As part of my series of posts helping mums and families save money this month with ANZ Febusave, today I’m looking at what not to buy when you or someone you know is “up the duff.” I’m a mum of four children, and I thought I’d seen it all. But the stuff some stores will make you think you need as... 

Word of Mouth has always been a double-edged sword for small business. I remember the saying  a local fish and chip shop had on their wall. “If you like our food, tell your friends. If you don’t like it, tell us!” Once upon a time, the worst that could happen would be a letter to the editor of the... 

While many people align technology adoption and use with age, the facts show it’s not all that easy to stereotype the creators of content in the online media. Today’s Pew Report on Teens and Social Media amplifies a very real issue in the US. Our teens and young adults are engaging in “new”... 

Shhh. Don’t talk about it. It’s not polite. But make sure you know what you think about it. And be prepared to fight for it, even if you are really not talking about it because it’s not polite. Try not to judge people for their views (that they’re not talking about because they’re too... 

Are you still reaching for the same goals you were three years ago? Do you feel like a hamster in a wheel? Everything you do needs a strategy – some of these strategies are comparatively easy, like going to work clean, neat and tidy. The key is to have a routine, and introduce the necessary tactics into that... 

As an official ANZ FebuSave blogger, I’m doing a post each week throughout February on how mums can save a few dollars to help get their budget in check. My first post (yes, I know it’s not February yet, but the Aussies need to get through the last week of school holidays!) is about how to avoid the craziness... 

Today, January 26, is the day we celebrate our Aussie-ness. Our family will be celebrating, even though we’re miles away. (Insert song like I Still Call Australia Home or my favourite, Great Southern Land – oh what the heck, I will). I think a game of backyard cricket is in order along with reminiscing... 

Moving to Denver meant we moved to the heart of Speed Stacking. We’d tried it out back in Australia, because you know, it’s freaky to watch so as soon as we saw the ad on tv we just had to give it a go. The sport hasn’t taken off in Australia like it has in other some places. But Denver is where it... 

Some mainstream media have incorporated the fantastic ability of the web to allow reader comments to stream live. Apparently, the misguided professional believes this is a wonderful way of operating public journalism, which seems to be so popular right now. Really, we’re demonstrating our real connections with... 

As I predicted right here on Mediamum.net in March 2009 when the Rocky Mountain News folded, Colorado’s the Denver Post is now also in trouble. Its owners are asking for bankruptcy protection. They’re still not humble. I’m hearing professional journalists and academics in journalism blame all sorts... 

If you are unfamiliar with the Nestle Family incident on social media last year, there are myriad blog posts about it, as well as a single piece of mainstream traditional media coverage. In a snapshot, Nestle brought a number of bloggers to the company’s headquarters in California from September 30-October 1,... 

As more bloggers, blogs and readers enter our universe, companies begin to more fully recognise the power of their voices. These companies approach us all with opportunities to “work together” and it can be tough to navigate that landscape. Take a step back. Look at your blog with a reader’s eye. Just... 

In The Sydney Morning Herald’s role as gatekeeper/the fourth estate, those paying for its content deserve a standard of professionalism that is better than those it does not pay for. Is a t-shirt necessary to tell the difference between professional journalists and citizens? You can buy this one at www.zazzle.com. That’s... 

The Islam and the Media conference, held by the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder (January 7-10) was a huge success in bringing together leaders in thought and practise on religion and media. But you wouldn’t know it if you’d been watching mainstream media. At... 

I’m very excited to be attending the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston, Texas from February 18-20. The schedule of events is chock full of sessions that I want to learn from. I think this conference is one which really does enlighten all parties – marketers and ‘moms’ –  on how the other operates.... 

Ah the miracle of medicine, look how much you’ve done for women and babies. Birthing in the Western World is no longer fraught with danger, thanks to your hand. Or is it? Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The oh-so convenient Christmas miracle story splashed internationally across mass media headlines... 

“Twitter’s a fad.” “The young kids use Twitter because they don’t want to have a real conversation.” “Twitter is destroying society.” “How do you know they’re real?” “I really don’t care that much about what you’re doing all day.” I’ve... 

If you’re looking for a great deal for skiing, then a little preparation is in order. Think it out early, and you’ll save lots. Leave it to the last minute, and you’ll be paying for it – literally. As a grad student mum with extremely limited funds, I have got hold of some great deals, and I... 

I have four kids. I believe in Santa. This Christmas, we saw yet another moron decide it was a good idea to try and blow up a plane. At Christmas. Christmas is my favourite time of the year and I’ll be blasted (no pun intended) if anyone’s going to take that away from me. So I’ve decided that I’ll... 

Sometimes something in your daily routine can remind you of how connected we can be. This semester I’ve caught the bus to campus on monday afternoons, on my way to my Human Computer Interaction class. When you catch the bus on a regular basis at a regular time, you’re quite often joined by a few others... 

Disney really has wrapped up every part of entertainment. Everywhere, the Disney organization has a presence. Even in this horrid economy, Disney reported an 18% increase in profit for the fourth quarter this year. The brand resonance of Disney is nothing short of amazing. Older women remember their favorite Disney... 

Time for a brain dump. I have just completed reading work coming from Mor Naaman, Jeffrey Boase and Chih-Hui Lai at Rutgers, slated for CSCW 2010, on the content of messages in what they’ve decided to call “social awareness streams.” And right there I have an issue. I’m lumping it together with... 

Usually, I don’t consciously pay for content. I say ‘consciously’ because if I click on a link and there’s a paywall, I won’t do it. I also don’t subscribe to any newspapers or magazines (online or in ‘dead tree’ format). Basically, the quality of the content I’m... 

This week I was happily invited to join some other Colorado-based bloggers for a few adult snacks, refreshments and the opportunity to build a basket of goodies to take home. It was a great evening, put on by Glade’s parent company, S. C. Johnson’s wonderful PR team from Edelman in Chicago, to promote their... 

I have a great amount of data from the recent NestleFamily twitterstorm. Luckily, I was able to see the storm coming. As a few of the attendees began tweeting about meeting up a few days prior to the start of #NestleFamily, I could see that there was going to be some fallout. My interest had been piqued a few months... 

To be influential in social media takes effort. It doesn’t just happen. You can’t buy it. It’s not advertising. So if that’s what it’s not, how can organizations and people get to be really influential? Here are the steps to influence. When you and your brand get it right, that’s...