Video CAmeras $119 beats $500 hands down

Quick update on videos... here are some of my thoughts about our new video camera - it cost $119 from Catch of the Day and it out performs our JVC which cost me $500 18 months ago..

Love to know what you think...

Blast! into 2011 - An Agology

Today should have been the Blast! into 2011 Seminar in Brisbane but due to poor ticket sales we cancelled the event - including the sessions for Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Poor sales?? Well as I am the marketer I can only blame myself. Regardless of what i tried... I couldn't convince enough people to part with $249 to attend 8 hours of great business and personal skills and motivation... Mother nature played her part - floods, cyclones, drought, bush fires etc...

The apology: In advising all paid registrations somehow we missed the booking from Graphic Publishing in Brisbane. The team from Graphic Publishing went to session this morning to be told the session had been cancelled - but we missed telling them and I want to publicly acknowledge that we [me!!] let them down.

It's not important how we came to miss advising them but we did.

It is important to say publicly: SORRY!!

Message to friends and Client in Christchurch

Mother nature is really dishing it out lately... one of the world's most beautiful cities Christchurch New Zealand was struck by a devastating earthquake on Tuesday - the death toll is edging towards 100 with more than 100 still missing...

The "Canterbury Spirit" is on display to the world... and we marvel at your courage and strength.

I know that you will get through this and a NEW Christchurch will rise from the rubble... our thoughts are with you

Comments - all's fair IF you are leaving your name

No Name No Air!!

The moderation for comments is set by Google to "moderate" people who leave anonymous comments - and I can see no reason to change that.

I am happy for anyone to comment, debate, sling arrows or bloody big boulders, as long as you have the guts to leave your REAL name.

So if you are checking back to see if you comment made it - no name - no air!!

Australia Post was it me or them??

The debate in my head is whether I should write this or not... is my skin too thin?? I think I will feel better when I finish... whether I push the publish button is going to be the question.

Let's start:

Yesterday I got a quote to send a package EMS International Express Courier to Qatar - quickest way $59 for 1.5 kilos which seemed OK.

Australia Post Office

So this morning I present the package at Australia Post Northbridge for posting. First problem is that the scales don't work... 2.2 ks and then reset 1.159ks. No problem for me yet except the young counter lady says there is no such place a Qatar. I question her: "You have never heard of Qatar - its been in news most days since they beat us for the 2022 World Cup" her reply was "I don't watch the news..." to which I light heartedly reply "May you should watch the news... and learn what's going on in the world..." which was met with a deathly stare. "Maybe I spelt it wrong.." and then she Add captionsays "That will be $73.75"

I protested that my quote yesterday was $59 but to no avail... she reweighed it, which still showed an underweight of 1.159k but that didn't get me a cheaper price. So, she gave me a sticker to fill in, and I went to complete that.

When I returned she refused to serve me... sending me to a more mature lady on the other counter. Now her scale said 1.49k but not break on the price. I asked her to check what the other scale had said and sure enough it was still saying 1.159ks. I completed the payment and then was gobsmacked:

"We are a happy team here. You shouldn't have made a personal criticism of the young lady." I said, 'I beg your pardon??" And she told me that I had made a personal attack on her because I said said "she shouldn't live in a bubble"

Now I felt aggrieved and I told her so. "Hang on, I do not believe I insulted her. She is handling international services and should know about the world but in this small exercise I was quoted $59, the scale was wrong by 400gms, the price was $73.75 and now you accuse me of offending someone by saying I thought they should have a broader view of the world." And this by a woman who, whilst I was waiting in the queue, raised her voice and spoke slowly to customer, who from her appearance and demeanor I presumed was an Asian businesswomen, who was served just before me because apparently she couldn't understand her [the Australia Post lady] who was advising the price for a 5 ream copy paper box.

So, I wonder what the problem was here:

Was it: poorly trained staff who should know how to use a scale properly, have an idea where a country maybe, be able to read clearly labeled parcels which had the correct spelling of the address.

Was it a protective opinionated older member who sees customers as people who shouldn't demand a level of service from Australia Post commiserate with the fees charged??

Was it me... someone who thinks that perhaps correct quoting, correct weighing machines, knowledge of the world beyond Perth and someone who can engage in an adult conversation.. "You really should watch some news"

News Flash: Australia Post is closing store fronts as customers desert it... maybe here is a why??

Mmmm I feel better now!!

I wish you enough

Winston Churchill

Paulo Coelho wrote: today a received an email from a very close friend of mine. I asked her if I could share it here, and she agreed

Feb 14, 2011

Dear Friends,
Amongst all the activities I enjoy in London (shows, galleries, big parties etc…), the moment I enjoyed and cherished most was spending time with my 86 year old neighbor, who always took time to make me his own special coffee with a plate of cookies so graciously served to me on a white linen We used to spend hours talking…primarily me talking and he listening… with his advice whenever I asked.
Yesterday, I sent an email to him (the text is not mine) which was bounced back to me, and after having my husband (who is presently in London) check on him, I received a call to tell me that he had passed away on Jan 28th. My message of appreciation to him was a bit too late…
Below you find my message
Love
I.C.

Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’

They kissed and the daughter left. The father walked over to the window where I was seated. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but I could not refrain from asking:
‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’

He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’
He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more.
‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’
Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more..

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting…
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good- bye.

Better Bathrooms - now on sale

Better Bathrooms, the bathrooms and tiles retailer, has today announced a further expansion of its product range by launching 2 new modern toilet and basin sets into its bathroom suites collection. The new product launch comes as the Better Bathrooms sale draws to a close, which is due to end on the 14th February.

The first of the 2 new suites has been named the Dante Bathroom Suite and features a back to wall toilet and a 1 tap hole basin. The toilet combines clean smooth lines with rounded edges, creating an ultra modern design. Although the toilet is flush to the wall, there still remains the ability to take a waste outlet down through the floor as well as out to the wall, making it compatible for the majority of installations. Perhaps the stand out feature of the Dante toilet is its short projection, which at only 625mm, makes it suitable for the tightest of bathroom spaces. The matching basin compliments perfectly, with a projection of just 420mm, making this full set ideal for either a cloakroom or standard bathroom. The full suite, including a soft closing toilet seat, is available for just £169.95

25 Suggestions For How To Use Twitter

Great read from Dave Fleet:

Twitter sent an email around to users yesterday, giving four suggestions for getting the most out of Twitter in 2011:

1. Follow your interests: Follow the people who share your passions
2. Get specific: Follow your favourite leagues, teams, players, writers etc
3. Don’t panic: Search for hashtags and relevant accounts during emergencies to stay informed
4. Return to Twitter: A call for lapsed users to return to a service that apparently now has over 200 million user accounts

Four suggestions seems a little thin to me. I often get asked why people should use Twitter; here are 25 ideas for ways you can get value out of Twitter, with a mix of business and personal focus:

1. Stay in touch – Find your friends and use Twitter to post and read micro-updates on what’s going on in your lives
2. Meet new people – Get to know friends of your friends and widen your circle
3. Network professionally – Follow and get to know other people working in your industry
4. Find local events – Watch for interesting events that your connections are attending. Take advantage of the opportunity to take online connections offline
5. Research destinations – Travelling somewhere? Search for what people are saying, and poll your network for pointers on your destination
6. Get recommendations – Looking for a vendor, at home or at work? Ask your Twitter friends for recommendations on who to go with
7. Grow professionally – Identify the leaders in your industry. Read what they post; follow who they follow; learn from their activity
8. Fuel your passion – Find people who share the same interests as you, and geek it up! Let other peoples’ passion for your interests fuel your own
9. Influence the influencers – Get to know the people with influence in your field, before you need to ask them for anything
10. Stay on top of news – Follow news-related accounts, both traditional and non-traditional – to stay up-to-date with news in your area and your industry
11. Get to know journalists – Whether you post or you just lurk, follow the journalists in your field, learn what they read and what they like, and get to know what will be helpful for them
12. Research competitors – Follow your competitors. See what they post; see who they engage. Learn from their successes and their mistakes
13. Gain insights – Solicit feedback from your connections on ideas, products and services
14. Filter your reading – Rather than fearing drinkin from the Twitter firehose, create a list of people who consistently post things that interest you and let them generate your reading list. Bonus: you’ll find stories from sites you don’t normally check
15. Generate ideas – Whether it’s through case studies other people post, ideas sparked from conversations or reactions to your posts, let your connections help you to generate new ideas
16. Organize meetups – Found yourself with some time on your hands? See who else is around. Planning to be somewhere at a certain time? See if anyone wants to meet up with you
17. Boost your reputation – Post your own content or curate others’ to build your own reputation in your chosen area
18. Inbound job hunting - Network with peers in your industry, build relationships with hiring managers, develop your own reputation and watch the number of job offers you receive rocket
19. Outbound job hunting – Follow executives at the companies you want to work for and keep your eyes open for job openings
20. Stay on top of trends – Identify the thought leaders in your industry and stay on top of trends by listening to what they’re saying
21. Drive conversions – As a business user, point people towards your points of conversion… but don’t do it too often, and make sure it’s something people will find valuable
22. Engage with your community – Don’t focus all of your company’s posts on pushing content; try to make a majority of your posts more conversational
23. Solve problems – Monitor for problems with your company’s customers, and solve them
24. Re-purpose content – Have something interesting on one of your other online properties? Let people know where to find it
25. New business generation – Get to know people at companies you want to work with; watch for requests for help from people looking for your services; post/curate content that generates inbound demand

I’m sure you can think of a tonne more. Let me know what you’d add in the comments below!

Wayne's Comments: Any 7 will give you a BOUNCE in your business!!

Fluoride Debate Highlighted in Veritas Magazine

The second volume of ‘The Veritas’ magazine arrived in our office today, so I read through it to see what article caught my attention.

I found a story on fluoridated water that I found very informative but a bit of a shock.
Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay.

A new study shows that fluoridated water causes brain damage in children. Lowering children’s intelligence and IQ levels.

After comparing two Chinese villages, one with higher than average fluoride levels and the other with lower than average fluoride levels, experts found that there were 3 times as many children in the lower fluoride community with higher intelligence levels than the children in the higher fluoride village.

I would be happy with a false set of teeth and a high IQ level!!“Who in their right minds would risk lowering their child’s intelligence in order to reduce a small amount of tooth decay, for which the evidence is very weak?” says Tara Blank, Ph.D., Science and Health Officer of FAN.

Once a child is intellectually harmed, there is no turning back.
What do you think?