October 29, 2009 Posted by alan

The Errol Flynn Skill Set

Gavin Heaton and Mark Pollard are curating A Perfect Gift For A Man — a book about manhood arising from the blogosphere’s contributions to Reach Out and Triple J’s Man Week project. There’s #manweek on Twitter too. UPDATE: there’s now an ebook and a printed book (AUD$44.95) available through Blurb. The following contribution didn’t make the book but that’s because the... read more

August 10, 2009 Posted by alan jones

What does Australian web history tell us? The only constant is rapid change

With age, comes wisdom. At least, that’s the theory. So far, all I’ve acquired is a tendency to ramble in introductory paragraphs, reading glasses, and arthritis in my left thumb. Actually, that’s not strictly true; I think I’ve also acquired a broader perspective. For instance, I’m excited that the Australian Interactive Media Association (AIMIA), Nielsen Online, Interaction... read more

July 14, 2009 Posted by alan jones

Free photo editing for presenters

Here’s a photo editing tip that can save you hundreds of dollars if you need to edit photos to use in presentations. Last week I was in Wellington, NZ to study the craft of Presentation Zen (or ‘PZ’) from the sensei himself, Garr Reynolds. Garr is a great guy — engaging, warm, generous (lots of schwag!) and a talented presenter. He teaches that ‘Death by PowerPoint‘ can be... read more

May 30, 2009 Posted by alan jones

Secret media relations: how to criticise your competitors

This is the second in a series of posts on the secrets of media relations, drawn from my previous career in PR and the time I’ve spent as a senior exec with web startups. You can find the first post, on how to keep secrets, here. This is new for me, so I need to ask: are you enjoying these? Not enjoying them? Let me know in the comments at the end of this post. A startup friend emailed me today, to... read more

May 28, 2009 Posted by alan jones

Master “W Fu” — the secret art of media relations

photo credit: laverrue Despite my baby-face, I’m so old that I had a career as a journalist and PR consultant before my interweb production career. While I no longer have to practice media relations every day, most startup founders find they have to wear many hats, and one of those may be the natty trilby hat of media relations. I’m so old that the PR agency I first worked for had a... read more

April 23, 2009 Posted by alan jones

Internet Explorer 8: the unfaithful ex-girlfriend

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer IE 8 showing up now is like an unfaithful ex-partner showing up a long time after you’ve found someone better looking and less likely to break your heart. Wrote this post after Amnesia Razorfish asked me to write about IE8, for Microsoft’s http://microsoft.com.au/ie8debate. You can find other opinion-leaders and read their leading opinions there (warning:... read more