Fun and frivolities in Sydney

It’s been a hectic week of networking in the Sydney social media space, with numerous events on across the city, all adopting a different format and topical skew!

We kicked off the week with Social Media Club Sydney http://twitter.com/SMCSYD which was held at the Arthouse after a shift from the usual venue of The Supper Club on Oxford Street. This time around the crew were looking at ‘Measuring Social Media’, with speakers Matt Granfield from DP Dialogue, Nick Holmes å Court from Buzz Numbers and Jye Smith from Switched On Media. Matt’s preso was featured on the home page of Slideshare.net and can be found here http://www.slideshare.net/mattgranfield/golden-rules-of-social-media-measurement A good night was had by all as usual, no doubt a few sore heads around on Tuesday. Despite sounds issues it seems the SMCsyd team did well to execute to yet another packed house.

The Insights Exchange http://www.theinsightexchange.com/ ran an intimate and very insightful lunch on Tuesday at the Radisson, focusing on Social Media Strategies. Panelists were Aisha Hillary from SBS, Kate Leaman (Brand Communications Manager - Premium, International and Craft Beer,Fosters Group), Con Frantzeskos (Digital and Social Media Strategist) and Chris Noble (General Manager, WorldNomads.com). The panel did a great job of providing insights into the various social media strategies their brands had adopted, as well as providing an informative platform around social media – What is it? Why should brands engage? How can brands engage? What are the do’s and don’ts? Kate and Con ran us through a very interesting case study relating to the reinvigoration of the Cascade brand and the launch of a redesigned bottle for Pale Ale which was designed to appeal to a broader audience. Incidentally the bottle was smaller and people weren’t happy, which soon translated to negative online discussions about the brand, several Facebook hate groups being created and a decline in sales. Kate and Con provided an overview of how they leveraged social media tools to listen, engage and communicate with their audience directly. It seems the campaign was a success, largely being a catalyst for a change back to the regular sized bottle, an increase in sales and transforming what was a negative mood amongst their audience. Chris Noble http://www.worldnomads.com.au/ provided some great insights into how they utilise social media to “Listen, Learn and Respond” with customers.

Tuesday night and Online Divas http://www.onlinedivas.com.au/ took on a new venue at the lovely Crystal Bar at GPO in Martin Place. A great turn out, and as usual Hollie Turner put on a great spread for a room full of entrepreneurial ladies (and a few brave fellas) with the champagne cocktails, sushi and oysters going down a treat. I suspect the two guys in the audience enjoyed the burlesque show (who didn’t?) and will no doubt be attending again! Panel included Shaughla from www.swapmystyle.com and Celeste from www.aseenin.com.au Pics can be found here www.flickr.com/onlinedivas

Finally Club Ad:Tech http://www.ad-techbrain.com.au/ ran the first of their breakfast briefing series on Friday, with all seats reserved within the first 48 hours and a room packed to the rafters. Jason Chuck, Head of Marketing, Google and Daren Poole, Millward Brown presented ‘Analysis, Achievements & Anecdotes From The #1 Valued Brand In The World’. Daren and Jason both gave a great preso, interesting to look at key findings from the 2009 BrandZ Report and top 100 global brands http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/Optimor/Content/KnowledgeCenter/BrandzRanking.aspx. Nice to see an organiser running a well orchestrated and relevant event free of charge, attendees asked to make a blue note donation to charity on entry. Well done Club Ad:Tech, I think the breakfast briefing series will be a continued sell out and great success. Looking forward to the 17th August!

Now, bring on the weekend…..Jacinta

Upbeat is the way forward

The stress and pressure of finding full-time work in recessionary economic conditions can be difficult to deal with over an extended period of time. Jobseekers whom in a buoyant market were often upbeat and dynamic can loose their 'spark' and consequently loose touch. Presenting yourself as a forward thinker and expert in your area requires a positive upbeat demur. Unfortunately as a Recruiter we encounter this scenario time and time again.

My suggestion to those who have been seeking work for an extended period of time is to think about some of the following strategies and how they might help you:

· Engagement: Remember your target market. It is essential that you read the local press, engage your network, jump on blogs and forums. You need to keep your knowledge relevant to the current market and be able to communicate this clearly in a interview.
· Education: Perhaps think about using this time for additional study. Are there any courses that may give your skillset a competitive advantage? This is a fantastic opportunity to take some time out to study and improve your skills.
· Challenge: Keep yourself challenged and thinking. Pet projects around your area of expertise are key, volunteer work is undoubtedly one of the best options here.
Remember the key is about keeping yourself sharp and progressive in your area.

NICTA Techfest 2009

For those not already aware, NICTA is Australia's largest organisation for ICT Research commercialisation. Essentially NICTA is a collaboration between State and Federal Governments in addition to Australia's leading Universities and Research teams.

Current projects include things such as the Bionic Eye, Super High Speed wireless chip (1Gig per second), 3D web environments and many other seriously world class research projects.

Techfest is a showcase of many of the 40+ projects currently within the NICTA system.

Click here for a PDF details and invitation for the August 2009 event.

This is a free event but our understanding is that spaces will be limited.