September 11th, 2005 by mhjones

Oh how times have changed. It used to be said some years ago that Bill Gates would not do an interview with a media outlet unless it had a circulation of more than 1 million readers/viewer. Fast forward to 2005 and now we can be a fly on the wall as he casually does an interview with Microsoft’s #1 blogger Robert Scoble, on Microsoft’s developer site, Channel 9.

Frank Arrigo, the Robert Scoble of Microsoft Australia, links to this interview. It’s a great example of how Microsoft markets to its own. If there’s one thing Microsoft does well, it’s love developers. Why? As Gates says, "software geeks" will be responsible for the next generation of tech breakthroughs such as machine learning, digital entertainment, and collaboration tools.

But his message is far from being a news flash. I’m second guessing here, but one of Gates’ motivations for the Channel 9 interview surely must be to reinforce the ‘importance of the Microsoft developer’ message at a time when Google and Yahoo are scrambling to get their hands on Microsoft engineers. And the media is full of stories about Microsoft trying to stop them going. My current favourite is the chair-throwing denials by Steve Ballmer.

Oh, and yes, this sort of reporting on Channel 9 is a must-watch by the likes of yours truly in the traditional media. You never know when it might uncover a nugget of news. There’s no reason why Gates could not use Channel 9 to get more overt messages out to the public in the future.

Tagged: Weblogs
Comments: 1 Comment »

September 9th, 2005 by mhjones

Editors and journalists are rarely shy about telling PR people what we do, and don’t want. And given that we’re bombarded with requests all day, it’s fair enough. But at the same time, it’s equally arrogant to presume to tell communications people how to do their job.

That said, each day I deal with the same small set of issues that waste my time, and in aggregate become really annoying. So I’ve finally got around to writing some humble tips for the punters:

1. No, I don’t have anything to do with Special Reports, or advertised features. Send email to the AFR’s Mark Lawson (use the AFR’s email convention). Please don’t email or call me about them.

2. Please don’t plead with me to write a story (The ‘but it’s really, really important!’ scenario happens more often than you’d like to think…).

3. News flash: We’re a business paper. No, really, it’s true. So that means we like numbers. If you’re pitching an IT story about a business deal, new product or whatever, make sure you include numbers. Big numbers. We don’t like small numbers.

4. Don’t email us a press release at

   6pm

   just “because that’s when we got sign off from the client.” If it does happen to be news worthy, we face the choice of working late or ignoring the story because we aspire to having a life each night. We also suspect that you’re doing it because you did a deal with a rival newspaper to give them story at 9am.

5. Along the same lines, the more notice we get, the more we like you. Each Tuesday’s big IT section is mostly planned in advance. If you know there’s something coming up that we might want to know, give us a heads up the week before, not the day before.

6. Ditto for each day’s IT section. Pitch us early in the day if you can.

7. Pitch via email. We do read it.

8. Please repeat your phone number on voice messages, or speak s-l-o-w-l-y. I know it seems obvious, but hey.

9. Sorry in advance if I/we don’t respond to messages or email. It’s not personal, we’ve probably just decided to write something else. And it’s a question of hours in the day.

10. If you want us to meet a local or overseas exec for a coffee etc., you’ve got a better chance of getting our ear if s/he can talk about big name Aussie companies or is prepared to divulge numbers (see point #3).

Tagged: Aussie media
Comments: 2 Comments »

September 9th, 2005 by mhjones

Last night I enjoyed the surreal experience of having drinks with other IT journalists who picked up the tab. A group of Australian freelance tech journos called The Freelunchers threw the party down at a bar at Sydney’s King Street Wharf to say thanks to the editors who keep them off the streets. (Thanks guys!) To people outside the media industry, it was an unusual night because it’s usually the PRs or an IT vendor that’s does the schmoozing.

The night also served to remind me that the Australian IT media industry supports at least 20 freelancers - it could me more (can anyone correct me?). Regardless, I’d be interested to know if the number of freelance IT journos outnumber the full time IT journos and editors employed by the papers and trade publishers.

Let’s take that idea a step further. My former editor-in-chief at InfoWorld used to argue that a market is greater than two and less than 10. I wonder, as did one of the freelancers I yakked with, what will happen as the ranks continue to swell? Looking at other markets, when the number of participants reaches saturation, consolidation inevitably follows. This one journo I spoke with said he’s making sure at least 50 percent of his freelance work is tech-focussed, despite his interest in general news and freature reporting. The reason? If there is consolidation, then he wants to make sure editors like yours truly keeps him top of mind when it comes to commissioning stories.

The flip-side to this musing of mine is that rather than proposing the negative consolidation angle (ie job losses) will actually happen, I wonder what The Freelunchers group symbolises beyond an obvious affinity for (and worthy pursuit of) free beer and lunch. Could it be the makings of some loosely federated organisation that sub-contracts to the media? Do they suspect the market pendulum will eventually swing back to full-time employment?

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that we are looking for an editor? Today’s Financial Review carries an ad on page 60 for the Editor of MIS Magazine, who will report to yours truly. It’s a great opportunity to join the Fin’s IT editorial staff, since this magazine is now produced directly by the AFR. Rather than send me email, please apply online at http://careers.fairfax.com.au/

Tagged: Aussie media
Comments: 6 Comments »

September 8th, 2005 by mhjones

You might recall on August 23 the AFR published a mammoth 12 page special report to recognise 10 years since the advent of the commercial internet, ie, 10 yrs since the Netscape IPO. Since I can’t point you to the free stories on our site, Mick Stanic returned the favour (I quoted him) and summarised it here (actually, if you email me I can probably twist the arm of our edit assistant to send you a back copy).

Anyway, Slattery IT next Thursday, Sept 15 is will hold an event to dive into the issue with Rewind Fast Forward. Yep, this is a free plug, but hey, I’m one of the people up the front, so why not come along and throw a few tomatoes… Seriously though, aside from yours truly, Rachel Slattery & the team look like they done a great job getting some high-flyers of the industry to speak. Check out the program.

Tagged: Events
Comments: Leave a Comment »

September 2nd, 2005 by mhjones

I just can’t believe what’s happened to the great Big Easy. The world’s superpower has a government that knows how to wage war but not look after its own people, even though they had plenty of notice about the events that were to unfold. And where are all the aid agencies?

How about these two amazing quotes from this AP story (bold mine):

"This is a national disgrace," said New Orleans’ emergency operations chief Terry Ebbert. "We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans."

***

Police Chief Eddie Compass said there was such a crush around a squad of 88 officers that they retreated when they went in to check out reports of assaults.

"We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten," Compass said. "Tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon."

Gov. Kathleen Blanco called people who committed such crimes "hoodlums" and issued a warning to lawbreakers: Hundreds of National Guard troops hardened on the battlefield in Iraq have landed in New Orleans.

"They have M-16s and they’re locked and loaded," she said. "These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will."

Tagged: Events
Comments: Leave a Comment »

September 1st, 2005 by mhjones

I’ve been to a lot of conferences over the years. Some good were good, and plenty were bad. But I’ve always had a single expectation that until today was fulfilled. The typical scenario for a member of the press reporting from a conference usually follows this pattern:

1. Turn up & register at the event.

2. Sit in the conference room, usually in a reserved section, and if you’re close enough, catch a few spittles from an over-excited speaker.

3. If you’re in the

   US

   , open your laptop and connect to Wi-Fi (that’s still an unheard of scenario in

   Australia

   btw.)

4. Speeches end. Return to media room, attend Q&A for press, say G’day to a few journo mates, write story, go home.

What caught me – and a few of my colleagues, I might add - by surprise today was the twisted version of the norm at the Forbes CEO gig. It wasn’t good for me, and I suspect it won’t be good for Forbes in the long run.

First up, media rego was at a hotel 10 minutes walk up the road. After the identity check and photo session, we were escorted in a mini-bus and driven past the police roadblocks, through the concrete and wire barricades that have been holding back the protesters, and up to one of the less trafficked entrances at the Sydney Opera House.

Our passes were checked again on entering the Opera House, and we were led striaght to the media room. At that point I’m wondering why we’re not actually going to the Concert Hall where the live event is about to start. Then it dawned on me that our reporting would be done via two plasma screens in the media room. I could be doing this back at my desk via a webcast!

So there we are, scribbling away at our tables. A sideshow for me was watching the Asian media guys actually filming the action on the plasma screens and recording the acoustic audio feed that’s being pumped into the room. That won’t be a pretty result.

Oh, and a quick scan of the room, and nope, no Intel or Wi-Fi signs (call it a weird hobby).

Forbes was however kind enough to hold a Q&A after the panel session I attended so that us poor tortured souls could have access to the speakers in real life. Imagine that.

So now I’m left with a lot of questions that need answers:

* Were these CEOs in the audience so precious that they can’t stand being in the same room as journos? Or are we that dangerous?

* Tickets were $A5000 per attendee. If I saved them the mini-bus rental and walked a few blocks, surely they could include Wi-Fi in the media room?

* Does this sort of thing happen at other Forbes CEO gigs around the world?

* Do the organisers appreciate the irony of a publisher - that prides itself on being a focal point of conversations – corralling other media into a room where they can’t actually participate in the main event?

* More than that: this treatment of media, and the implied exclusive, restricted access to CEOs was actually one of the main reasons why protesters were outside. People want leaders who are accessible, not locked away. (ok, so that’s a statement)

* Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard went to some length to admonish the audience of CEOs for using their mobile/cell phones. Have they not heard about AlwaysOn? The future of conferences is one that promotes active, participatory audiences, not one that seeks to control and manipulate.

What’s the net effect of my rant? Forbes attempts at controlling the media created ill-will among me and my colleagues. Was that intended? I’d like to know.

Tagged: Events
Comments: 9 Comments »