When I began the Media Hunter blog my world-view was much narrower. I intended to write about media, marketing and advertising news and issues in my local region as it related to my clients and our agency. Initially that meant most posts covered radio, television and press stories, with maybe a little bit of online news for good measure.

The dialogue has changed dramatically over the year or so that Media Hunter has existed. So much so that I now have been forced to ask myself, what is media in 2008?

A decade ago, or maybe even less, media in regional centres was easy to identify. The local TV stations, local radio stations, local press and perhaps some outdoor were all the available and relevant media for marketers to utilise. It was all pretty straight-forward.

Now the landscape has changed forever, even for regional marketers. Increasingly we are talking to clients about a diverse range of "media" options. Blogs, podcasts, online sponsorships and more. 

Now I believe that we can broadly consider:

• Traditional media – TV, radio, press, magazines, outdoor

• Digital media – websites, mobile phones, digital TV, e-books & e-letters, video games

• Social media – blogs, social network sites, sharing sites, virtual worlds and more

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Popularity: 6%

It had to happen, and thanks to Julian Cole it finally has. A comprehensive Australian ranking list of marketing blogs.

Julian decided to make this list in order to shed light on the Australian
Marketing Blogosphere and hopefully connect you with some great
Australian Marketing thinkers.

The ranking system is very similar to the AdAge Power 150 methodology. Julian used the same variable to rank the blogs (Google Page Ranks
(10), Technorati Authority (10), Technoati Blog Reactions (10), Alexa
Page Ranking (10), Bloglines (10).

He also added a
Pioneer score (10), this is a subjective score which is scored in terms
of the blogs ability to have pioneering thoughts about Marketing. Julian believes it is our role as Marketing bloggers to discover and inform the
rest of the industry about the changing Marketing landscape.

Media Hunter is proud to be an inaugural member of the list along with partner in crime, The Marketer and our agency local media and advertising blog The Sticky Report.

Please note who is ranked at No.2 on the list. This guy may be responsible for encouraging the blogging habits of more people on this list than anyone in Australia.

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Twelve months ago this weekend Newcastle, NSW was battered by what became known as the Pascha Bulker storm. A wild weekend of cyclonic winds and driving rain resulted in widespread flooding, blackouts, several deaths and a calculated $2 billion in damages and loss of income. The lasting image though was of the cargo ship Pascha Bulker washing up on the city’s doorstep.

Some friends and I got together after the storm to pay tribute to the volunteers and heroes of that crazy weekend. The result was a single, video clip and eventual concert. Craig Rosevear was responsible for most of this effort, while Sticky Advertising helped shoot and direct the following video clip. The amazing storm images were  courtesy of NBN television.

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If you’ve heard of and used Twitter, then you might really like Plurk. Plurk is a shiny new web application that allows friends to connect and keep in touch.

I signed up today and like it. I was never a big fan of Twitter. Besides being generally opposed to applications that serve to distract me from my work, I found Twitter to be  lacking in "personality". That’s not something you can say about Plurk.

I said to a "Plurk friend" in San Diego today that I felt Twitter was like a PC while Plurk was a Mac (see earlier post for reference point for this comparison…and some extremely good TV ads).

What is Plurk? In their words its this:

Noun. plurk (plüer-kh) – A really snazzy site that allows you to showcase the events that make up your life in deliciously digestible chunks. Low in fat, 5 calories per serving, yet chock full of
    goodness.

Plurk is an easy way to chronicle and share the things you do, the way you feel, and all the other things in between that make up your life, with the people close to you. It’s instant gratification, instant self-indulgence, instant celebrity, instantly YOU.

So come and join us Plurks and say hello to Mediahunter…before I get too bored with this latest toy.

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PubCamp – The Web 2.0 Media Day

A Conference and Unconference

The Web is now sixteen years old. Like most teenagers, it’s obsessed
with its social life and wears strange clothing. It thumbs its nose at
convention and is impossible for most normal grown-ups to understand.
It’s not mature yet, but growing up fast. And while it may be out to
change the world, it also seems intent on smashing up everything that
has come before.

Do you ever get the feeling you don’t really understand where
the Web’s heading (let alone this Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 you keep hearing
about) or that it’s leaving you behind? You’re not alone. The simple
fact is no one really knows for sure or has all the answers.
So, what can I do about it?
Come along to "PubCamp – The Web 2.0 Media Day – A Conference and
Unconference" — a free event about the future of media on the Web –
and get some group therapy for dealing with this precocious teenager
and its seemingly limitless potential.

Want to know more? Click here.

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I love this series of commercials. They have been running for several years in the USA and recently I have begun to notice them in Australia. The series is driven by brilliant writing to highlight the benefits of Macs over PC’s. No big production, just a great story.

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One for the sports fans from the geniuses at Weiden+Kennedy in Portland for Nike.

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Newcastle TV ratings week 22, 2008

2007 ended with NBN very concerned about how close Prime were getting to them and how they would fix the problem. Meanwhile Prime were supremely confident about their line-up and the fact that they were now able to put up a  real fight in Newcastle.

2008 has begun with NBN on top and widening the gap by mid-year. If last week is any guide, then Prime have a few problems. TEN remains at about the same level as last year.

Also of interest is the return of larger viewing audiences as the weather has cooled and the days have shortened. Last week NBN saw the sort of numbers they used to enjoy, with Sunday News pulling 132,000 viewers and several other programs over the 100,000 mark.

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Many Web Users Actively Contributing, Not Just Surfing By

Beth Snyder Bulik, AdAge.com

"Blogosphere" may not be a pretty name for it,
but it is a pretty attractive destination — for women at least, and
maybe for marketers courting them, too.

According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners,
more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75
participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number
increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who
are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to
blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study.

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Source: Richard Clune, news.com.au

THEY are the measure of star quality that the television stations don’t want you to see.However, a rare glimpse of the Q Scores on our brekkie hosts shows why David Koch is the star of morning television.

The former finance guru turned host of Sunrise has what television executives call star quality, with a Q Score rating of 14.

The secretive scores are a system of consumer polling employed by television networks to determine how popular a celebrity is.

A score of 10 and above is deemed high, with a low score being three and an average score sitting at six.

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