DIY or pre-packed: Choosing social media channels

The "Come Play" website seeks to get Aussies involved in the bid for the FIFA World Cup. From what I can tell from their complex site, you have to complete tasks to earn points. I can't seem to work out to what end, although I just uploaded a pic of a plate of rissoles and got 150 points (yeeeesssss!!!)

This is user-generated content gone mad. What on earth are they going to use all this content for and how effective will it be in cementing a win?

If it's just a numbers game in terms of generating support, would Come Play have had more success if it used existing social media platforms such as facebook and twitter to drive engagement? The act of having to set up yet another account replete with username, password, details about me etc etc is, I imagine, a massive deterrent to many, especially when the reward seems to be rather small (the closest thing I could find to a prize was an exclusive wrist band and scarf). Is there a way you can import all these details from an existing profile?

The bid is 16 months, 2 weeks and 5 days away (as the site tells me) so I will reserve final judgment as to the utility of this campaign till then.

But considering that after the binge of 2008, people are facing overload, and starting to trim the fat from their Social Networks, I reckon it will pay off to either reward richly and simply (a whopper today is worth twenty next year), or stick to using existing platforms to avoid deterring fans with more forms

Triple J's stasis

So, the Hottest 100 OF ALL TIME weekend has come and gone, and what have we learned? That grunge is the greatest music of all time? That women make crap music? That Jeff Buckley was the world's greatest untapped potential? No (although arguably yes to the last point, but that is subjective).

I think what it tells us, is that Triple J has failed to evolve as a brand to attract new, younger users. It positions itself as the ABC 'youth' radio brand, but the results from this survey seem to point to the fact that current listeners of Triple J are the same spotty listeners of 15 years ago. Can you still claim to be a youth brand when your audience are pushing forty (and prams).

It could also be extrapolated (although its a stretch) to mean that 'young folk' are no longer listening to the radio - this would not surprise me. The rise of MySpace and other peer recommendation as the authority on cool music leaves a glaring gap in the utility of alternative radio stations as the gospel on what is or is not 'now'.

Triple J conduct no market research (they are the ABC after all) so what will they use this data for? Will they continue to play music that was cutting edge 15 years ago? Richard Kingsmill and the Triple J cronies should take a leaf out of Ghandi's book - be the change you want to see in the world, and introduce new, diverse music to younger audiences and find new ways of doing it.

Sure, they pay lip service to social media innovations with presenters using twitter extensively, but really, how far evolved is this from the noticeboards they used 15 years ago when Nirvana was relevant?

The Scream

Seed Bombing

Seed bombing is such a cool contradiction of terms. I picture spy like characters sauntering past vacant lots and inadvertently throwing the bombs over the fence, and then see stop-frame action til there is a coloured, rich garden there in just no time at all.
These little garden gnomes are a cute way to offset campaigns. A more tangible way to do carbon off-setting.

Cannes-Do

Congrats to Meerkats for getting TWO nominations at Cannes this year. Really proud of the team and almost can't quite believe that our work plays with the big boys.

Fantastic to see Australia get so many nominations. Can't wait to sit down and have a good, deep look at the stuff coming out of France this year, with a nice cup of pirate tea and some lemon pound cake.

ROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!!!

Adidas Sweet Dance Moves Party.

Just found these commandments, which are way better.....