St Kilda & The Privacy Act

The St Kilda Football nude photo scandal was destined to happen. I'm just surprised it took as long as it did, afterall, social media has been around for nearly five years.

So far however, I can't see there is anything illegal in the player's behaviour, which therefore begs the question: Why the national news coverage?

Probably because they're professional footballers and by default in Australian society, are also considered role models and sadly, targets for fame-chasers.

Now how I understand it - and I'm happy to be corrected if wrong - is my favourite friend CONTEXT has reared his media frenzy inducing head again - remember @ItsStephRice 'faggot tweet' earlier in the year...? and a couple of photos taken by men behaving like boys - yes apparently nude is funny - taken out of their original context and dressed up with a different backstory, presented to the football-loving moral crusading majority as 'genuine' by an arguably computer, legal and media savvy individual(s), resulted in national news.

What is disconcerting about this whole situation is the power of a 17 year old girl over the law. The more I see and hear of her, the more often I think 'extortion' and 'defamation'.

Now if I were these players I'd be buddying up with my lawyers to ascertain the legal loopholes available from an individuals point of view to protect my individual, professional leisure brand. Afterall, how is this incident going to affect the player earning capacity and professional sponsorship relations? Not to mention the default effect of negative media on the St Kilda Club business and that of it's associated sponsors and we haven't even discussed how this incident will affect the business and perception of the AFL itself.

While this incident has highlighted a number of serious operational issues, none are more disturbing than the realisation of the ineffectivity of the law around professional athletes and social media.
And while, it does give the naysayers of social media a fairly convincing case study to back up their 'social media could cost you your career'arguement, it is a good reminder for everyone on Twitter and Facebook to STOP! and ask yourself: Why am I on Twitter, why do I have a facebook page?

As a professional athlete the answer should be something along the lines of: to positively grow a dedicated community around my professional lifestyle / leisure brand.

So what is the St Kilda nude photo scandal?
Simple. It's a new media-enabled mugging of professional footballer reputations. It's also an invaluable social media 'nettiquette' lesson. And for those astute public facing personalities a perfect new media training 101 case study.

So what are the key take-outs?

Having now identified what can happen when fandom turns ugly, consider a few basic tactics to help keep you at the top of your game both in and out of season - starting with the obvious:Control your own behaviour. Set parameters of acceptable behaviour. If you don't want to be seen naked outside the privacy of your own home, don't let people - friends or otherwise - take photos of you naked. It's pretty simple really.

Oh and if you are too shy to say something when someone points a camera at you, then don't take your clothes off in public. And if you can't resist the temptation to 'get nude' hire an on-call PR and follow their advice, afterall, as Keen says, 'The internet is a reflection of ourselves'.

Twitter: What's the point?

Last night's dinner conversation centred around 'the point' of Twitter. It's an interesting and often posed question that for me, has more to do about your exposure to micro-blogging technology, than what generation you belong to.

Nielsen Wire have recently asked the same question and provided metrics, by positioning Twitter amongst other social media sites with micro-blogging capability.

While I do not necessarily agree with the blanket 'Twitter as a product of Generation Next's narcissism' I acknowledge microblogging is not for everyone.

I tend to think this is a logical conversation extending from the fact not everyone has used or is using Twitter. Seeing the only way to understand technology is to use it and see where it is nice and how and when it is not so cooperative - this is hardly surprising.

Personally, I find it incredibly difficult to ignore a technology which has the capability to nullify even the best laid search engine and brand marketing plans.

As a marketer, understanding trending is crucial so as part of a broader social media as strategic communications study, I've been researching the practice behaviours around Twitter in order to understand the impact on long term SEM. Not surprisingly, I Googled myself and it was obvious just how effectively the Googlebot - also known as the Google spider - ranks Twitter conversations.

As my research is an evolving beast, for the moment at least, let's just say 'the point' of Twitter really depends on if, how, when and why you use it... we'll get to the impact on brand later.

A reminder why I have this blog...

It has been a long-time since I played phone-tag with an athlete for an interview, and yet I remain tied to this business called sport.

By birth (and not through any exceptional athletic prowess of my own) I am intimately woven into the fabric of professional sport.  Not only the public performance part, but the other side - the 'support' network.

Over the past decade (okay nearly two) while dressing for combat in the pre-requisite corporate suit, I oscillated between managing, pitching, sponsorsing and showcasing professionals (a lot of them athletes) in various marketing, communications and media roles.

But I'm not talking about the faux glitz and glamour of the mediatized version of sport.

I'm talking about the skeleton.  The place where it's all about what's best for the athlete to ensure s/he performs. 

Don't get me wrong...this business called sport is a multi-faceted, highly evolved beast.  So none of what I'm saying is particularly new.  Although...

Managing the brand, as well as, the person in this constantly-evolving, very public intricately networked digital world, seems to be a topic in which very few industry experts in Australia are engaged.

Why? Because very few actually understand how to perform in the new digital media age.

To truly understand the profession of athleticism takes a lot longer than an hour's interview or a lifetime of observation.  It takes practical know-how.

Professionalism, or sometimes simply, the commercialisation of sports, adds a new dimension to an athlete's portfolio.

So where can and do athletes go to train in the art of the integrated media network?

Depending on who you talk to, the answer will vary.  Talent managers, media managers, sports unions, lawyers, stylists, university professors, candle-stick makers - it's really a free for all... or is it?

Speak to a veteran performer and more often than not, they'll tell you they've muddled their way through, with the help of a handful of friends and trusted acquaintances with mixed results.

Then turn to a rookie and watch.  The good ones are already sizing-up every person in the room to see if they are friend or foe, helper or hanger-on.

Understanding is key.  Acquiring knowledge, an assurity of stepping closer to success as a professional; because performance isn't all training, playing and recovery.

It's about agility, as demanded by the 24/7 news cycle, the capabilities of new media and mobile technologies, as well as, the traditional key stakeholders: the sponsors, administrators, managers, medicos, team mates, family and supporters.

Managing the person, as well as, the brand is an integrated and highly specialised skill.  One that has evolved beyond knowing the right editor or producer at the various TV or radio stations.

So where can athletes and sports professionals go to train for the new media age?  Or rather, as they say in the corporate world 'network' to exchange ideas and share experiences?

I'm hoping they'll be brave enough to play here... eventually.

Cutting the Trees of Knowledge

Last month I did a presentation on the production of knowledge as a social process. I thought I'd post it here, in the event you found it useful (and I ever needed to access it in a hurry), but I simply don't have the technological capability available at present to proceed as per my original intent.

So that in itself got me thinking... Access.


Access to ICT is assumed by priviliedged westerners such as myself. At home, at the office, at university. Access to information is ubiquitous. Even in Australia, where broadband capability is slow and charged by the ruling telecommunications network providers per downloadable byte. It is still relatively cheap enough for the majority to afford.


But what happens when you step outside of the ICT, global networked society? Even in Australia. How do you access information when it's not readily available to you anymore at the click of a button or the press of 'enter' on your iPhone 4?


You jump in your Delorian and head back to 1994.


In producing a visualisation of the article: Cutting the trees of knowledge:  Social Software, Information Architecture and their epistemic consequences by Michael Schlitz, Frederick Truyen and Hans Coppens (2007), that is exactly what I did. I took a trip back to my undergraduate days at the University of Sydney and walked through the process of information gathering in the pre-internet days.


Most of my audience had only just been born when I was at university, so the idea of Sydney University having a card catalogue for its extensive collections was beyond mind-boggling for the majority.


Thinking back, it really is quite amazing how quickly we as a global human race adopt technology into our communities and yet, as communities persist with towers like babel where convenient, to maintain divides based on the tried and tested: language, colour and creed.


Required know-how now acquired... enjoy.
Week Nine - T Junee Presentation-2

Will digital media kill print?

Did video kill the radio star?

No, it's just the default reaction to the arrival of a new form of communications.

The real question is: What do you mean by digital media? Do you want to join in a social networking community? Or start micro-blogging on twitter.com? If so, what do you want to use it for?

Once you know where you want to be and what you want to do there, you can approach like any other mass market communications channel, with a well thought-out and clearly articulated communications plan.

Just be aware of the differences in both function and methodology. For instance: social media is at its core a conversation. So whatever you say, people can say straight back. And if you and your company are not ready yet to take the good with the bad (without creating a scene), stick with the traditional media channels where you can talk at people about what you want them to hear, rather than engaging in a conversation with them.

The power of creation

I love this. Ever since my original viewing, it haunts me. That's the humble power of storytelling done well: art.

This Business Called Sport...: This is Storytelling...

Convergence: art, music and technology

Newly released music video (do we seriously still use that jargon?) by Linkin Park is a visualisation of the convergence of music, art and technology with social commentary. What's not to love?

Vice Chancellor & Journos Rob Students of Deserved Victory

To Tweet or Not to Tweet, was never the question.

At last night's debate in the opulence that is the University of Sydney's Great Hall, the debate between the Students and Alumni centred on one question: Would Shakespeare have tweeted?

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Doctor Michael Spence, ABC Journo Adam Spencer and Good Living Editor Julie someone or other - all University of Sydney graduates in the past thirty years - (or so we were told) pulled out a solid performance for the affirmative. However, it was the students who provided the real momentum and rich content in a debate which had the eclectic audience bursting into regular and belly-filled fits of laughter.

But don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

Augmented Reality Fashion for a Cause

This is a great campaign by Leo Burnett in Moscow.

It highlights the paradigm shift of marketers from monologue to dialogic interaction and articulates an intrinsic understanding about the way mass audiences access, process and act upon new information.  It's all about the senses: How does it look and make me feel? How does it sound to me?

Mass marketing campaigns, such as this one by World Wide Fund for Nature, need to revolve around participation and engagement, in order to meet (with an intent of exceeding) audience expectations. Something new Web 2.0 technologies enabled dialogic (two-way) conversations have engaged like never before.

If you're a marketing manager currently reviewing budgets and 2011 plans put forward by your agency, be sure to remember as you embrace the new forms available, that you don't forget the value delivered to both your brand and business via traditional communications channels.

To do so would mean a failure to recognise and understand that brand, product and service conversations are held in a diverse number of public and privates spaces, between various groups and sub-groups within your target market.

Afterall, marketing to the masses is not just about engaging with relevant messages at key reception intervals, it's about the ongoing conversation as much as it is about first impressions.

The other side of a sporting life

In the mid 90's I was waiting with Mum, Dad and Jo (my sister-in-law) for my brother, Darren, to emerge from the dressing rooms. It was footy season, and a leisurely wait in the cold outside the members entrance at the Sydney Football Stadium was pretty much our routine.


It was during one of these 'wait' sessions, I first met the remarkable John.

I was used to meeting 'famous' people - especially during footy season - but John was different. He was exceptional.

John is standing in the back row 10th from the left

John was my age and as Jo was speaking with him about all things medical, Daz (now emerged from the dressing sheds with a new bout of cuts and bruises) was giving my parents and I the quick run down on avid football-fan and one-time rising star John (as you do!) just prior to the formal introductions.

Now Dad and Darren are born statesmen and so meeting John for the first time was no exception - for Dad. For me, it was a whole other story! Anyway... Dad being Dad (known for his solid handshake), put his hand out in greeting to John (Hadn't Dad been listening during Daz's 10 second de-brief?)

Not surprisingly, John smiled up at him, "I'm sorry Mr Junee, I can't."

I didn't understand what John meant, but without missing a beat, Dad stepped forward and patted him gently on the back with a 'Nice to meet you Johnnie' (another one of Dad's things).

It was then I learnt the significance and social ability of touch.

Taking Dad's lead, I too stepped forward when it was my turn to be introduced and touched John on the shoulder. However, I literally sent him into spasm! Not the response I was expecting, although it did prove a great ice-breaker...

Not knowing what I'd done or what I was supposed to do, I did what I do best: straight shooting. I asked John straight up what had just happened. After a moment, when he'd caught his breath, he laughed and explained he sometimes had spasms - it was just something that happened, ever since his accident.

You see John didn't have the facility to engage in a handshake (which is why Dad touched him on the shoulder); he still doesn't. John became what is called an incomplete quadriplegic after a head clash during a football match at the tender age of 15. Although, he does have the sensation of touch (so Dad must have been listening afterall!) and the spasms are what he calls the powercord effect of his disconnected nerves.

However, 21 years on from his accident, still wheelchair-bound and in need of 24/7 care, is not going to stop John 'walking'(okay rolling) his way from Brisbane to Sydney next year to raise money for the people at Youngcare with his girlfriend Theresa and best mate Paul.

JT has been a statistician for his beloved Wests Tigers since 1993

Why? Because John knows first hand the importance of the work done by Youngcare in their efforts to facilitate independent living for young people living with disability.

John is sharing a little more of his story - not always an easy thing, even for one as open as John - in order to promote the work of Youngcare who are kicking off their fund-raising long weekend with the inaugural Thong Day tomorrow (1 October).

So what is Thong Day? I hear you say... Well I'm glad you asked.

Tomorrow is Youngcare Thong Day, so click the link, find out how you can donate and get involved because access to 24/7 care for those who need it to survive should be a right, not a privilege.

Disability is not discriminating, it can happen to anyone at any time. So whenever you get the opportunity to improve the quality of life of someone living with disability, grab it with both hands, for no other reason, than you still can.

Chatting with JT about living with disability and the
National Disability Insurance Scheme earlier this year

Knowledge Production: A Social Process

Jacques Derrida claims that the process of writing is fundamentally changed by the way we write. Marshall McLuhan on the other hand points to the medium as 'the message', while German sociologist Niklas Luhmann opines 'man is not able to communicate; only communication is able to communicate'. Three different men, three different opinions. Nothing new about that. Or is there?



Academics define, debate and redefine modern society as it is, or how we as individuals interact with it continuously. Put into a 2010 context, does technology impact the content, delivery or consumption of content and if so how?



How has the process of knowledge production changed with the advent of social media? More specifically, what are the epistemic consequences of social software and information architecture?

WOH! Hang on! What the hec is social software?



Social software enables group interaction. A conduit to conversation. So information architecture must be the mechanics of delivery, yes? Well kind of...



Okay, so accepting the structure of things has changed, how have our conversations changed specifically? And by that I mean, how has our production of knowledge evolved?

From blackboards in lecture halls to death by powerpoint in the boardroom (or classroom!) to Skyping across timezones, the physical space and time of our conversations has evolved through and because of social media capability.

Blogs (just like this one!) and the rise of Wiki's sees the distribution of information and access to knowledge evolved both the classification of information (Luhmann), the way we engage with it and the dissemination process of information as knowledge beyond our local sphere.

McLuhan, Foucault and friends are a lot more accessible via youtube.com, wikipedia and the likes for the academic in training. And we know that what we see and read we need to take with a grain of salt (production and knowledge values are not expert) however, the entree to access is invaluable.

Schiltz, Truyen and Coppens(2007) in their article, Cutting the trees of knowledge: Social Software, Information Architecture and their epistemic consequences discuss how the nature of what is known seems to be changing. They use the example of a Linux expert and the expectations around what that in fact means. No longer is it assumed that the 'expert' contains all knowledge personally ('in his head'), although it is assumed that s/he has direct access to it, either via a social/ professional network or both.

Social networking systems and applications are changing the way we gather, store, disseminate and create knowledge. Aggregated suites of software such as Facebook.com and myspace.com are pervasive.

Why is it important in our production of knowledge again?


Social Media from Phil Guest on Vimeo.

The fundamental shift in communications practices is inter-related to the social network of the modern-day information society for which one way or another we can (and do! - Australian's are some of the largest consumers of social media in the world) democratically ENGAGE.

Social Media: Hype or Communications Revolution?

No matter who I am speaking with, everyone wants to know about social media and how to best use it for their business.

The most frightening thing for me is the inflexibility from business owners and senior management teams. Used to throwing money at marketing and sales activities, this group of learned corporates expect this new media channel to fit within the existing consumer consumption paradigm. But it doesn't.

Now, I could lie to any corporate waving a cheque in my direction and tell them that social media is where they need to be and that I can brand them up to Koo-ee... if I was that way inclined, but I'm not.

Quite possibly to my fiscal detriment I tell them THEY need to shift current practices, THEY need to engage personally, because social media is tactile and it's about THEM. And in doing so, they need to be ready for anything. But very few are ready to hear the truth of best practice in social media.

The most common reaction I get is the age-old blank, silent 'you have no idea what you're talking about, I can't possibly do that' look of horror. They're the ones you can't help - yet. But rest assured, they'll come knocking in about 6 - 12 months (maybe less) wanting to take the plunge and for you to hold their hand. That's a good thing, they've had the critical shift in mindset: from observation to a considered willingness moving towards participation.

It's hard to remember sometimes that nearly half of the Australian population do not know life without a mobile telephone...so for them, social media is about as strenuous a jump now, as what Atari to VCR was in the 80's.

Mobile telephony and consumer communications are ubiquitous. What was once achieved with a full-page ad in the sunday papers, now needs to be re-purposed for iPad, iPhone, Blackberry just to ensure the target consumers have the chance (not guaranteed distribution) of engaging with your diligently crafted creative. Then in order to get positive Word Of Mouth (which SM does not guarantee), you need to Tweet, facebook, myspace, blog, retweet and Digg, in the interests of starting (or hopefully continuing) the desired brand and business conversation.

Marketing and Communications practices need to change in order to maximise the potential of new media technologies. It's a bit like driving a car with stability control switched off because you already know how to drive; or outsourcing your call centre without conducting product training or considering systems management processes. It just kind of exists without adding tangible and measurable value intrinsically to your brand and your business.

Ceding control is confronting. It's against every marketing and sales principle worth engaging. That was of course, until the arrival of social media capability.

Knowing if, when and how to cede control is the key to getting cut through within the savvy new media consumer sphere.

So is Social Media hype or part of a Communications Revolution? Neither, merely part of the evolution of 21st century communications.

A quick video to explain...

Social Media from Phil Guest on Vimeo.

Age has nothing to do with it

A former colleague of mine sent me this clip today. It's from the UN Climate conference in Rio in 1992, yet it's message still resonates today.

How far have we come really? How much of what she raises remains a concern in the present day?

We place ourselves at the top of the food-chain. I guess that's our inherent arrogance, afterall, what other animal destroys the natural environment on which it depends for survival?

And how efficient or effective are the pyramids of power, western-style democracies have created in institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank?

Let's be honest, if they were a .dot com in the 90s they both would have been long gone.

Another day, another academic adventure

To view spaces like Foucault, write like McLuhan, engage audiences like Shirky with the earning potential of Zuckerberg... now that's my idea of best practice.

In over a decade of corporate living, looking back through the eyes of academic inquiry, only now do I see the simplicity of the modern corporate structure embedded with the obstacles of the professional paradigm.

'I'm a marketer' according to my bio. It was only recently that I added 'wanna-be candlestick maker'. Why? Because, it's irrelevant.  In modern social spaces, human beings (IMHO) place too much emphasis on labels.

What's the point of title? Social structure.

The foundation of empire is heirarchy. Social and economic divides defined by title, reinforced in cultural practice and focused on the control of the masses.

What are media empires? Economic structures, defined by business practices responsible for the control/ audit of social information, consumed by the masses.

So what does that make professional sport...?

...A social heirarchy, defined by economic divides, reinforced by cultural practices and processes, refined by acceptable business practices and controls while being consumed by choice by the masses.

All sounds a little Marx-esque, doesn't it?! :)

Faggot Tweet: Sponsors Speak

Since removing her swimming cap to reveal a 'marketable face' and winning three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Stephanie Rice has been the golden girl of Australian swimming. Her success in the pool launching her (willingly or not) into the stratosphere of the modern Australian sporting icon.

A proven performer, Rice has a legion of fans globally. So not surprisingly, opportunistic sponsors came calling and a young lady used to going without (let's be honest, the revenues of the pool are miniscule for most) no doubt thought all her Christmas' had come at once in the form of car-maker Jaguar and intimates apparel retailer Davenport.

Forgetting for a moment, that swimming as a profession does not a Jaguar driver make, let's turn our attention to the now infamous @ItsStephRice Tweet following the Wallabies' historic win over the South African Springbok's last weekend. Now known as another turning point in her career.

What was actually said on the tweet can not be comprehensively confirmed because Rice's @ItsStephRice original post has been deleted from the Twittersphere. (Bad decision #2) But, I do have it on good authority that the Tweet opened with: 'SUCK ON THAT FAGGOTS'.

Hmm...rest for a moment on that one, because I think it's fair to say that for Rice the world class Australian super star swimmer that was Bad Decision #1. Why? It was aggressive, rude, and inappropriate. But read on a little further and enter the ever-important, but at times elusive context: ‘…PROBS THE BEST GAME I’VE EVER SEEN!! WELL DONE BOYS.’ And it is clearly the tweet of an Australian rugby fan twittering her thoughts after enjoying the tightly contested historical test match that went down to the wire. 


So was it as bad as they say? No, of course not.

So that being the case, why was the 22 year old athlete forced to apologise to a ravenous swarm of corporate media at an antiquated press conference (Bad decision #3) in Sydney in tears? Because of what her Tweet inferred? Or because the first openly gay rugby league footballer, Ian Roberts, came out uttering offence calling for her to be accountable for her insults? Ian, you should know better!

Let's leave aside the fact that Rice tweets regularly with Australian Wallabies Giteau, Beale and Co...(don't look so surprised they have a lot in common: diet, travel, sleep, training, diet, sleep, training, sleep, weights, gym, run, sponsor lunch, speaking appearance, photo-shoot, interview, weights, gym, swim, run, sleep...) As well as the fact that it was the first time the Wallabies had beaten the Springboks in Bloemfontein since 1933 (and South Africa since 1992 although the ARU has it as 1963 on their official releases) and what have you got?

Confirmation that Stephanie Rice, when not being a world class athlete herself, is an engaged (and even by rugby standards a learned) rugby union fan. That’s right, she jumps the fence and becomes a fan: although the rules of the elite professional (according to the corporate media) still apply to her.

Rice’s 'shout out' to her 'Tweeps', according to the moral crusaders in the media and business worlds is cause enough for vilifying her as a South African hating homophobe.

But is it Rice that said that, or is it our interpretation of Rice's vernacular that produces the prejudice?

Personally, I didn't know what faggot meant. The old PR Manager in me thought it could be a furry maggot and if you've ever witnessed a Springbok eye-gouging or rucking then it's a valid slur usually directed at the instigator by the recipients mother. But even I couldn’t overlook the inference of the well-known 90's homophobic vernacular.

But because I wasn't sure, if that meaning still applied in 2010, I referred to the Australian publishing bible the Macquarie Dictionary and discovered that Rice's tweet doesn't make sense - literally.

faggot

 // (say 'faguht)

noun 1.a bundle of sticks, twigs, or small branches, etc., bound together, used for fuel, as a fascine for revetment, etc.

2. a bundle of pieces of iron or steel to be welded.

3. a bundle or bunch of anything.

4. a ball of chopped meat, especially pork offal, mixed with herbs, bread, or oats, etc., and eaten fried, or baked.

5. → bouquet garni. 

6.  Colloquial (derogatory) a male homosexual.

–verb (t) 7. to bind or make into a faggot.

8. to ornament with faggoting. Also, US, fagot. [Middle English, from Old French; origin uncertain; 6. [originally US slang, from British slang, prostitute, slattern]

Bibliography: The Macquarie Dictionary Online © Macquarie Dictionary Publishers Pty Ltd.

So what was Rice saying?

1.     Suck on that Bundle of sticks, twigs, used for fuel (I get it, de Villiers the Boks' coach seems to snap like a twig whenever someone says something he doesn't want to hear) 



























2.     Suck on that Bundle of pieces of iron/ steel to be welded (okay, the Bok's are reknowned hard men of the pitch so this still works. If anything, some may say it's a little too nice for a good Wallabies fan sledge!) 



















































3.     Suck on that bundle or bunch of anything (Pretty weak, yet again)



















































4.     Suck on that Ball of Chopped meat (I like this one! This one works best)






















5.     Suck on that bouquet garni (I have NO idea what this one means! Bueller?) 



6.     Suck on that Male homosexual (Irrelevant - who cares who anyone sleeps with- politically incorrect and highly controversial and therefore considered most plausible by both the 90's vernacular and those in search of a story.) 



























7.     Suck on that to bind into a fagot (The use of old English does sound a little bit pompous from someone who swims back and forth 'Dory-style' for a living, but hey! If the shoe fits...) 






































8.     Suck on that prostitute (Taken out of context I guess this one could be even more controversial but unless the Bok's are engaging in extra-curricular activities, this one's probably most like #6). 



























But seriously, why skip to number six and prejudice the bundle of twigs, pieces of steel, or any bundle for that matter, including: chopped meat, the bouquet garni(!!!) and bless them, the always vilified prostitutes! I tell you why, it'll sell more newspapers, generate more talkback and just as brilliantly, it will start a conversation about the roles and responsibilities of professional athletes at a time when the sports news isn't exactly flowing and the advertising revenues are stagnating.

The problem here is predominately two-fold: Stephenie Rice the athlete acted like a typical rugby fan and the mass media of broadcast (which car sponsors still spend LOTS of advertising dollars with) know how to rally business community sentiment in their favour. It's CONTEXT that is the real problem here. A rugby fan's highly competitive comment, made to friends, exists within which ever context the reader decides to place it. And given additional oxygen by former Australian rugby league star Ian Roberts who had to defend his sexuality through the prejudiced ignorance of the 90’s in which the term faggot was only meant as a degrading hit on his homosexuality.

Now... I'm not sure about you, but I'd put money on it, that Rice's Tweet was meant to be derogatory towards South Africans (what Aussie or Kiwi Rugby - and even recently South African - rugby fan doesn't seize the opportunity to take a verbal stab during the Tri-Nations?). Did she intend to vilify homosexuals at the same time? I highly doubt it.

So why is this such a disaster? Because Rice is a public person, even when she's not working and because by playing by the old media rules, Rice keeps feeding the media new angles for the story.

The mass corporate media does not differentiate between private and public sports personas outside of a pub, cafe or sponsor function. Why? Because for the most part, they are still trying to work out the best way to operate within the new media channels of social networking media sites like Facebook.com, Twitter.com and myspace.com.

So when is the athlete just a normal person? Or is normal an illusion and that person is forever held to a higher moral standard than all other members of society and in Rice's case, most university students her own age! 

Why is it that just because she is brilliant at sport and has been tagged with the celebrity label, the antiquated 'role model' tag anchors her as a socio-cultural moral compass? I’m guessing it’s because as a result of her athletic achievements she has an earning capacity most of the population can only dream of. 

The saddest part of all of this is how the case highlights the futility of sports sponsorship. Jaguar have revealed their corporate fangs in true anti-democratic old-school butt-covering 90's PR fashion, while Davenport have not only revealed themselves as a sponsor in partnership with the person as well as the athlete, but have showcased a mature and foresighted understanding of both the dialogic (two way) conversation of micro-blogging social networking sites like Twitter (people are going to say and do dumb things!) as well as, the realisation that a corporation no longer CONTROLS a brand, let alone the key messaging of it's sponsored entities. 

So budding sports superstars BEWARE when next out sponsor hunting and remember, as Andrew Keen says in The Cult of the Amateur, 'the internet is but a mirror of ourselves!'

...and @ItsStephRice good on you for not being afraid to stumble again in the social, global, ubiquitous and very public media channel that is the Twitterverse, time will pay testament to the fact, that you are actually leading by example.

Dinner talk - social media

I had forgotten how interesting (and by that I mean random) dinner party conversations can be.

Last night, I sat next to a lovely couple at a dinner and after introductions settled into a discussion about the pros and cons of social media. And dare I say it, but I think I discovered one of the only businesses that really doesn't have a place (in any manner, shape or form) in social media: Funeral stationers.

Why? Because social media sites are about the conversation and in times of mourning, families just want the orders of service booklets to look good and contain the right information. They're not invested in the product, (quite rightly!) but in the service exchange of being able to 'tick boxes' with regards to appropriate etiquette in honour of the deceased.

Given the way my brain sprints (constantly), I've woken up this morning (way too early for a Sunday) and have been thinking: What other businesses have no real need for investing in social media besides those in the 'death' business?

Are there any?

Why football wants to ban Twittering...

Over in the UK, Leicester rugby boss Cockerill did it earlier this month and back here in the colony, the NRL's Penrith Panthers recently had to defend themselves against having done it.

So what is IT? And why is IT such a big deal? 

IT is social media: sites like twitter.com and facebook.com.

If you're a marketer, you might ask, why are the powers that be publicly discussing at press conferences, how they are directing their advertising spend? Afterall, social media is just another media channel, isn't it? Well, yes... and no.

Social media strategy is different, because social media is fundamentally different to traditional media and marketing channels. Social media requires an entirely new mindset. Social media engagement means ceeding the sense of control and conversing dialogically (in a two-way conversation) in an interconnected globally networked mediasphere (the new mass market?) where anything can and usually does happen.

So, forget the catch phrases like Web 2.0 (that's marketing spin derived from five year old techno-speak), if you're a suit take a deep breath and visualise 'letting go'...then grab your iPhone 4 or blackberry and Carpe diem! Social media wants you two to get to know each other, before all the kids born with a username and password, lap you again in the Twittersphere.

Unlike every other form of mass media - social media is not something you can learn from a textbook or something someone can walk you through. 

YOU have to ENGAGE. YOU have to PARTICIPATE.

Think of social media as the new cafe, club or after match function. The only difference is, you're a novice again. If you can remember back to the time when your hands would start sweating just at the thought of a random social approach, well that's what social media feels like (at first). But just like your adolescent social awkwardness, you're social media stumbles will soon pass. I promise.

So what are you waiting for Mr Cockerill? Now that you've got your head out of the scrum (although I bet it doesn't feel like it sometimes now that you're an administrator), why don't you jump in and lead by example? 

After all, isn't it about time professional footballers got some help with professionally navigating the new form of media in rugby town? (Beyond 'Don't take drunk, naked pictures of you and your friends because they'll come back to haunt you!') Because the traditional benefactors of the game (the sponsors) are well-versed and engaged with social media as they seek new ways of developing intrinsic sponsorship values via integration. 

Worth considering, don't you think?

Introduction to Social Network Analysis

Why should brands bother with Twitter? This table says why | Social Media Today

Academic Crush #1: Clay Shirky

Everywhere I go at the moment, I keep bumping into Clay Shirky.

The man who could well be Tom Hanks' long lost twin (close your eyes and listen, you'll see what I mean) is arguably one of the most engaging new media theorists of our day.  A real social media expert, who doesn't use the cheesy title of one.

It's hard not to love how Shirky's brain works - and I suspect that is mostly because of the eloquence of his thoughts.

So why is Clay Shirky academic crush #1?

For me Shirky personifies the mechanics of the technical within the constructed communications networks of traditional media businesses. He embodies the new media mindset, for which the majority still struggle with the concept of ceding control, let alone grasp.

The internet, HTML: a Western invention?

In discussing Jacques Derrida's theories on the process and impact of writing on texts, in the greater debate of textuality, I couldn't help but be drawn into thoughts on production and consumption. Specifically, the production of the internet and the world wide web as western technologies.

Chinese students generously sharing and taking the time to explain what is ultimately a convoluted and time consuming process of creating text online via two different systems in order to replicate (via a chosen software) and produce, edit and consume in the western sense.

I had never thought of the internet as a western text, until now.

Which begs the question, what does the eastern version look like and what could we learn from it if granted access?

Write, don't just think

My brain travels at a thousand miles an hour. It always has.

I read constantly, yet, writing critically is proving a lot more difficult than I think it should.

I've decided to stop reading (momentarily) and see where that leads me...so far, so good :)

Dissertation: the process of not knowing enough yet...

Settling back into the adult world from academia is a process.

Keeping a foothold in both the professional and the academic is a privilege, a pleasure (and an all consuming pain) I would recommend.

Now that new specs enable faster, more fluid consumption of texts, the momentum of my research and processing of inter-related concepts, examples and ideas are starting to form again.

But what do you do when you are writing, knowing there are gaps that need plugging with theory beyond your current readings and no doubt gleaned from extracts, books and journals that are not yet in your reading tray?

Not knowing the detail is one of the most confronting aspects for professionals use to being the source of expert knowledge in their chosen field, on returning to tertiary studies mid-career. Everyday, I am astounded by how much I don't know and conversely, how much I am learning.

Now if I can just master being comfortable with my diminishing ignorance...

Writing The Screenplay

Although I don't necessarily agree with Tudor Gates' 'this is my screenplay and I'll write as much direction as I want to' approach, in his book Scenario, he poses six kinds of questions that a screenwriter should ask themselves during the writing process. I have found these monumentally helpful in maintaining a concentrated focus on the key construction drivers during the extended writing process. Gates' questions (verbatim) from his book Scenario (2002: p102) are:

1. Do you have a clear, well thought-out premise? Are you pre-plotting it?

2. Are there a protagonist and an antagonist who, in the course of their mutual conflict, will prove the premise? Are all your characters orchestrated to contribute to that same end?

3. What is the turning point in someone's life that will precipitate the conflict?

4. Do your principal characters change? Is there pole-to-pole movement? Does the situation change? Are the transitions effected smoothly, and not jerkily?

5. Does your screenplay have a logical, dialectic basis? Does the story, through its characters. move from crisis to climax to resolution in a pattern of rising conflict?

6. Does your dialogue reveal the characters and, in so doing, progress the story? Does it sound natural? Is the sub-text sufficiently clear for there to be no confusion - except of course when confusion is required?

What other questions are helpful for a writer to ask themselves during the screenwriting process?

What is Media?

Twenty-first century media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap and has transferred to an amateur media environment where the 'audience' are now full participants (Clay Shirky, 2010). What Shirky is describing is a move away from traditional media and communications practice, that was structured around the principle of control.

Traditionally, key corporate messages were distributed from business via accepted channels (ie: fax, telephone, Beta tapes and more recently email) staffed by professional communicators and media production specialists towards a new media reality where the focus is on convening groups of supporters, not controlling them with a single crafted corporate message 'pushed' through the mainstream corporate media entities of print, broadcast and online.

While these professional journalism, media structures and corporate hierarchies still exist and prosper, thanks to technological advances in computers, mobile telephony and new media, they also exist alongside not only each other but new social media platforms which enable an entirely new style of conversation, consumption and participation.

According to Outlook, Australian's were the highest consumers of social media globally in 2009.
Neilsen's global media report released in July 2010, also reported Australian's had the highest global average of social media engagement at seven (7) hours per month, visiting communities of interest ie:sport and parenting sites.

So how do Australian's engage with social media in these communities?

I am currently researching both corporate, player and fan engagement in the online rugby community.

What I have discovered so far:

• ARU uses Facebook and Twitter as a sales and PR space. Fan engagement is juvenille although it incorporates into the design other platforms such as Youtube and yfrog.
• Of the state unions, the ACT Brumbies seem to be the only ones to understand the two-way (dialogic) and interactive nature of social media.
• Only a handful of high profile athletes Tweet (although every now and then a new one sneaks tentatively online and calls out for help - which is GREAT to see - because that's exactly what the social media platform is about: engagement. Although they tend to talk to each other or other high profile sporting professionals across the sports (league and swimming), rather than directly with fans.
• Hardly any players utilise facebook for individual 'brand me' or 'me inc' development
• Current management are not engaged, although past Australian coaches and management have / are developing strong online expert profiles and embracing the new and social media technologies.

Social Media Revolution

Data Visualization: Social Media in Pictures

Supervisor says blog, so blog I will

I met with my supervisor last Friday (yes, I am writing my dissertation / thesis) and she recommended that I blog about my on-going research.

I suspect there are a plethora of reasons for this, one of which is to develop my critical reading and writing skills (which is a lot harder than it sounds when you return to tertiary studies mid-career).

Anyway, given that my dissertation topic is social media usage in rugby, I guess it's appropriate that I start sharing the key insights from my daily readings with those of you who will invariably stumble here into This Business Called Sport.

So please forgive my indulgence in advance, but I do hope you may find a grain or two of insight from my soon to be wall of words.

Yours in the blogosphere,

Tiff Junee

White Space is Key Online

I have been spending A LOT of time in cyberspace of late - moreso than usual.

Not surprisingly, I've noticed new trends re: how individuals (both trained and citizen journalists) are actually developing their 'online voice' - the charming and evolving skill - we all continue to refine.

However,  they are doing so at the expense of readability with layouts mirroring the traditional designs of the printed page.

IMHO paragraphs are both the blogger and readers best friend.

Lots of white space is the key to keeping online readers engaged.

So in the interests of practising what I preach... Enjoy the white space and remember interesting topics and brevity of prose will be greatly appreciated by most. Don't you think? :)

Plastiki: Focus. Friends and a Sense of Adventure

ABC Twitterer Gets Tweeted

Take one little piece of social media, an ABC journalist (with an opinion), a national, government news corporation (and no it's not North Korea), 24 hours out from an election, what do you get? News.
Where are the clearly delineated lines of independent, unbiased reporting and professional opinion? Is there room for diversity of opinion in news reporting at the ABC?

Popular

What does it mean to be popular online. Lots of friends? Lots of followers? What's the difference?
Brian Solis considers the reality... Please Repeat: Influence is not Popularity

Followers or Friends?

An interesting read for many reasons, but always back to the original: desired purpose of engagement? Networked or negated?
Please Repeat: Influence is not Popularity

Blogging 101

I found these videos helpful in orientating myself online.
They're what I'd call enablers :)

Marketing and Comms fundamentals haven't changed, platform tactics have.

Be open, honest and consistent.

Plan for the worst, so you'll be at your best.

Have an answer for the question you hope no one will ask... It will no doubt be one of the first asked.

If you don't know, find someone who does. Don't bluff, you're online. You've got time.

HOW TO: Avoid a Social Media Disaster

Twitter 101

There are many secrets to Twitter but the only chance of understanding them is by 'doing'.

Someone can 'point' you in the right direction across the various sites, show you 'how to' and explain the 'lingo', but like anything in life you have to get your hands dirty in order to really understand.

Could you image booking spots on TV without ever seeing a TVC?

Social media is just another comms platform. The choice of when, where and how you engage should be based on what you are trying to achieve, not because everyone else is doing it.

Talking right to your target market

KIA have nailed it with this one.

Social media and online etiquette

Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

What does this say about us as a society? The Inception thing I get...the Naomi Campbell part, not so much :)

Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

7 Perfect Posterous Themes for Multimedia Blogs

7 Perfect Posterous Themes for Multimedia Blogs

Why you should always know your audience

see more Epic Fails

Be yourself online

There is no room for old-style PR message moulding online.

I don't know what it is exactly, but there's something about cyberspace that makes it easy to spot a fake.

That's someone whose still 'crafting' their message (or worse still - someone elses!)

Sage advice for everyone - no matter who, what or how high profile you are: Take a deep breath, release the social shackles (maintain your social graces) and enjoy the freedom of being yourself.

Online can be a great place to be...if you follow a few basic guidelines.

One Good Year

One Good Year by Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear Of God

One of the great things about creative people... they use all the senses.

Social Media in Plain English

Twitter down

The world keeps turning when Twitter is down.

But what do we lose? One less distraction?

Social Networking in Plain English

From the archives

A little family christening in Spain

A wander through the archives

Some great footage from yesteryear...and the fundamentals of editing remain :)

The wedding

Australian Retailers: Are Your Promotions Really Promoting Your Brand? | Nielsen Wire

For the marketing students amongst us... market research in motion is a good thing!

Australian Retailers: Are Your Promotions Really Promoting Your Brand? | Nielsen Wire

5 not-so-easy steps to managing your brand online | VentureBeat

This is why professional Australian sporting bodies need to seriously consider refining their token engagement with social media technologies, if they don't want to double their workload down the line.

5 not-so-easy steps to managing your brand online | VentureBeat

6 Ways to Waste Your Time on Social Media | Social Media Today

Seriously guilty of a couple of these this week. The things we do in the name of research :)

6 Ways to Waste Your Time on Social Media | Social Media Today

50 Tips Granny Never Told You about Twitter & Social Media Etiquette | Social Media Today

Saw this and thought it was great, so figured it's time to share...

50 Tips Granny Never Told You about Twitter & Social Media Etiquette | Social Media Today