Hell of a connection

So after a few months at our apartment, and the dust of moving in had settled, I did some research on a few internet providers.

Found one who offered unlimited ADSL for $39 a month. They look quite reputable. Other packages are on par with Telstra pricing, and our location was in their 'inner network' which shaved a further $10 from the monthly fee. So $29/mo for unlimited ADSL? Bring it!!

I'd not heard of them before, mainly as they are a wholesaler whose clients include Grapevine, and has a large network that links Asia to Sydney and Perth in Australia. It doesn't extend to the UK or the US. That's gotta be good for reliability of service, and next to the EU countries, Asia has the fastest network on the planet.

Their customer service was abysmal. Probably WORSE than Telstra - and I was avoiding signing up to Telstra at all costs. We've all heard horror stories... but I powered ahead with them trying to get things rolling. Then the roadblocks appeared.

We weren't transferring an existing connection, so provisioning was required.
Provisioning said, yes, we can connect to your apartment. Yay!
3 weeks later, the day of connection came and went. No tech. I took the day off work for it. Shocked.
Rescheduled another two weeks later. No tech arrived again. I again, took the day off work. Appalled, Angry.
Response a week later - "the exchange is full at your current location"

Full? This is (was) 2012. Surely not.

6 weeks and counting, for nothing. Connection fees paid. Provisioning paid. Getting quite bitter about it now.

Once I calmed down, I called them the next day.

Q - How come the exchanges can't be expanded?
A - They are not maintained by us.
Q - Oh? I thought I was on your 'inner network'.
A - You are. Until a connection becomes free, we won't be able to provide you a service.

OK. Scrap it. I'll take a full refund. I'd checked the T&C's ;)

A - No problem. We'll organise it.
Q - I appreciate your help. Thanks anyway. (hang up... "GRRRRRRRRRRR!!")

A month later, we notice the refund hadn't been paid. Time to call.

Q - I haven't seen a refund
A - Whoops. We'll do that now.
Q - When will it be paid?
A - Mid next week at the latest
Q - Great. I'll need a receipt by email. It's very important I get a receipt.
A - Absolutely.

I'm generally a bit graceful with big companies that need to issue refunds. They probably have quite a clunky system for it to process, but two weeks later, still nothing. Now I just want my money, and erase them from my life.

Q - Where is my refund?
A - Oh, that wasn't done? That's odd.
Q - You have no idea what odd is. Make it happen or I'm taking legal action. To dumb it down for ya, i've sent a PDF of all our verbal and email correspondence since day one. See it?
A - Yes, thank you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Q - As this call is recorded, I recommend to the person playing this back to use as a prime example of how outsourcing staff to the US is a real barricade to communication flow, and why your inane identity hoops you make me go through every single call is a complete bust. I'm glad not to be a customer of yours. There's your feedback.

Refund received two days later. No receipt supplied.

Wow.

Part two coming - how I got my current connection.

Peppa Pig - What Parents See

One Hot Day

It was a stinking hot day - one that came out of the blue.

23 deg already. Suns got bite!
— Richard Phelps (@richardphelps) October 4, 2012

I had to lug a heavy laptop up a hilly street for the days first client visit. In addition, I had 600 postcards to drop off.

Reluctant to put on my work clothes, coz I'll be walking to some meetings today. Lugging a laptop. In blazing sun. #deodorant
— Richard Phelps (@richardphelps) October 4, 2012

The load got lighter, but by the time I had walked down the hill, caught my breath on a train and found my way to work, it was 10:30am and already 32 desgrees!

I couldn't wait to go to the office. Air-conditioning like Dubai? Nope, not even like Sydney. It was broken, and our office was a stinker. The atrium area was looking good about now. I was a bit dehydrated so taking my own advice, I headed down to the Coke vending machine. It was probably just as dehydrated as it took my $1.50 with nothing to show for it. Luckily I had some spare change, and rustled another $1.50, only to see that get swallowed as well.

This could have been the last straw!

I called Coca Cola Amatil. The guy at the other end seemed surprised at how well I handled it. What? People lose their hit over a broken vending machine?! He took the details of the vending machine, and my details to issue a refund.

So, today a lovely letter arrived, with my refund.

Twitter Tools

Today I was looking for a tweet i'd, erm, tweeted about at least six months ago.

Unfortunately for me, Twitter itself is (currently) shit at two things. Search, and history.

I was looking for a website that would show my tweets without any formatting, going back as far as the Twitter API would allow, which is around 3200 tweets.

So many companies use this to data mine, enabling them to have some kind of targeted product, whether it's an app, a plugin or a website. So after a bit of scouring, I found it.

It was included in this article, and after a bit of thought, bringing the original links onto this blog post will help these services. One more blogger link eh?

Definitely check out the rest of the article at the aforementioned link, by all means. There's plenty of other great tools there.

This was the service I was after:

AllMyTweets.net

It's great, as you enter your twitter handle, and using a bit of lazy loading, you get to see around the last 3200 tweets, without any embedded media - just the text. Thank you again, Air Tight Interactive.

At the time of this post, i'm over the 8,000 mark, and All My Tweets gets me back almost a year!!

Best tip - use your OS search tool to search a keyword. This is CTRL+F on Windows. It is super quick and will always be faster then Google (let alone Twitter itself).

You sneaky bitch

Google, you sneaky bitch!

What have you done to Blogger? What's with this super clean back-end interface? Did you fire the person who came up with #FFFFFF as the primary way to keep what could be a turd of a site, clean and simple?

Looking around I have options to label this post, which I will - one will be WTF - I can schedule this to publish tomorrow, or whenever, like 12:12pm on 12 Dec 2012 (but I won't). Scheduling was there before but clunky and hidden at the bottom. Unsure If I want to tag my location though - going on my recent escapade with Foursquare.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that in my absence of 6 months at Blogger, you've done some serious renovating. It's good.

I just need to come back more often.

Down with Coles' big red hand

At first, that campaign drove me nuts.

By chance, I needed to drop into a supermarket, and Coles was the nearest. In I went, greeted by those big red "down down" hands... ugh.

Got what i needed, and decided to have a look around. I was a little staggered at how cheap some stuff was. As I noted on a comment to the Yardy Yardy Yardy 'Food Fight' blog piece about consumers in NZ's demanding the same be implemented over there, I noted a few of my "observations" at Coles.

I recently visited my local Coles, and was very surprised by the low prices. I know that will sound like an ad, but the essentials are dirt cheap.

Bread, milk, eggs... Hey, even those energy saving lighbulbs that typically retail for around $10-11 - the Coles brand is $3.99.

Even non-essentials, such as Coles branded junkfood like sweets and fizzy drinks, are all flat priced. A 1.25ml "Coles Cola" was 99c, and a 200g bag of "Coles" Snakes, was $1

Research does say that sales might be up on many essential items, but i think that reflects sales for the supermarket brands (Coles/or Woolworths), not the premium brands such as Cadbury/Burgen/McCain etc.

See for yourself. This is their online shopping website.

To go to my local Coles in Canberra, go to 'New Customers' and punch in my aera code 2604 then choose the Kingston store, then click 'Start Shopping' and take a look around.

Tumblr

I am appalled that it's taken me this long to discover Tumblr. I am appalled that Lady Gaga of all people beat me there.

Fuck that.

Anyway. My Tumblr account is more about work than personal thoughts. You can find me here.

Foursquare - one year later

Last year, I blogged about Big Brother. The idea that Foursquare wanted to track your every move.

You know, I stand by the principles of what I wrote. Privacy in this day and age is fast becoming scarce, and anything you share is probably irreversible. You can't delete it.

With anything though, times change and yes - I use Foursquare. As soon as I got a new smartphone (an Android), I saw the app and thought - oh well.

A lot of what I do does require me to be across such technologies, so using it enables me to have a better, informed opinion, and not to mention how I feel about opening a part of my private whereabouts to the world.

I'm surprised to say that I'm not that bothered. Foursquare, to me - is an experiment. I cannot treat it any other way at this time (update - this has changed. see footnote).

With anything new, we tread with caution and remain careful about how much information I share at any given time. That is one of the best features of Foursquare. I can 'check in' to a location and from there, I decide whether to also share this information with followers on Twitter, friends on Facebook, both, or none.

The reason for sharing to these places, is to maximize the possibility that one of my friends/followers will be nearby. Foursquare has the same wish as Facebook - find and connect with your friends (oh, and local business). Now, I don't neeeeed to share my whereabouts on Facebook or Twitter - but the pool of people is larger than my connected buddies on Foursquare, and my goal is to try and socialize with at least someone on a regular basis, sharing to Facebook or Twitter afford a bigger chance of me walking around a corner and shouting "SNAP" to a friend, who I know is there.

Their business strategy I spoke about this time last year, really hasn't changed much for Foursquare.

Turning habits into opportunities, by tracking their movements as they leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind, when someone "checks in" on Foursquare or Gowalla (or the others), their habits are graphed and sent to marketers - and the user is rewarded with a discount or some offer, on occasion. Sounds good? Free stuff just by doing what you usually do. Everyone wins.

Nor has the 'darker' side of the coin. 

The one thing I have been mindful of, and actually do to combat the risks of sharing your location so publicly, is 'checking in' after you've been there. It doesn't change my history as such, but it's a start.

One thing that my opinion has changed on, is the relevance of my location - or locations.

As a person, YOU might not care where I am (especially if you do not use Foursquare), and many people do 'block' or unfollow any posts of mine that come from Foursquare - and that's cool, just know that I choose to post my location there.

Why? Well, perhaps you'll be nearby, or you may have been to the same place before and have a recommendation... or a simple conversation starter perhaps? I don't post all the time, either, cos I don't "check in" to every petrol station, set of traffic lights or every-time I get to work. I'd block myself if thats what I did. If I think where I am will interest you, you'll see it.

The relevance of my location, is to be relevant. Now, I use the service, so it's got to be relevant to me, right?

At times, I engage with local business to earn a free coffee, or I'll check in just to become mayor - playing the Foursquare game of claiming first 'check in' (which, by the way is stupidly satisfying. It's totally stupid but a but of fun), or I might wish to illustrate somewhere interesting that I think you might like to know about. If it's really special, I'll probably drop a comment, take a photo or even shoot a short video should I not be able to put it into words.

Foursquare is certainly about discovering my city - they like to call it "unlocking your city" - but I'm increasingly finding it's actually becoming about stepping up, and doing something on your own behalf, for your friends (or followers). And I don't mind that.

Footnote:
As of 19 July, 2011 - I joined a boycott and ceased using Foursquare. I even deleted my account (an option I found quite easily). Main reason: 100% investment by me after 1 year of stepping up, but have had no return by Foursquare whatsoever.

How to save the newspaper industry

Forget the big papers.

Print your newspaper, on toilet rolls. It's our favourite place to read your paper, it comes in handy, and it's recyclable!

Problem with Photobucket

Previously, my blog was swamped with errors, from Photobucket.

This has nothing to do with anything I've done. The templates available by Blogger, are provided by 3rd parties. It looks like the template I chose had images hosted on Photobucket.

Thanks for all the correspondence. I only just remembered to change the template. And here it is :)

The Twichter Scale

Okay, let me begin my suggesting that this article really is for Twitter users, however if you aren't then - apply this theory: You receive an interesting fax, and you feel compelled to send it (by fax) to your entire contacts list. That's re-faxing... and for Twitter, that's the same theory for re-tweeting.

If you put time and energy into composing a Tweet, you can measure a whole range of statistics about how many people see it, how many people re-tweet it, and all the usual stuff: country, city, referral etc.

I think you'll find that if you're a relative newbie to Twitter (and not a major celebrity), then you probably will be disheartened to learn that most new Twitter users don't last a week. Of those that do, finding that you won't really get any kind of Klout for 2-6 months, is also something of a bummer. By the way, Klout is about influence, which is always debatable: Bieber more influential than Obama. Really!? This post is not about influence. Just to be clear. It's about something much more workable.

During December 2010, only 17% of all active Twitter accounts in the entire world, actually tweeted. The rest laid dormant, forgotten, and new subscribers are slowing down. While that may appear like a bad thing, I actually think its a good thing. Twitter is maturing, and those that use it, USE IT. It's becoming refined, and it's clear that in 2011, Twitter is set to become a heck of a lot more savvy. Remember, it's not about the platform "Twitter", but what people do with it.

Like an email subscription database such as Mailchimp, how many responses, or any level of engagement beyond opening (glancing) the e-letter, will your statistics show you? The challenge for e-letters is to engage 'subscribers' with you or your company. With Twitter, engagement is re-tweeting, replying or direct messaging you (or your company).

If the Christchurch Earthquake was a tweet:

Heads up guys. After about 25 million years, there's a bit of movement going on deep down beneath you, so expect more instability for a bit. You might get more Alps, or a Volcano at some point so, yeah.

Consider the ongoing aftershocks. The earth clearly shook on September 4, 2010 and we all heard it. Not only did we hear it, but Cantabrians are getting reminders via aftershock about the same thing nearly every day.

If your tweet about something important was re-tweeted as many times as Christchurch has had aftershocks, it would be the worlds most influential tweet.

I think the power of a Tweet has a correlation like that major first earthquake on Sept 4. Lets say, the first Tweet is sent. Following that, and quite quickly will be a wave of re-tweets, usually within the hour. Then the third, fourth, fifth waves later on, by those who missed the first.

Now, that's assuming the first tweet was only sent ONCE. The size of the first wave of re-tweets (aftershocks) will only show a small percentage of followers who happen to see, or be alerted by your tweet at that time. Even then, only a small percentage of your entire followers list will re-tweet you. Let's say, a mere 3% impact. Not good. Already you can see that a Tweet can quickly vanish into nothingness in the bigger scheme.

Let's say you Tweet (but not spam) the same message a few times over the period of a day. One at 7am, one at 11:30am, another at 1:45pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm and 11:00pm. The chances of your tweet getting seen by your followers is greatly increased, as you're trying to put your tweet in front of them whenever they open their Twitter app at various times throughout the day.

Tip: Knowing the best times to Tweet is a metric you should never do without.

You can imagine over a period of 24 hours, that your one message (Tweeted 6 times / every 4 - 4.5 hours) will have been seen by most of your active followers, and the impact might look more like 20%. That would be excellent.

To measure the Richter I mean, Twichter scale of your Tweet, the 20% of your followers who responded / engaged by re-tweeting or replying would help create "aftershocks" as their followers would re-tweet. Much like those dodgy pyramid schemes we've all seen at one point or another - their followers impact will help generate the third "aftershock" and so on. By 24 hours, your Tweet would have pretty much exhausted itself.

Checkpoint. Still with me? Well, this is pretty much how I reckon the Twichter scale would work:

1. Your Tweet 
2. First Re-tweets (lets hope for 20% impact by your followers over 24 hours)
3. Second wave (by hopefully 20% of their followers)
4. Third wave (again, by the same - this metric should stay strong if you have good followers who have good followers, and so on)
5. Fourth wave... and so on.

Scenario 1
Of all the people who re-tweet in 24 hours, say you get 77 re-tweets through 3 waves (or "aftershocks"). You simply divide that figure - 77 tweets divided by 3 = 25.6 (your average). Then multiply this by your first wave percentage - say 20%. The number comes to about 132.

Scenario 2
Okay, say I get 77 retweets through the first wave only, and nothing further, then 77 tweets divided by one wave (1) multiplied by your first wave percentage (20%) would equal 1185. Well, the number is higher because your average was higher.

longtail effect. Read on, you'll see why.

Now, a random number, small or large doesn't mean shit - by that, it's not easily understood, so here's how I make it a bit interesting. Let's rip off the Cricketers, by rocking up after dark and stealing their scoreboard and lets use one of their terms: 'batting average'.

The Twichter Scale for Scenario 1 would be 132 for 3, or 132/3
The Twichter Scale for Scenario 2 would be 1185 for 1, or 1185/1

Instantly, you can see that the second scenario is much much much more powerful than the first. It says that this persons first wave of followers are fricking awesome followers that gave you 1185 retweets Wow! It also bodes well for a second wave. Try adjusting the variables a bit. Play around.

For businesses, this first wave of followers are your customers - your rainmakers, and should be treated like KINGS.

Over time, you'll eventually get your 'batting average'. The higher your batting average, no matter how many waves your tweet goes through, the better your Twichter Scale becomes. Unlike Klout, there is something else.

The final piece of the equation is creating value in the Twichter Scale, and how it's built is really up to you. Remember, this is built on the amount of your active followers, how many waves your tweet goes through, and your batting average.

One example could be

An Example Twichter Scale

• 100-500/1: Value = $1000
• 100-500/2: Value = $750
• 100-500/3: Value = $500

You'll just need to determine (like the longtail), where your business / influence lies and create value accordingly.

Monetizing Twitter for business, for promotion, for influence or cred - I reckon the Twichter Scale could be a viable way. And lets face it - you can lead the way with your own model, or wait for Twitter (or someone else) to hold your hand and take a fee for doing so.

Mixtape Mondays

I've bitten the bullet and created a new blog over at Posterous - but NOT to replace this one.

Too many blogs = too much work = no life, and I'm busy as it is. This one, however is simply to serve a little side-project that I'm really into at the moment.

The Twitter community has these things, such as "follow friday" where you simply type #ff and a handful of account names of interesting people you follow. No reason or explanation needed, just #ff and the names is recommendation / explanation enough. The hashtag #ff is all you need to keep an eye out for. [ Open with Tweettabs ]

So this little side project "Mixtape Mondays" (which name i've borrowed from a seemingly unrelated hashtag) and the #mixtapemonday is gaining momentum.

 As with a previous post here, I'm enjoying the challenge of putting together mixtapes that for lack of a better explanation, a "hot topic". It could be an international event, a holiday or observation, hollywood scandal or something else. 60 minutes (true to 80's mixtapes) of music, on topic.

1. I'll usually find a topic and start creating a list of songs. After chipping away at the list for a couple of days, I'll usually come up with enough music to fill 60 mins.
2. I'll then organise the order of songs, and bounce them down to one long mp3 file (and more recently, create an iPod friendly m4a copy - which comes to around 20% the size of the mp3), I then add the ID3 tags on both formats.
3. Once that's done, I'll write up a new post with blurb for the Mixtape, and set it to future-post on the coming Monday.
4. The mp3 / m4a files are usually uploaded to Mediafire by Friday and they are linked to the blog set to go.
5. I then future-post a "tease" and "link" to Twitter and Facebook using HootSuite for release at 6am, 12pm and 6pm on the Monday, and then I start brainstorming the next Mixtape/s.
6. Finally, bring beans to the boil, and place on a bed of fluffy cous-cous. Serves: 6 | Wine: Shiraz*

Why not check them out?
They're gaining in numbers at http://richardphelps.posterous.com/ 


*Yes, step 6 is unrelated ...for those playing at home....

Forget You... Santa

As if you weren't over the Cee-lo track by now, I gotta say, this is pretty clever.

Take a listen.

The "Like" button

Yo, Facebook. What's up?

Saw your movie. Anyway...

I've seen your "like" button for a while now. I've clicked on it here and there around the web (as you no doubt are aware of), and I thought i'd make a suggestion.

Some people also want a "hate" button. I reckon if you considered this, you shouldn't use the word "hate". I know you can't use "un-like" either. We're already using that to change our mind about "liking" something. Which is a nice touch. Instead, if you are considering a thumbs down response, then perhaps "dislike" is the better go.

But that's not why I'm writing you.

I have an idea you'll like. You offer fantastic targeted advertising opportunities for your clients, which is great. But, like in your movie - ads are uncool.

So i'd like to suggest something that would help both your users (me), your advertisers (them) and possibly add a nice silver lining to ads that are displayed. Nearly all ads I see on Facebook are "cold-calls" by companies I've never heard of. Now, depending who put the ad there, it might have some clever copy to entice me to click, or inane hardsell tripe that I'd never click.

Add a new button called, "woo me". We all love deals, and Facebook is full of... "cool" users. If I was wooed by a great offer to an advertiser's website - then that is TRULY "liking" something. It goes beyond brand recognition "yeah, I like Dickies"... instead, the brand recognises me: "Dickies likes me".

Sounds alright, huh? There's more to it too. Contact me and I will fill you in ;)

Andrew Lawson - Black & Gold (cover)

Not bad, kid. Not bad at all...

Pity you have an un-supportive douche as your coach.

Mixtapes - are they back?

I put a post out on Twitter a little while ago about Mixtapes. I still reckon they're on the comeback.

I have no evidence, and if I go digging I'd probably find some interesting stat about how the hip hop community is using the web to share mmore mixtapes than ever = a movement etc, but I'm finding that I really enjoy the challenge of thinking about the songs to include on a mixtape.

No more ACTUAL cassettes mind you, but fantastic websites like Soundcloud, the awesome Mixcloud or even Mixtape For You are brilliant different flavours for compiling them, and sharing with friends.

Downloading to iPods are an obvious benefit as they serve just like a podcast. I, of course am all about retro, so I have an mp3 walkman player to download and play on. Yeah, that's how I roll.

The mixtapes were and still are, themed. I enjoyed DJ Jazzy Jeff's Summertime Mixtape earlier this year (for the US summer) so much so, that I created my own mixtape to kick off summer.

I've since created a dozen of these for another blog/podcast I write for, and have covered ground like a mixtape for the Chilean miners - the Melbourne Cup mixtape, or Auckland becoming a supercity with my Supercity Mixtape.

I say, Mixtapes are back! As mp3s, but they're back! If you give it a go, hit me with the links!

Prohibited items at the Delhi games

So...you've seen the list of prohibited items at this years Commonwealth Games?

Some highlights:

• Chair(s)/ tool(s) - So I need to stand upright for the entire duration of the event?
• Firearms - There goes my assassination idea.
• Eatables (except baby food) - Eatables? What the hell are eatables? Are we not allowed to EAT?
• Dangerous goods - Damn, and I packed some TNT, a pot of nuclear waste and a lighter in my manbag.
• Fireworks/crackers - But it's my religion. Well, no its not.
• Flares/distress signals - Go get me a drink. I'll be in row 1766, seat 362C. Just look for the flare. Oh what? No flares?!!!
• Glass containers - Nobody is allowed to avoid using Delhi toilets people. You know you're looking forward to THAT!
• Backpacks - So I can leave this (with all my prohibited items) with this young boy who will "keep it safe"? Sure, here you go.
• Laser lights/pointers/flash lights - Mistaking them for pyrotechnics, the Delhi Energy Company will think the organisers have paid the electric bill, and issue another invoice.
• Musical instruments - because celebrating and singing along with friends is seen as 'suspicious activity'. Riiiight.
• Roller blades - Now that just crosses the line. I paid for international flights to get here, only to find I can't rollerblade? 
• Skateboards - Because India really is the skateboarding capital of the world. WTF!
• Radio frequency devices - y'know, the button you push to lock your car? That is a RF device. Not allowed people.
• Coins (all kinds) - Coins. Seriously? Do you not have money here?
• Smoke canisters - might blow in front of the cameras that broadcast to the millions of people watching around.... Delhi.
• Darts - yeah, darts are just weird. Don't bring darts okay?
•  Match boxes/lighters - So you're saying I can't burn my shoes for fun when I'm bored?
•  Cigarettes/bidis - The air is still polluted up the hilt, yet it's a smokefree environment.
•  Chewing tobacco/Gutka - Not only can't you light it, you can't even chew it. But this is gum! Honest!
•  Umbrellas - Well, your stadium better have a roof - WITH NO HOLES!
•  Handicams - Yep, because privacy in India is such a big swingvote.
•  Laptops - Yes, or any technology made after 1981.
•  Perfume - We'd prefer you to immerse yourself into local culture, and part of that is smelling like one.
•  Packets/parcels/torn-up papers - Rubbish must be left on the ground without any tears, wrinkles or ripped edges. Just dump it anywhere.
•  Radio - It's all in Indian, and distorted beyond recognition. What's to listen to anyway?
•  Promotional products - Only the Indian Government will be the ones flogging off "I went to Delhi and all I got was this t-shirt" t-shirts, thank you very much. Come again.
• Animals - So you're saying my pet Llama can't enjoy your wonderful country? Oh, you've got too many animals as it is? Well, yes, there goes a moped with a cow strapped to some guys helmet. I get your point. Fair cop.
• Flags and/with poles - India doesn't understand that you want to support your country, and your team by waving your national flag, at an international event. In fact, India has no idea what actually happens at the Commonwealth Games.
•  Bike helmets - Does this mean I can ride my Ducati around india with the cool breeze in my hair? SWEET

Sticky Radio

There are some great things about morning radio. The continuous fresh approach (and longevity) of the hosts is a factor, the music as the 'good glue' in between the personality also counts for a lot.

Now, I'm racking my brain but I can't give an example, so I'm left to say that brekky hosts who have witnessed sunrises in front of a mic for at least 5 years, have this amazing ability to keep you listening - even though you've parked the car and really need to get to a meeting, with a wee detour beforehand, but you just HAVE to stay to finish listening to a piece on the radio. They create STICKY RADIO.

The stupidest ideas are often the best, and they regularly do what every good host can do - bring people in from the woodwork. When the phones light up with 'new' listeners (in talk radio land: the first time caller, long time listener), you know your segment/feature/bit is a winner.

So, from your experience - what silly feature actually isn't that silly at all? What's the key to Sticky Radio?
Perhaps you can answer that, or perhaps you can hit me some example you remember from days gone by that you really liked, or ones that are addictive today.

Many Aucklanders will remember Brent & Lance on 91.8 More FM - their "Afternoon Breakfast" was full of 'em, and those features we're great. Many ran for years before eventual retirement (like "We've Heard Them All"), some are recycled in other forms, and others are left as fun (and fast becoming) distant memories.

If you're on Twitter, let's have some fun. Let's use this hashtag: #stickyradio for suggestions, and I will follow it and update this blog post with the findings (and credit you!).

Some examples:

• "Loogle" - Lance Dunne's version of Google (ask Lance, instead of Google) #stickyradio
• "Uncle Sam" - Sela Alo's FOS* "Uncle" who has (not so) wise commentaries and advice for Niu FM listeners #stickyradio
• "Let's Go There" - Hauraki's (former) Morning Pirates would expose the ridiculous, and proceed to 'go there' by re-enacting the moment in question, cued by harp sfx #stickyradio

If you're not on Twitter, just comment below to add yours.

You get the idea. Let's hear yours. Let's do this!

#Stickyradio on Twitter:

Secret to a great coffee

Many years ago, I wrote and recorded a song about people who park their cars on the grass. It was inspired by seeing great lawns turned to mud cos inept guests couldn't stay on the driveway. Who do they think they are parking on someone elses lawn?

Anyway.

Of late I've been noticing something missing from my coffee. By 'missing', I really mean it is actually there, but it shouldn't be there although many of us coffee drinkers want it there!

I'm talking about sugar. It's the puree, the pulp in many ways and if you're like me, you've had a coffee with perhaps 1 or 2 sugars, only to find the sugar all goopy at the bottom of the cup. It dilates your pupils - and it's too late, you've swallowed.

So, I've set the bar for every barista I come in contact with. I'm not trying to be rude, but should you ask if I want sugar, then I assume you're going to add it to the cup (rather than me at the self service desk). To which I will reply the following phrase that will separate the master barista from the clock-in:

Only if you'll stir it in.

Then you can pour the milk over the chocolate - hey, draw a leaf if you care to. Seems a bit cheeky, but come on. This is where the art is, but it won't earn you a returning customer if the sugar ain't stirred. Same goes for Tea.

Next coffee your order, ask the same. See what kind of response you get.

How I Won a Digital Radio

I am fairly chuffed about this. I own a Digital Radio!

As of May this year, I received a promotion at work into a newly created position which centres around Digital Radio broadcasting. As long and as hard I have worked for this (5+ years), and as the excitement escalated once an official launch date for Digital Radio in the city where I live, I quickly realised that I had a hurdle to overcome. I needed a Digital Radio, and because these things are new, they're expensive! So I resigned myself to talking with the wife to start a savings goal to buy one. No longer.

As an avid user of social media, one day I found myself putting the final touches on a Facebook page for one of our radio stations, set to launch the day I moved into my new position. I needed to provide a link to the online stream, and after creating a static page, I thought I might use a picture of a Digital Radio as the "player" instead of using the old Windows Media Player look.

So off to look for a good clean picture. Straight to the manufacturers websites, for product shots. Pure, OXX, Philips, TEAC, Revo, Arcam and the others... I was really impressed by the look of the Pure Sensia but decided against it, as it seemed to be "of its own distraction", meaning the radio would be more interesting than the stream page I created. I just wanted a radio that had a good balance between familiar - but different. The Sensia is WAY too unfamiliar as well, and then I saw the OXX Digital Vantage. While obtaining the images, I found that OXX had a presence on Facebook and Twitter, so I followed them.

A few days later on their Twitter stream, OXX announced a competition to "Win a Digital Radio". All I needed to do to enter is "like" them on Facebook (tick), and re-tweet the competition (tick). A few days later I checked their Facebook page for updates. A few people were also keen. I posted a message on my Facebook page saying "fingers crossed I win this Digital Radio on Wednesday". On that Wednesday I checked their page and to my surprise, they announced me as their winner! I jumped with excitement by shouting out "AWEEEEEEEESOME!" Nearly woke up my 1y/o son!

Two days later, it arrived!

Now I'm just waiting for the launch in about a month