July 2011
2 posts
Visual.ly of @travisaholland vs @MegAgain
June 2011
1 post
16 tags
Coal Seam Gas Concerns
DRAMATIC footage of a foamy discharge from a coal seam gas well in south western Sydney has added to concerns around the controversial industry. The video, filmed by a Greens member of the New South Wales parliament, appears to show an unidentified foamy chemical mix being forcefully expelled from the well. Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham, who filmed the video expressed concern about the ...
May 2011
1 post
Coal seam gas concerns stoked by foamy discharge
March 2011
1 post
12 tags
ARL vs NRL
I just received this email from someone who often sends me these kinds of emails. Many of them are funny. They brighten your day up. But, then, many are just like this one. Have a read of it and see my comments at the bottom.
36 have been accused of spouse abuse 7 have been arrested for fraud 19 have been accused of writing bad cheques 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2...
February 2011
2 posts
15 tags
Why Bob Carr is Sadly Mistaken
In a recent post on his often-rambling blog, former NSW Premier Bob Carr begs for preferences from those intending to vote for the Greens on March 26. Carr tries to scare voters into delivering their preferences to Labor after the Greens by invoking the threats of a demonic far right parliamentary consortium of the Coalition, the Shooter’s Party and the Christian Democrats.
He also...
5 tags
When big media are no longer the biggest
Terry Flew and others have argued that old-world global media companies such as News Corporation, Disney and Time Warner are intrinsically part of, even drivers of, globalisation processes (2007: 71). They have used media companies that primarily trade in traditional media (such as television, printed newspapers, radio broadcasts and outdoor advertising) to make complex arguments about the...
January 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Surround and Conquer
When I tire of politics and media, I blog on sport over at The Big Tip. My first article there was posted on January 2. It discusses what the NRL must consider in expansion attempts. Also, if it is the most viewed article in the next few days, I score a neat $200. So, if you’re interested or just feel like helping me out, take a look at ‘Surround and Conquer’.
10 tags
Decline in Rural Media
Australia’s population is mostly cloistered into densely populated east coast cities and surrounding areas such as the Sydney basin, Melbourne and South East Queensland (including Brisbane and the Gold Coast). Yet, despite the statistical affinity for urban and suburban life, our national character (if it can be defined) remains rooted in ideas of rurality and the bush. This self-concept was...
7 tags
The Open World - by Facebook and Google
The corporate culture of tech giants Facebook and Google has occasionally come in for close scrutiny. Both have had storms of controversy over changes to the way information was handled or presented on their sites (info on a Facebook blunder here and Google’s numerous mistakes here). But so far, both have always weathered the storms, sailing (almost) uninterrupted through the outrage of the...
December 2010
3 posts
13 tags
Top Tweeps
The Follow Friday phenomenon on Twitter is a crowd-driven meme that provides thousands of recommendations each Friday. Like TwitPic and URL shortening services, this trend has generated a life of its own within (and outside) the Twittersphere. All you have to do is follow someone suggested by those you already follow and there is a reasonable chance you will like their content too. It is a great...
8 tags
News Trends in 2011
“As the Earth nears a completely arbitrary point in it’s rotation, we are forced to once again pretend we care, remark upon how quickly it went and pretend we’re going to change our behaviours in significant ways” - Drew Sturgiss (1988-2012)
The other odd occurrence of year end is the parade of predictions for the coming year/decade/century and the navel-gazing epitaphs...
7 tags
Community News
In my last post, I raised the concept of local news being produced and delivered by local people for local people in an organisational form I like to refer to as Community News. Community News organisations are the antithesis of control media. For the uninitiated, control media is media where the content is controlled and managed by the elaborate gatekeeping process undertaken by editors and...
October 2010
1 post
9 tags
Academia's Dirty Little Secret
I study digital communications as part of my degree, so I have been exposed to considerable scholarship on the use of services like Facebook, Twitter and Google’s various products. An interesting side-note to all of this research always seems to be about the age and other demographic characteristics of the users of these services and internet resources in general. A 2009 report by Pew...
September 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Tagged
Given I haven’t played any sport for quite a few years, my girlfriend and I signed up to play in the local OzTag competition this summer. We got together a team and played our first trial match on Wednesday night. We were royally thrashed 24 tries to 1.
It was only after this massive loss that I feel compelled to actually learn the rules of the game. I have played Rugby League for most of...
August 2010
15 posts
5 tags
When big media are no longer the biggest
Terry Flew and others have argued that old-world global media companies such as News Corporation, Disney and Time Warner are intrinsically part of, even drivers of, globalisation processes (2007: 71). They have used media companies that primarily trade in traditional media (such as television, printed newspapers, radio broadcasts and outdoor advertising) to make complex arguments about the...
5 tags
Predictions revisited: How did I go? #ausvotes...
A quick run-down on what I said would happen in the Illawarra and Southern Highlands seats at the election and the final outcome.
Feel free to comment and disagree if you live in any of these seats.
Cunningham
I said: “The Greens George Takacs has gained good traction and the shared Greens Illawarra office in Crown Street has been well patronised. He will perform well, drawing around...
Democrat Butler Happy with Result →
Schultz storms home for fifth term →
Neither Major Party in Power →
White Flight in Networked Publics? How Race and... →
Schultz: Coalition can form government →
Global Faces and Networked Places →
Facebook Users Are Getting Older. Much Older. →
Social Networking's New Global Footprint →
Wild Apricot Blog : Social Networks vs. Real Life... →
Putting Money Where My Mouth Is - Predictions →
8 tags
Putting money where my mouth is – predictions for...
11 days ago, I published predictions for the Illawarra and Southern Highlands seats at today’s election. I haven’t changed any of the predictions but have mildly refined some of them.
So, before the numbers come rolling in, here they are:
Cunningham
The Greens George Takacs has gained good traction and the shared Greens Illawarra office in Crown Street has been well patronised. He will perform...
The Very Late Train →
6 tags
Very Late Train #ausvotes
In April last year, US President Barack Obama painted a picture of no-hassles intercity travel for his country.
“Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city,” he said.
“No racing to an airport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, no lost luggage, no taking off your shoes,” he continued.
And then he built the rhetoric: “Imagine...
Election predictions #throsby #cunningham #hume...
Illawarra and Southern Highlands election predictions:
- Cunningham: Greens will perform well plus the Liberal candidate is a no show (gagged by head-office) = ALP retain with big margin.
- Hume: ALP candidate is a strong performer plus lots of minor parties plus Labor towns now in electorate (eg, Cowra) means Schultz is in trouble but will win.
- Throsby: Greens & Nats will poll well (for...
July 2010
9 posts
Meet Mr News →
Candidates start campaigning in earnest →
IMB helps out volunteer centre →
Good earth turns into good products →
Lines of communication opening at Bowral Hospital →
Program offers residents awards →
Bowral PS could have been rebuilt →
Principals welcome revolution funding →
Bowral Hospital Refused Hip Operation 'Because of... →
June 2010
3 posts
RT @shfMADyouth: Its Gr8 2 Give! http://www.scribd.com/doc/33148576/Students-Encouraged-to-Give-Where-they-Live
The Very Late Train →
7 tags
The Very Late Train
In April last year, US President Barack Obama painted a picture of no-hassles intercity travel for his country. “Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city,” he said. “No racing to an airport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, no lost luggage, no taking off your shoes,” he continued. And then he built the rhetoric: “Imagine whisking...
March 2010
5 posts
#DIGC201 Game to film conversions: http://www.ugo.com/channels/games/features/gamesonfilm/
Did the Twitter ‘new tweets’ bar just change from Yellow to Blue? I mean literally in the last ten minutes.
Including military game developers, music producers, Hollywood, education colleges, merchandisers, retailers and more #DIGC201
Open a betting market on your own in-game performance. You had better be good: http://www.gamersaloon.com/ #DIGC201
#DIGC201 Colleges being used as ‘residency factories’ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/09/2840948.htm Including games colleges?
February 2010
15 posts
The most over-dramatic Australian Tsunami tweeter award goes to: RT @MarkParton Huge Tsunami heading for the Pacific including Australia
RT @abcnews: Widespread tsunami warning issued for Pacific countries including Australia. Official warning here: http://bit.ly/b7ZZBM