Bye Bye London

Well after 15 months we're leaving London and are heading back to Australia.

Indirectly. We are travelling. For 6 months. Quite indulgent. We'll be broke after that.

I promise not to turn this into a cheesy travel blog. I also promise to keep posting, although perhaps less regularly. Let's just see how it goes.

Hugg

I am loving Hugg, Treehugger's new user-generated green news site.

If you are familiar with digg, you'll see that hugg is very similar. You can visit the site to view the latest in green news. Or you can sign up to submit news and "hugg" stories that have already been submitted.

Hugg is a tremendous green resource. Here are just some of the nuggets that have been hugged in the last 3 days:

• Throwplace - a place online where business can give away excess goods rather thn adding the to landfill.
• Movie trailer for Who killed the electric car?
• Cool bags and belts created in Mexico from old chocolate bar wrappers and chip bags.
• Locally produced food gets green labelling in a clever Food miles campaign.
• Sony's new biodegradable DVD player.

Yet another fine addition from the good folk at Treehugger. 

Who thinks wind farms are beautiful?

I do. So does Design Observer. Check out their piece on the aesthetics of wind farms.

It’s OK to suck

A great post today by Steve Rubel, praising companies that have the guts to say "We Suck". 

The "We suck" strategy is taking off. Admitting that you're not perfect is crucial in doing business. Having the guts to own up to mistakes builds credibility. It makes you look like a person, not a corporation.

"We suck" has worked for lots of companies including some of the big ones. L'Oreal and Microsoft are two great examples. They both gained plenty o' cred from admitting that they suck.

Maybe it can work for you too. 

How would the world’s leading marketers save the world?

OK. It's official. The debate is over. Climate Change is here. Even George Bush has admitted it. There is so much evidence to support it. Now we need solutions.

So how do we market a solution to saving the planet?

As I see it, depressing facts and figures aren't working. The majority of people couldn't care less about global warming. No matter how clear the evidence is, we can't seem to scare them into it.

So we need to re-position climate change. Not as a threat, but as a massive opportunity. A massive financial opportunity in developing competitive advantage by becoming sustanable. An opportunity for us all to be part of the solution. An opportunity for us all to be involved in saving the planet. Global warming needs to be something that inspires us all. Joel Makowers' recent clip is a great example of this in action.

I've posted previously about Seth Godin's recent thoughts on Global Warming. Seth thinks that the 2 major problems with Global Warming are:

1. the name - How can "global warming" be bad?

2. the pace and the images.

Not trying to blow anyone's trumpet here, but Seth Godin is clearly one of the best marketers on the planet. A recent listing of the top 25 marketing blogs puts Seth on top of the list.

Seth's not alone. The aforementioned list highlights the incredible wealth of talent in marketing blogland. The best marketing minds on the planet are blogging. So my question is - what solutions would the best marketers in the world come up with?

• How would Seth Godin turn this into a Purple Cow?
• What would be in Guy Kawasaki's top 10 list?
• What sort of illustration would Hugh Macleod use to help out?
• What would John Jantsch have to say?
• How would Kathy Sierra teach people to 'kick butt' when it comes to saving the planet?

And to the 25 wizkids on this list. And to the rest of us that aren't. There are so many amazing marketers out there hyperlinked into the conversation. We need their help. We need your help.

So here's my shout-out to them: What would you guys do here? How can you help us solve "the greatest threat ever to the future of mankind" (Seth's words).

Can I ask my small but incredibly loyal readership to pass this shout-out as far and wide as possible. We need to bring the big guns in to help. Straight away.

Tell them I sent you.

Cool community of characters at Mojizu

OK, I'm a sucker for illustration and social / community websites.

So when Michael Arrington reviewed the cool new contemporary character site, Mojizu, I was bound to notice.

Mojizu is a great little site where you can upload, showcase, vote for and rate user-submitted illustrated characters. I could waste hours on this thing rating monsters, aliens and robots.

Sites like this are a clear sign that social media websites are appearing in more and more niche areas. They're really taking off. First there was links (del.icio.us). Then photos (flickr). Then music (last.fm). Then books (librarything), then clothes (Stylehive), then wine (cork'd). Now there's cartoon characters.

"Where's the business model?", I hear you ask. Mojizu receives it revenue through Mojishop, which it shares with the artists. So while it is mostly for fun, there is some money to be made.

But does it always have to be about business models?
I think all sorts of people are seeing the social benefits of the second internet revolution. Some are working out how to make money from it. Others, like Mojizu, are just having a bit of fun.

What’s Your Blog Really About?

Brian Clark over at Copyblogger has written a fine post today about the importance of the about page on one's blog.

Personally, I've recently put some effort into my about page. I hope that it represents what the blog is about. That it gives you a good picture of what to expect.

Most of all, I want the whole thing to be taken fairly lightheartedly as I get the hang of this whole blogging shenanigans. Any comments greatly appreciated. How would I you improve it if you were me?

Stormhoek Wine :: Blogging their way to bigger sales

Stormhoek Wines are a great case study about the power of blogs in action.

Hugh Macleod needs no introduction in the blogging world. His Gapingvoid cartoons are the web-geeks' illustration of choice. He's a clever guy who pushed sales of a Saville Row tailor through the roof by starting a blog. through the roof. More recently Hugh's work with Stormhoek is having the same effect.

Last year, Stormhoek gave away free samples of their Sauvignon Blanc via Hugh to bloggers in Europe, along with some information about the wine and the campaign. The bloggers, predictably, blogged about it.

The Result? Stormhoek doubled their sales in 2005.

There's a reason this strategy has worked for Hugh. His blog is popular - Technorati ranks Gapingvoid at 82 in their top 100. He positively A-list. By contrast, my blog (ranked 405,840 with a bullet) is unlikely to create quite the same tidal wave.

But my point is this - new marketing strategies, like using blogs promote your idea are working. Probably thousands of people have bought Stormhoek after hearing about the buzz online. If I saw some in the bottle shop tonight, I'd give it a try. So might you. Because we've heard the story.

Old marketing strategies apply here too. Being the first still gives you a clear advantage. If you are in the wine or tailoring business, Hugh has beaten you to it. If, however, you are lucky enough to be in an industry that hasn't tapped the potential of the blogosphere (a cringeworthy description I know), what's stopping you?

Here in the UK, the brand has also picked up distribution in retailers including Sainsburys, Asda, Oddbins, Majestic, Waitrose and Somerfield. They've also picked a major wine trade award.

This year, to support their launch in the US, Stormhoek are sponsoring a series of Geek dinners. Stormhoek will provide the wine, bloggers provided the buzz … let's keep our eye on what happens to sales this time.

10 ways

Now for something a little more upbeat.

Getty Images have a project, 10 ways, which looks at 10 different ways we can look at photogaphy. This is by far the coolest thing I've seen online for a while. 

US ads praise carbon dioxide :: A Rant

I try not to rant too often with this Blog.

Today I rant.

An article in The Australian this week has alerted me to two 60 second spots created by the Competitive Enterprise Institute to promote the benefits of global warming:

A LITTLE girl blows away dandelion fluff as an announcer says, "Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life"

Would you believe they the Institute are "a lobby group closely allied with the Bush Government?". Of course you would.

It's worrying enough that most people aren't concerned about climate change. To come out and actively counter-claim the global warming threat is absolutely outrageous.

Rant over. (Thanks to Shea Guther for the YouTube link)