the Lyndon log

1 seat free, but I'm not squeezing in there

2011-01-13T01:00:00.001-08:00

One of the most annoying things, for me, is when people on the outside don't move into the middle seat of a 3-seat space during busy periods when lots of people are standing. There's only half a seat free now, and the person to squeeze in would have to do so without falling on top of the other 5 people. Instead, I choose to stand. But if the person on the outside moved in it wouldn't be a problem!

The same goes for people who sit on the outside of 2-seat places & don't move in when a 2nd person wants to sit down. Instead they have to negotiate legs, bags & a body to get round the outside person. Just move in. Come on. Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

What's on Facebook's mind? Words & categories in statuses from 2010

2011-01-10T03:01:00.001-08:00

via sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net

Posted via email from SociableSport

It's so funny how we don't talk any more...

2010-12-14T12:12:00.001-08:00

Have you every looked up from their desk and realised that you haven't uttered a word to anyone in over an hour? Maybe longer?

It occurred to me recently when my phone hadn't rung for 3 hours. I'd been communicating with lots of people en masse during this period, mostly by email but also on Twitter and Facebook. But I hadn't actually spoken to anyone; not a peep.

It seems today that more and more conveniences are set up that take the burden of vocal conversation away from us. Typing appears to provide more freedom than talk: you can think of which words to use, edit or delete things if you change your mind, and choose when to execute the communication by pressing 'send'. Those sorts of luxuries don't necessarily exist in regular dialogue - people have expectations when they look you in the eye, and they donate a significant portion of their time to listening to you, even on the phone. So you have to get it right.

The pressures of efficiency and immediacy - immediacy in particular is, for me, the most important trend today - leave little room for idle chit-chat, and maximum opportunities for conversation-juggling. Email chains are a form of conversation, remember? How many do you have in a day?

But it's not just email, or text message, or BlackBerry Messenger, or Facebook wall posts, or Tweets... but every day there are fewer and fewer instances where vocal dialogue is required. In London we have a travel service called Oyster that allows people to 'tap in' on a magnetic pad to record their journey and debit their account for the cost. When I was 10 I had to ask the bus driver for a particular fare. At that age, I had to pluck up the courage to talk in front of a bus full of people and admit I didn't have a clue where I was going, get the change out of my pocket and pay the nice man in an orderly and timely manner. Not any more. We just tap and go on by.

Then there's food, and drink. It's more convenient to be less personal. And electronics, too. I can do all my Christmas shopping on my mobile which is super-convenient and really cool, but it's ultimately anonymous. I become a number in a system. Is that what being a customer means today? It's just strange that while relationships are becoming so efficient, and relationship-tools so effective, the quality of these relationships cannot possibly claim to match those that preceded the existence of these tools.

Why not? I'm not being nostalgic here or suggesting that what's happening here is bad. But what I do sense - what I feel - is that the more relationships we have that are based on convenience, the more we rely on a smaller number of strong relationships that don't. Is that healthy? Well, possibly not. My suspicion is that most people of my generation (I was born in 1984) will stick to a very tight-knit friendship group their whole life and be a little more reluctant than the previous generation to, say, be outgoing at parties, talk in front of groups of people or be confident public speaking, live and work abroad, be comfortable networking at work events and generally forge deep relationships with people unless they really have to.

I'd like to think I don't fit that description above. But I feel it coming. If people grow up not needing to make 'I'd step out in front of traffic for this guy' or 'I trust him with my life' relationships (note: love is different... remember, we all need love, here I'm focusing specifically on relationships that are not prerequisites of leading a full life), then all I see is a people interested sporadically in the lives of others, with individuality formed from exposure to a multitude of influences inconceivable to those only two generations previous, and a crisis of personal identity where we know not what we really are, and all that we could be. No decisions and little confidence. Easily persuaded and fickle with emotions. Will a 'moral standpoint' exist? For how long? Weeks, months, maybe? Morality will likely be fuelled by statistics and an ability to articulate (be it simply in visualisations and text - like this post - or by creating movements in social networks quicker and with bigger numbers than anyone else). The internet makes campaigns of us all.

My great hope among this disorder is that the notion of God will dissolve in place of rapid and universally accepted progress. I just don't know where that direction will be.

[I put the picture of my Facebook profile page up because in reality, that is me. That is my identity as the vast majority of you will ever know. It's the closest you will come to seeing my face & it doesn't even have a picture of me on it!]

Posted via email from SociableSport

It's so funny how we don't talk any more...

2010-12-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

Have you every looked up from their desk and realised that you haven't uttered a word to anyone in over an hour? Maybe longer?

My great hope among this disorder is that the notion of God will dissolve in place of rapid and universally accepted progress. I just don't know where that direction will be.

Posted via email from SociableSport

World Map of Social Networks is great, but Misleading

2010-12-10T03:31:00.001-08:00

via vincos.it

And as if by magic, here's another really useful infographic outlining the dominant social networking sites around the world.

However, please approach with caution.

While the analogy works insomuch as illustrating the geographic and, therefore, culturally diverse community that Facebook has helped connect, the world's largest social network by volume of user accounts is actually QQ in China (but only just). QQ is an information portal a bit like Yahoo! and offers a chat service called QZone that's similar to Yahoo! Messenger or MSN Messenger, but users are able to upload files, images, videos, and profile information. This classifies QZone as a social network (in my book at least).

Earlier this year, in reading a financial report published by QQ's owners, Tencent (a listed company on the Hong Kong stock exchange), I read that QQZone has around 640million registered user accounts. This is marginally (in % terms) bigger than Facebook's user base, and of course much less diverse (the service is created for native Chinese speakers; both the user experience and user interface reflect this.).

It's a bit disappointing to see Techcrunch cover this story purely from a Facebook angle, but I guess that shows the western bias.

More on China to come in Q1 next year. Watch this space.

Posted via email from SociableSport

The History of Media and the Birth of Socially Focused Media

2010-12-10T03:21:00.001-08:00

via blog.skloog.com

Awesome visualisation, one I've often tried replicated (very poorly) in PowerPoint.

Thanks to http://blog.skloog.com for original source.

Posted via email from SociableSport

Social content sucks unless it's 'sociable'

2010-12-01T07:11:00.001-08:00

My buddy at Mindshare and were asked to talk at a digital summit about social content. Pretty broad brief.

What we started to realise when we thought about that concept of 'social content' is that not all social content is good. Some of it sucks. The thing about great social content is that it'll be sociable.

And if brands want to build personal relationships, then they need to be sociable too.

My last comment would be that prezi completely rocks. Check it out at http://prezi.com. That's how we made the presentation. Cool, huh?

Posted via email from SociableSport

Sports Websites Banter

2010-11-22T04:29:00.001-08:00

<div><div style="width:420px;text-align:left;">Open publication - Free publishing - More websites</div></div>

Posted via email from SociableSport

Sports Websites Banter

2010-11-22T04:20:00.001-08:00

<div><div style="width:420px;text-align:left;">Open publication - Free publishing - More websites</div></div>

Posted via email from SociableSport

Contrary to popular belief, 'Charlie Bit My Finger' is NOT YouTube's most watched video

2010-10-01T11:23:00.001-07:00

I've seen lots of presentations about social media, viral video, YouTube this & Facebook that, and many of them reference that only a handfull of the most popular shared videos (i.e. videos on YouTube) are created by users.

The point the industry tries to make is that although some user generated content does resonate with people - 'Charlie Bit My Finger' is the best known example of this - the majority of YouTube's 'Most Watched' are professionally-created videos.

I'm not really debating that, but it gets confusing sometimes.

For some reason the list above only includes 1 video with over 100,000,000 views, courtesy of Mr. Charlie. But Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' is way ahead, as her video page shows.

I checked the search again and low & behold it yielded a completely different list. The list has two musicians at the top, which is interesting in itself & kinda forced me to change the point of this post from, "look - YouTube can't track their own video views!" to "wow - a) Justin Bieber's such a tool, why do so many people want to watch that awful video? and b) the top 10 on the list, 2 of them are UGC. That's not a great ratio at all."

The lesson? The most popular videos represent world class entertainment that appeals to all our senses. Oh and the 6th sense - disgust (Beiber).

Whatever the lesson, 'Charlie Bit My Finger' is not YouTube's most watched video!

Posted via email from SociableSport

Facebook Over The Ages

2010-09-22T08:50:00.001-07:00

Perhaps this could be a good way to get more kids into learning about history?

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from SociableSport

Facebook Over The Ages

2010-09-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

Perhaps this could be a good way to get more kids into learning about history?

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from SociableSport

The Shard as seen from a boat

2010-07-31T10:49:00.001-07:00

The Shard!!!

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

High school band at Victoria Embankment Gardens

2010-07-21T05:45:00.001-07:00

These guys are all the way from Colorado!

Really nice day today in London.

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard

2010-07-21T01:12:00.001-07:00

Europe's tallest building is now at 36 floors & counting. Lots of progress since the last photo. As always, this was taken from platform 6 at London Bridge Train Station.

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Sunset over Millennium Quay

2010-07-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

What is it about this place?!

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Another sunset as seen from Deptford Creek bridge

2010-07-13T13:24:00.001-07:00

Awesomeness

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Another night's sky as seen from Deptford Creek

2010-07-07T14:26:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Steven Gerrard rumours in Google search bar

2010-07-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

It's funny how the rumour machine works... it seems that Google is the place to go to check up on the latest gossip!

Take your pick!!

Posted via email from SociableSport

And again...

2010-07-03T21:08:00.001-07:00

Wow.

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Sunrise over Millennium Quay, Greenwich

2010-07-03T21:06:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Sunset over Millennium Quay

2010-06-29T13:10:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's tallest building (32 floors & counting!)

2010-06-25T12:43:00.001-07:00

It's back, and more 'shard-like' than ever!!

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Sunset in Greenwich

2010-06-17T13:05:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

View of East London as seen from Greenwich hill

2010-06-12T12:44:00.001-07:00

Lovely summer's eve.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Central Hall, Natural History Museum

2010-05-31T08:14:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's tallest building (29 floors & counting)

2010-05-31T06:48:00.001-07:00

Slow progress. Hmmm.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Apple Store, Regent's Street, as seen from Aqua Kyoto roof terrace

2010-05-26T12:45:00.001-07:00

Most over-rated roof terrace in London.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's Tallest Building (28 floors & counting)

2010-05-22T07:18:00.001-07:00

Not the best quality of photo, sorry!

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's tallest building (26 floors & counting)

2010-05-20T01:06:00.001-07:00

As seen from Platform 6, London Bridge Station.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's Tallest Building

2010-05-18T13:38:00.001-07:00

As seen from platform 6, London Bridge Station...

Now at 24 floors& counting!!

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

The Shard, London's tallest building

2010-05-17T12:46:00.001-07:00

Here at 23 floors & counting!

(As seen from platform 6, London Bridge Station)

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Was this the greatest football match of all time?

2010-04-08T10:22:00.001-07:00

Described by http://football-england.com

Division Two. Saturday December 21, 1957

Charlton Athletic vs Huddersfield Town att. 12,535

"Amazing, fantastic, incredible...call it what you will" exclaimed the newspaper report from this game as the dust settled on the most remarkable comeback in the history of English football.

There was nothing to suggest that a classic encounter was on the cards in the run up to this game.

Although Charlton were handily placed on the fringe of the second division promotion race there was little in the visit of mid table Huddersfield Town to inspire the locals on the Saturday before Christmas.

Vast swathes of the huge Valley terraces were almost deserted as a below average crowd huddled together in clutches to create atmosphere and warmth and there was no immediate sign of their team doing anything to brighten their days.

After a quiet opening where the visitors looked marginally more lively, the first incident of note occurred in the 17th minute.

Charlton's skipper and centre half, Derek Ufton, threw himself into a challenge and landed awkwardly on the heavy pitch. Ufton had dislocated his shoulder and had to be carted off, in agony, to hospital.

In 1957, at a time before substitutions, Ufton's injury reduced Charlton to 10 men, with over 70 minutes left to play.

Charlton had shown little to this point and, struggling to reshuffle after the loss of Ufton, Huddersfield assumed control.

On 27 minutes the inevitable occurred, The Terriers inside left Les Massie firing home from point blank range to take the side to a 1-0 lead.

Eight minutes later Alex Bain took advantage of the freedom he had been given since Ufton's injury to take the visitors to 2-0 up at the break.

Supporters on the terraces decided to call it a day and many left at half time.

Meanwhile in the dressing room, the Charlton manager Jimmy Trotter tried to rally his troops, urging his team to feed left winger Johnny Summers, Charlton's one potential source of danger in an otherwise lacklustre field. Sure enough, two minutes into the second half the tactics were rewarded as Summers broke through to make it 2-1.

But just four minutes later, Huddersfield swept into a 4-1 lead through Alex Bain's second goal and a Bill McGarry penalty.

This prompted a further trickle towards the exits, but the trickle turned into a stream when Bobby Ledger was left unmarked to slot home the visitors fifth just past the hour mark. 5-1 to Huddersfield.

With 28 minutes to play Charlton were a man short and four goals in arrears. The game was surely over. There seemed no way back.

THE COMEBACK

First, Summers centred for Johnny "Buck" Ryan to score - 5-2 - and then the winger instilled some real belief into the Valley by firing home his second and Charlton's third. 5-3 Huddersfield.

This time Charlton maintained their sudden momentum and Huddersfield inexplicably fell apart.

On 73 minutes Summers completed his hat trick. 5-4 Huddersfield.

Five minutes later The Addicks were level. Once more it was Summers. Unbelievably, 10 man Charlton had bought the match back from 5-1 down to 5-5.

By now the loss of their centre half hardly seeemed to matter as Charlton poured forward at will.

With nine minutes remaining the comeback was complete as Summers rammed home an astonishing fifth goal to put Charlton 6-5 in front.

But with four minutes remaining Stan Howard sent in a shot which deflected off John Hewie and beyond the wrong footed Willie Duff in the Charlton goal to even the match. 6-6 with four minutes to go.

The Charlton fans could have been forgiven for biting their nails and shrieking for the final whistle but they had become too caught up in the manic events of the last half hour.

With the clock ticking down the last few seconds Johnny Summers set off on one final burst, tearing clear of the hapless Tony Conwell yet again to send over a cross which Ryan met perfectly for Charlton to take the lead, again, with barely time left to start the whistle.

The final score: 7-6 to Charlton.

A more tragic fate awaited Johnny Summers, the hero of this hour, who would die from cancer within five years of this unforgettable afternoon.

Charlton Athletic: W.Duff, T.Edwards, D.Townsend, J.Hewie, D.Ufton, B.Kiernan, R.White, F.Lucas, J.Ryan, S.Leary, J.Summers.

Huddersfield Town: S.Kennon, T.Conwell, R.Wilson, K.Taylor, J.Connor, B.McGarry, B.Ledger, S.Howard, A.Bain, L.Massie, R.Simpson.

Posted via web from the Lyndon list

Nike Release Tiger Woods Ad... Re-Brand In Full Swing!

2010-04-08T04:28:00.001-07:00

Woods in Nike commercial with late father
WWOS staff
12:00 AEST Thu Apr 8 2010

With the re-crafting of Tiger Woods' public image in full swing, Nike has produced a provocative 30 second commercial featuring the world's No1 golfer.

The commercial made its debut on US sport network ESPN and The Golf Channel last night, on the eve of Woods' return to competition at The Masters where the 34-year-old has won on four previous occasions. Woods is returning to golf following revelations of infidelity in November and a stint in rehab for sex addiction.

In the austere commercial, Woods stares directly into the eye of the viewer without speaking while the voice of his late father Earl is heard. Earl Woods is the man credited with his son's early success.

"Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive to promote discussion," Woods senior is heard to say in the ad. "I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything?"

Nike is one of the few companies to have stood by golf's first US$1billion earner while Gatorade, Gillette, Accenture and AT&T all abandoned Woods following the scandal.

It is not the first time the sportswear giant has used its troubled athletes in commercials. Basketball star Charles Barkley infamously stated "I am not a role model" in a similarly-themed spot. It followed his outspoken beliefs that it was up to parents and teachers to educate children after he accidently spat on a young girl during an NBA game.

"I think the media demands that athletes be role models because there's some jealousy involved," Barkley argued.

"It's as if they say, this is a young black kid playing a game for a living and making all this money, so we're going to make it tough on him. And what they're really doing is telling kids to look up to someone they can't become, because not many people can be like we are. Kids can't be like Michael Jordan."

Another of Nike's key spruikers, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong baited doubters of his ability following his comeback from cancer while debate and rumours raged in the European cycling press regarding the American's supposed use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"Everybody wants to know, what am I on," Armstrong quoted in his commercial. "What am I on? I'm on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day."

Article found here: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1037109

Posted via web from SociableSport

Outline of IBM's Sponsor-Partner Agreement With Augusta National, Beyond Simply Managing The Website (CIO.com)

2010-04-06T09:09:00.001-07:00

IBM's sponsorship-partnership arrangement with Augusta National is unique, especially when compared with your typical corporate sponsorship of golf events, tennis tournaments or other sports-related business schmoozefests. Those typically look like this: Show up on the day of event with clients, wine-and-dine, talk-a-little-business and offer up a reverential "golf clap" every so often.

No doubt, as a sponsor, IBM entertains key customers and executives at the Masters. And IBM pays for that, though Singer won't disclose that amount. (For the record, IBM spent $1.2 billion in 2009 on advertising and promotional expenses, according to its annual report. That's for its entire marketing activities, a small portion of which is spent on sports sponsorships, according to an IBM PR representative.)

But because IBM has its own software, hardware and people working on-site, in real time, while the world is watching the Masters, an IBM customer can get a little hospitality as well as a more engaging product demo than your garden-variety game of 40 PowerPoint slides in a conference room. In other words, the Masters is a living, breathing reference customer that IBM customers really, really want to hear about. "It's not a demo; it's real business," Singer says. "We see it not so much as hospitality—though that is part of it—but as truly an event. It's an IBM event because they're getting a taste of our technology. And it's wrapped in a very nice box."

IBM views an event like the Masters as well as the business strategies and IT infrastructure working behind the scenes as a way to tell a business story that customers want to hear, Singer says. "For us to talk about the business challenges that the Masters or USGA [U.S. Golf Association] faces or how we sat down with the NFL [National Football League] and figured out how technology can help them address their issues, it takes it out of the realm of discussing 'balls'—footballs, tennis balls and golf balls," he says. "It's more about challenges on managing data, challenges on managing infrastructure and reducing cost."

Making the Relationship Work
This is not a new type of marketing arrangement for IBM. Singer says IBM began this back with the 1960 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Today, technology partnerships include such deals with the USGA (pro golf's U.S. Open), the four major championships of professional tennis (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open) and the NFL. (CIO.com profiled the IBM team's efforts at the U.S. Open tennis championships and PGA Championship back in 2000.)

Why these events? Singer says IBM chooses these sports properties because of "the passion" the events evoke among IBM's customers and potential new clients. "It's what our customers care about," he says. "These are the things our clients will travel for, and they'll watch on TV." Plus, he adds, "It's fun to hear about a business story wrapped around something you're passionate about."

For decades, many in corporate America have claimed that the golf course is "where business gets done." But according to a 2008 CIO magazine survey of 394 IT industry professionals, not everyone is sold on golf's career-enhancing powers: 55 percent said that their interest in the game of golf had helped their careers; 45 percent said it had not helped them.

Nevertheless, there aren't too many golf fans (even casual ones) or IBM customers who would ever turn down a visit to the Masters tournament. Singer confirms that fact. The 2008 CIO survey found that Augusta National was the number-one golf "dream destination."

IBM's Risk-Reward Question
While IBM's deals are different than the norm, they also can be tricky. Singer points out that the dual dependency inherent in IBM's partnerships with the sports organizations adds an interesting wrinkle to the business relationship: both parties are buyers and sellers.

So what's the hard-dollar return for IBM and its sponsorship and partnership activities?

In short, there isn't one (or at least one IBM will publicly disclose). That, though, has more to do with the inexact science of marketing campaigns rather than IBM's efforts, says Jennifer Belissent, Forrester Research's senior analyst on technology vendor strategy. Directly linking efforts such as IBM's to exact revenue or sales metrics is "one of the hardest things to justify," she says. However, it's easy to see why companies want to be associated with premier sporting events such as the Masters or the Olympics. "It's associating that company or product with excellence," she says.
Singer won't get into specific financials but offers this ROI assessment:

We look at what we spend, we look at what we think we've generated—based on a number of sources—in incremental revenue, whether it's clients who attend or clients who reach out to us in other ways.... At the end of every year we look to see how we are doing on these properties: We spend X: What kind of a return are we getting? We're not looking for a return in terms of bringing in revenue. You really want to get a multiple return, and we're strict on that. It tells us that: Every year, every property pays out at that multiple. Some years may be a little more challenging than others. But we don't look at the payout of what the property would spend with us; we look at where the opportunities are outside of that, because that's where the huge opportunity is. And our management keeps letting us renew them, so I guess we're doing OK.

Because IBM provides a service to events that are being watched around the world, the reward is clearly there: massive exposure and brand awareness. But there's also risk.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, for instance, the Games' website was slower than a heavyweight wrestler competing in the 50-meter dash. In addition, one of the seven main systems providing competition results to 12 news organizations flamed out. The company managing it all? IBM. (Financial and sponsorship disagreements between IBM and the International Olympic Committee ended their 40-year partnership with the 2000 Games in Sydney.)

Forrester's Belissent, who has done research on Olympics sponsorships, says that tech vendors have to hedge for the huge amount of risk they face. "There's a fine line between innovation and risk abatement. And they'll take no risks," she says. "So they'll innovate, but there's a stopping point at which they'll start testing and testing. They absolutely recognize that there's no room for error."

Singer says the IBM team is aware of the weight of the world watching the Masters this year—barraging the IBM systems and data centers. Tiger Woods' return to Augusta has made that intensity undeniable. "It's certainly a great challenge, and we are preparing ourselves for a tremendous amount of [website] traffic," Singer says. "As far as the TV audience goes, we know a lot of people will be seeing IBM ads."

Do you Tweet? Follow the author on Twitter @twailgum. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline.

Article found here: http://www.cio.com/article/589764/IBM_and_the_Masters_A_Technology_Sponsorship_Unlike_Most_Others?page=3&taxonomyId=3000

For more information:
http://www.augusta.com/
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/121604

Posted via web from SponsorShake

2010 Commonwealth Games Is Struggling For Sponsorship, 6 Months Away From The Opening Ceremony

2010-04-06T08:54:00.001-07:00

Advertisers are still cold on games sponsorship with Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 less than six months away. The advertisers likely to be associated with 2010 CWG include Maruti Suzuki, Adidas, Volkswagen, Reebok, Sahara India and LG.The companies are still mulling over their prospects of jumping on CWG bandwagon.

Commercial business head, Maruti Suzuki Shashank Srivastav said, “We are figuring out the benefits in the form of eyeballs, top-of-mind recall of brands by the consumers.”

The games organising committee has till now roped in Coca-Cola India as the official beverage partner for the Game.The others who have officiated their sponsorship deal include public sector units such as National Thermal Power Corporation, Air India, Indian Railways and Central Bank of India.

The major sponsors of sporting events like IPL-3, T20 World Cup and the FIFA World Cup which include Electronics major such as LG, Videocon and Samsung, are also reluctant to tie up for the Games. A Samsung Electronics official stated, “We don’t see the games as a saleable property for us. So, there will be no major launches during the Commonwealth Games.”

For more information on the Commonwealth Games, check out http://www.thecgf.com/ and http://www.thecgf.com/games/future/delhi2010.asp?yr=2010

Article above found at: http://www.india-server.com/news/commonwealth-games-2010-advertisers-24053.html

Posted via web from SponsorShake

Five minutes before kickoff at Craven Cottage as Fulham take on Wolfsburg in the Europa League

2010-04-01T12:22:00.001-07:00

You can't make it out in this picture but the Wolfsburg fans are dancing around with their shirts off. It's a cold evening. Good on them.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Gaganomics - Lady Gaga's Journey To Social Success

2010-03-30T05:53:00.001-07:00

In a recent post I studied the biggest sports personalities on Facebook and analysed what makes a sports star popular on social networks. During my research I began looking at the phenomenal social media success of Lady Gaga, in what can only be described as Gaganomics.

Aside from Barack Obama, who's social media activity is well documented, the most prolific celebrity Facebooker in the world is none other than Lady '1 billion video views' Gaga. Gaga's current Facebook fanbase stands at a little under 6million. That's more than Madonna, Britney Spears and Cheryl Cole put together. It's also twice that of her nearest musical rival, Beyonce Knowles.

Believe it or not, there was a time when Lady Gaga wasn't famous, and it wasn't that long ago. The below graph, crafted by the Facebook Data Team, illustrates the the number of status's that mentioned her name over time.

Facebook says of Gaga, "She was virtually unmentioned until November 2008. The big spike in mentions of her name in September of 2009 corresponds to the MTV Video Music Awards, where she did well." The Facebook story is also true on Twitter, where Gaga is the 6th biggest celebrity tweeter in the world, by followers. Although she's been active on MySpace since 2005, I think it's fair to say that it's only in the last 18months that the world has really seen Gaga become a true Superstar.

Where do all these fans come from and what is it about Lady Gaga's brand personality that makes her so appealing? Well, Gaga seems to combines sexual intrigue with musical talent which, along with her raw individuality, make her a very interesting person. Unlike predecessors like Spears and Aguilera, but more akin to the likes of Madonna, Kurt Cobain and Michael Jackson, Gaga's non-conformist, genre-defining style has appeared on the scene at a time in musical history where young consumers feel that the only people they can relate to are those they perceive as understanding the power of the ego over capitalist distractions. In their struggle for an inspirational matriarch, they become the loyal subjects - "little monsters" - of the new Queen of Pop.

Of course, I just made that up, but Gaganomics isn't just conjecture. Take a look at her search and news traffic.

lady gaga roger federer

As with Facebook we see that Gaga was unsearched on Google until late 2007. Since then she has sky-rocketed over and above even one of the world's most talked-about sports stars. In the news, she again appeared from nowhere in the Autumn of 2007, but her rise here does not match the meteoric rise in search queries. What does this mean? Firstly, similar to what we found with Cristiano Ronaldo, the supply of Gaga news is not in keeping with the demand.

Perhaps this is why she is so popular in social networks: because the biggest, and best, source of Lady Gaga content is Gaga herself. That's a simple answer, and probably true, but why is there such a huge discrepancy between search queries and news coverage? There must be fewer interviews and PR stories than the demand, but is this strategy conscious (ensuring her material is unfit for general public consumption e.g. she wouldn't be able to appear on the Disney Channel) or unconscious (an erratic lifestyle and busy international schedule restricting the amount of attention she can give media channels other than her own)?

Either way, this gap between news channels and search demand is driving interested persons through to her Twitter and Facebook pages, but her conversion rate still leaves much room for improvement. Although she's outperforming all competitors, Lady Gaga still drives a much higher level of search than the extent of her Facebook fanbase. The people that search for Lady Gaga aren't fans. They're not even driven by news coverage. They've come through word of mouth, or repeat search. Her Google homepage does include three sponsored links, but more needs to be done here to drive conversion. More sponsored links, more rich content (especially video) and her twitter feed need to come up as well. If her search strategy was as deep as her social strategy, she would compile a fanbase more akin to her cultural fame.

We should revisit this subject in 12months' time and see where these figures stand. For now, I'm content to pull this topic back to brand value and note that Lady Gaga's influence over her direct followers, by virtue of her social media activity, should make her a more attractive proposition for sponsors and affiliates than a celebrity with a fragmented, and therefore expensive to reach, following. Gaganomics is then, at least in part, a look at social influence, and Gaga, with her "little monsters" at her feet, is leading the way.

Posted via web from SociableSport

The CMO's Guide To The Social Landscape

2010-03-29T03:07:00.001-07:00

via penn-olson.com

Really like the way this is laid out. We see a lot of information, or infographics, about how many people are using social servies. Where they're from, how old they are, how often they log in, but all of this has limited use to marketers looking to tap into the resource for marketing communications.

The above helps navigate through the ocean of options.

Posted via web from the Lyndon list

The timeless clock at London Waterloo Station lives up to its reputation

2010-03-27T04:04:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Champion's League at Emirates Stadium

2010-03-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from SociableSport

And if I turn my head the other way

2010-03-18T07:17:00.001-07:00

London has many downsides but this makes the sweet that much sweeter.

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Where I'm eating my lunch at the moment

2010-03-18T06:59:00.001-07:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from SociableSport

View from the stairwell

2010-03-02T05:23:00.001-08:00

And it's wonderfully warm!

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Tiger Woods - Back On Twitter, To The Annoyance Of Accenture

2010-02-19T06:45:00.001-08:00

Hours before Tiger Woods makes his eagerly awaited return to the media spotlight, we have seen a spike in Twitter activity akin to the November peak when press coverage of his private life hit the heights usually reserved for Royalty and Recession. The collective consciousness is naturally drawn to the Woods story, not in the least part due to the sheer volume of eyeball coverage its continued to draw (by this I mean the coverage in front of our eyeballs).

Scandalous interest aside, news of the 'no questions to be asked' press conference will be ringing loud in the ears of those stakeholders who are currently hanging on the words soon to be uttered. Golf has both suffered and profiteered in the incremental attention to Woods. For one, right now Golf is a more popular sport than the Vancouver Games. The BBC will be streaming the interview online in what will no doubt be a prominent position; in a twist of irony, today is the round of 16 in the Accenture Matchplay tournament. Accenture, of course, were the first brand to terminate their association with Woods once the scandal had broken and the timing of Woods' announcement will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the tournament organisers and sponsorship managers looking to generate all the right coverage for all the right reasons.

Having said that, Accenture are, again, receiving a disproportionate amount of coverage. Their sponsorship of the tournament may be predicated on a hospitality strategy and yes, this may be a little awkward for those client entertainers who have to continually reply, "No we don't sponsor Tiger any more; anyway, about that Supply Chain Risk Management product...", but for being front-of-mind among those interested in golf, Accenture are in a very good place right now.

So, Ernie Els' comment, "I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday" may be a little short-sighted. If the BBC and SKY News are talking about your tournament, that's good. Well, it's not perfect - given the context - but you have to be positive in these situations.

It's the PGA Tour who will be holding their breath. If Woods retires, the tour will be left with a Woods-sized-hole that the sport's next top 5 biggest personalities would struggle to fill. If Woods announces a comeback date, it may well be one of the most watched sporting events of this young decade. This is, arguably, a make-or-break situation for golf's largest tour schedule and one of sport's biggest sponsorship properties.

All we can do is wait and see.

Posted via web from SociableSport

Sometimes Sport Just Doesn't Translate

2010-02-18T09:30:00.001-08:00

via youtube.com

"You supposedly... according to our international sources... are responsible for the greatest goal ever?"

With all the knowledge in the world, does, "do you have a famous girlfriend" sum up the progress in sports journalism?

Posted via web from SociableSport

Pocahontas / Avatar - Original Story?

2010-02-10T04:41:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from SociableSport

School children study Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National Gallery

2010-02-04T05:23:00.001-08:00

Lyndon Morant
http://SociableSport.com
You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Advertisers Make Use Of Spare Seating At London Irish Rugby Club

2010-01-31T11:16:00.001-08:00

This was taken just prior to kick off, but no more than around 8,000 fans attended the match at the 25,000+ stadium in Reading.

London Irish are a rugby club to watch, though. According to their CEO, the club has ambitions to become the Manchester United of club rugby (without the debt).

Whether achieving that goal, in perspective, will Leave shareholders dispondent or elated, I'm not sure. It depends in large part on the growth of the sport as a whole, which is of course out of the hands of Irish alone.

They're soon to release a new content offering, perhaps in the form of an app. I can't say much more other than that it excited me a bit!

You should follow me on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SociableSport

Posted via email from SociableSport

Rare Interview With Roger Federer - 15 Grand Slams Ago (2001)

2010-01-28T09:16:00.001-08:00

Incredible just thinking of this 19 year old guy talking about his ambitions... I wonder if he ever knew how much success he would have...

Posted via web from SociableSport

CNBC's Most Influential Sports Tweeters of 2009

2010-01-16T04:34:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, 30 Dec 2009 | 2:10 PM ET

Text Size

By: Darren Rovell
CNBC Sports Business Reporter

There's little doubt that Twitter has changed the world of sports reporting and sports fan interaction in 2009. As we've cautioned with the other Twitter rankings we've released in the past, how many followers a person has is just one part of the equation in determining the most relevant tweeters in sports this year.

So, instead of putting it into a particular order, we are ranking the most relevant tweeters by category.

Athletes

Shaquille O'Neal (@THE_REAL_SHAQ): The Cleveland Cavaliers center has used Twitter to interact with his fans better than any other athlete. He has given away tickets and continues to answer tweets with great frequency. O'Neal has clearly earned his 2.7 million followers.

Stewart Cink (@stewartcink): Cink achieved greater relevancy through Twitter than any other athlete this year and while we're frankly a bit disappointed with the quality of his recent tweets, Cink's work on the social networking site after he won the British Open was commendable.

Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong): His courageous fight against cancer and the foundation he established has enabled Lance Armstrong to be in the conversation more than every summer during the Tour De France. But Armstrong's great use of Twitter extends his brand well. His work during this year's Tour truly made us feel like insiders.

Chad Ochocinco (@OGOchoCinco): There's nothing like a great trash talker on Twitter and Ochocinco is the tops. He loves posting goofy pictures, which his nearly 600,000 followers love.

Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward): Howard probably had the best athlete giveaway on Twitter, providing his one millionth follower with an all expenses paid trip to the Magic's home opener.

Journalists

Bill Simmons (@sportsguy33): ESPN's Simmons has proven that he can be just as effective in 140 characters or less as he can in his humungous ESPN columns. While tweets from Simmons take on a heavy basketball focus, it's his humorous tweets that get more pick up around the Twitterverse.

Adam Schefter (@Adam_Schefter): Schefter was switching from the NFL Network to ESPN just around the time it appeared like an ESPN edict would somewhat restrict Twitter use by its reporters. But that edict was overplayed and Schefter's managed to strike a balance by providing insightful commentary and still breaking news on ESPN.com and Twitter.

Pete Thamel (@PeteThamelNYT): This New York Times reporter has always been solid, but his work on the Urban Meyer situation towards the end of the year made him a must follow.

Miscellaneous

Mark Titus (@clubtrillion): We first discovered the blog of Mark Titus a couple years ago and interviewed him at the Final Four that year. Here's his deal. He rides the bench for Ohio State, but his comedic take on life is even better than his basketball game.

Evan Morgenstein (@sportsagentevan): If you are looking for the craziest man on Twitter, we've found him. There's literally no censoring this Olympic sports agent.

Eric Stangel (@EricStangel): Imagine if you had a chance to hear David Letterman tell jokes only about sports every night. Well, follow Stangel and you'll get what you dreamed of. Stangel is a huge sports fan and the head writer and executive producer of the Late Show.

Justin Gimelstob (@justingimelstob): This former pro tennis player has managed to pull in more than 7,000 followers thanks to his great sense of humor.

Pete Carroll (@petecarroll): Coaches flocked to Twitter this summer, but the USC head football coach is the leader in the clubhouse. He better watch his back though. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh (@JimHarbaugh) is out to beat him in the Twitter game too.

Recent Sports Biz Stories

Questions? Comments? ");SportsBiz@cnbc.com');

via cnbc.com

Definitely worth adding these guys to any sports twitter lists. Also - check out the stories of the last decade. Again - worth considering how this will match up over the next 10 years... and what role will social media play in helping us highlight them?

Posted via web from the Lyndon list

Solar Eclipse Throws Up Some Unexpected Search Advertising For AutoTrader

2010-01-15T09:36:00.001-08:00

It's hard to plan for something that only occurs 66 times a century, but anyone selling Mitsubishi Eclipse cars must be thanking their lucky stars today as the longest solar eclipse of the millennium swept across parts of Africa and India today.

The event was considered by many to be particularly spectacular because of the bright ring (the outline of the sun) visible while the moon crossed in front of it. Some people found it a bit too much, with MSNBC reporting onlookers "gripped by fear... refusing to come outdoors."

Even those who stayed indoors, though, are likely to read about it somewhere - probably online. Anyone who has a product called an Eclipse, and anyone who's invested wisely in keywords will be in for a bumper ride.

It's funny the way these things turn out sometimes...

And if you wondered what the eclipse looked like, here it is -

Posted via email from SociableSport

Nice, short article outlining Manchester United's sponsorship operation

2010-01-12T14:01:00.001-08:00

via guardian.co.uk

Posted via web from the Lyndon list

The Olympics and McDonald's: What's Behind The Sponsorship?

2010-01-07T09:51:00.001-08:00

Olympics enhance McDonald's worldwide brand

As 2010 begins, much of the world is gearing up for this year’s Winter Olympic Games from Feb. 12 to Feb. 28 in Vancouver, B.C. Amidst the flurry, McDonald’s Corporation senior vice president for global marketing Dean Barrett took time to answer questions from associate editor Sherri Dauskurdas about the company’s preparations for the games, its long Olympic history and the advantages sponsorship offers to the international restaurant giant.
Q: How long has McDonald’s been an “official sponsor” of the Olympic Games?
A: McDonald’s has a long-standing history with the Olympic Games, which began more than 40 years ago. In 1968 we airlifted hamburgers to U.S. athletes competing in Grenoble, France after they reported being homesick for American hamburgers. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will mark McDonald’s seventh Olympic Games as a worldwide partner and eighth as the official restaurant of the Olympic Games.
Q: What does that designation entail?
A: As a worldwide partner and the official restaurant of the Olympic Games, we are the only branded retail food service company to feed the athletes in the Olympic Village, as well as share the excitement of the games with millions of customers around the world.
We are implementing a variety of initiatives to connect our brand to the ideals of the Olympic Movement such as:
•   Feeding the world’s best athletes, coaches, officials and media at three new Olympic venue restaurants in the Olympic Village in Vancouver, the Olympic Village in Whistler and the main media center in Vancouver.
•   The venue restaurants will feature energy-efficient lighting and equipment in keeping with the Olympic Games green theme. The equipment from these restaurants will be reused and recycled at McDonald’s restaurants in Canada after the Games have ended.
•   The McDonald’s Champion Kids program, which provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for kids ages 6-14 to experience the Games first hand. For Vancouver, one child from each province and one child from the territories in Canada will join kids from around the world to attend Olympic events, meet athletes, visit the Olympic Village, tour the cultural sites of Vancouver and Whistler, and receive their own gold medals from Olympic champions. The children will also have the chance to serve as special youth correspondents to share their experiences with their hometown news outlets.
•   Celebrating Canada’s Olympic spirit nationwide as the host country with several activities including: flying Olympic flags at select McDonald’s restaurants across Canada; offering Olympic-themed McDonald’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic sport water bottles to consumers; partnering with top Canadian athletes such as speed skater Cindy Klassen and figure skater Patrick Chan; and activating McDonald’s 2010 Hopefuls, a grant program that supports the Olympic aspirations of 26 Canadian athletes and recognizes the efforts of their parents by allocating a portion of the funding to the family.
Q: How far in advance do preparations begin, here and onsite?
A: Preparations for each of the games begin years in advance and throughout the games. We know that it takes a lot of work to plan this exciting sponsorship, but it’s worth it to deliver a special and unique Olympic Games experience for all.
Q: How many staff members are taken along to work at the games, and how are they chosen? Or do you bring in local employees from the country/community where the games are being held?
A: As part of our Olympic sponsorship, we honor the hard work and exceptional performance of our restaurant crew by bringing our best of the best to the games through our McDonald’s Olympic Champion Crew program.
For the Vancouver Games, in celebration of the Winter Games return to Canada, more than 300 top-performing restaurant employees from across Canada have been selected as the 2010 McDonald’s Olympic Champion Crew. They will serve the world’s best athletes as well as coaches, Olympic officials and media at our three new Olympic venue restaurants. While in Vancouver and Whistler, they also will have the opportunity to attend select Olympic events and participate in cultural activities.
Q: What does being associated with the Games bring to the branding of McDonald’s?
A: We’ve supported the Olympic movement for more than 40 years because we believe in the values and ideals represented by the world’s best athletes and the spirit of the games. The Olympic partnership adds value to our brand on a number of levels and specifically provides a unique opportunity to engage with millions of customers worldwide and deliver the excitement of the Olympic Games in restaurants and through various promotions and programs.
We feel that our sponsorship goes well beyond a financial investment. The Olympics add value to our brand on a number of levels. First, our sponsorship helps make the games possible. And second, our customers around the world can experience the Olympics as we bring them to life in our restaurants with special promotions and activities, which is invaluable to our company.
Q: Overall, what does sponsoring events do for business?
A: From enhancing our service and people promise to reinforcing our community presence, the Olympic Games are the ultimate expression of the spirit of McDonald’s and directly connect with people of all ages and cultures. Our customers want and expect us to support the Olympics, and we look forward to bringing our sponsorship to life in our restaurants and through special promotions and activities.
Q: What other types of events does the company sponsor?
A: In addition to the Olympic Games, McDonald’s is a proud worldwide sponsor and the official restaurant of FIFA World Cup. McDonald’s is one of the biggest supporters of grassroots sporting opportunities in local communities. McDonald’s countries around the world also have sponsored national sports teams and sport leagues for many years.
Q: What advice would you offer mid-sized or even small businesses looking to become involved in event sponsorship?
A: It’s important to not only look at what your customers are interested in and what opportunities would directly connect with them, but also what adds value to your brand, whether it’s giving back to the community, furthering an ongoing commitment or simply being more relevant to your customers.

Posted on Thursday, January 07, 2010 (Archive on Thursday, January 14, 2010)
Posted by jstoltz  Contributed by jstoltz

via thebusinessledger.com

A revealing insight into life at one of the world's most prolific sponsors.

McDonald's' historical association in monetary terms (including the activation on pack and in store menu costs of producing new materials etc.) will run into many $100m's. For such an enormous investment over such a long period of time the restaurant will constantly need to robustly justify the expenditure to the shareholders.

After all, how many restaurants could you make with $100m? How many bonuses to your Exec staff? What improvement could you make to your recipes?

Despite a consistent theme of corporate social responsibility, the primary reason behind the sponsorship will be in restaurant sales - whether this is driven by a more engaged workforce, higher brand awareness, or perhaps even better relationships with governments and media organisations... who knows, but whatever the interpretation, it's good to hear all this from the source - the guy that signs the cheques.

Thanks go to http://www.thebusinessledger.com for posting.

Posted via web from SociableSport

Dear Sponsors: Meet Tiger Woods (The Bad Boy)

2010-01-04T09:08:00.001-08:00

via businessinsider.com

And here he is - Annie Liebovitz captures a Tiger Woods few of us have seen. The void between Tiger Woods a personal and Tiger Woods a professional is discussed in January's issue of Vanity Fair.

BusinessInsider rightly ask, perhaps this could be the image sponsors clamour for in 2010?

Posted via web from SociableSport

Tiger Woods - Bigger Than Jesus, Smaller Than Christmas

2009-12-21T02:39:00.001-08:00

For this festive season, Tiger Woods' scandalous relationship trauma seems to be driving more search interest than the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Tiger Woods, Jesus

But stories of infidelity or sacrifice are dwarfed by the search traffic for Christmas itself. What the Spirit of this "Christmas" wave is? I'm not sure. It could be gift ideas, or it could be celebration ideas. Either way, Christmas has certainly arrived... Perhaps Woods could piggy back this with an Oprah Christmas Special? PGA comeback event to be held on December 26th? OK, that's pushing it.

Tiger Woods, Jesus, Christmas

Posted via web from SociableSport

Tiger Woods - Bigger Than Jesus, Smaller Than Christmas

2009-12-21T02:27:00.001-08:00

For this festive season, Tiger Woods' scandalous relationship trauma seems to be driving more search interest than the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Tiger Woods, Jesus

Tiger Woods, Jesus, Christmas

Posted via web from SociableSport

Twitter and Sport - Show Me The Money!

2009-12-16T01:23:00.001-08:00

Here's a really interested thought-piece on the relationship between Twitter and Sport. Enjoy.

"The use of Twitter by sports stars has closed the gap between fans & athletes. But where do endorsements and marketing fit into this new 1-1 relationship?"

</object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more documents from Mindshare.</div></div>

Posted via email from SociableSport

Is Google Wave Any Good? In Defence Of The Future: Yes

2009-12-15T10:56:00.001-08:00

The below is a point of view document I wrote with my work hat on. Please note that this blog has nothing to do with my work - I'm just quite proud of this particular article!

"Google Wave has been criticised by many as being arrogant in its aims. Here we argue that if anything, Google hasn’t been ambitious enough in its claims for Wave which is placed to fundamentally change the way we communicate."

</object></div>

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Posted via email from SociableSport

Untitled

2009-12-11T02:30:00.001-08:00

Posted via web from SociableSport

Tiger Woods To Boost PGA Tour's TV Audience At "Comeback" Event

2009-12-09T11:15:00.001-08:00

It's Just A Prediction, But Who Could Argue Against It?

There's nothing like a contemporary advertising campaign. Do you think this example from Gatorade probably has the flexibility to still good a good job for the brand despite Tiger's recent 'image change'? Probably not. Unfortunately, thinking about whether Tiger has "it" has taken on a whole new meaning: mental toughness not being one of them.

Celebrity news site TMZ (cited in the Indian Times) are adamant Woods' transgressions will "harm" his image - most notably as the face of Nike Golf - and suggest Woods' number could be up on other sponsorship deals in addition to the loss of Gatorade. His associative properties have certainly shifted and the Indian Times goes on to reference the Davie Brown Index, which measures celebrities' standing with consumers, where Woods has gone from 6th highest ranking celebrity endorser to 24th. Apparently the database comprises of 2,800 respondents but how often this survey goes out and how much it changes according to who's in the press and why, I'm not sure.

But cast your minds back to 2004 and the David Beckham scandal. An Evening Standard poll asked London readers, 'Who is to blame for David Beckham's affair?' A staggering 41% blamed Victoria Beckham, 37% blamed David Beckham and only 22% blamed Rebecca Loos herself. Even David Beckham's own mother suggested Victoria was "partly to blame" (here).

The situations are different: while Loos hogged most of the limelight as the 'mistress of choice', Tiger has multiple skeletons to remove from his closet. Yet, after a while, Beckham's image was restored as he and his family went about 'business as usual' and sponsors were un-phased.

When Kate Moss was photographed taking Class A drug Cocaine, associations with Calvin Klein, Rimmel, Chanel and Christian Dior were swiftly put under scrutiny by the press, but store chain H&M were the only brand to take immediate action to separate themselves from the troubled model but after no more than 3 months, Moss actually gained a new $1m+ deal with Virgin Mobile.

Far from being destroyed, these two personalities had their image shaken up - and soon all was forgotten as "in the past".

According to US-based market research unit Nielsen, advertising featuring Woods hasn't appeared in US prime-time TV since November 29th, but perhaps Woods will go through a similar transformation to Beckham and Moss? Perhaps what he needs is a bit of calm: a period of time signifying the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. Next, a new appearance, a new deal or a new campaign to differentiate the old personality from the reformed. So long as his performance on the golf course is unaffected he will always be a beacon for advertisers because that's the constant - the unchanging champion.

At least the PGA Tour sponsors are benefiting from even more attention to their number 1 star - imagine how many people will tune in to watch his next tournament... . Even now he is delivering more awareness than ever (although not for the best of reasons - but that's not my point!).

For more on Tiger Woods and Gatorade check out the announcement on BBC News here

Posted via email from SociableSport

Gatorade drop Tiger, but just when they'd begun to get the advertising right!

2009-12-09T09:47:00.001-08:00

There's nothing like a contemporary advertising campaign. Surely this has the flexibility to still do a good job for Gatorade?

I jest. Of course, thinking about whether Tiger has "it" has taken on a whole new meaning. Mental toughness not being one of them.

For more on Tiger Woods and Gatorade check out the announcement here

Posted via email from SociableSport

Hey, my friend!

2009-11-21T09:07:00.001-08:00

Nike Sport Shoes

5815
5819
5825
5803
5899
>>All Boots
Chanel
Coach
A & F
Ed Hardy
Chloe'
>>All Bag

Gucci
Burberry
A & F
Nike
Ed Hardy
>>All Clothes
Ray Ban
D & G
Police
Dior
Coach
>>All Glasses

Posted via email from SociableSport

The Definition of Client Servicing

2009-11-09T10:01:00.001-08:00

Another beautiful quote from Jerry Maguire:

I am out here for YOU.... You don't know what it's like being ME out here for YOU!

It's an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing sieeeeeeeege that I will NEVER fully tell you about!

Posted via email from SociableSport

X Factor Result Sparks Huge Surge In Social Media Activity

2009-11-08T15:34:00.001-08:00

Less than an hour after the shock result in this week's X Factor, public outrage has manifested itself in a massive surge of Twitter and Facebook activity.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Twitscoop, the Twitter traffic analysis tool, records so many X Factor-related trends that they could almost be used to string a sentence together (pic1).

A number of Facebook groups have also been set up, encouraging members to 'boycott x factor', with one apparently growing at around 20 members every 1second (pic2).

But this activity was not going to be sustainable, as many users register their disgust in one or two quick acts like writing a tweet or joining a Facebook group. 45minutes later the surge in Twitter traffic has subsided but the trending topics remain. The public consciousness has flowed together in a mass of anger and frustration, and now it is dissipating (pic3).

However, we would do well to remember that 12 months ago Laura White's exit from the show was met with fierce oposition, with 50,000 complaints sent to OFCOM - the broadcast regulatory body - demanding she be reinstated on the back of speculation votes weren't counted correctly. Initially, it seems the public are less sceptical about the voting system and more dismayed with Simon Cowell's decision not to save Lucie Jones but the show has never been shy of controversy and Cowell himself is no stranger to public shows of disagreement.

At the last count, the 'Boycott X Factor' Facebook group has 5,000 members.

Posted via email from SociableSport

Cambridge University 'Tesco' Library - Underestimating The Value Of Sponsorship

2009-11-08T09:11:00.001-08:00

Dons at Cambridge University have clashed with their campus bosses by expressing concern over potential plans to sell naming rights to the University Library in a process the Telegraph describes as, "selling to the highest bidder."

Professor Gill Evans, a member of the university's Regent House governing body, said: “At this rate, one might set off for the University Library one morning to find it turned into a branch of Tesco with an internet café."

Such a superficial assessment of sponsorship's benefits can be attributed what Evans herself describes as "a lack of consultation". Although we have recently seen with sports stadia that changing the name of established properties can be perceived as insensitive to the establishment in question, there is also much to praise in successful partnerships between brands and rights owners beyond the financials alone.

The University said the move was the “ultimate commemorative naming opportunity" and said the benefaction would mark the 800th anniversary of its founding." But this isn't the only thing a potential sponsor should bear in mind. The extra funding could help the University to recruit more underprivileged students or assist current students in achieving their potential beyond University life. It could improve campus facilities and ultimately help the staff maintain the quality of the University's emphatic research and teaching reputations. The right name, with the right plans, can make positive waves for the University.

It's a little frustrating to see so much negative press for naming rights deals in the UK. With Newcastle United and Chelsea upsetting their fans with talks of renaming their historic grounds, Cambridge had a real opportunity to rubbish the 'Tesco' mindset that is tarnishing naming rights deals and set out a non-financial agenda.

Naming rights is not just about raising funds, but about enhansing reputation, building relationships and fostering opportunities that benefit all stakeholders. I hope that the Cambridge campus can include all faculty and students alike in their plans and start discussions not by asking, 'how much funding do we want to achieve?' but, 'what sort of partnership do we want to create?'

If it's a partnership that stretches on for another 800 years, it is well worth planning carefully.

Posted via email from SociableSport

Naming Rights - This Time It's Stamford Bridge

2009-11-05T11:03:00.001-08:00

It seems the naming rights saga has caught fire among the English FA Premier League . On the back of Newcastle United's announcement that St. James' Park is to be known as the "sportsdirect.com @ St. James' Park", Chelsea's Chief Executive Ron Gourlay has now revealed that Chelsea are preparing to follow the lead by selling the naming rights for Stamford Bridge. Like Ashley and Co. at Newcastle, Gourlay is insisting that the associated brand will only be able to add to the name, rather than actually change the name of the stadium altogether. 'Stamford Bridge' would therefore be retained in the name along with the assocation with "a suitable blue-chip company."

"Retaining the heritage of the stadium is paramount to considering such a move but we think that is achievable and on that basis we would enter into discussions over naming rights with the right partner for Chelsea", Gourlay told Chelsea TV.

"We understand that this is a sensitive issue for our fans and that is why we would keep the name Stamford Bridge in any deal".

Could it be that scenes like the below are soon to be a thing of the past within the giants of the game? Surely Abramovich doesn't need the money as much as Chelsea need the identity of their stadium?

A sensitive issue indeed, but Gouray feels that the financial advantage of selling the rights is essential.

"What we are not prepared to happen, and I am sure our fans will appreciate this, is allow our rival clubs in England and Europe to gain a competitive advantage over us in terms of the revenue they can generate through either expanding the capacity of their existing stadia or moving to a new stadium and then invest that upside in their team or the club. Those possibilities are not open to Chelsea for the foreseeable future because of the restrictions in expanding our stadium and the issues around finding a new site, so that means we have to be creative and look at our sponsorship architecture and see if we can create new value and new opportunities that keeps us competitive".

In 2004, Emirates paid Arsenal £50million to acquire naming rights on their new Ashburton Grove stadium for 15 years, and Allianz is charged £4m every twelve months for Bayern Munich's ground to bear its name. In the USA, Citigroup pay £10m so for the new New York Mets baseball arena, now called Citi Field.

Check out http://chelseafc.com for more information.

Posted via email from SociableSport

"sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium" - What do you make of the change?

2009-11-04T07:19:00.001-08:00

"With the renaming it was always going to be whatever brand it was, at St James' Park. For the remainder of this season, we already have sportsdirect.com on the Gallowgate so we'd like to take that branding through the rest of the stadium."
Managing Director, Manging Director

Tampering with brand equity is risky business, particularly when the equity is built by generations of sports fanatics.

How do you think it's going to be received by the Newcastle United faithful?

Posted via email from SociableSport

'Benefiting The Whole Football World' - East Against West, Frank Lowy and The FIFA World Cup

2009-10-30T15:45:00.001-07:00

"We are able to show that bringing the game to Australia and having the Asian continent with us at the same time-zone will benefit not only Australia, not only Asia, but the whole football world"
Frank Lowy, Chief of Australia's FIFA World Cup Bid and Australia's Richest Man

Asia comprises the world's fastest growing economies, the fastest growing television and media audiences and the fastest growing consumer markets. Intuitively, Lowy's claim seems to be sensible. But how valid is this regional bias? The three points below try to open this up a bit.

1. The combined audiences for West and East are broadly similar

By looking at FIFA's published TV and Out Of Home (which includes pubs and other public viewing areas) cumulative viewing figures by region we can compare the 2002 World Cup held in Asia with the 2006 World Cup held in Europe.

In terms of the number of viewers, comparing Europe with Asia is hard to swing in Europe's favour. In 2002 there were 2.7 Asian viewers to every European viewer. In 2006 this figure was cut to 1.6 but still, this is a huge difference. However, this only takes into account numbers for Asia and Europe. 'East' and 'West' is much broader.

By grouping together figures for Europe with North America, South America and Central America (EurAm) we get a better idea of what Western audiences actually add up to. We can then compare this with an Eastern group comprised of the Asia and Oceana (APAC). When we look at East vs. West in this hollistic way we get a slightly more even result. In the 2002 World Cup, held in Asia, there were only 1.3 Eastern (APAC) viewers to Western (EurAm) viewers but in the 2006 World Cup there were 1.2 Western viewers to Eastern viewers - despite the fact that the Germany World Cup was broadcast in 11 fewer EurAm territories than the 2002 World Cup.

So there wasn't that big a difference after all.

The audiences are pretty much similar from East to West. The drop off in audience attributable to changes in time-zones is nearly identical with both regions losing roughly 7% of their audience when the games were shown at more unsociable hours. Let's not forget, though, that with China's population alone being double that of the whole of Europe, Asia's 7% certainly represents more people. This brings us on to our next point - although the audiences are roughly the same, and the drop off is the same, advertisers will look for efficiency over reach and this may present the West with another argument against the Lowry.

2. Rights fees are based on efficiency, not just reach

Lowry also spoke about the revenue that an Australasian World Cup would bring in. He didn't go into specifics in the article I read but someone told me he'd quoted a difference of +$1bn. That's a lot of money and I'm not sure where he gets it from. Despite offering huge reach, there's going to be an awful lot of wastage in a market where the audiences are almost inconceivably large. In EurAm, penetration is much higher with a greater proportion of the total populations watching or experiencing the tournament. I don't want to waste any money speaking to people who aren't in the mood to listen, especially if there's millions of them.

Also, because there aren't many national broadcasters in the regions, the scope for competition among those looking to secure broadcast rights is smaller. Coupled with the lack of efficiency, this makes for risky - and tricky - business for those formulating broadcast revenue prediction models. Although, broadcast revenue isn't the only source of income from the tournament.

3. A successful event needs the stadia to be full

Although we hate to admit it, everyone secretly loves the English. English football fans, like many of our counterparts, bring with them a fantastic enthusiasm for the game that heralds from decades of disappointment and ecstasy from following the nation's team. World Cup tournaments need these fans. They need them to fill up the stadiums and prevent what happened at some of Beijing's Olympic events where organisers had to give tickets away to locals for free (retail price was very high - around £90 per ticket) in order to fill the seats. In Sydney's Olympic games, kids were actually transported to the venues by buses to fill the venues with the right kind of audience.

What's the lesson here? Big TV audiences don't necessarily equate to a success on a national level.

We have a little time to go before the decisions for 2018 and 2022 will be made (December 2010) but at the moment, it seems as though the argument isn't as black and white as we may have originally thought. Let's see what FIFA say.

You can read more about Lowry's argument here
Picture found here

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

Two Hours In Texas

2009-10-17T04:49:00.001-07:00

It wasn't until a few days beforehand that my business trip to Monterrey, Mexico, was finalised. I remember sitting at my desk looking at the flight time and wincing slightly at how long the journey was compared to the time I was spending there. But it wasn't all bad.

London to Mexico is a long way and apparently not a journey that can be conducted in a single flight. Most flights on this path stop over somewhere in Texas and it can be either Houston or Dallas depending on the airline. It so happened that I was to find myself spending a little over two hours at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston.

Texas is one of those places that everybody has an opinion on and I have to say I was no different. I love the concept of America and Americans but it seemed to be - sitting from the other side of the pond - that Texas was somewhat backwards. When I thought of Texas I'd think of guns, George (W.) Bush and religion. However, I was keen to experience it myself and although I only spent two hours in Texas (plus another two on the way back), this is what I remember.

The lady on the airport monorail
I sat down at the back of the carriage awaiting transit to my gate and a lady came on board wheeling a small travel suitcase. She stood just to the left of me and began speaking with another lady. She was evangelizing about a book she'd been reading called, 'How Starbucks Saved My Life'.

My ears pricked and I listened intently.

"You see, he'd gone from wearing $1,000 shoes to just being on the bus sitting next to people like you and me. I don't know if I'd even recognise $1,000 shoes! And he realised that it didn't matter at all - he was 50 and working in Starbucks just making coffee but that was his life and he enjoyed it. So he went from being around all that money and all that wealth to just earning $5/hour at Starbucks... and he loved it!"

She looked over at me and I joined the conversation as she talked about the differences between New York and Arkansas, where she was from. About how she could leave her front door unlocked and how things in New York are too busy and too dangerous. Although I've never been to New York, I was inclined to agree with her that it is strange how the quality of one's life diminishes the more one relies on material goods, like $1,000 shoes, for happiness and how difficult it is to really relax in a city like London when you're surrounded by people who are stressed and unhappy. She agreed and we walked a little together after the rail reached its destination. I think I heard her talking to another couple just as she disappeared from sight down the long corridor.

Texas steak
The queue for passport control was fairly minimal when I arrived, which gave me the chance to quiz the passport control officer about where I could get a good lunch. I was eager to sample Texas' famous cuisine and my stomach was empty from the flight. He said, "Ahh you gona get yourself a big juicy steak or sumthing?" I said I'd love to and he smiled and informed me that a decent lunch will cost around $10, which given that we were in an airport I found very reasonable.

I spent a little while looking for a steak house but was disappointed not to find one straight away. I approached a BBQ stall and asked for a big Texan lunch. He asked where I was from and we talked a little about the food that was available and what it may all taste like. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money for the full on 4-meat feast so I had to settle for beef stew in barbecue sauce and a bap. When he poured the meat over the bread, it soaked up the juice like a sponge.

Just behind me in the queue was a Royal Marine dressed in his combat gear. He BBQ man asked him where he was from and they talked as well. He was from Missouri. The BBQ man thanked him for serving for his country, passed him his food and said,

"God bless you, son. God bless you for serving."

I was genuinely moved by how friendly this man was and found myself compelled to tell him so. He quite naturally found it strange that anyone should find his mannerisms particularly unusual. It seems that in Texas, people like to look out for one another.

I sat and ate my bap next to the Marine and wondered where he had been and what he had seen. The bun was saturated and was beginning to crumble in my hands so I found some cutlery. As I stood up, a man asked me whether the food was any good. He had been watching me eat for a couple of moments and I felt a little intruded upon. However, the marine and I both agreed that the food was really quite good and we recommended the beef stew in barbecue sauce. The man asked me where I was from and I told him, also adding that I was keen to have a Texan meal during my short two hour stay. He smiled and joined the queue. Afterwards I felt guilty for presuming that any interruption should be unwelcome and felt myself opening up a little.

Doughnuts
After my lunch I noticed a doughnut store and went over to take a look. They had more types of doughnut than I think I had ever seen and I made the error of asking the lady at the counter which was the best. She asked me where I was from and I told her, saying also that I had not eaten a doughnut for a very long time and that I waned the best Texan doughnut money could buy. She handed me a jam-filled sugar-coated variety and I handed her 0.69c. I later returned to buy a very large chocolate chip cookie, not content with only one Texan treat. This was $2.50 worth of cookie but to be honest rather unsatisfying.

As I walked from the doughnut store down a long corridor to the gate, I noticed a sign saying 'defibrillator here' and a picture of a heart. Looking further down the corridor, towards the end I noticed another such sign. Half way between the two, a very overweight man was sitting on a bench talking on his phone. I saw him eyeing me from a distance and thought nothing of it until I passed him and noticed he wasn't staring at me, so much as he was staying at the cookie I was eating. I continued walking, past the second defibrillator sign and took a seat at a bar.

I waited for the barman to come over and I ordered a diet coke. He said it was cheaper to give me a pint from the tap instead of a bottle and I thanked him for telling me, asking for the pint.

Rain
I watched the planed on the runway through the large windows by the gate and wondered what the weather is like in this part of the world. From nowhere, my question was answered as the heavens seemed to open in an almighty downpour of rain that shocked me somewhat.

Outside, though, it was business as usual as workers quickly put on the correct attire and continued flagging and waving at taxiing aircraft. I looked away from the window at a TV screen that was showing a football game.

Football
It was Sunday, September 13th. Houston Texans were getting beaten quite heavily by the New York Jets and tempers were beginning to flare around the bar. Now wouldn't have been a good time to ask someone to explain the rules.

I tried to get into the game with the little time I had left but my viewing was constantly interrupted by advertisements, almost exclusively for SUVs. I chuckled to myself - this was the Texas I had pictured before I arrived. I gave the game a few more minutes but gave up when I realised that I was watching more advertisements than I was football.

I took one last look around the bar, at the football fans watching their side lose and being told to buy SUVs, to the barman making conversation with everyone that approached him, to the overweight guys struggling for breath, to the wide open sky and the clouds that had now disappeared, to the turkey and ham sandwich I had just bought, to the neon around the bar, to the potato chip bags, to the wet tarmack outside, to the smell and the feel of Texan air, to the gate and to the transit flight to Mexico.

This is what I remember of my two hours in Texas.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

Emotional Blackmail In Advertising: "Half Protection Is Like No Protection!"

2009-08-20T17:37:00.001-07:00

Calgon 2-in-1
"Half Protection Is Like No Protection!"

It's been a late night - I'm recovering from the dreaded 'Swine Flu' (also known as the H1N1 virus) and so I feel I can be forgiven for watching some pretty average television. Pretty average television hosts some pretty average advertising, few more so than the Calgon 2-in-1 commercials.

Unfortunately I can't actually show you the clip itself because it isn't on youtube, but please bear with me while I outline the plot.

The ad opens with a woman struggling with her washing machine. A man appears - wearing overalls - and offers to help. She explains the situation and, conveniently for the viewer, he is able to diagnose the problem instantaneously. It is a build-up of limescale caused by, frankly, some downright heinous washing machine protector that's only offering 'half protection'.

Half protection! Can you believe that? I nearly vomited I found it so disgusting.

The woman looks quizical. She's obviously mortally embarrassed about not protecting her washing machine properly and her wild eyes tell us that she will stop at nothing to find a solution but the man is intent, to the point of sadism, on hammering the point home. Just in front of the woman he notices a small child putting on a bike helmet.

"You wouldn't let him go out with half a helmet on would you?"
"No!" she replies. To be honest, the jury is out on whether she even recognises the child given the fact she hasn't acknowledged his presence in the room so far, nor has she comforted him on the fact there is a very strange man in the kitchen. If the child were to spontaneously combust, there is no indication that she will be wise to his plight. Her entire focus is on this plumber-come-salesman.
"Well, half protection is like no protection! That's why you need Calgon 2-in-1!"
"Oh!"

She is sold. The pieces of the jigsaw have fallen nicely into place. Her looking after her washing machine with 'full protection' (what does that even mean? Does Calgon come with a small army of soldiers to protect her washing machine from gunfire? What about a fire brigade to protect it from flames? Or a moat to protect it from Tudors? Now that's full protection!) is the emotional equivalent to ensuring her son wears a helmet when he rides his bike. Because millions of washing machines die every year from limescale damage and... and damn it the unnecessary pain just has to stop!

So there we have it - advertising doing what it does best:

Stereotyping
Well, it wouldn't be a man in the kitchen would it? A man would never listen to another man anyway... he'd just ask 'is it cheaper?' then depending on the answer either opt for 'ok cool - you can leave now' or 'seriously, get the hell out of my kitchen'. Haha, men are so predictable aren't they? And women! Always looking after the house like good women should! 1950s Chevrolet anyone?

Blackmail
We owe it to ourselves and to our children to buy products because the people selling them to us say we need them and who am I to disagree? It's not like my opinion on what I need counts for anything

Insulting Intelligence - "Half protection is like no protection!"
Hold on a minute... correct me if I'm wrong but is half protection not 50% protection? Is that not a great deal more than no protection at all? Half a helmet is probably just as useless as no helmet at all... but that's because half a helmet isn't a helmet. It's just a bit of useless fiberglass cushion. In the context of protecting a washing machine, just as in the context of cleaning socks, half is better than nothing and realistically these machines should count themselves lucky that they get even that

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

Augmented reality in iPhone 3.1

2009-07-27T02:32:00.001-07:00

via appleinsider.com

Looking at how the iPhone can use its camera, GPS, compass and 3G in unison much like the map functionality.

Web info based on user location and movement. Absolutely incredible.

Compare this with the first Nokia camera phone back in 2002.

Posted via web from the Lyndon list

Funny Outdoor Advertising For All The Wrong Reasons: Maximuscle

2009-07-25T06:06:00.001-07:00

Getting a bit sick of seeing these guys glaring at me in the morning at Highgate Underground Station. By 'sick' I mean disturbed...

The guy on the left is particularly strange. Apparently his name is Henry Ferniss and he's a businessman/ keen cyclist who uses Maxi-Milk to help his body cope with his hectic lifestyle etc.

I must say, Henry is doing nothing to dispell rumours of steroid abuse among cyclists. His eyes give him away. He looks like he's going to jump out of the poster, mount me and scream,

"I AM HENRY FERNISS, BUSINESSMAN AND KEEN CYCLIST!!! MAXIMUSCLE IS MY FRIEND!!! I AM HENRY FERNISS AND I WANT TO WIN MORE RACES!!!!!!"

Lyndon Morant
http://lyndonmorant.posterous.com
@LyndonMorant
Sent from my iPhone, please excuse typos!

Posted via email from the Lyndon London

Brüno, Comedy and Acronyms. What Does "lol" Say About You?

2009-07-17T03:07:00.001-07:00

Why is Brüno funny?

Like many of us, I felt compelled to blog after watching Sacha Baron Cohen's new film, Brüno, but found myself with something of a writer's block - either from shock or some form of mental anguish; I'm not entirely sure. Bruno was, undoubtedly, shocking but also funny insomuch as it made me chuckle among all the winces, groans and tooth-clenching. Why is this? Why is Bruno funny? It reminded me of a definition I read a few months ago on www.urbandictionary.com, for the acronym "lol".

As internet folk(sters), you will more than likely be familiar with "lol", which translates instantly either as 'laughing out loud' or 'lots of love' (usually the former). It's a pretty popular thing to add into sentences, especially among those under the age of 22 (who grew up from the age of 13 with mobile phones and by the age of 15 had good access - in the UK at least - to the internet... MSN Instant Messenger, AOL Messenger, chat rooms etc. simply because it's a short-fire way of adding some personality to otherwise pretty mundane conversation. "lol" isn't something you can say at a water-cooler at work, nor is it something you can really use when chatting up a hot girl (or guy) at a party. In fact, it is used so much in so many different (impersonal) situations that some argue it has lost and relevance, credibility or impact. Perhaps this was always on the cards, that instead of writing 'man, you've made me laugh so much I actually laughed out loud just then' we just say 'lol' instead, sometimes without actually finding something funny at all. And this is where it gets interesting.

Urbandictionary is, in my humble opinion, the richest source of amusing content anywhere on the internet and this instance was no exception. Many thanks go to urbandictionary user no_one_2000 for inspiring this post. Here are some of the definitions - uses of the acronym 'lol' in context - they submitted to the dictionary:

Statement: Sorry if I'm not too cheery, my best friend just died yesterday.
Worthless Reply: lol

Statement: The golden ratio is truly an interesting aspect of not only mathematics, but art as well.
Worthless Reply: lol

A worthless reply to a comment is one thing, but 'lol' is such a prolific statement of comedic value that it can completely change our perception of a sentence, and this is where the 'lol' Test is born. Take a look at the sentences below and ask yourself 'why do I think he finds that funny?' the answer will tell you more about yourself than it does about me, because I don't actually find any of the below funny and I can assure you I'm not laughing out loud while writing them. Even so, here they are:

1. Barack Obama has been elected the first black President of the United States of America lol
2. Swine Flu is expected to claim 65,000 people this winter lol
3. I got fired from my job today and now I have to live on the street lol
4. My son just told me he's homosexual lol

Sometimes it's important to ask ourselves why we find something funny. Lots of people claim Brüno made them laugh but I don't think many people could tell you why. I struggle to put it into words myself. But by simply adding 'lol' to the otherwise completely unfunny sentences above asks us to think creatively about what possible comic value there is, and you may even find some, depending on your sense of humour. Perhaps that's why we call it a 'sense' of humour; that how funny we find something depends how our own perception - how hard we're willing to look, or what we're naturally quite adroit at noticing - and experience either of culture, society (another over-used word) or upbringing generally. Bruno isn't for everyone, but perhaps that's what's funny about it, just like it's quite funny that adding 'lol' to the above sentences completely changes how they are read... it's ridiculous really. Then again, ridiculous things are often funny, no?

What's this got to do with sport, media and the future of communications? I could try to fit it in, but alas I have run out of time lol.

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

What's More Valuable? Data to Improve Ad Serving, or Ad Space Itself?

2009-06-23T04:20:00.001-07:00

If a social network doesn't carry ad space, will this stop it from making money?

From the article below, it appears that WPP Cheif Executive Sir Martin Sorrell believes so. I'm not so sure.

With every Tweet, a new piece of data is born - data about the Tweeter. The more Tweets there are, the more data there is. If I listen to what you have to say without interrupting your flow and trying to turn your attention to something else, I can start to build a picture of the type of person you are. The more I listen and the more you say, the more accurate that picture becomes.

A Facebook profile page is a rich mine of information about an individual's personality, and Facebook already use the information you input here to help serve you more relevant ads. This service is still at a fledgling stage and looks backwards rather than forwards - for example, I could say in my profile that I'm "interested in meeting new people" and I'll be inundated with dating ads, despite the fact my page clearly states I'm in a longterm relationship with a very attractive girl already! What could be more useful is serving ads about travelling the world, or exploring new cultures. All in all, there's lots of room for improvement here.

How can Twitter help? It's a bit late to be serving ads in the sense that YouTube or MySpace do around their video content (note: this type of advertising is always interruptive, it's just that some ads are more understanding than others), but there is something that Twitter can sell if not ad space: the data. Data that can improve the way that advertisers serve ads in the traditional digital spaces, but also improve the way advertisers craft media campaigns.

It's about understanding the user and listening to what they have to say. There's lots of chatter about brands having to act like people and so on - listening and responding in conversation rather than shouting at people as a huge, faceless nonentity - and for good reason. The more you know about how people talk to each other, the easier you can sell. Twitter is designed to help people share stuff. As such, it is a bank of sales tools.

What's more valuable - data to improve ad serving or the ad space itself? I guess that depends on how deep your pockets are but I know that if I was a Marketing Director, I'd be focusing on efficiency over scale and understanding as much as I can about my audience would be the first step.

All Twitter have to do is figure out a way to speak media language and turn their wealth of data into... well... wealth.

I smell a start-up idea!

Sorrell sees mixed prospects for social nets

LONDON: Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have less potential to generate ad revenues than sites such as YouTube and MySpace, which will benefit from their focus on online video, says Sir Martin Sorrell, ceo of WPP Group.

According to Sorrell, one of WPP's main short-to-medium term objectives is to boost the share of its revenues derived from digital media to 33%, compared with the current level of 25%.

He also argued that the various forms of web-based video currently being established are "probably the most revolutionary and most significant of the new media developments."

Indeed, he predicted that the influence of this form of content could come to "dwarf what we saw from the personal computer and what we saw from mobile in terms of its impact on the media."

Given this, it appears that "video-driven sites" like YouTube and MySpace will have a "greater opportunity for developing advertising revenues" than many of their online counterparts.

By contrast, "sites like Facebook and Twitter are more social networking sites, where the advertising revenue potential is more limited and more restricted" due to their differing models.

Indeed, Sorrell added, "we've seen cases, even in the case of Facebook, where Mark Zuckerberg – who must be the person on the planet who knows most about social networking – has made one or two mistakes by trying to commercialise too much."

When discussing Twitter, the rapidly-growing microblogging service, the chief executive of WPP credited the site with producing "a lot of noise", but also wondered "where is the cashflow?"

Overall, the websites at the heart of Web 2.0 are "all very sexy stuff, but there is a lot of sorting out to be done and a lot of volatility and a lot will not be here in the future," he added.

With regard to newspapers, Sorrell said the "online media model will only be successful if it's a mixture of advertising revenues and subscription revenues."

As such, "looking for content that consumers are willing to pay for" will be essential if news titles are ultimately going to succeed on the web.

Sorrell also said that WPP will be looking to target the "third sector" of "Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and central and eastern European regions" as it seeks to bolster its revenues.

He added that the rise of nations like Brazil, Russia, India and China should be seen as "an unstoppable, irreversible trend in political, economic and social power."

Moreover, Sorrell predicted that "the initial signs of recovery will not come from the West, they will come from the East; they will come from China."

The Chinese ad market "did flip up quite considerably in April", meaning WPP saw a 25% increase in its "media business" in the country in the fourth month of this year, its ceo added.

Data sourced from The Australian; additional content by WARC staff, 23 June 2009

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

Funny Online Ad Placements: You Can't Control The News!

2009-06-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to tell where stupidity starts and misfortune ends...

@LyndonMorant
lyndon.morant@mindshareworld.com
http://lyndonmorant.posterous.com

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

The Path To Immortality: Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali and The Definition of Champion

2009-06-07T03:17:00.001-07:00

Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali and The Definition of Champion

On the eve of October 30th 1974, in the Mai 20 Stadium in Kindshasa, Zaire, world Heavyweight Champion George Foreman against former Champion Muhammed Ali. After his refusal to obey his drafting for the US Army in a storm of political and racial significance, Ali had been spent over seven years forging his path to regaining a title he saw as rightfully his. Ali eventually met Foreman that wild night in 1974 and beat the man who had defeated him in the Fight of The Century three years earlier. The events before and during this famous bout are immortalised in the Academy Award winning documentary, When We Were Kings. Norman Mailer's book, The Fight, describes the events within the context of his views of black American culture. It was a fight boxing, an event that defined an era.

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 7th 2009, Roger Federer will enter the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros in Paris for the fourth consecutive year as a finalist in the hallmark claycourt event of the year - the French Open. It is the only one of the four tour majors Federer has never won, having lost on his four previous attempts to the same man - Rafeal Nadal. Victory will give Federer a career Grand Slam and tie him with Pete Sampras on 14 major wins. But with the coveted Coupe de Mousquetaires trophy that elluded the great American, he will surpass Sampras as, according to Andre Agassi, the Greatest tennis player to have graced the sport.

The significance of this victory, should it come, is not weighted in the political or social history of that October night in Zaire, but rather in an affirmation of a man - like Ali - who is widely considered to be a God of his sport. Greatness comes in many forms, but in individual sports like tennis, boxing or golf, the pressures - personal and professional - are so great that they can break even the most gifted. Now, after six years being at the top of the game, Federer is on the cusp of sporting immortality.

Illness at the start of the 2008 season, along with his recent loses to Rafael Nadal not only at Roland Garros but then at Wimbledon and Melbourne Park have revealed a certain frailty within Federer that had otherwise gone unnoticed. It is this frailty - this mortality - that reminds us that Roger Federer, although a global superstar, is human and like every one of us, has to overcome emotions like anxiety, fear and self-doubt in order to succeed. In Federer we see a man who is has dedicated his life, his soul and his very being to his sport. In the process, he has had to bear great suffering, breaking down in tears at the Australian Open final and having to stand and watch as Rafael Nadal lifted a Wimbledon trophy that would have seen him become the first man in history to win six consecutive titles at the All England Club.

This year's French Open has been an up-and-down tournament for Federer and his route to the final is arguably his hardest yet (incidentally, this will be his 19th - tying Ivan Lendl's record). Two of his last three matches have seen him pushed to the very edge of defeat, taken to five sets first by Tommy Haas in the fourth round and then in the semi-final by Juan Martin del Potro. In both matches there were times when Federer looked down and out, staring down the barrell of the gun with no response and no means of stopping what was coming; yet he prevailed. His path to the final demonstrated all the qualities of a Champion - a belief greater than the sum of his doubts and a determination more powerful than the strength of his body - qualities that he will need with him if he is to succeed tomorrow.

Standing in Federer's way is Robin Soderling, an apparent anomaly of the game. Thrust from obscurity, Soderling has smashed all odds to shreds with victories over David Ferrer, four-time defending Champion Rafael Nadal and having come from 1-4 down in the fifth set to beat Fernando Gonzalez in the semi-final. Should Soderling continue this remarkable run and halt Federer on his quest for greatness there are many who feel he will be defying the very natural order of things - not just of sporting achievement but of human accomplishment, of reward for the deserved and of justice itself.

However, should Federer succeed in defeating his foe (as he has done in their nine previous meetings), he will prove once and for all that the greatest Champions are those who are humble in defeat and gracious in victory; like Ali before him he will prove that true Champions are those who pursue universal greatness when the world seems to be against them; he will prove that the Champion Elite are those who harvest, year after year and season after season, a burning hunger and passion in their hearts so deep and so bright that no man no matter how strong and no matter how fierce can ever extinguish their unfaltering goal: to be the best there has ever been.

Roger Federer, I wish you the very, very best of luck.

Posted via email from the Lyndon log

A really simple way to create your own Twitter background

2009-06-06T10:16:00.001-07:00

Download now or preview on posterous

Twitter Background Template.ppt (1567 KB)

I've attached a simple twitter background template I just used to create a background to my own page.

All you have to do is open the PowerPoint slide and work around the template.

If you're working from a Mac, you can save your workings as a single image and then upload that. If you're working from Windows then you'll have to change the resolution of the image in MS Paint to 1920×1200.

One thing - make sure you keep the size of the final image to under 800kb.

So, what are you waiting for? No excuses for having a default background now!

All the best,
Lyndon

@lyndonmorant

Posted via email from A mind for all seasons

'Current Economic Climate' - Analysis of The Phrase of The Moment

2009-06-02T01:44:00.001-07:00

Recession

It's a big, dark, gloomy word.

'Current economic climate' is much happier. Here's why -

'Current' invokes a sense of immediacy. It also implies that the future is yet unknown and in that sense, likely to change. Imagine 'economic climate' without the word current. The duration of the description is much longer.

'Economic' (instead of, say, recessionary) is a very vague word. When we talk about 'economic forces' or 'economic factors' we invariably talk about things beyond our control. When they are under our control they become policy - monetary policy, fiscal stimulus etc. This sense of vagueness is coupled with disownership. The word 'economic' is itself an adjective relating to the word 'economy' (a noun). And what it is here we're describing as economic?

'Climate' - also likely to change, also beyond our control (unless you're in a really nice car). To be exposed to a certain climate is to live subject to certain external circumstances - such as heat or cold, or rain and snow. But these are all things you can make the most of - some people don't like too much heat, while some do. We can adapt to different climates to suit our own preferences. In this sense, then, an economic climate - really - is whatever you want it to be. If you're the type that won't go outside unless it's precisely 24degrees with zero chance of precipertation, then perhaps you'll look less fondly at the situation, but it's only a current situation and is expected to change - the current temperature may be 22degrees but it's not going to stay like that forever. So, even if you're a die-hard cynic, you can sit by the window and wait for things to get better - they will.

'Recession', on the other hand, is like a hurricane. Everyone has to stay indoors - it affects everyone - even the emergency services. No one feels safe and no one really knows how bad it's going to be or where it's going to cause the most damage. With a hurricane you don't know how bad it's going to be, but you know it's going to be bad. No 22degrees, no 26degrees. And it will change, of course, but your main concern should be in the here and now, protecting yourself from the impact. If you sit by your window during a hurricane and wonder when it's going to be 24degrees again, you may get a face full of glass.

Can you see the difference? There's no 'weathering the storm' here, just a description of something out of reach, something short-lived and something perfectly natural.

It's a climate of expectancy rather than a climate of fear.

Lyndon

Posted via email from A mind for all seasons