Bluefreeway requested and received a voluntary suspension from trading today. Their shares had been on hold since last Friday after a request for a temporary trading halt was approved Monday. The halt was due to expire this morning, the shares have now been suspended with no date attached to it.
In a letter to the ASX this morning, Bluefreeway said it needed to undertake further investigations due to restructuring efforts in order to make an announcement on its expected revenue for the financial year ending June 30, 2008. Stating it would take up to two weeks to conclude investigations, the company expects the subsequent announcement to end the suspension.
What all this means is anyone's guess, though after the spate of resignations they've experienced this year and Mitchells stepping away from buy-out talks, how deep the rabbit hole goes is anyone's guess.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Opted In vs. Engaging In
I was having a chat this morning with Simon Chen, and those readers who've been with me a while know I can't say enough good things about the man - even if he doesn't get Twitter yet. One thing we were talking about was having a large email database vs. a smaller database that was actively engaged by your offering.
I was reminded of this while reading Doc Searl's blog just now, him talking about a piece Chris Anderson (editor at Wired) wrote on recognising a real if untraceable cost that stems from subscription cards placed in magazines:
I find it particularly ironic blogging about this given I've just started writing for a magazine which, like most other publications on the planet employs just such a method for adding subscribers. The example Chris gives above is admittedly minor, but flows on to a brilliant presentation from David Armano on micro-interactions.
In his presentation David argues brands have moved from dictating perception to being the sum of their interactions. In other words, you can no longer tell people how to perceive your work, you will be judged on actions and not words.
So what's the follow on from subscription cards being removed from magazines? Do publishers and editors really think their offering is valid enough to drag people to a news stand once a month? Do they feel the caliber of their contributors (and I'm one of them) is great enough to make that happen?
For a lesson in micro-interactions outside of a marketing space, read this article from Fast Company on the future of TV shows and the branding around them. If there's anyone who understands micro-interactions, its these guys.
I was reminded of this while reading Doc Searl's blog just now, him talking about a piece Chris Anderson (editor at Wired) wrote on recognising a real if untraceable cost that stems from subscription cards placed in magazines:
They fall out of magazines when you pick them up, forcing you to bend over to retrieve them and find a trash can in which to throw them away. This is a real negative cost that hurts our relationship with our readers, but because we can’t measure it directly, it’s an externality and thus mispriced at zero in the economics of the magazine industry.
I find it particularly ironic blogging about this given I've just started writing for a magazine which, like most other publications on the planet employs just such a method for adding subscribers. The example Chris gives above is admittedly minor, but flows on to a brilliant presentation from David Armano on micro-interactions.
In his presentation David argues brands have moved from dictating perception to being the sum of their interactions. In other words, you can no longer tell people how to perceive your work, you will be judged on actions and not words.
So what's the follow on from subscription cards being removed from magazines? Do publishers and editors really think their offering is valid enough to drag people to a news stand once a month? Do they feel the caliber of their contributors (and I'm one of them) is great enough to make that happen?
For a lesson in micro-interactions outside of a marketing space, read this article from Fast Company on the future of TV shows and the branding around them. If there's anyone who understands micro-interactions, its these guys.
Living and learning in a start-up
I recently resigned from my role as Digital Manager at Hippo Jobs, an Australian start-up focussed on the online job space. I've learnt so much in my time there it isn't possible to distill it into one or even multiple blog posts, I can say though it did hammer home a simple truth I went in with, and that's in a start-up, everyone needs to be 100% on board.
One of the first things that struck me about Hippo was its development was outsourced. Call me old-school in this regard, but while I'm a big fan of outsourcing, your ability to innovate on your core offering should never be in the hands of another company. One of my prime objectives from day dot was to get a team established in house that could lead the next phase of development for the company, and thankfully we've begun that process, taking Hippo to a place where its ongoing development is sustainable. When you place your ability to be exceptional in the hands of someone who values that less than you do, you set yourself up for a world of hurt.
Something I completely underestimated was how hard it would be to bring traditional media types around to thinking about digital media in a manner that went beyond headline grabbers like Myspace and Facebook. Talking to friends at larger organisations, it seems more generational than anything else, and only makes me wonder what people will be doing 15 or 20 years from now that I just will not understand. I hope I'll have the presence of mind to recognise it when it happens and embrace the change that will be so very necessary, but a bunch of smart people who should know better don't seem to be able to, and that gives me pause for thought. Thankfully in DMG Hippo now has a partner with a breadth of knowledge about traditional media, and some incredibly savvy digital people to boot.
I'm pretty close to signing a deal for my next move, one that unfortunately doesn't give me the five-album deal I'd like, but never the less ensures I stay surrounded by exceptionally smart folk who will hopefully inform my thinking on ways I can simply play music and not have to worry about the major labels.
For the rest of this month though, I'm committed to helping Hippo shore up its position as the leading job site for Generation Y - of which I call myself a proud member. It remains as good an idea as the day I joined, and with or without my presence can't help but go from strength to strength. Thanks to the people who have informed the conversation around this space in months past, I will continue to watch as Hippo implements the ideas brought forth over the past year, and with a little luck leaves everyone else in its wake.
One of the first things that struck me about Hippo was its development was outsourced. Call me old-school in this regard, but while I'm a big fan of outsourcing, your ability to innovate on your core offering should never be in the hands of another company. One of my prime objectives from day dot was to get a team established in house that could lead the next phase of development for the company, and thankfully we've begun that process, taking Hippo to a place where its ongoing development is sustainable. When you place your ability to be exceptional in the hands of someone who values that less than you do, you set yourself up for a world of hurt.
Something I completely underestimated was how hard it would be to bring traditional media types around to thinking about digital media in a manner that went beyond headline grabbers like Myspace and Facebook. Talking to friends at larger organisations, it seems more generational than anything else, and only makes me wonder what people will be doing 15 or 20 years from now that I just will not understand. I hope I'll have the presence of mind to recognise it when it happens and embrace the change that will be so very necessary, but a bunch of smart people who should know better don't seem to be able to, and that gives me pause for thought. Thankfully in DMG Hippo now has a partner with a breadth of knowledge about traditional media, and some incredibly savvy digital people to boot.
I'm pretty close to signing a deal for my next move, one that unfortunately doesn't give me the five-album deal I'd like, but never the less ensures I stay surrounded by exceptionally smart folk who will hopefully inform my thinking on ways I can simply play music and not have to worry about the major labels.
For the rest of this month though, I'm committed to helping Hippo shore up its position as the leading job site for Generation Y - of which I call myself a proud member. It remains as good an idea as the day I joined, and with or without my presence can't help but go from strength to strength. Thanks to the people who have informed the conversation around this space in months past, I will continue to watch as Hippo implements the ideas brought forth over the past year, and with a little luck leaves everyone else in its wake.
Authenticity revisited
I'm involved in a discussion over on the Marketing Mag forums. The case centers around an Australian band called The Presets and them involving themselves in a promotion in BMW where a track of theirs gets remixed. The association of brands is obscure at best, but what I don't get is The Presets not owning up to it in the first place. In a recent interview on Triple J (Australia's larges independent radio station), there was no mention of the remix, or of BMW. This says to me The Presets are embarrassed and Triple J, having supported them from day dot even more so.
In a futile effort to display some semblance of independence, both parties have succeeded in completely dodging an issue. If a band/person/organisation/brand/product/whatever is going to make a move like this, they at least need to have the guts to own it. Triple J love their indie darlings so aren't going to call them on it (that's called selling out, but apparently only when a big corporation is involved), and The Presets - who could justify it as easy as "It paid for our next European tour" - just look shady.
Bad moves all around. This post has more. In particular:
Amen.
In a futile effort to display some semblance of independence, both parties have succeeded in completely dodging an issue. If a band/person/organisation/brand/product/whatever is going to make a move like this, they at least need to have the guts to own it. Triple J love their indie darlings so aren't going to call them on it (that's called selling out, but apparently only when a big corporation is involved), and The Presets - who could justify it as easy as "It paid for our next European tour" - just look shady.
Bad moves all around. This post has more. In particular:
You need to stand for what you stand for. Every. Second. Of. The. Day.
Amen.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Bluefreeway Trading Halt
Beleaguered digital group Bluefreeway today requested a trading halt, its shares having sat at 24 cents since the ASX closed last Friday. The ASX then suspended shares and issued an announcement saying they would remain on halt until Wednesday morning or until the company issued an announcement on its expected earnings for the financial year ending June 30th, 2008, whichever came sooner.
Last month Mitchell Media confirmed speculation it had been looking to buy the group of companies but pulled out after "preliminary" conversations. Bluefreeway had previously told the Australian Stock Exchange it had entered due diligence with a single entity This came on the back of CEO Richard Webb finally stepping away from the group of companies he helped found the month prior.
It has been an extraordinarily unfortunate year for the group, one that shows no signs of improving. The company had already warned markets on the costs of funding the redundancies currently being served to select employees, but we'll know in the next 36 hours where the company actually stands.
For those needing a primer on the Bluefreeway so far this year...
Last month Mitchell Media confirmed speculation it had been looking to buy the group of companies but pulled out after "preliminary" conversations. Bluefreeway had previously told the Australian Stock Exchange it had entered due diligence with a single entity This came on the back of CEO Richard Webb finally stepping away from the group of companies he helped found the month prior.
It has been an extraordinarily unfortunate year for the group, one that shows no signs of improving. The company had already warned markets on the costs of funding the redundancies currently being served to select employees, but we'll know in the next 36 hours where the company actually stands.
For those needing a primer on the Bluefreeway so far this year...
Saturday, May 3, 2008
How hard can it be?
I saw a blog recently (I have to start writing this shit down) talking about brands having genuine conversations, people going through stages and relationships with the brands as they move through different phases of their lives and want different things.
It occurred to me that for brands to do this, they have to become human. Some can handle this, others don't survive the transition. The boon for the latter half is that, for a company like Apple, nobody wants to see them become human anyway.
To survive the ups and downs of modern life, brands are going to need to re-think a few things:
This stuff isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Unfortunately common sense isn't all that common. It's about being human, making brands and companies human, fallible, instilled with humour, full of life and mistakes. Heinz isn't an interesting story, the mothers and fathers working on their baby formula are. It's easy to shoot a company or a brand down when there isn't a human attached to it.
The second they become human, the moment the brand has a face attached to it not borne from a lucrative sponsorship deal, that's when the interesting work begins. I think the answer to the question posed in the headline is "Not very hard at all, it just requires honesty."
Billy Joel sang honesty is hardly ever heard, and mostly what I need from you. As I've said before, truths are invariably harder to swallow than we first make them out to be.
It occurred to me that for brands to do this, they have to become human. Some can handle this, others don't survive the transition. The boon for the latter half is that, for a company like Apple, nobody wants to see them become human anyway.
To survive the ups and downs of modern life, brands are going to need to re-think a few things:
- We're not always right
- We don't have the best ideas every time we have an idea
- Some of them are actually quite bad
- Hell we don't even have ideas all the time, occasionally we're just winging it
- We make dumb assumptions about a myriad of things, born entirely from not putting ourselves in the same position you're in
- Subsequently, we don't know best
- We change our minds almost constantly. No we don't. Yes we do.
- We fuck up
- No, I mean we really fuck up
- When it is warranted, we are genuinely sorry about it
This stuff isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Unfortunately common sense isn't all that common. It's about being human, making brands and companies human, fallible, instilled with humour, full of life and mistakes. Heinz isn't an interesting story, the mothers and fathers working on their baby formula are. It's easy to shoot a company or a brand down when there isn't a human attached to it.
The second they become human, the moment the brand has a face attached to it not borne from a lucrative sponsorship deal, that's when the interesting work begins. I think the answer to the question posed in the headline is "Not very hard at all, it just requires honesty."
Billy Joel sang honesty is hardly ever heard, and mostly what I need from you. As I've said before, truths are invariably harder to swallow than we first make them out to be.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
How you doing?
Ubiquitous, and usually flipped off without a moment's notice, saying "How you doing?" to someone is usually met with a myriad of responses designed to elicit as little conversation on the subject as possible, largely because (I think) nobody really believes you're interested in the answer.
Yesterday someone asked me how I was as I stood making coffee at work. "I'm really great, thanks!" was my response. The person in question turned to me a little incredulously and said "Really? Why?".
"Do I need a reason?"
"To be really great? Yeah!"
How odd I thought, I could have sighed and said "Yeah...ok" and it probably would have been met with a knowing oh-we're-at-work-aren't-we glance. Being really great gave pause for thought, and reminded me of a bunch of stuff Seth has written on being exceptional. A mood is enough to stop people in their tracks, to capture their interest.
People want to be part of what is good, what is great, and what is exceptional. You attract others towards you through that attitude, and you attract consumers to your clients brands based on the aspirations they have. Instill the offering with something exceptional (and it can be as simply as being "really great") and the rest will take care of itself.
...that's probably over-simplifying, but the point stands.
Yesterday someone asked me how I was as I stood making coffee at work. "I'm really great, thanks!" was my response. The person in question turned to me a little incredulously and said "Really? Why?".
"Do I need a reason?"
"To be really great? Yeah!"
How odd I thought, I could have sighed and said "Yeah...ok" and it probably would have been met with a knowing oh-we're-at-work-aren't-we glance. Being really great gave pause for thought, and reminded me of a bunch of stuff Seth has written on being exceptional. A mood is enough to stop people in their tracks, to capture their interest.
People want to be part of what is good, what is great, and what is exceptional. You attract others towards you through that attitude, and you attract consumers to your clients brands based on the aspirations they have. Instill the offering with something exceptional (and it can be as simply as being "really great") and the rest will take care of itself.
...that's probably over-simplifying, but the point stands.
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