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Showing posts from February, 2013

The Vodafail Saga Continues

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We all heard about the Vodafail crisis of 2011. Phone calls were dropping out. Text messages weren't sent. People were kinda peeved they had paid serious money for phones that didn't do a very basic function. I myself was not with Vodafone, but heard stories from others. Then the attention died down. Vodafone advertised that they were building new towers. It was all over, right? Not quite. All this time later, the class action is about to start. Now is the time for the affected customers to register their concern. Companies have a responsibility to deliver their promises. There is a difficult choice to make. Do we move on and forgive them for something that happened years ago? Or should the legal consequences start now? It is difficult to say how this will turn out. But just remember the Vodasaga isn't over. 

Communicators are Vital to Social Media

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I can't believe I am even saying this because it seems completely obvious to me. But some older people are misled to believe social media is the product of young kids who like to 'muck around' on the internet. Or, even worse, those who are less familiar with social media think you need to be an expert in information technology to work it out. Social media and other online tools are for anyone of any age or profession. There is nothing wrong with understanding computers. It helps a lot. I admire the computing industry because I do not understand much of it. But other professions shouldn't be shoved aside. Some people make an unfair generalisation that dismisses perfectly capable communications people. They really think the arts or marketing types don't know how to make a blog. Well here it is. I would never dismiss any profession. Of course social media was born in the computing world, maybe close to Silicon Valley. And we needed that. But you can be from the c

The Cost of Privacy - Chrissie Swan

Now, I'm a big fan of the media. They bring us TV and stuff. But the media needs to be more ethical by respecting boundaries. Chrissie Swan, according to SMH , was willing to spend serious money to protect photos that could damage her reputation. The problem was Womens' Day would pay anything to publish pics of Chrissie smoking. They should have seen how much effort she was putting in. Chrissie was treating the snapshots the way Anna Scott reacted to revealing pics in Notting Hill. I am seeing genuine concern from Chrissie and her supporters. Not a possibly manufactured worry like Lara Bingle after her revealing photos. Womens' Day need to remember just because you have the money to over expose a private life, doesn't mean you should.

Max Braverman on Parenthood: complex or caricature?

I recently stumbled upon a show called Parenthood and was sorry to have not watched it sooner. The first season is filled with complicated relationships between flawed human characters. One who stood out was Max Braverman, who is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Who would have thought he was actually based on the son of creator Jason Katims? Does that add to the authenticity of Max's story? Not entirely. Katims' experience was quite different to how some others view Asperger's. Firstly, Katims hired a whole fleet of staff to make his son as 'normal' as possible. It doesn't always work that way. He told  Autism Speaks   he used "psychologists , in-house aides, teachers, PT, OT, speech therapists, you name it..." Gosh. And to think some Aspies go through normal school with no more help than anyone else. Yes it does happen. It's his right to tell his story the way he knows it. But not every Aspie is 'special needs.'  Secondly, it