiers leaving the transport ship HMT Galeka on way to land at Anzac Cove.
A simple post today to mark ANZAC Day, a day for paying tribute to the men and women from Australia and New Zealand who served in World War One.
These days, many of us take the opportunity to use ANZAC Day to reflect deeply upon all of us who are, who have and who will be affected by war directly and indirectly.
But when it comes to issues and problems so ingrained in human psyche, like our despairing inclination towards war which clings to humandkind like the stain of blood on Lady MacBeth’s hand, I believe that music, poetry and art seem to be more effective than words in accessing a heightened sense of perspective and insight.
Thus, today’s post will simply consist of three songs, all profoundly connected to war, loss and the pathos stirred deep within all thinking beings when we ponder humanity’s chances of loosing the chains of war and conflict. The songs will be:
- And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle
- Bring Him Home by Normie Rowe
- Masters of War by Bob Dylan but sung by The ROJ LIGHT
But first, the ode from Laurence Binyon’s poem, For the fallen, that will be read at every ANZAC Day commemoration today. It is timeless and poignant.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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Online Insights on FIVEaa Sunday April 1 2012
This month on Online Insights we find a treasure chest of intelligent, Australian writing, take the federal survey on same sex marriage, look for love in social networks, review how necessary daylight saving time really is, and then look for local things we might like to do.
Same Sex Marriage survey
Play matchmaker with your friends
This weekend we have had Catholic bishops sending letters to be read out to congregations, urging members of their congregations to vote in the Federal Government’s House of Representatives Committee online survey which is asking for feedback on two Bills before the house relating to the legalisation of same sex marriage.
It will be interesting to see what transpires because I think most bishops will be surprised by just how little actual control they have over the private thoughts of their flocks.
One thing that has always seemed ironic to me in this debate is that a growing number of heterosexual couples are moving away from marriage and choosing de facto relationships, while the oft-considered ‘progressive’, homosexual members of society seem to be clambering to become married. I understand there is a world of difference between having a choice and not having a choice; as humans, we always seem to want what we cannot have. I wonder if the granting of marriage to homosexual couples will lead to a small spike in marriages and then commence the downward spiral in accordance with the rest of society thereafter?
But be that as it may, I thought it would be useful to share the link for a few reasons:
- It is a very simple to use online form – a great example for others to follow
- It is a good example of parliament reaching out for direct public input
- It might be handy to have the link if you’d missed it
The Committee wants our views on the two Marriage Bills before they are debated in parliament. The deadline for filling in the survey is April 20, 2012.
Meanwhile, on the more sedate side of human relationships, a new app for Facebook has been designed to ‘introduce you and your friends to new people with similar friends, likes and interests’. Yes, it is a matchmaking app called Yoke.
Spare Key: Your ticket to a home away from home
Welcome to Spare Key
Spare Key is a new service using the power of Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and Google Maps, along with your social graph, to provide you with a home away from home, no matter where you are in the world.
Entering the world of Spare Key membership is easy:
- Simply install the Spare Key app in your Facebook account.
- When you need a place to rest, a drink of water, use of a restroom, or a spare bed for the night, simply click the Spare Key button on your Facebook profile.
- Look at the map that appears, showing the locations of Spare Keys or alarm codes for homes and offices around you.
All we ask is the following:
- Please DO NOT use Spare Key for evil purposes like burglary.
- Please REPLACE each Spare Key back in its place after use or re-arm burglar alarm systems.
- Please RESPECT all homes and offices you access with Spare Key.
A call to giggling: Middle-aged men unite
Kelly Noble, editor of the fashion and events magazine, Glam Adelaide, stated in a blog last week that there is ‘nothing great about middle aged men giggling‘.
For the record, it was a tongue-in-cheek post, I think, and she didn’t say they were not allowed to giggle, only that they probably shouldn’t because, one assumes, it does not befit them. Interestingly, she followed that statement with the assumption that the bloke she based this opinion on must have been heading off onto his first dirty weekend with the female companion he was travelling with. Why else would a middle-aged man be giggling?
This made me think, especially given it was International Women’s Day last week, about the hidden stereotypes even well-rounded and politically-correct people still adhere to, like these:
- A middle aged man giggling means he is up to no good or has lost the plot
- The ‘pretty young things’ fluttering eyelids while downing flutes of champagne at Adelaide Cup day today must be dizzy airheads and potential trophy wives
In my various marketing workshops last week, I met a number of people who coyly shared that they have two hats – their current career and a new venture they are developing in their own time. They were shy about it because they feared people would not understand there was ‘another side to them’; some complexity in their character that defied first impressions.
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Online Insights on FIVEaa Sunday March 4 2012
This month on Online Insights we shall see the light, then move from the old world to the ‘other world’ and come to rest in the inner world. Sounds mysterious but don’t fear, it is me and Sean Perry, you will not be spooked! Before you dive into the actual stories, I also encourage you to read my VENT over the Guardian Three Little Pigs video about social media that is all the rage at the moment. I argue that rather than support the social enmeshing of news, it is the most poignant argument against the 24-hour news cycles that surround us.
LED lighting leaves lighter footprint
Energy and money saving LED lighting
Darwin electrician, Jon Story, is a crazily passionate sparky I met during my regular visits to Darwin. He runs a company called Dunwrights Electrical, Darwin electricians.
One of his pet subjects is LED lighting and he says he is on a mission to help the world ‘see the light’ in a smarter, more cost-effective way.
He has written an article about how LED lighting saves you money and saves the environment. Here is his argument:
The Guardian Three Little Pigs video reveals truth about Big Bad Media
The Guardian’s two-minute commercial, Guardian open journalism: Three Little Pigs advert – video (view below), attempts to tell the story about how wonderful news coverage is in this age of social media.
However, it actually reveals more ugly truth about the media today then was intended.
I believe this commercial is the most convincing argument for closing down 24-hour news channels, most of which are responsible for brewing their own stories out of thin air to satiate their need for ‘content’. Even the term ‘content’ shows how little respect they have for us. The internal mantra must be, evidenced by the output we witness, keep them glued to nothingness and stage manage their emotions. We garner as much respect within news and current affairs outlets as a live television audience that claps and laughs on cue like a performing poodle.
This commercial fulfils Oscar Wilde’s prophetic insight that, “there is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”
Let me explain.
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Online Insights on FIVEaa Sunday February 5 2012
This month on Online Insights we explore mind control tricks from the underbelly of marketing, tease out some of Adelaide’s interesting bloggers, get a grip on British English and poke some fun at the lack lustre food photos shared in Social Media.
5 Creepy Forms of Mind Control You’re Exposed to Daily
Cars have facial expressions
As many of you know, I am a marketer. And there are many different understandings of marketing.
Some people think of marketing as those hyped-up people in car parks trying to hustle sales of ‘car wash in a can’ or similar. Others think marketing is having a job in a large firm where all you do is design posters and arrange launch events.
But I work in that part of marketing called strategy development. This is where I believe the hard yards of marketing are exercised. Thought goes into the product or service being marketed, the ‘market’ or ‘markets’ being marketed, and all that will be involved in bringing the two together. Sometimes this results in tweaking, redesigning or cancelling a product or service. At other times it results in shifting the focus of the story and message surrounding the product or service so that it can resonate with a different audience.
However, I digress. Tonight’s link is to a comedic article about some of the ‘tricks’ researched by marketing boffins for extracting an extra degree of influence from customers.
Clean Up Australia from the inside: Advance Australia Dry
Advance Australia Dry (until March)
Happy Australia Day!
Today I will be drinking a toast to Australia with its rich and complex history at the cricket test match at Adelaide Oval. And then I will stop.
Stop drinking that is.
As of January 27, I am embarking on a dry zone until the end of February.
I have dubbed this endeavour: Advance Australia Dry.
I’m doing it to mark Australia Day and give my health a boost at the same time.
Will you join me?
Here’s the back story.
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Online Insights on FIVEaa Sunday January 1 2012
Welcome to 2012 and the first edition of Online Insights for another year. This month we take a different approach to resolutions involving food, give ourselves some tricks for spelling better, correct some of the common myths we all believe and finish with a way to play book publisher.
What’s more, most of tonight’s links may prove helpful on this sweltering, 41 degree day.
Food list challenge
Frogs' legs anybody?
Could this be your New Year’s Resolution for 2012?
The food list challenge is a list of 100 foods and the authors believe your score determines how much of a ‘foodie’ you are. Turns out I am Mr Average with 47 out of the 100.
The list includes:
- Aligator
- Biscuits and gravy
- Frogs’ Legs
- Goulash
- Pistachio Ice Cream
- Rabbit Stew
My latest snaps on Instagram
Listen to Steve
- stevedavis: The #socadl Daily is out! http://t.co/vLwzsWJH ▸ Top stories today via @scottmccarten @hayleybw @hellobenteoh May 18, 2012
- stevedavis: @JoshuaWhiteSM must be a good feeling! Wordpress workshop walks biz people through basics of running wp site with lots of marketing input May 18, 2012
- stevedavis: @JoshuaWhiteSM how was yours? May 18, 2012