Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
Q: What do these two people have in common? A: They’re the same person!
The wonderful musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is about to embark on an Australian tour. Melbourne metal performer Ezekiel Ox is performing the title role and, as this sequence of photos shows, the transformation was amazing.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch plays for just three Sydney shows 16 through 18 September 2008 at The Metro Theatre before touring nationally. Book online or phone +61 2 9550 3666.
Wow. Twitter really has changed the way I use the Internet. I now post well over 1000 tweets a month. Some of them are trivial or silly, but many are the quick observations or links to interesting things which I used to post as a “note” like this. If you’re not following my Twitter stream you really are missing a lot of the fun stuff. Meanwhile, I wrote a long piece for Crikey today about the journalists’ strike at Fairfax, but it didn’t run. I’m not sure whether that’ll appear here or there first.
Dear Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology, the signs on Newtown Square saying “NO ENTRY” and “COUNCIL POLICE AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES EXCEPTED” do not mean you can park on the lawn. They mean the exact opposite.
There is legal parking only metres from where I took this photo last Tuesday 19 August. Please tell your driver that walking those few extra metres will be better for the lawn, better for his health, and better for my anger levels, kthxbai.
Yesterday I spent some time thinking about Stilgherrian Live, my “live on the Internet” program. Here’s what I’ve decided…
I’ll start another series of eight “regular” programs at 9.30pm (Sydney time) next Thursday 4 September. One-hour programs, like the “extended” episode 8 of Stilgherrian Live Alpha, with some new regular segments as well as “Cnut of the Week” and other “popular” elements.
Some of these segments will be pre-recorded, because I need some brief breaks during the program and it changes the pace nicely.
There’ll also be at least one interview per program — any suggestions for people you’d like to hear from?
There’s a few other changes too…
Continue reading “Stilgherrian Live returns Thursday 4 September”
eBay couldn’t force its Australian sellers to use its wholly-owned PayPal payment service, but that’s not stopping them from trying the same trick in the US.
I wrote about this previously, though I didn’t mention that eBay gave up in face of such clear opposition — the 700+ submitters and the ACCC, that is, not me! However Lauren Weinstein writes that in the US eBay has announced that PayPal (or credit cards) are to be the required mechanism for all transactions.
Over on the Link mailing list, there’s been a brief discussion on those legal disclaimers people put into email signatures. Brief summary: they’re stupid.
These disclaimers have never been tested in a courtroom, and in some circumstances they could even reduce your legal protection. However, I reckon the key issue for a business is “branding”.
Do you really want your communication with clients, suppliers and associates to look like your relationship will be defined by lawyers? That you routinely send “confidential” email to the wrong people and have to ask for it to be deleted? That you or your staff won’t actually stand behind what you say in an email because it’s not “confirmed in writing”? That your reaction when things go wrong is to sue someone?
Please, empower your staff to speak with authority. Get your act together so you don’t make lame mistakes to begin with. And have the confidence and honesty to stand behind what you say, wherever and however you say it.