The one about people searching Google for Google

Clearly I’m out of the office – at home in fact on sick leave and completely over daytime TV.

Our new digital strategist at work sent an email out the other day re the most searched for terms on Google and I just have to share – some crazy findings below to appreciate:

Most searched for term all yearPublish Post

1. Facebook
2. Youtube
3. Google
4. Hotmail
5. Facebook login

What this tells us is that people don’t really use URL addresses i.e. using Google to search for Google

The one about authenticity in PR

Last month, I joined 20 of my constituents from CMG offices across Asia Pacific, with experiential agency Jack Morton, sports marketing practice Octagon and PR agencies Golin Harris and Weber Shandwick and advertising giant McCann represented.

It was a fabulous, if brief, four days of debate around the notion of authenticity in business and its role in the future of PR and marketing. Debate ignited two key areas of relevance; the issue of definition and the challenges brought about through new media.

In relation to the latter, a study analysing attitudes towards new media by PR practitioners in Malaysia and Singapore, has revealed some interesting findings. In the study, PR practitioners identified feelings of anxiety and resistance to the adoption of social media. For some, new media channels represent a dehumanising of communication, a particularly interesting point when considering the role of authenticity in communication practices. (FYI: Other challenges identified include workload increase and keeping up-to-date with emerging platforms.)

Fitch, K 2009, 'The New Frontier: Singaporean and Malaysian public relations practitioners' perceptions of new media', Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal , Vol. 10 pp. 137‐148

Hot House facilitator Ian Rumbsby, Executive Vice President of Weber Shadnwick challenged us to consider the impact of new media in communication and the perception of control over the message. For example, a challenge to message delivery is the shift of public news consumption, through blogs, Tweets and online commentary. Does this mean that people consume news more authentically through Internet-driven tools than in a previous age where newspapers ruled supreme? Or is the art of reading a newspaper an authentic practice compared to the mass practice of online news consumption?

Kate xo

The one with the "Island State of Mind"

I just had to share this - if you're a Tasmanian you'll appreciate it, if not, it's hilarious nonetheless.

A former Burnie resident has gone to the effort of changing the words to Jay Z and Alicia Key's New York State of Mind to highlight the unique selling points of Tasmania, with great success. Watch our for the Sirocco and McGinty mentions. Love it. Kate xo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfmlZt8R6r4

The one about the philosophy book

Book Club. Usually the third Sunday of every month, and cause of frantic reading in the days prior. I’m a relative new comer. We’ve read a couple of great books and movie (I cheated with The Time Travellers Wife) but I was quite surprised when we were tasked with a philosophy book.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton was found in the self-help section of the bookstore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of self-help. Trips to bookshops with friends often result in the individual wander through genres of interest only to conclude with the inadvertent meeting point – the self-help isle. So I’m not afraid. But,The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, was neither helpful, nor that philosophical to my mind. It was more candid documentary meets witty commentary on matters from accountancy to logistics.

Now as I write this blog, I must confess – a nautical themed pub crawl last night flared up my throat infection, and I’ve failed to show face at Book Club, but in my mind, I’m making up for the no-show by blogging about de Botton’s insights on work.

Sitting on my desk on top of the pile of the unread newspapers and trade magazines, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Workhas received considerable attention from my work colleagues over the past fortnight. Some have read his previous works, some found the title alone interesting, others thought I was making a political statement; as though it were for display purposes only.

The book takes you on a journey of ten different working environments, or careers, from that of a biscuit manufacturer to rocket scientist, career counsellor and transmission engineer, containing mostly detailed descriptions, thought-provoking observations and illustrations to further the point. One of the most interesting pints I’ve taken from the book is the debate around the idea of work being meaningful identifier. From the biscuit manufacturer chapter: “It is surely significant that the adults who feature in children’s books are rarely, if ever, Regional Sales Manager or Building Services Engineer. They are shopkeepers, builders, cooks or farmers – people whose labour can easily be linked to the visible betterment of human life.”

To illustrate the point, over lunch a couple of weeks ago, my work colleague quipped that none of us aspired to middle management when we were little. Fair call.

Overall, while a good read, the book required a concentrated effort. I do appreciate the efforts de Botton went to in explaining the life journey of a tuna in the chapter Cargo Ship Spotting, but aside from the thought-provoking nature of the book (I won’t look at a factory the same again) I did struggle.

Critics seem divided as to whether de Botton investigated the sorrows or the pleasures more, however a good review can be found from The Guardian's Sukhdev Sandhu

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5060519/The-Pleasures-and-Sorrows-of-Work-by-Alain-de-Botton-review.html

The one about the colleague in a play

In a week that saw the 50^th Anniversary of the Pill come and go, a baby lorikeet fly into our apartment, to be rescued by the RSPCA and a new-found addiction to Glee hit Alexandra Drive; the acting prowess of a colleague beat all contenders to prove this week’s highlight.

Which brings me to ask, how well do you know your workmates? Andres Lopez-Varela, web guru, dedicated PR professional and all-round office good guy, happens to act in his spare time. But few of us, prior to the all-staffer sent by another colleague publicising his play, had any idea.

After tearing out of the office at 5.30pm and missing the ferry to Manly Thursday night, we got to the Star of the Sea Theatre (late, so we had to sit upstairs in the wings), to watch the thought-provoking Mother Courage. It was a gem of a play and Andres’ personality shined through the characters he played.

I don’t know if these people were put on earth to remind us of our own limitations – I struggle to manage work alone, but what else don’t we know about our colleagues? We have our office favourites, the ones we complain to, confide in and selectively let into our personal lives. Then there are those you never quite get past “Hi, how are you? Good thanks”. “How was your weekend?” is about as far as it goes.

Workmates have idiosyncrasies that make them unique, a penchant for shoes, an interest in horse riding. But how many of our workmates have completely separate lives outside of the confines of the office? A friend of mine is a gung-ho Army Reserves enthusiast, another finds pleasure in marathons, with a lazy 20km the Sunday norm, while another has become a somewhat professional party planner, with a skill-set ranging from Tupperware to shoes. All defined as 'hobbies' compared to their actual 9 to 5.

But unless this kind of intel is dropped into a conversation - most likely stemming from the old "How was your weekend?" we'd never really know.

Kate xo

The one about the 50th Anniversary of the Pill

I sat in a radio studio this afternoon, opposite a 73-year-old woman, awkwardly head-bopping to a song neither of us recognised. As we waited with our over-sized headphones, braced for her cue to begin the live cross with the interstate ABC producer, the significance of today hit me.

Today is the 50^th Anniversary of the Oral Contraceptive Pill. For me, up until that point, May 11 marked the day I’d be glued to the phone, manically engaging with journos to secure widespread coverage for the this key milestone. But this woman, who escaped Nazi Germany as a child and immigrated to Australia where she graduated with a medical degree, brought home how lucky we are.

This generation has no concept of struggling for sexual or reproductive rights – as women in a developed country that is. Hearing stories of GPs refusing to issue Pill prescriptions to unmarried women, and worse, to learn women were not officially represented at an early US Senate hearing into the Pill, is disconcerting. That women who went on the Pill were considered promiscuous, is dumbfounding to me.

This woman, our contraception campaigner, was a working mother in the early 60s, much to the disdain of her mother-in-law and friends. They could not understand why she’d want to work when she had a perfectly capable husband.

Today, the Pill continues to provide women with freedom from unplanned pregnancies. Modern Pills bring a much greater benefit than contraceptive control; cycles can be regulated, heavy bleeding eased and adult acne treated. The Pill can also help prevent against some cancers.

What's so great to see is that this milestone has affected people in so many ways. The Economist deemed the Pill “the greatest advance in science and technology in the 20^thCentury” while a random blogger today thanked the Pill for preventing pro-creation with all her former 'loser' boyfriends. Not over PC, but it hits home.

Some great articles to come through:

Marie Claire Online:

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/features/society-celeb/article/-/7206354/50th-anniversary-of-the-pill/

The SMH Online:

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/the-sexual-revolution-turns-50-20100511-uqj2.html

So happy birthday to the Pill and thanks to the generations before us who have battled to secure the opportunities we take for granted today. xo

The one with the bachelors

So, the other day, I offered the excuse of attending CLEO Bachelor of the Year for the delayed start to the blog. I thought I’d share some of the evidence. It was an unexpectedly crazy night. I was the worst wingman in history. At 5 feet 9 and in heels, my partner in crime Hannah Rayment, chatted to the bachelors at a level I literally couldn’t reach - standing at just 164cm and in ballet flats. We met V presenters, athletes, a Home and Away hottie and a physio from Fremantle.

Kate xo

The one with the F Bomb

In a world where we sensor, withhold and craft ourselves for the sake of public image, I was amused to discover the most popular story on www.news.com.au is still What a boob! Claudia Karvan has her own Superbowl moment at Logies – two days after Australia’s night of nights.

While a boob making a sneaky escape from a low-plunging dress is the most newsworthy element for many, I was more interested to see that Karvan cracked out the F-bomb in her acceptance speech when the name of her cast mate and fellow Logie nominee failed her.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/what-a-boob-claudia-karvan-has-her-own-superbowl-moment-at-logies/story-e6frfmyi-1225861359672

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s drunken-enduced forgetfulness, a rare slip of the name or a complete mind blank at an awkward moment, the fact that she was honest enough to speak aloud the exact thing that was going through her mind was impressive, albeit crude for the super-sensitive. You forget a name, particularly of someone you spend so much time with, Golly Gosh is not the phrase running through your mind.

Better yet was Rebecca Gibney’s admission of being “pre-menstrual” when accepting her Logie. Overwhelmed or over-share, doesn’t matter. It’s impressive for the honesty alone. So many times when you interview anyone of notoriety, whether in the arts, science or sport, they tow a very straight line. I work in PR and train, brief and lend our spokespeople the importance of staying on message, but as a journalist it's frustrating; and a consumer wanting a good story, limiting. So to see two slip-of-the-tongues by such well-respected and accomplished women is a relief.

The one where I introduce myself

I’ve wanted to have my own blog for some time, but always found something better to do. It seemed too hard to the point that filing last year’s tax receipts took precedence.

But tasked with starting a blog for a uni assessment, I’ve spent the past few weeks racking my brain to find an area I can inflict my expert opinion / witty observations.

Could I provide a somewhat limited sports commentary on AFL in a League-dominated state? Blog about living with my boyfriend for the first time (aside from our manic shared-house experiences), the fact that my girlfriends, none of whom are engaged, talk endlessly about getting married, or could I even gloat about my average wingman attempts at the CLEO Bachelor of the Year party last week? (Another reason this blog is a week late).

The reality is that my life is not that exciting; I fell asleep on the couch watching The Hangover on Saturday night and spent my Sunday shopping for cushions at Kmart, trying to convince Adam that we NEED more clutter in our one-bedroom apartment. There are rare moments of gold, don’t get me wrong. In recent weeks I’ve been to Bali, impulsively booked a five-week trip to Mexico and Cuba, interviewed, and was inspired by, rock historian and former Travel Writer of the Year Glenn A. Baker, and even won the Come Dine With Me house challenge at 89 Watkin St – despite not having gone near the oven since August last year. I even beat my former-chef boyfriend by .5 of a point!

So now I’m ready to blog. I’ve read the Online Survival Guide in this month’s Dolly. And no, I’m not 14, but in-between ‘Friendship Fails’ and a tear-out poster of Liam Hemsworth, I hope I’ve stumbled across some solid advice.

So apologies in advance for any soapbox moments I may inflict over upcoming weeks. xo