Frank Arrigo is looking to create more class-based stereotyping of bloggers by calling for names to include on his A-list of Australian bloggers. Except the catch is he’s game enough to suggest that this list should *not* include journalists, who I’d like to point out are not merely observers of the blogosphere, but active participants and contributors.

Well Frank, Charles Wright (who is sitting next to me in the media centre here at Kickstart) and I have decided that we will go one better and compile the "A+ list" of Australian bloggers who are not vendors, and preferrably journalists, or at least content producers. It just seems like the right thing to do because you have upset our oh-so fragile sensibilities.

So in addition to Charles and yours truly, our approach will let us include Cameron Reilly (across the table from me at the moment), Phil Sim, Ben Barren, Darren Rowse, Paul Mongomery, Richard Giles, Shane Williamson, Trevor Cook, and Mike Walsh. Oh, and there was some debate in the media centre here about this, but I think it would be unkind if we did not include our mate Brad Howarth.

Who else should be deemed worthy of being included in our highly exclusive list of non-vendor Australian bloggers? Don’t be shy to self-nominate and join the revolution.

ps. Oh dear, Cameron clearly does not share our sense of humour. Don’t worry Frank, we still love you.

G’day from sunny Coolum, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. I’m here with about 70 other journalists and 80-ish other IT vendor, analyst and PR types at MediaConnect’s annual Kickstart conference.

Just attended a session about blogging, and its interface with media, journalism and marketing. One of Filtered’s favourite topics, of course. On the panel was Charles Wright (who, by the way was the first editor of the AFR’s Information section), Darren Rowse (Australia’s favourite self-employed blogger) and Phil Sim (conference host, and the man you can blame for Squash).

The target audience for this discussion was marketing and PR types, who’s carefully controlled world of massaged communications has been turned on its ear by the blogosphere.

Given time was short, and much of the time was focussed on the basics of the experiences of Wright, Rowse and Sim, we didn’t get too deep into the sharp end of the disruptive stick.

But there were a few nice quotes:

Wright on the decision to close the Razor blog (Fairfax’s flat-fee payment wasn’t enough to justify the 3-4 hrs spent on it each day), and start a paid subscription service. The blogosphere “is extremely loyal, unbelievably loyal.”

“People started to pay me $50. One person started to pay me $100, plus $10 per month,”
“We’re reinventing economic laws, and the laws of commerce here,”

Rowse on that vexed question of fact-checking and relying on your readers to do it for you: “The light of truth does tend to shine through, I don’t know how it does.”

Rowse on how he stumbled into blogging with a personal travel site: “No one looked at the photos, but there were lots of hits to my digital camera review.”

Rowse on the launch of B5 media with two other business partners:  “I will meet my partners for the first time later this year.”

Sim on advice to the PRs: “Bloggers don’t want a conduit. It’s all about direct conversations.”
“I would encourage you to get your executives blogging.”

“To me the blog is this one great social networking tool.”

Interesting read over at Business Week Online about Dan Gillmor’s failed Bayosphere community journalism project. Sure, it didn’t work out and Dan was strong enough to admit where he failed. The upside was he ignited interest among many others. It’s true what they say that those who walk on the bleeding edge.

Just discovered tonight that Google’s instant messaging service, Gmail talk, is live. It’s especially cool for me because it’s an IM system inside the browser. My employer has a desktop lockdown policy that prevents me from installing any application without IT approval. So that rules out IM, until now.  I wonder how many people working inside big companies with standard operating environments are in the same boat as me?

Meanwhile, look me up on gtalk - markhjones

Seen those new Intel ads on the telly? The scene shows engineers moving the hallowed CPUs around in those white suits. The voiceover has words to the effect that previously these chips did tasks that were "dull and boring."

Now that they’ve been liberated, thev’e got a whole new life ahead of them not in PCs, but inside an Apple. The final line is something like.. "imagine the possibilities." Ouch! Now there’s a royal slap across the dial for all those loyal PC builders who’ve made it a giant. Fantastic stuff.

If you’ve been watching the comments unfold this week at Telstra’s blog News front, a subset of Now We are Talking, you’ll know the basic plot.

To summarise, blog author and PR flack Rod Bruem has come out swinging against Fin reporter Pam Williams for her piece in AFR Magazine about Telstra’s big Sol.

Most of the comments have backed Pam for a well written piece, and attacked Rod for his spray. "Greg" says it well: I feel that your response to Pamela Williams’ article was belated and inadequate.

Obviously I’m going to back the AFR, but it’s interesting to consider the bigger picture. Telstra is repeatedly getting beaten up in the media for all the reasons that are apparent in today’s coverage of it’s half year results. The decline of its PSTN business is worse than thought, mobile growth is declining, and the national fibre network is still stalled over competition issues. One of the nation’s greatest corporate assets is bleeding, and all the pressure is focussed on Sol as the man, together with his imported execs, who’s been paid a bucket load to fix it. Given the $26 billion sale (a figure that keeps declining btw) and the future impact of how that money will be used, a harsh, critical eye is more than warranted.

The great thing about Telstra’s blog, from a blogosphere perspective, is that the company has started to engage with its shareholders and the community at large. It’s started a conversation, which as we all know can be a very powerful means of turning around perceptions about a company. Just look at what Scoble did with Microsoft. Or Jonathan Schwartz at Sun. And McDonald’s is *attempting* to do the same.

But if Telstra truly wants to make an impact with its blog, the key for its staff bloggers is to get over the temptation to get angry and whinge at justified media scrutiny. Anger merely serves to reinforce our perception that Telstra execs are still locked in the monopoly mindset: hard-arsed, kill the competition, screw the customer, we’re always right, etc etc.

Rod is right to engage in a conversation about the issue. It’s clearly got the comments flowing. But his defensive approach has undermined the strategic value of Telstra’s blog. What’s more, as of this morning I could not see that he’s been back to join in the comment stream. And Pam, you might notice, has chosen not to comment. So on that count alone, no common ground has been established.

Finally, I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Telstra - get with the program and add RSS feeds!!!

There are either two people reading this blog, or the sign-in process required by TypeKey has turned many of you off sharing your insightful thoughts in the comments section. So, shhh, don’t tell the spammers but I’ve turned off the sign-in for the moment.

Drop a line and say hello, I know you’re out there…

Phil Sim, of Squash infamy, is top of the Wordpress pops at number 8 (for now).

He’s employed all the classic traffic-grabbing strategies. Liberally linked to A-list bloggers in the States, liberally mentioned the words "poo" and "wank," insulted the technorati by daring to suggest RSS is a waste of time, and indulged in plenty of Google/Yahoo/eBay quotations. It’s the blog equivalent of online news journalism where you keep up a healthy quota of Linux/Apple/Google/Microsoft/spam/virus stories to keep the ad impressions ticking along.

Just got this email from him about his blog stardom (which I republish with permission), which of course I interpret as part of his campaign to blame me for his new found obsession:

Went to sleep last night at like 4:30am. Addicited to posting. Addicteed to traffic. Must beat Scoble. Can’t stop. More conversation. More comments. More trackbacks. Blogging taking over life… Sucking me in… Powerless… arrrghhhhhhh 

It’s like watching a bug circle a bright light, getting faster and faster, until… BAM! It’s all over.

I was talking to ITJourno’s Simon Sharwood yesterday when I got the feeling he wasn’t listening to my eloquent musings any more. Turns out he wasn’t being rude. The VoIP phone he uses at his office had gone dead and the line was silent. No "beep beep" to say that the line had been lost. All the more strange because our office is not on VoIP.

That’s a real shortcoming, and proves that while VoIP is the great PSTN killer, it’s still a long way from offering all the basic service elements. Is this a widespread problem? First time it’s happened to me.