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The interesting parts of being Dry this July

mediamum — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:22:29 +0000

I am in my second year of being part of Dry July. And I’m noticing some interesting things!

Dry July is an Australian fundraising initiative which seeks to drive funds and awareness of the efforts of Australian medical institutions who are leading the way in cancer research, and cancer patient support and medical care. When you sign up as a participant (and you don’t have to be an Australian to do it), you can select the institution you’d like the funds you raise to go to. I am proud to be supporting the wonderful efforts of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.

Last year was my first Dry July. I heard about it late in the piece, and missed the first week – but still managed to raise some funds and even more so, raise the awareness of cancer treatments, research and future-focused goals. This year I was ready to start from day one. Make no mistake, I realise I probably will not raise a heck of a lot of money as an individual – but I will definitely raise a lot of awareness.

The most interesting parts have been:

People say they want to get together for a drink, but they don’t care if you’re not drinking

I have learned that when someone asks about getting together for Happy Hour, or a drink, they’re not actually expecting you to come back with “Oh, thanks but I’m not drinking this month.” Of course, they are interested in the socialising. If you mention you’re not drinking they will probably think you’re passing altogether on spending time with them. Instead, accept and when you get there, order your non-alcoholic bevvy. And when they ask why, tell them. And ask for a donation

It freaks my friends out when I don’t drink

I do enjoy a glass of wine. My good friends and Jed are a little disrupted by my non-alcohol self. They want to fill my glass, and while I’m perfectly fine and still lots of fun without alcohol, they are finding it weird. And that’s kinda fun to watch. Dry July lets you have someone buy you a Golden Ticket, which is a free pass for a day off the wagon. Jed’s buying me one. It’s worth $25 to him, to see me with a glass of wine in my hand.

Side Effects: I’m saving money and sleeping better

Boulder is a town that runs on Happy Hour through the summer. Every day the plethora of eateries features long Happy Hour specials, and people meet up to wile away a long summer evening on a patio, so being dry in that environment is unusual. I didn’t have any side effects like headaches or cravings (which some who are doing this are reporting). I do think I’m sleeping more deeply – really resting – and the lack of Happy Hours means I’m saving a little money.

Those side effects are far better than the ones my mum is having as she undergoes her chemotherapy. Cramps, tingling in her feet and hands, etc that are a constant reminder. Of course, they’re better than the alternative.

There’s not much I can really do for my mum, and for others who are undergoing treatment for cancer. But I can dedicate this month to them, and in particular my mum. Sometimes not drinking is inconvenient. But so is chemo. And cancer is more than ‘inconvenient’. It’s a disease that we have all been touched by in some way. I didn’t choose July as the month to be dry in. And my mum didn’t choose to have to muck around with cancer for two rounds. She doesn’t deserve it. Nobody does.

If this is all I can do, then I’m doing it.

And if you’d be kind enough to follow this link to sponsor me for the month, then I’d be really appreciative. Any amount at all is gratefully accepted. And telling others about this fulfills the other goal – awareness and education is what we need to continue the great developments in battling cancer, and in supporting those who are travelling the journey. Thanks so much.

No related posts.

Boycotters and the challenge of taking a stand

mediamum — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:01:53 +0000

Boycotting a company is like being committed to something in a big way. It’s like getting married.

Like marriage, you are making a declaration that’s public. A formal representation of something you’re standing for. It’s no longer just a private aggravation. Deciding to actively, publicly boycott a company is a big deal. When you take that stand, and have a public presence that is noted by others, it’s even more of a challenge.

Just like marriage, everyone has an opinion on how you should do it. Whether they’re boycotting as well, or not.

Like marriage, there’s challenges. Some days you wonder why the heck you got into this. Why was it so necessary to you to take such a public stand? Couldn’t you have just quietly avoided those products? The challenges come from all over. There’s the ones that come from within, as you stand in the supermarket with a whining kid who really wants a chocolate bar and Nestle brands are what they’re reaching for.

When others who are not boycotting question you about your position, with a judgmental attitude, sometimes you wish you’d kept it to yourself.

This satirical plate from 1775 depicts Edenton North Carolina women's tea boycott. That's a cause I could never get behind.

When others who are also boycotting question you over things you say and do, it’s also something that makes you wish you’d kept it to yourself. Sometimes it seems too hard. It sometimes must feel there is very little solidarity in a boycott. You’re on your own path.

However, just like a marriage, when it goes well, it’s amazing. Someone thanks you for opening their eyes. People ask honest questions, trying to find out why you are boycotting and you feel heard. You sleep better at night knowing that you’re being true to something you hold dear. Some people respect you for your beliefs. The wise ones also respect your view even when they don’t share it.

The irony is, of course, that boycotting a company should feel more like a divorce than a marriage.

Oh please, not Nestle again…

Only for a second, okay?: Right now I feel very strongly for every woman who is trying to find her feet with their dislike of Nestle. While I don’t personally boycott the company, I, like many others, try to purchase alternatives. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know the various battles Nestle has had over the last 30-plus years due to shoddy business practises. But boycotts have been in operation for many years – and whether it’s Proctor and Gamble, Segregation, or whatever other company or practice – boycotts gain a focus on the boycotters as well as whatever it is they’re boycotting.

So where do you stand?

There are other issues which are incredibly important to many, and are socially worthy, but which I just don’t pick up a placard for. Lots of good causes and social ills that need attention. Food, mosquito nets, pedophilia, gay rights, pollution…. it’s all too much.

So we each pick something. We must. If we don’t get irritated and active about something, then we get the world we deserve.

Boycotting KFC - made more difficult or easier when Susan Komen's cancer charity benefits when you buy a bucket?

Today I realised that we need all kinds of people. We need everyone to be aware of things that some feel important enough to be labelled as ‘activist’ about. Even if the cause is not one you personally agree with, having respect for those who do, and finding out why they hold such strong beliefs is key – it’s all about tolerance, understanding and respect.

If we all shared the same level of commitment, on the same exact causes, then many would go without attention. It’s not necessary for everyone to believe everything to the same level – but it IS necessary for everyone to try and understand, and appreciate other people’s positions and beliefs. Take out the judgment, and just get to know the other position. Only then can a conversation happen.

The harder facts: What your alignments say

Beyond Nestle, the greater lesson is that in 2010, the year of the Active Voice Blogger, the people who take a public stand on a cause have far greater social capital and value than any blogger with 50 or more brand associations on a seemingly endless telemarketing stream. The fact is, it’s easy to be popular. It’s easy to sell out. That’s not real social capital. When something really matters, nobody will take you seriously when you’re spouting about the wonders of bagels, cheese, Disney, baby wipes, orange juice… all before lunchtime. Bloggers are not the print Womens Weekly, with 20 pages of ads before you get to real content. Bloggers operate on credibility gained through authenticity. That’s a key difference to traditional media. More irony: bloggers can’t afford to be seen as similar to traditional media. That stream of freebies and short-term gains is drying up.

The alignments an organisation makes also reflects on its credibility. Perhaps BlogHer, in its 80 sponsor relationships, needs Nestle on board to run the conference it wants to hold. Perhaps it doesn’t.

I love knowing women who make a stand. Especially when it’s obvious that they’ll put their beliefs first, knowing they’re cutting off any future potential relationship with (ie income from) a company. Because when those people turn around and say something’s great, I’m more likely to believe them. I could not be more proud of the fact that my roomie for BlogHer 2010 is none other than @phdinparenting, who is the most authentic, giving and gracious boycotter who is typical of many I meet – her actions are fully considered and from the heart. I am sure we’ll be having long night conversations. And I simply can’t wait. Annie is smart, switched on, committed and continually self-examining – yet, not afraid to lead the charge and stand up for what she believes in.

That’s unusual.

Irony number three: It could be there is no greater brand ambassador than a boycotter – and these are the hardest people to convince to spout your messages.

The reason I don’t have a food blog

mediamum — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:50:05 +0000

I have a number of friends who have amazing, spectacular blogs about food. You should totally visit them. Louise Ross is an Aussie who lives in Boulder (and a dear pal). She runs Market to Mouth. She cooks amazing food, and has a magical way of making you feel like you can do it too. Her blog is personal, and just plain friendly. (Apart from that, when Louise stepped in to look after the boys while Jed, Daz and I were pitching TribeVibe to VCs in Silicon Valley late last year, the boys were spoiled silly. They STILL talk about Louise and her amazing food.)

Taking pictures from behind is probably not a good idea. Noted.

The key to some other great food blogs is the brilliant use of photography. Indian Food Rocks and Use Real Butter are just two examples of blogs that feature such delicious images of food that you really need to put plastic over your keyboard to stop the saliva killing your laptop. Honestly, reading these blogs make me want to buy a better camera and learn to use it, as well as cook something that wasn’t pre-frozen.

Recently we all went out to dinner for Jed’s birthday, which was awesome. And I thought hey, I can take pics of us at dinner and kind of do some food-related post because my other Coloradan friends make it look so easy and totally amazing! How hard can it be? Like really?

Well, it didn’t turn out so well. And I decided to show you exactly why I’m not having a food blog.

Finger in the frame.

I’m blaming the family.

And the staging.

And I’m sure the food was at fault too, if it had been left on the plate long enough for me to actually blame it.

Sigh.

So back to writing about media and other inane stuff I go. And wishing I knew Photoshop at even a preliminary level so that this last picture of Charlie could have less Charlie and more milkshake. But I don’t think that will help me much either. I’d need to be Jan Kabili, who is like the Criss Angel of Photoshop (and is awesomely nice too).

Maybe a candy blog? Now THAT’s an idea…

Mums and moms all hate laundry, even though we tweet about it

mediamum — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:17:04 +0000

I’ve been asked why mom bloggers seem to have a fascination with laundry?

(What is the most polite way I can say this?)

Because it’s a pain in the arse. (There ya go. Actually, that was easier than I thought it would be.)

Just because we tweet/blog or otherwise about different detergents doesn’t mean we love laundry. (Exceptions are the psycho pretenders who say they love laundry because they’re getting a kick back, a la #gno. It’s not independent evaluation – and WE ALL KNOW IT. No woman is dancing in the laundry unless they’ve got a screw loose. Ha. I said screw.)

40kg of laundry at my place in Australia (5 loads). Yes, it gets sorted into smaller baskets for family members as it comes off the line.

We all have lives. Busy lives. And laundry gets in the way. It’s yet another ball we have to juggle because there’s nothing more annoying than a kid/husband complaining about the state of their clothes (no undies, ’swamp rat smell’, odd socks missing, etc) while you’re racing around trying to make everything just work at the same time as dressing so your butt looks a bit smaller and that brown stuff on the wall is totally Nutella and not anything else.

I don’t have time to wash things twice. In fact, I don’t have time to check whether the detergent worked. I just expect it to. And damn it, when a detergent seems to not do a job and in fact just sets a stain instead of getting rid of it, it pisses me off. A lot. It drives me crazy, because I find out about it when I’m putting the clothing on again, after folding it and putting it away.

I don’t have time for this crap. (See? Three references to time in a row. This is a big deal.) Finding out there’s dirt marks still on clothing when I thought it was washed, drives me nuts. So I tell people. And so do all of us. It so happens my main method of communication with all my mom/mum pals is social media. And in social media, I’m loud.

We’re not fascinated with laundry, dear advertisers. We hate it. And we just want your stuff to work. That’s all.

Your Free Focus Group

The impetus for this post?

Bloody hell, Sun. I thought I was going up a notch in buying your ‘All’ 3x concentrated laundry liquid. I think the damn stuff put MORE marks on the clothing than they had going in. They don’t even smell that good either. I hate you. I got a better wash out of the $2.50 cheapo Sun bleach powder stuff I got at Dollar Tree. I keep getting coupons for Tide (which is pricey even with a $1.50 off coupon), so maybe I’ll try that. I think I got a one-try sachet of Tide once and used it, but here’s a note – one time is not enough to really evaluate a laundry soap. I need at least three or four goes at it. So while I used it for one load, it wasn’t memorable enough for me to actually buy it, especially when the price point is so high. Do some freaking research. When we find a good laundry soap we stick with it. But it needs to freaking work. You might want to think about that. Or bite me. Your choice. I hate laundry. I just don’t have the TIME.

I really wasn’t dumpster diving, officer

mediamum — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:45:51 +0000

A few months after we moved to Boulder, I was informed by sage, experienced people of the wonders of dumpster diving at the end of Spring semester. When all the students go back to their moms and dads for the summer. I heard fanciful stories that instead of giving stuff away or selling it, students just put all their things in the dumpsters, including unused detergent, soap, lightbulbs, etc.

At first I thought eww. Because dumpsters in Australia are so filthy even the most hardened drunk won’t venture into them. And I’m not ‘that’ person.

But as time wore on, and I guess as I saw more and more of the type of behaviour the students here have, I thought it would be worth ‘having a look’. And now we’re moving to a larger place (yay) where nothing other than the house is rented (fail), it’s time I got stuff like bookcases, desks, cutlery, linen and stuff. (Please note: most some of these I would not get from a dumpster. Even I have limits.)

Giving the coathangers a second chance. Life's tough.

So last weekend Elisabeth and I went out. For a drive. Down some alleys. To sight see. (This may or may not be related to the fact that the local newspaper ran a story on how it is illegal to take things from dumpsters. So we were ensuring we weren’t going to do anything illegal – like recycling stuff people were throwing into landfill – because that would be bad. You’re welcome, Boulder sheriffs.)

Coathanger rescue is socially responsible

Funnily enough, on our sightseeing tour of the alleys of Boulder, we came across a mass of coathangers. Just sitting next to a dumpster. That’s totally NOT dumpster diving, and coathangers appear to eat each other in our houses, so we liberated these from the alley. You’re welcome, alley.

Whoops! Elisabeth nearly falling into a dumpster. (Yes, this was posed, officer. But it's okay because it's awesome.)

And then we continued our sightseeing (because you know, it’s a side of Boulder I had not seen yet and as a startup mum I’m always one step away from living in an alley), and before I could warn her of it being directly in her way, and possibly because she was distracted by her constant talking, Elisabeth tripped and nearly fell into a dumpster. It was just craziness – how irresponsible, leaving the dumpster right where anyone could just trip into it. What is this world coming to? I was very worried, so I got up there too – but I didn’t fall in. Because I’m smart. I held onto the edge. And guess what? Insanely, someone had obviously accidentally thrown out about 50 brand new tshirts all still in their folded sizes, 10 XBox front covers (still in packaging), 6 very nice yellow satchels still in their brand new packaging, hundreds of packaged EA sponsored CU Buffs banners and about two billion brand new library bags – all branded EA Sports.

So we liberated this brand new, still in its original packaging stuff. It literally filled my (rental) car boot. Did I already say it was brand new? We kept a few for personal use, and put the rest into a donation bin for abused and neglected children – which is where they should have been put in the first place. You can see about half of it (yes, just half of it) in the featured pic. Jed asked me why I did this. I told him I kind of have an issue with people not recycling, but I have an even bigger issue with things going straight from the factory line into landfill.

I’m sure the person who put them in the dumpster probably was on their way to one of the many donation bins around Boulder, but fell into the dangerously placed dumpster with them, just like Elisabeth did, and needed to let all this brand new stuff go so the person could scramble to safety. That’s totally understandable. (Oh, and there was also a small black coffee table in there. So we liberated that too. It now is in our little loungeroom and holds all our game gear.)

Nice coffee table that someone accidentally left in the same dumpster. (Picture entirely posed, officer. I swear.)

We were invigorated outraged by this experience, so we thought we’d check to see if other dumpsters or things around them looked dangerous. So we could warn people or fix it. Because we are nice people and that’s just how we roll.

Why Craigslist is helping the world be socially responsible

I’d seen an ad in the Free section on Craigslist (which is like the Trading Post for Aussies, but it’s entirely online, and in fact Craigslist exists in Australia but nobody really knows about it) for a couch someone was throwing out, so we used the reliable GPS (rather than the unreliable Elisabeth’s memory for directions to streets – it’s Pearl, then Spruce, then Pine, woman!) to find out whether the couch was liberated or not. It had been so we were happy, thinking of the couch being set free, loved, somewhere. But right near where the couch had been (and totally not in a dumpster because they were too big) were a very nice large IKEA bookcase, and a tv set with remote taped to the top, and a sign that said “Free. Still working well.” (The sign was on the TV, because of course the bookcase didn’t need a sign. It was obvious that it worked. Maybe you don’t need this kind of explanation.) Well, to leave them behind was inhumane. So then the car was full.

Then I came home and got a little itchy which could totally have been my brain working overtime thinking of little things you need a microscope to see that bite a lot and leave you with an illness, which might explain the big headache I had this week. But I had a shower and washed my clothes and now I wasn’t itchy any more. So maybe the headache is an aneurysm after all, because I had that all week. But I don’t have it now. So maybe it’s only an aneurysm from Monday to Friday. I don’t know. I’ll have to think that through a some more.

Where are they now?

The TV. Which is obviously not in a dumpster.

Until we move next month, the tv is sitting on the floor in the middle of our little loungeroom. Which is not ideal, but in another way it kind of is. Because it is in the way of the tv we currently use and the signal from the remote doesn’t read if you’re sitting on the couch. Which of course, you always are if you’re watching tv. But I’m not moving it because it’s fun to watch family members try to make the signal reach the tv without getting off their butts, by waving their arms around and swearing a lot. It’s better than the show they’re trying to tune to. And that crap’s why I know God exists.

By the way, on a serious note: If you are Electronic Arts, then you should know that someone who obviously worked for you, probably in promotions, and lived in Boulder threw a mass load of your branded stuff into landfill. That’s a freaking massive fail. And if you’re that person, you should be banned from living in Boulder. You’re anti-Boulder. And, by the way, so is the ridiculous rule of Boulder authorities that says we can’t recycle other people’s things. It’s anti-everything good. You might want to rethink that.

Birthdays, connectedness and social media

mediamum — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:19:01 +0000

Jed: How old are you this year?

Me: I’m 27.

Jed: Oh thank goodness. You’ve been 24 for 15 years now. Glad to see you’ve decided to move on.

Me: I have not. I’ve been 27 for a while. I embrace my age.

Jed: Yes. Yes you do. Especially when your daughter is catching up with you.

Me: I could totally have given birth at 9. That happened in China or something. It’s because I went to an all-girls high school. I married very young. Anyway, don’t give me grief, it’s my birthday. I’m 27. Where’s my cake?

It’s easy to think that after a certain age, your life should be something to look back on each birthday and reflect with a self-satisfied grin. It should be about chocolate, wine, good friends and a drunken refrain of “My Way.”

I love Halloween!

I’m not doing that.

This is the second birthday I’ve had in the US. Each birthday I’m reminded of the people, animals and things I miss. While their love surrounds me still, I wish I had Max and Bec here with me. My mum and dad. My dogs. And yes, even my stuff that’s in storage in Sydney. (Because I’m that shallow. Back off.)

But this year is better than last. I am being literally flooded with birthday wishes through social media of all forms, including people who are very special to me, and whom I’ve met while living here. While I’m on the US leg of my life. My mum sent me a spectacular handmade card and my brother and his family will skype with me from Sydney. My daughter chats with me from Armidale, country NSW. My cousins and friends wish me cheeky happy birthdays from London. And I am thrilled that I have friends doing the same, from all across the USA.

Social media means I don’t feel as displaced as I could be.

I’m still rather teary, but I’m still doing it my way. I’m not ready to reflect yet. The journey is still happening. I’m looking forward.

The fact I have no idea where I’ll be living this time next year, but that I have so many things bouncing around, shows that I’m at a high point. And I’m very lucky to have good friends and family all around the world who care.

I can’t wait to see my family and friends in Sydney in 78 days – I miss holding them and seeing them face to face. I’m looking forward to the opportunities that are coming up everywhere. I’m busier than ever.

Some things are different. I have found I love winter most of all in Colorado, and I love summer most of all in Sydney. (Extreme much?) However, some things haven’t changed. I still want to lose 10 kg (20 pds). But I still want cake.

And so it goes. Wherever you are in the world, whatever your time zone, we are connected. A click away.

The one where I’m crowdsourcing stalkers at SXSW

mediamum — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:14:18 +0000

Dear SXSW attendees:

I know you’re all excited. You’re going to spend a whole heap of time being all geeky and fun, and drinking and stuff. Talking about startups, design, innovation, music… ooh I’ll bet you’re all tingly.

My husband is one of you. He’s kid-at-Christmas excited. He loves Texas and had a ball there last year. As a startup geek guy, he can’t wait for a whole week of indulgence.

Good on him. I hope he has a great time.

But now to the point of this post – apart from his blue eyes and salt-and-pepper hair, my husband has an Australian accent.

I have seen the way females respond to a male with this shrimp-on-the-barby quality. It’s a little over the top. During SXSW women go a little nuts for startup guys – add the accent, and it’s all downhill for the startup widow wife.

Unlike some other (better known) startup guys who think it’s okay to flirt and carry on while away from home, as long as they “don’t go home with anyone at the end of the night,” (I’m not naming names, but you freaking well know who you are – and people do talk about you, by the way), it’s not going to cut it with me.

Stop whining, woman. What’s the point?

I’m not going to SXSW (someone has to stay here and look after the kids and write a thesis), so… I’m running a Where’s Waldo-style competition on my husband for attendees of SXSW. Let’s call it my little contribution to citizen journalism.

Ooh, a competition from a mom blogger? (Who’d have thought, right?) But how do I WIN?

This is Jed. Print it out. Keep it handy. (Note the wedding ring.) Some call it stalking, I call it love.

All you have to do is find my husband, Jed (gorgeous guy – see the pic – with accent). Take pictures of him, and post them on whatever social network you use (Brightkite, Twitpic, Flickr, whatever). Tag them ‘Jed’. You can then tweet me the link (@Mediamum), or post them in the comments for this post. Each entry will get a number, and I’ll draw a winner using the Random Generator tool. The winner will get a $25 gift card from the place of their choice. The more pics you take, the more opportunities you have to win.

I love my husband. If I squint a bit, he looks like Mark Harmon, and that’s something too good to lose. I’m sure you understand.

Thanks, and I hope you rock the world at SXSW. (Don’t make me come down there.)

*Jed has given his blessing for this competition to happen. He thinks it’s funny. That will be the case unless everyone there starts taking his picture. Then I’ll be the one laughing.

**Do not chew me out for being a loser wife. I love mah man and no biaitch is gettin’ in mah way (hair flick). That said, he has my blessing to drink and talk and stuff. Just as long as his hands are in plain view at all times.

The merits of tweeting an abortion. (Yes, really.)

mediamum — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:15:16 +0000

An American woman named Angie Jackson has decided it was a good idea to share her experience of aborting her pregnancy with the world, via YouTube and Twitter.

A mother of a four-year-old who goes to the trouble of outlining the reasons why she decided on an abortion with RU486, Angie says her social media posts are her attempt to “demistify” the process, and let everyone know that for her, the whole abortion thing “isn’t such a big deal.”

Here’s the video of her saying she is “having an abortion (insert dramatic pause) right now.” (Don’t worry, there are no gunky parts, which is not what the Sydney Morning Herald would have you believe in its reporting of the story, with the warning the paper placed at the beginning of the video.)

She also twittered the entire process. You can see the community response by searching the hashtag #livetweetingabortion. And there is even a twibbon. Yes, just when you thought all the really terrible twibbon ideas were had, this one leaves nothing to the imagination.

This is a story with so many news hooks in it, a news editor would begin planning a long lunch. Front page … done. Abortion, methods of abortion, social media, social media plus abortion. Oh, and atheism. Check the mainstream media stories on this, and you’ll see it all – surface level crapola about all the obvious news angles, lots of sensationalist eye rolling and no depth.

Look at the blogosphere reactions and you see some insightful commentary. Feministe, for example, reminds us how many women go to get abortions all the time, and how veiled our usual discussions of the subject are.

Deep breath.

Now, I personally switch between being pro-life and pro-choice (knowing that my choice will always be pro-life, no matter what, for me, but recognizing others may not feel that way. I actually have trouble with this whole stance – if I feel so strongly about it, then why am I not ready to instill my thoughts on others? I do it with breastfeeding, don’t I? And for some this means I can’t be a feminist. Feminists are not Sarah Palin. Feminists are not pro-life. People look at me and don’t think feminist. Oh really raised eyebrow? But I digress.) This is not something I throw around a lot, because as Feministe correctly states, it’s a heated debate that I don’t choose to enter. However, I have my views and I respect other people their rights to theirs. I am kind of okay with that, but I don’t know if I always will be. But for now, it’ll do. Until you judge me and be really nasty and call me names, and say horrible things about the size of my arse. Then you’ll push me over the edge and I won’t share my Aussie accent with you any more. And we all know who loses in that equation.

While I disagree with Angie’s views on the subject, I think her decision to speak about it in a very open conversation is a great one. (It’s okay. I’ll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor from shock.) I believe everyone should endeavour to hear every side of a conversation, especially views that don’t mesh with their own. Especially when you have a passionate belief on one side.

In fact, to take it even further – I wanted to hear what she had to say, even though I knew her decision would not have been mine. And I think other people should be brave enough to do that without a knee-jerk reaction (‘jerk’ being the operative word).

So instead of looking at the mainstream media stories reporting the incredulity of using social media to talk about such a politically incorrect subject, I think we can all learn more from reading and seeing personal stories about the subject, from all sides. Only then can we be truly educated and tolerant – if not understanding – of each other. Each to their own.

How to make a quick family video with Windows Movie Maker

mediamum — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:32:35 +0000

When Max leaped across from Sydney to join us for three weeks in January, we took lots of pictures. As mums do.

I promised myself I’d get them organised, and create a nice montage. As mums do.

Now we’re halfway through February, and the planned montage didn’t happen because other things got in the way. As they do.

Max enjoying the view.

I decided I was being too much of a perfectionist. I just needed to do it. So this morning I opened the new Windows Movie Maker, and plugged in a series of pictures we took as we hiked the Flatirons.

The pictures included views, close ups of snow, crappy ones of trees, some that were out of focus and even one of Max’s jacket that he’d thrown aside as he climbed the final part of the Flatiron, knowing I was coming up behind. (Even teenagers on hikes think mum will pick up after them.) All of them combined were a memory for us.

For the first time ever I clicked on the Auto Movie feature.

Auto Movie allows you to choose some music to go in the background, from the selection already on your computer.

It then crunches it all, does the transitions for you and so on. You can then watch the result, go in and make a few changes if you would like to, and publish directly to YouTube or DVD, or just save it on your computer.

From the moment I opened Movie Maker to the time I was watching the finished product was within about 40 minutes – much faster than if I’d painstakingly put the whole thing together myself. As I had always done before.

As mums, success is about recognising when you can give a little in order to get things done, rather than be a perfectionist at everything (and let’s face it, rarely are we completely happy with what we produce even after days of working on it). That said, I think Movie Maker did a darned fine job. I like to think I could do better than a automated system, but you know what, just quietly? I think this is probably proof I’m no James Cameron.

Windows Movie Maker has always been a favourite of mine. It’s intuitive, easy (ie obvious) to use for non-techy people, and produces very respectable results that you can easily adjust if you’re unhappy or just want to tweak things.

Windows Movie Maker opens the realm of possibility for my 9 and 12 year olds to make movies without paying for lots of equipment or training. In a world where we want to encourage people to have a voice and create content, ease of use and access for people of all ages and technical abilities is the most important factor. Movie Maker gives that to you. Others don’t.

I hope you enjoy watching the little montage. And I’d love to see your own efforts!

Pew Report dispels the Digital Native myth

mediamum — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:18:01 +0000

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” media, but on a very limited level.

The majority of them are not creating new content.

In fact, the number of them who blog themselves (just 14%) or even who comment on blogs, is dropping.

Many of us celebrate the new democracy offered by the Web. However, when so few of our young people are engaging beyond watching viral YouTube videos or speaking within a small realm of personal IRL friends (or believing that’s who they’re talking to) on the small stage of their individual Facebook accounts, we have a problem. Democracy isn’t served unless people use their voices.

Picture Credit: Creative Commons cartoon by @gapingvoid.

Access is one thing. Content creation intended for a public audience is entirely another.

I’m around a lot of students every day. When they’re asked who has a blog, from a room of 150-200 students, only a handful of hands go up. In a Journalism class.

What are they waiting for?

We need courses that teach young people (and everyone else) that they don’t need a university degree to have a voice. And that every voice deserves to be heard. We need to show young people how to use the simplest of tools – the mobile phones and cameras they all hold – as citizen journalists, not just for sexting (they figured that one out all on their own). We need to show them how easy it is to set up a blog, and just as importantly, how to get people to read it.

Our young people need to be encouraged to be brave, honest, and opinionated – in a public forum. We need to respect their right to speak, and engage with them when they are used.

Until then, democracy is not being served.

Why breastfeeding is like abortion for feminism

mediamum — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:07:56 +0000

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 polite), but whisper about their views and about them… and judge them privately in your own sphere, even though it’s kind of impolite. It’s okay, because it’s a moral thing.

Forget religion and politics. For women, breastfeeding and abortion are the topics that align, define and alienate us. They have become moral panics. They are black and white… and conditional.

“She got raped. She’s not married. She’s too poor. She hasn’t got a good supply. She needs to go back to work. She’s happily married. She’s a stay at home mom. She should be “better educated.” The baby would have been healthy. She’s selfish. She’s sacrificing herself. There’s really no excuse. She doesn’t need an excuse.”

Photo credit: Flickr creative commons, Nationaal Archief

You’re a nazi if you breastfeed. You’re a babykiller if you have an abortion. If you formula feed you’re stupid. If you are pro-life you take away women’s control of their bodies.

No wonder the arguments are so passionate. It’s confusing.

Worse, you can’t be a feminist if you do anything that could be considered by either side as “anti-female.” Boobs out or boobs in. Womb used or unused. Feminists are so divided that no matter what, by some reckoning you’re out of the “club.”

The reason why feminism has fallen apart is because women have become judgmental of each other. We are fragmented. We are fighting.

I fear that because of the ferocity of second wave feminism as well as the 30-year-old Susan Faludi Backlash folklore, we don’t want to understand each other. We are fearful our views and will be harshly judged by the very same women we desperately want to be connected to.

We don’t like to talk about it because it’s impolite. And when we do, we tear each other apart instead of trying to really understand the other point of view. We know we won’t agree. But now we won’t listen either. There is no “live and let live” because it’s become a moral panic.

Second wave feminism believed the bottle and formula were key to being released from the home and getting into the boardroom. Over time, the practice of breastfeeding is being reclaimed as a powerful feministic province. Today, feminism and breastfeeding are aligned. But the stigma and bruises of the battle are still tender.

I’m hearing that you can’t be pro-life and be a feminist. To many, pro-life is equal to anti-woman. I think it’s a shame.

Photo credit: Flickr creative commons, State Library of Qld.

Feminism has achieved so much, but we have lost a lot along the way. The battles of feminism and those of abortion and breastfeeding are tainted with women trying to validate and define their own identities and worth. In the 21st Century, can we not find some level ground of respect? Wouldn’t treating other women with respect, who hold opposite viewpoints, demonstrate an accomplishment for feminism?

10 classic movies your kids should see

mediamum — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:44:32 +0000

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 of the major theatre chains and instead make the most of a home family movie time.

You’ve probably already been to the movies at least once these holidays. Why not introduce your children to the classic movies we grew up with, have a fun time making your living room into a theatre and save some money at the same time?
Get the kids to help you pop some popcorn (separate it out and top with butter, icing sugar, salt or something fancier like caramel popcorn), move the furniture around a bit so the TV is the centre of everyone’s focus (if it isn’t already) and settle down to watch one or more of these films you might have forgotten about:

1. The Princess Bride.

“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” This film is full of hilarity, swashbuckling, swamps, and of course… true love. If you’re not into the whole ‘girl loves boy but doesn’t realise it until it’s nearly too late when he decides to come and save her from all types of evil’ scenario, then you’ll definitely find lots to love with the swamp scene and the wonderful Billy Crystal’s “he’s not dead, he’s just mostly dead” scene. Don’t forget the brilliance of storming the castle! As you wish.

2. The Dark Crystal.

A good one for the younger ones, and so nicely put together. This Jim Henson muppet experience was like an early version of Avatar. Kind of.

3. Labyrinth.

Some good music, and a good one for teens who complain about babysitting their younger siblings. Bonus for you? David Bowie in tight pants. ‘Nuff said.

4. Cinderfella.

Really, any early Jerry Lewis comedy is a hit. I believe this particular film is a great movie to introduce your kids to watching older style movies – the ones that used to run on Saturday afternoons when I was growing up (and dinosaurs ruled the earth). This film also challenges the gender stereotypes of the Cinderella story, if that’s something you think is important. If it’s a hit you could rediscover some other Jerry Lewis favourites like the original version of The Nutty Professor (before Eddie Murphy got hold of it), or if the kids enjoy a musical comedy, go through all the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis library – that should take care of the rest of the school holidays!

5. E.T.

If they haven’t seen this before they’re 18, you haven’t parented well.

6. It’s a Wonderful Life.

Yes, it’s a Christmas movie but the message is relevant year round, and it doesn’t have lots of Christmas theming through it – rather it talks about appreciating all you have, even when times are tough. Sort of like when our economy stinks. Like now.

7. The Never Ending Story.

A young boy named Bastian has the power to save all of Fantasia. Another good one for younger viewers, with a book being key to the story, similar to The Princes Bride.

8. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Great for everyone, this classic film has so many lines in it, your kid will be the coolest in the classroom when the teacher calls the roll and they answer “Bueller? Bueller?” I’ve never really understood how Ferris was such great friends with Cameron, they are so different in personality and lives… although they do enjoy many of the same things. Who could forget the magic of Ferris singing Twist and Shout on the parade float, or the brilliantly acted teenage awkward moment of Ferris’s sister, played by Jennifer Grey, getting caught by her mum in the police station kissing Charlie Sheen playing… well, Charlie Sheen.

9. Back to the Future.

The original of this series is fantastic. The hover skateboard will be on their birthday wishlists as well as lots of family discussions about the worthiness of time travel after watching this.

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The original. Some might say the best. If they like it, you might want to investigate the others and do the whole series.

Most of these are easily available to rent in the cheap section of your local video store, or even buy from places like Big W and Target. For less than the cost of a child’s movie ticket at one of the big theatre chains, your whole family will be treated to a special movie experience – that the kids will remember long after the final credits.

What does it mean to be Australian?

mediamum — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:30:06 +0000

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 about football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holdens.

So what does it mean to be Australian?

Most of us feel pretty special about our home. But the age of dad doing the lawn with the Victa on Saturday afternoon and of the painted cement Aborigine bought at the markets, chained to the gum tree in the front yard are essentially (thankfully) gone.

At Ignite Boulder (thanks for the pic, Andrea!)

The days where my mother would shove her skirt up the sides of her undies and sit with my father in the sticky loungeroom with a shandy, watching Dennis Lillee bowl another over… are over.

And long, glaring 35-degree sun-kissed days by Roselands pool covered in Reef Oil as we tried to fry a deeper brown have been left behind in favour of broad-brimmed hats and air-conditioning.

Australia has changed.

Have I just got older, or is it really that we have become a people so full of rich, different heritages that the mythical heroes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson are illuminated as something we really never had… and never will?

Why, on its own soil, has the Australian flag become a symbol of hatred and exclusion? When did that happen?

It seems I can wave the Aussie flag and invite Americans to “channel their inner Aussie” at a presentation and still, a year later, be greeted by “Oi Oi Oi!” in the streets of Boulder by some who saw me do it.

Americans sometimes seem to love my country even more than those who are lucky enough to live there.

Australia is a place where social security looks after those unlucky enough to need it, for as long as they need it. Where everyone can afford to get sick, because nobody is denied essential medical treatment. Where good quality education at all levels in the public system, in every location, is comparatively free.

Yes, I still believe Australia is the lucky country. I believe we’re a lucky people. I am proud of our flag the way it is, and even prouder of those who embrace it and each other, no matter their heritage.

So what does it mean to be Australian?

It means feeling that pull to your country, no matter who or where you are.

Happy Australia Day.

We’re in training for the 2010 World Speed Stacking Championships

mediamum — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:45:20 +0000

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 originated, and so here we are, equipped with cups, timers and mats.

This sport is great for kids to build their fine motor skills, concentration and team work. I love the flexibility of it all, and the way kids can move at their own pace, and challenge themselves to beat their own times. It’s competitive without needing to beat other people (although you can of course do that). The equipment (some cups) is easily transportable, and fairly inexpensive to buy if you just want the basic set (around $15). I treated myself to a set of little thimble-like cups at the World event last year ($8).

I’m not telling you my times. It’s embarrassing. Instead, here are the current world records, including different countries. I’ll end with a video of the kids at the World Sport Stacking Championships last year. We have the cups out of the toybox now, and are in training for this year, which will be held at the Denver coliseum from April 10-11. There’s an event for adults too, especially as doubles! Anyone want to join me? I promise you can use the standard size cups…

Were the Christmas miracle mother and baby "saved" from epidural?

mediamum — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:02:26 +0000

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 of a Coloradan woman and her baby dying through childbirth and then “inexplicably” being revived held readers spellbound. It was the perfect gift for editors – as a front page, it sold papers.

But media did not report the facts – they just told a good story.

In birth, medicine has moved beyond monitoring women and fixing stuff that goes wrong to getting in there and making birth a “medical procedure.” Whether a woman is likely to birth successfully without intervention or not is not considered when offering everything from epidurals to c-sections to “patients” who are armed with the gift of choice, but not the gift of a full education about the side-effects each of these interventions carry.

Do they know that as soon as you introduce one intervention, the likelihood of more being required is exponentially higher? Epidurals lead, often, to more intervention. Why? Because blind freddy can tell that if you can’t feel your body, if you muck around with its ability to do the work it was naturally trying to do, then it’s going to be more likely to repay you in kind. Epidurals are not headache tablets for birthing. Too many women believe they are. Too many women give their birthing up to medicine with no reasonable or rational cause. They’re missing out on the most powerful experience of their lives – and often recovering from major abdominal surgery. Society is also paying through the nose for these unnecessary surgeries. Over 30% of American women now have c-sections. Before long it will be the “normal” way to birth.

Media did not question the fact that Tracy and Mike Hermanstorfer were being “prepped for childbirth” in a medicalized setting with pitocin delivered and an epidural being inserted, and that apparently coincidentally Tracy’s heart stopped after the epidural. (There is real research into the side-effects of epidurals… this link to the American Pregnancy Association states more than 50% of American women have epidurals – but if you read to the end, the very real possibility of cascades of intervention and medical trauma directly related to the epidural, including severely lowering heart rates of both mother and baby are basically outlined. And that’s if they put it in correctly.)

Henci Goer reported on this story yesterday, for Lamaze International. She outlines the details of potential medical responsibility in the trauma endured by this family. Additionally, in ABC News’s video interview with the doctor and Hermanstorfers, the cascade of intervention is described – but the reporting does absolutely nothing to question further about those interventions.

Traditional media are failing us in reporting on birth. We are so accepting of medicalised birth that media do not question medical responsibility in this family’s trauma. Instead, it celebrates the “Christmas miracle” that sells its papers – and the UK’s Daily Mail even went so far as to credit the doctor for bringing back lifeless Tracy. Again, the business model gets in the way of good journalism. Find the quickest story that sells the paper and pulls a heartstring, not the story that takes research and investigation.

I know many religious people have already adopted this story, calling it God’s hand at work. Others will say “thank goodness she was in a hospital (where our human-made gods are) – what would have happened if she were at home?”

What indeed.

Skiing on a budget with kids in Colorado

mediamum — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:37:44 +0000

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 wanted to share some resources with you.

The Colorado Gems Card. For a $10 initial outlay per card, you get a whole range of discounts and free ski days at various resorts across Colorado. The card pays for itself after the first one or two times of use – for example, at Eldora it will get the holder $10 off the price of a child’s lift ticket (normally $39 a day), and $15 off an adult ticket (normally $65 a day). (One per person, per card, per day.) The processing takes a week or two, so get it early to make good use of it.

The Colorado Passport gives your 5th grader three FREE days of skiing at over 20 resorts in Colorado, and four days for 6th graders. It’s a really great way to get some good savings across numerous resorts, from Eldora to Aspen. The Colorado Passport is FREE for 5th graders, and $99 for 6th graders. It’s well worth the investment for the 6th grader – look at how much the lift tickets would cost you at the resort you’re most likely to go to, and you’ll see what an impact having the card makes. You need to have a picture of your child to process, and online is the fastest way of doing the application. The site says it takes about 2-3 weeks for processing, but I did it two days ago, and it’s already on its way. Important: You do not have to be a resident of Colorado to get this passport – if you know your family will ski Colorado at any time this season, it’s a great one to get for your 5th or 6th grader!

The School of Shred gives your 5th and 6th graders four FREE days of skiing at all the Vail Resort properties. There is no charge for this card at all, for either grade – just take evidence of enrolment to the pass office at any of the included resorts, and they’ll sort you out with all of it done on the spot. (You can feasibly do this on the day you arrive to ski.)

Additionally, you can get discount lift tickets through local supermarkets such as King Soopers (you need to go there, not able to buy online). There the tickets this season will save you around 5-10% off the ticket office price. Not a massive saving, but everything helps and this is one option for those who find themselves considering skiing the day prior to heading up the mountain.

Ski rentals are expensive on the mountain. If you plan it well, you can rent in town for a cheaper rate. Just be prepared to pick up the afternoon of the day prior to your ski day, and return either the same day, or early the day after you shred. For the front range, Boulder Ski Deals is my rental location of choice, with rentals from just $10 a day for kids skis and even better deals for everyone as the season gets older. You can also try Crystal Ski Shop and the rentskis.com site. All these have deals for group rates, and extended rentals. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Food and beverages are expensive (and are kind of like airplane food in quality) on the mountain, so if at all possible, take your own lunch and snacks. The best skiing seems to happen in the mornings, with everyone winding down after lunch, so don’t think you need to take a heap of food with you – a sandwich, some juice/water and snacks is fine. Remember your chapstick and sunscreen (irritating to be so prepared and then have to buy them on the mountain).

And one final note: Please, rent a helmet. You can get helmets for $10 a day anywhere (in town or on the mountain). In fact, some resorts will charge $10 for the first rental and only $8 for the subsequent ones. We’re all about saving money, but medical expenses are far more than $10. It doesn’t matter how fast you go, if you’re learning, if it’s your first time, or if you’re seasoned – if you want to keep your head and what it has in it, protect it. Helmets keep your head warm, look good, and if you don’t wear one, you’ll be the odd one out on the slopes.

Hopefully this will give you a great start to getting out with your kids on the slopes in Colorado – have fun!

Three tips for the TSA from a mum at Christmas

mediamum — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:29:34 +0000

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 let the TSA in on some key things they could be doing to really make a difference at Christmas.

This is important to me. My 15 year old flies to America from Sydney today, with smoke and mirrors security that I have been unable to prepare him for. The fear level is at orange. I think they’re going to pat him down. He might just enjoy that.

But I digress.

Instead of ramping up their already failing theatre of security, the TSA should just ask mums what the best things to do to keepare, given our Santa expertise and knowledge. So here are three little suggestions from the mum who still helps Santa and has never denied his existence, even to her 18-year-old adult daughter.

1. Warning people that they are being watched. My kids know Santa’s watching them. (Sidenote: Saying the Easter bunny watching you isn’t as effective. He doesn’t have as much power. Santa’s the big guy.) Maybe if the TSA ensured all their security staff were trained in really watching people and their behaviour we’d see some real changes.

2. Keep a list – and freaking well check it. There’s nothing worse than having a list of gifts and sorting them when wrapped to find that one kid has more gifts than the Brangelina clan, and another has 3 tiny boxes – and they all came from the Dollar Store. That happens when you make a list and ignore it. The massive failures of the TSA have been associated with administration stuff-ups. The terrorist watch lists are not shared adequately, efficiently or effectively. You can do cavity searches, but getting the terrorist watch list information shared properly might be a little easier. Just sayin’.

3. Hide stuff that you don’t want them to see. For years, I’ve hidden gifts from my kids in nothing more than a few striped raffia big bags with some sheets thrown over them in the formal dining room. (We don’t live there any more, so if my kids are reading this, sucked in.) It kept the gifts a secret because I knew the kids didn’t look in obvious places. While you TSA people are obviously inspecting our belts and shoes and don’t care who knows it, you’re missing the powdered explosive taped all over the body, and the stressed out guy walking around with it taped to his genitals. If I were a TSA officer I’d rather find out about that explosive from the observation of the sweaty guy than a standard genital frisk of every passenger. Unless they’re all Mark Harmon.

So there you go, TSA. Please ensure the safety of my kid and don’t harrass the 99% of people who really don’t need it. Merry Christmas.

Thank you bus girl, happy holidays

mediamum — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:53:23 +0000

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 who have the same schedule.

And so I was joined on Mondays by a beautiful young girl – I’m guessing she was about 10 or 11. She was always on the bus already when I got on, and rode past my stop. But every time she was there, she made me smile.

This wonderful young lady was equipped with a CD player. And big headphones. She had a penchant for the Spice Girls.

How do I know?

She sang at the top of her lungs, along with the CD that nobody else could hear. Some people pretended not to hear her. Others grinned and went on with their newspapers. But most people really enjoyed listening to this singing that had absolutely no tune, and no back beat to drum out the bum notes. Everyone was grinning. With her, not at her.

On my last Monday of class, our nightingale was there. And this time the bus driver (who wasn’t the same person every time), kept turning his head to look at the young girl. I wasn’t sure if he was going to ask her to stop – she was really making quite a bit of noise. I couldn’t read his expression when he turned his head.

But after a couple of miles, he turned, looked at her, and began to click his fingers along with the beat.

We couldn’t hear the same music as the girl. But we all left the bus with her song, and were reminded to feel free in finding our own.

Happy Holidays.

Glade's sweet smell of good social media PR with Edelman

mediamum — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:57:07 +0000

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 Sense & Spray product.

This event demonstrated Edelman actively identifies good people for brands to work with, and can put together an event that suits all parties. Edelman has fantastic staff, for a start. The company also teamed with social media expert, Ann-Marie Nichols, to ensure they are hitting the right targets.

If you ask me, Ann-Marie and Edelman are smart operators. After meeting/catching up with them on the evening, my belief is that the bloggers were hand-picked to represent ethical, good quality content providers who actively engage with their readers. Women who are authentic. At a time when companies are seeking out mommybloggers more than ever, there are now bloggers who do nothing more than run around the USA for the opening of every envelope. Smart companies, like Glade and Edelman, see beyond what I’ll call “the usual suspects.” (Yes, I’m biased. I was invited.)

Edelman’s staff were well equipped with plenty of information for us to take home in the best format – a USB drive. The activity of putting together our basket of goodies allowed us to chat about the product informally, and we also had fun coming up with possible names for a new Glade scent. (Yes, someone said Bacon. I said Aussie Bush. Ambiguity FTW.) I was so lucky to have Jen Goode so kindly say yes to drawing by freehand (magic marker) one of her lovely penguins on my mug.

It has pride of place on my desk and reminds me how special women entrepreneurs like her are. I have always loved Jen’s designs and you can check the penguin ones out on her blog, and buy a whole range of stuff featuring them. She also does other designs too. She’s an amazingly talented woman in so many areas. I feel so lucky to have actually met her too now.

The event was a great success for Glade. The bloggers discussed myriad issues beyond and including the product, and we all came away feeling positive – and that associated value rubs off. Edelman gets it.

But the goal kick for me was the extra mile Edelman went for me. Here’s the thing:

We were all offered a basket to give away on our blog. Awesome. However, I asked if it would be okay for me to give it away to anyone, anywhere – given some of my readership is in Australia. Glade is a global brand, but I completely said I understand if that’s not okay. I just needed to be clear on my blog. On the spot, the Edelman ladies said “Absolutely, we will make it work. We will send the basket to anyone who wins.” So I’m stoked. I love that foresight and appreciation of my needs.

And I’m excited to give away this lovely basket of goodies to you, even if you’re an AUSSIE!

What you'll win! (The mug will be a fresh one that you can draw on. Great if you're like Jen Goode!)

The basket contains a snuggly IKEA blanket/picnic rug, Swiss Miss mix with mini marshmallows, eye cover, ceramic mug and some permanent markers to decorate it with, and the wonderful new Glade Sense & Spray plus a refill that we have had now in our bathroom for a few days. It smells great and with the refills costing under $4 each (USD), and them lasting about a month each, even graduate students and startups can afford it (ahem).

HOW TO WIN!

To enter is easy – Leave a comment below with your recommendation for a new scent for Glade, focused on Australia. It can be funny or serious. The winner will be picked by Harry and Charlie on Wednesday and I’ll contact you via Twitter/email (make sure you leave contact details). I’ll also announce the winner on the blog. Go for it!

Barnum's Zing Zang Zoom is still 'The Greatest Show on Earth'

mediamum — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:59:42 +0000

PT Barnum is recognised as being one of the heavyweight players in the history of advertising. He was also the father of personal branding. While you may not agree with his tactics, he has inspired masses of advertising practice and his stamp remains.

Any time you see something promoted as “jumbo” size, that word comes from Barnum. The term “white elephant” is also his. The story goes that Barnum had found success with a circus that included elephants. A competitor, trying to outdo him, got hold of a rare white elephant for his circus. Barnum’s response was to whitewash one of his own elephants and advertise the life out of it, not only eliminating the “unusual attraction” the competitor had, but also reducing the reasale value on the rare elephant itself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2dTZMP_nSY]

Barnum’s the father of hype. He’s the guy that began the whole idea of the limited edition. The panic of missing out. He said “Once in a lifetime opportunity.” “Be the first to see…” and “Last time ever!” Think of all those music artists doing their ‘final’ tours. They leverage that messaging. It creates a sense of urgency.

Some of the more ugly aspects of Barnum’s advertising involved the sideshows and unusual freak shows he liked to use with his circus. He’d attract people to see the bearded ladies, the midget called Tom Thumb, and the dog-faced boy, to name a few. He sought to profit from the abnormalities of others. He saw that people would pay to see it, and he made the most of that opportunity.

Barnum is world-reknown, even today. He created The Greatest Show on Earth! And that name has stuck through all these years. Even in Australia we know of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Of course, these days it looks a little different to the Barnum circus of old. There are still elephants, but they’re not painted white and in fact the circus has its own Center for Elephant Conservation.

Happily, I was invited with my kids to experience the Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Bros. Circus here in Denver courtesy of Feld Family Entertainment. I really wanted to see what this world-famous circus was like. Having animals in a circus today is still controversial, so I chatted with some friends beforehand and was really very pleased when I believe about 80% of the circus acts were not animal related at all.

I remember being brought up with Disney stories and Little Golden Books where the elephant in the circus is unhappy. These elephants were lovely to see. And they smelled of animal wash. They smelled a lot. So did the tigers for that matter. I’d happily help wash an elephant, but you can sort someone else to do the tigers thanks.

The boys and I had a really great evening at the Circus. There was one reference during the show to the Big Top, but we were in the Denver Coliseum, so part of the magic of that is lost. I did expect sawdust and perhaps to be a little closer, but the acts were spread all around the “ring” so it meant we got a good view and for some things we were really close up. While Harry was sitting there hoping someone would fall (he’s 11 and he’s a boy), Charlie was just loving all the circus antics. They loved the dog tricks in particular – which reminded Charlie of our own dog training experiences – and the humour of the tigers and trainer had him in giggle fits.

It really was an evening out for the boys and I that we enjoyed thoroughly. Charlie was asking the next day if we could go again, he enjoyed it so much. A tip if you’re going to head down there, is to of course eat well before you go. Eating at Denver Coliseum means you get really crappy food for an incredibly expensive amount of money, and of course they don’t let you take in your own food. To save you some money, you know I’m a coupon queen, so thanks to Feld, to finish up the post I’m giving you a discount code so you can get in cheaper when you book your tickets through ticketmaster. The show runs until October 11. You can see all the details here at Ringling.com and scroll to the bottom here to see another video we took on the night, of the female human cannonballs!

Ringling Bros. Coupon Code Details

The coupon code is MOM — four tickets for $44 Monday-Friday, and $4 off tickets for all weekend performances.
The tickets can be purchased from ticketmaster and by entering the MOM code in the “MC promotion” box when purchasing tickets.
Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each during the week and $4 off on weekends.
Offer not valid on Circus Celebrity, Front Row, or VIP seating.
Cannot be combined with other offers. Service Charges, facility & handling fees will apply .

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxhKdm9Zt8o]

Airlines don't understand mums and marketing

mediamum — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:26:22 +0000

There’s something magical about arriving at the airport with all your luggage and just two of your kids for the upcoming 28 hours of travel between countries, and reaching the check-in counter to find out every bag comes in just under the 23kg weight limit. Score.

And there’s something even more special about being handed your boarding passes and passports, turning around and seeing the 11yr old has just decked the 9yr old, and he is laying on the floor groaning loudly, holding one leg to an audience of passengers who are surely thinking ‘Oh My God, I hope they’re not sitting next to us.’

5 minutes in, 27 hours, 55 minutes to go.

How to make a flight a dreaded experience

We flew back to the US yesterday on United Airlines. Apart from the following treasured moments, we arrived safely:

a. Wholly inedible ‘food’ which really was probably the worst I’ve ever had on the long haul part, and food that’s more expensive than eating at Spago for the domestic route. (And far less tasty. Yes, I’ve eaten at Spago. Once. It was wonderful. I’m classy. I am. Stop laughing.)

b. Lack of in-seat entertainment which is very entertaining for my spoilt kids who were expecting personal movies and tv, yet had to watch tv shows like Desperate Housewives on the screens in the aisles instead. (I do remember my own childhood flights to the UK when there was just one movie for the whole flight, and the headphones never worked. I tried telling them that but they didn’t care and then they got more annoyed. They did manage very well in the end. But I digress).

c. Being checked into three seats on the US domestic part of the journey which were single seats in equidistant, very distant seats which I find very difficult to believe was accidental because we checked into the domestic flight, getting boarding passes an entire day before (see earlier part about children punching each other). There is no way there weren’t three seats together when I checked in. Mind you, I was easily trumped by a poor woman with five kids under five, who had all been seated all over the plane. That’s just completely stupid. I was momentarily tempted to tell the attendant not to bother reseating the kids, but just to reseat this other mother and myself somewhere and bring us a bottle of bubbly.

d. The lack of real assistance for a woman with four children travelling alone, whose 3yr old would NOT stop screaming for about 3 hours in the last quarter of the long haul flight. She was forced to stay in her seat with that kid because she couldn’t leave the others. I knew that. I’ve got lots of kids and have usually travelled alone with them. One kid will cry, or take a particular liking to the novelty of the plane’s bathroom and insist they have to go constantly, or need something from the one bag in the overhead bin. It’s a drama. Something simple could have made her journey easier. Such as a flight attendant saying, “what can I do to help?” instead of ignoring her.

Sidebar: I’ll never forget the Qantas flight Jed and I took while I was still nursing Charlie, about 6 years ago. The dinner came, and there was no way I could cut it up – my arm was indisposed with nursing child. I said to leave it with Jed and I’d get to it later. The Qantas attendant decided that was okay and she’d do it if I preferred, but how about if she cut the dinner up, and just left the dinner and a fork (rather than the whole tray), and then I could manage it while it was still hot? She was awesome. I remember that still. Six years later. I even remember what the flight attendant looked like. That’s good branding.

Market your flights to mums

This is a trip that costs about $US1000 a seat return – minimum. There are a couple of hundred people on the plane, who’ve all paid at least that amount. This is not a bus. People are tired, stressed and emotional. Being an attendant on these flights is hard work. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a flight attendant go beyond the most basic of service effort and everyone’s flight would have been better if that kid had stopped screaming.

On our trip over another woman was left standing in the queue with her three kids. The flight had been delayed. It was 2am. The smallest kid was asleep. She had carry-on luggage. She was really struggling. And the attendants all ignored her.

Yes, I helped her as I could, and Charlie even offered too. If an 9yr old gets it, why don’t the airlines?

When we finally boarded that flight, the ground staff said the standard “how are you?” I said “good, and you?” His reply was “tired.”

Well stuff you.

My reply? “At least you’re getting paid.” I should have added ‘and don’t have to sit on the plane for the next 16 hours with kids, and haven’t just had a 3 hours flight to get here, and then waited 9 hours for this delayed one.’

Sheesh. I wonder who’s more precious? My kids completely expecting video on demand in their seats, or these airline staff who seem to think we owe them something more than the price of a ticket.

Instead of focusing on leg room, loyalty programs and discount prices, it would be great to see an airline focus on really going beyond the call of duty to make your flight the best you’ve ever had. If an airline marketed to mothers, they’d see these women are the decision makers, who travel with their families (more ticket sales), and to be honest, it’s the simple things like offering a pair of hands when needed that will make a mother like you more.

Or maybe that’s just too hard. Too much to ask.

Our day at the Colorado Chocolate Festival 2009

mediamum — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:56:37 +0000

One primarily for friends and family – and anyone who would love a day of gorging chocolate.

Charlie and I went with Marissa to Denver last month to the Colorado Chcolate Festival. We spent the day sampling chocolate, and watching Charlie try to eat more than his body weight in the stuff. It was great fun. There were stacks of samples, lots of things to see and sample, from all sorts of retaillers. There was even a jumping castle at the back which Charlie made the most of.

A really good day out. Enjoy our little video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzh09J3GDAg]

Talking with your teens about sexting

mediamum — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:13:55 +0000

What to do about (drum roll) sexting? Approaching the topic of sexting in a way that best meets a receptive outcome from your teenager is paramount. And grabbing their mobile phone to go through every message is not generally going to get a positive response. Unless…

Did you originally say to your teen “Hey, I’m gonna go through your phone occasionally to check up on you?” If you did, then it’s reasonable that you would act on the promise. But if you provided the phone to the teen without any indication you’d be doing it, then I believe your teen will think you’re being unreasonable. And how about if the teen bought the phone with their own money?

Awkward.

We all want to raise a kid who is responsible, independent, and who cares for their own, and others’ well being. While they’re little you can best do that by telling them how to act, showing them how it’s done (by demonstrating it yourself) and monitoring them as you encourage them to do the same.

When they’re teens, it’s time to let them start doing that on their own. In my opinion, in order for teens to demonstrate their own responsibility and integrity, they need to have the opportunity to do it. That’s hard to do when the media’s telling you scary stories about sexting. You need to put something in place, but still work from the standpoint that you trust your teen (if you do and want to continue to).

That’s hard to do, I get that. And every parenting situation is different, I get that too. But it’s apparent this is something many people are struggling with. So here are a few idea-starters to get you thinking about a more positive way of approaching the topic with your teenager.

1. Have a contract.

With every piece of technology there is an inherent basis of responsible use. Whether that’s with the equipment itself (such as don’t throw the phone around) or with the manner in which it’s used (such as don’t send 500 messages a day, and watch your language). A great way of demonstrating you mean what you say is through having a contract dealing with both of these areas. You could create one yourself, or ask the family to contribute to what they think should be in it. And then everyone who uses the equipment gets a copy to sign. Let me be clear – this contract is something everyone adheres to. It’s not just for the kids. You don’t get to throw your phone around and expect them not to. You have to follow through. Not only that, but the contracts, when signed, should be displayed in the person’s regular space at home as a subtle reminder.

You might think this is a little ‘out there’ – but when you think it through, you’ll see that it’s a transparent way of linking to all that stuff you taught your kids when they were younger. It just gives them some control and treats them as a more independent, free-thinking person. And hey, you need to make it clear they don’t have to sign the contract. It’s optional. And so is the phone.

Then if someone breaks the contract with any kind of irresponsible use, it’s easier to demonstrate why there’s a problem. It gives you a foundation to work from that everyone understands.

2. Demonstrate how things live forever online

Having a great relationship with your teen doesn’t mean you unequivocally know they’re going to do the right thing all the time (you can’t). It does mean that you’re prepared to let go a little and trust that they want to be responsible, and will be pretty likely to be, even without you standing behind them with a rolling pin (tempting though it might be). Also, let’s assume that your teens can make a logical progression of thought and have interest in their own well being. With all that in place, this becomes a no-brainer. (As much as a no-brainer and teens can be, anyway. )

Have a chat and say you’ve read stuff about sexting (read up a bit first – nothing loses respect more than not knowing what you’re talking about). Say you get it. This stuff can be fun, and it’s shared only between people you trust. There’s never any idea that something bad will happen or that someone’s going to be mean.

But people get angry. People fight. Have you ever slammed a door or said something nasty to someone you cared about? No matter how much you want to take it back, and apologise, it still got said. But words tend to ease with time. Images and text, however, don’t.

Stuff lives forever online.

Let’s say someone gets angry and posts a compromising picture somewhere online. They can regret it and take it down, but it’s still up there in search engines.

Try two projects:

a. Put a picture of something that is personal, but that you’re comfortable with online somewhere. Leave it there for a few days, then take it down.

Then search for it. Use everything you like. Treat it like it’s a treasure hunt. Treat it like you’re a journalist and you’re writing a story about that picture. What kind of lengths will you go through to find it? How hard is it? Then once you’ve found it, how easy is it to then forward it to every person you know?

b. Think of all the people you know who have a web-based email account. (A lot, right?) Then think of how many contacts they’d have in that account. (Again, a lot. Hundreds each, possibly.) In fact, you’ve probably got a web-based email account yourself. Go to www.spokeo.com (or a similar site). Using your mail account you can sign up and find out what everyone in your address book has posted across lots of different social media sites.

Think of when you try and apply for a job. This is better than Facebook for a human resources person. And it lives forever. Look yourself up. What would a human resources rep think of you right now?

By working with your teenager you’re showing them you trust them to act as responsibly as they can. You’re also giving them the opportunity to initiate conversations, to take control and showing them why it’s important.

I’ll finish by reiterating that this situation is different for every family, and I totally understand that. That said, I believe this is just one, positive way of approaching a very delicate subject, and it could bring you closer together rather than threaten your relationship. Sailing the tumultuous ocean of teenage parenting is challenging. I’d like to ride this wave with our teens instead of against them.

Where's the vision in your startup?

mediamum — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:39:35 +0000

What’s your vision?

Recently there have been discussions over ‘how long is too long’ from developers a little less than happy being part of a startup that is not yet paying them ‘what they’re worth’ or even getting involved in a startup that doesn’t pay them from the outset. Startup widows are also holding their spouses accountable for not having ‘made it’ yet.

The problem with this thinking is that the focus is on the payout, not on the journey or the goal. Their focus is on a timeframe. What’s acceptable, what’s not.

What’s your vision?

Deciding to get into the startup life is like jumping off a cliff. You prepare really well, you’re excited, and the people around you admire your decision. But after that, you’re relying on your own vision. And that’s where people begin to lose it.

When we decided to launch our startup in the US, I wish I had a dollar for every person telling me how ‘lucky’ I was. I find that weird. Lucky? No. Gutsy? Yes. Committed? Yes. Adventurous? Yes. Passionate? Yes.

I share a vision. (Please check out the difference between a corporate mission statement and vision statement here.)

So what’s my vision?

My vision is one in which we create technology that makes a real difference to peoples’ lives and changes how they view technology and communicate with each other. We’re going to provide the tool that restructures the way people create and interact with technology and communicate with each other online. (Oh yeah, this is a change-the-world thing!)

I’m into equity – not the financial type, but the equity of access and use that will make people want to create content instead of just consume it. I want it to be easier for them. I lust for the day people do more than just search for things online. I lust for the day that everyone – you – truly feels able to produce content and interact with it because they can fit doing it into their day. I lust for the day that it makes as much sense for them to create content and really interact with other peoples’ content as it does right now to Google something.

The prospect of being a founding part of the company that makes this happen excites me.

You’ll note that no aspect of this vision includes a timeframe. Even though I want it to have happened ‘yesterday’ purely because I am so darned excited about it, I haven’t said ‘we have to make this happen within xx years or else I’m out’. It also doesn’t include a financial payout. Sure we have to live, but it’s amazing how your expenses tend to meet your means. Ramen noodles taste good . Free public education is good education. Without wanting to sound like a Monty Python skit, I am proud to say I have really actually walked two miles in the snow with bags of groceries, and I didn’t die. The bus is usually my transportation, and sometimes if I’m lucky, a friend’s car.

It’s about what you’re willing to do to see your vision come true. It’s living the dream and enjoying the journey. It’s the reality of working with a startup.

As I’ve said before, startup life is like nothing else. It’s not a job. And when it feels like a job, when you start measuring ’success’ by time and money, it’s time to do everyone involved with the startup a big fat favor and get out – because it’s not just about you. It means you don’t share the vision. Maybe you really never did.

World Championships Speed Stacking

mediamum — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:52:53 +0000

Yesterday we went along to the World Championships. Of course, if we didn’t live half an hour from the venue, I doubt we’d have gone along. That said, all four of my kids have had fun cup stacking. It’s a bit addictive. I even enjoy it. It’s great for working on hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, teamwork… all that good stuff.

Please note *our* focus is not on being the fastest in the world. It’s more about beating your own best times, in a type of drag-race against the other team. In my view, only one person gets to be the fastest in the world. (At the moment it’s a guy named Steven, who is incredibly fast.) But if that’s all the focus you give to it, then you’re ripping yourself off from the fun that can be had in simply doing it to get better at it.

It’s this approach which I think makes the kids keen to try new things – sports, meeting new people, etc., and takes the pressure off them to do it better than anyone else. Enjoy our little video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sci5b_hm10M]

Why my family loves Boulder

mediamum — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:58:40 +0000

I never dreamed I’d live anywhere other than Sydney, Australia.

When you’ve got a good job, a house you’re constantly doing ’something’ to, kids, dogs, routine… the last thing you think of is moving. Anywhere. Least of all to a country you’ve never been to before. But then I came home from work one day and Jed told me his start-up dreams weren’t done with itechne. He had a bigger one. To go to the US and launch what was to become scribetribe.us.

And I said okay, we’ll Skype and email.

But he had a different plan. He convinced me to take (another) chance.

We packed up and moved to Boulder, Colorado in August 2008.

Now, lots of people have written about the great things Boulder has to offer in terms of nightlife, culture, the outdoors and the tech scene. And it’s all true and fantastic. I am loving being a part of all of those things. But above everything else, I’m a *proud* mum. And Boulder is an amazing place to raise kids.

Harry and Charlie are aged 8 and 11 and have come to Boulder with us. They have swapped their Sydney private school blazers and ties, frenetic life-by-the-clock, mum out teaching three nights a week, no friends within walking distance, and a home where they weren’t allowed to play out the front due to the traffic – for this:

A lifestyle that is similar to that I remember as a kid. One I thought you couldn’t give your kids any more, because “times have changed.”

They’d never seen snow before we moved to Boulder. Here they love it.

On top of all that, the (public) school they go to has the best educators I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. They have been wonderful in helping my kids move to not only a new home, but a place where feet and inches, and American history are completely different for them. They’ve made the transtition incredibly smoothly – and it’s largely due to the school. (I’ve already celebrated Bear Creek Elementary in an earlier post.)

For me? The start-up widow? I’ve swapped a lifestyle where the drive to work each day took an hour of fume-laden highways, teaching in this college at Granville:

For being a part of the University of Colorado, which is slightly more attractive.

And on top of everything else, my husband is throwing himself into his life’s dream. He’s happily working on seemingly endless adrenaline, at all hours. But he tries to take a run each day and instead of it being beside a road where it’s simply not safe after a certain hour, it’s up around NCAR where deer graze.

So I guess the thing is, when you think you’re settled and couldn’t think of moving, think again. A bit of unsettling could be the best thing you do for your family. Especially if Boulder is where you end up. If you’re in tech and thinking about moving to Boulder, get in touch with the guys at Boulder.me.