Project Vino – Twitter + Yahoo Live Video = A Great Night!

by | May 9, 2008 | Uncategorized

How do you get a dozen of the top online personalities in Australia to talk about your product?

Here’s one recent example of very clever marketing.

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in one of the more interesting online social networking / marketing projects I’ve seen in recent years – Project Vino.

Put together by wine podcaster Hugo Sharp, it involved about a dozen Australian Twitterers who were all sent the same three bottles of wine from Kirrihill. At 7pm on April 30th, we all jumped on Twitter, opened our bottles, and then drank them. Some of us were very sensible about it, tasting and then spitting. Others were… ahem… guzzlers. Hugo was on Twitter, walking us through how to properly taste the wine, what to eat with it, etc.

But I was on Yahoo Live Video with @jjprojects and @duncanriley and @kahunagirl and @ceibner and @bronwen and @m0nty and @spigrrl and others, chatting, drinking, debating religion, philosophy, ummm… you name it.

Project vino

I ended up QUITE drunk but the good news is that I was only a few meters from my bedroom – and I didn’t need to drive.

Now I’m no great expert on wine, but I really enjoyed all three bottles from Kirrihill Wines

* Companions Cabernet Merlot ‘06
* Companions Shiraz Viognier ‘06
* Tempranillo Garnacha ‘07

I especially liked the Cab Merlot but the Shiraz was the group favourite I think.

As an experiment in online buzz-building, I think it was a pretty huge success.

Think about it: most of the dozen people who were drinking, sorry, TASTING, have 1000+ followers on Twitter. And all night we were talking about the event on Twitter, talking about the wine vendor, etc.
In addition, many of us are relatively prominent bloggers and we wrote about it, like I’m doing here.

Duncan wrote about it on TechCrunch, the #1 tech blog in the world. And he also threw some video up on YouTube which is now ranked in the top five on Google for searched on “Kirrihill”. What’s that worth???

You can check out the number of times “Kirrihill” has been mentioned on Twitter.

I learned a lot about wine tasting, Kirrihill Wines and new approaches to using Twitter and Yahoo Live Video (which I’d never even heard of before). A great night. Thanks Hugo!!

G’Day World #322 – It’s Called MYANMAR not BURMA ffs

by | May 9, 2008 | Podcast

My first show for a month!!! I explain why the big break on the show.

But the main topic for today is Myanmar, or what the ignorant Western media insist on calling Burma. As you’ve heard, they were hit recently by a terrible cyclone and there are potentially 100,000 people dead and millions homeless. Western aid is having trouble getting there because the Myanmar government won’t let them in.

But why? That’s what I ask on today’s show. How did Myanmar get to this place? What is it’s history?

Listen to the show to learn about the role in Myanmar’s history of the British military dictatorship, American gas interests and foreign spies infiltrating NGOs and charities, and then 6 o’clock news might make more sense.

Links:

Chevron’s involvement connected to HR abuses in Burma

Aid groups shelter spies


Condi Rice’s relationship with Chevron

Wikipedia’s entry on Myanmar

Today’s music:

Light Rides the Super MajorUp The Empire
“Volcano” (mp3)
from “Light Rides the Super Major”
(The Cougar Label)

Buy at Cougar Label Shop
Buy at Amazon.com

GetUp! Campaign to Stop Lobbyists

by | May 8, 2008 | Uncategorized

I just signed this online campaign being run by GetUp! to stop lobbyists from the BAD energy companies (oil, coal, etc) subverting the Federal Budget’s investments to clean up Australia. You should to. Only take a couple of seconds. They are trying to get 15,000 votes and they currently have about 4700.

Cameron-Reilly, LLC

by | May 4, 2008 | Uncategorized

I stumbled across this company today. Apparently they make roads in Washington state! The company is owned by two guys – Jim Cameron and Mike Reilly. I’ll have to see if one of my listeners in Washington can snag me some of their company swag! I especially like the images on their website of large road signs with “Cameron” written on them. Now they could come in handy at the next MODM Block Party.

Watching Christopher Hitchens Videos

by | May 4, 2008 | Atheism, religion

I’ve only discovered this morning how brilliant Christopher Hitchens (author of “God Is Not Great”) is when he talks. Check out this video for starters then make your way through some related YouTube clips.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFiy5dPwvY8&hl=en]

A Tip For Using the Lexmark z1420 on Leopard

by | Apr 22, 2008 | Uncategorized

If you, like me, bought a Lexmark z1420 wireless printer and you, like me, have spent the last four hours trying to get your Macbook Pro to connect to the bloody thing then you, like me, should go to THIS SITE and download the special Leopard drivers which Lexmark neglected to put on the frakking installation disc or even make reference to in their little booklet! It’s April 2008. Leopard was released on October 26, 2007. Not good enough. Thanks for wasting four hours of my life Lexmark – I hate you.