The excellent LabourStart site has announced its venture into the world of social networking with a new venture called UnionBook: We know that UnionBook will never be as big as the giant commercial networks like Facebook, but once we have several thousand trade unionists using it, I’m confident that it will become a powerful tool [...]
READ MOREJanuary, 2009
Zadie Smith on Obama
Zadie Smith, who is an extraordinary novelist and critic, has some fascinating things to say about Obama in this lecture given last month at the New York Public Libray. “Speaking in tongues” is an entertaining speech and insightful on identity in today’s world.
READ MORETwitter no longer cool
Now that News Ltd has jumped on the bandwagon, Twitter has lost a lot more street cred. Twitter will go the way of myspace. Hhmm, I wonder if there is a former Twitter users group on facebook yet. I stopped twittering a month ago and my life has returned to normal.
READ MORENSW ALP moves beyond satire
The internal goings-on of the NSW ALP Government have become so absurd that it is now difficult to read reports of these apparently serious power brokering efforts without laughing out loud. Who could make up all this stuff about factions, sub-factions, trogs, terrigals and the rest. Meanwhile, the state’s hospital system is apparently in crisis. [...]
READ MORESacked or just ‘role impacted’
Ya gotta love euphemisms. All the way from ‘collateral damage’ to ‘role impacts’. Aussie ‘wealth manager’ MLC, which is currently running TV ads stressing the ‘long-term’ nature of investing, has today confirmed that in the short-term 120 of its staff will have their roles impacted by the global financial crisis: “Around 120 people are affected [...]
READ MOREAn excellent lecture on the Internet and democracy
This was a lecture given by Stephen Coleman, professor of political communication at Leeds University at the RSA in London at the end of last year. It includes discussion of the Obama campaign and a very good Q&A session. Here is the blurb from the Princeton site: Coleman believes there is a disconnect between government and the [...]
READ MORERudd should consider “moneycare”
Sure. it’s a dopey name but, hey, that means there’s plenty of room for highly paid marketing types to get paid oodles to workshop, focus group test etc. But seriously, the idea is simple after the state of your health, and your access to health care (Medicare, get it?) another big thing that determines your [...]
READ MOREThe 3 rules of the Internet
Very funny.
READ MOREDodson’s ‘invasion day’ debate is a step backwards
Australian of the year, Mick Dodson, has called for a national discussion of the idea that Australia Day should be moved, Prime Minister Rudd has quickly cut Dodson’s idea adrift before it did him any collateral political damage, as has Malcolm Turnbull. The problem with Dodson’s idea is that it is essentially divisive. What Dodson, [...]
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