duncanriley.com

Blog

  • On The Pod and Travel

    Ben Barren was telling me this week that he finds himself posting a whole lot less and instead Twittering: he’s right for me as well, I spend far too much time Twittering and less time blogging, I’m not sure whether this is a bad thing or good thing, and I am still blogging heavily, just not here.

    Any how, two new podcasts up at On The Pod, both involve Ben Barren. On the Pod 5 is a direct interview, #6 is the blogging session for Influence. Topics vary and include blogging, marketing and PR, Web 2.0, Australian VC and much much more. Ben’s a great guy to interview: I could have gone on for hours in the podcast.

    As for travel, I’m in the air again these coming weeks after being in the Hunter Sat-Tuesday this week. I leave early Saturday morning for TechCrunch 40, I’ll be in the Valley until Friday, home Sunday then off again Thursday fortnight for the Australian Blogging Conference in Brisbane. I shouldn’t complain, it’s a privilege to do this sort of traveling, yet on the other hand it would have been nicer space over a couple of months instead of 3 trips in as many weeks, and she who must be obeyed is not a happy camper. Ironically she’s spending a week in Cairns for work “training” in October, I can get my own back then 🙂

    More pics, maybe some more blogging and podcasting from the US next week.

  • Qantas Club Wifi Brisbane Airport

    I was upgraded to Silver Status (One World Ruby) last month and the trip East for Influence is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to use it. Checking in at the business class queue in Perth this morning was great, particularly after the at least 2km walk from long term parking at 6:30am (they’ve done away with the buses…bloody Perth Airport Corporation). I’m writing this from Brisbane; unfortunately I’m stuck flying JetStar to Newscastle and the plane is 55 minutes late…the perfect excuse to use the complimentary Qantas Club pass I received with my Status upgrade. The food a good, the beer is cold, and best of all it’s free. The Wifi on the other hand is a little slow, but at least I’m not paying for it. A couple more decent trips in the next 12 months and I’ll get to Gold, which means Q Club is included. Cheers 🙂

  • My Mac Melbourne

    A little message to My Mac, an official Apple reseller located on Flinders Street, Melbourne.

    That’s My Mac, My Mac of Melbourne, My Mac Apple Reseller, My Mac Apple Melbourne 🙂

  • Fairfax Has a SEO Team

    This weeks SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday is an interview with Lucas Ng, who does in house SEO for Fairfax Digital. Cool in some respects that Australian online players are now employing SEO talent to maximize their search engine rankings and position.

    Aside from the cliches (f*ck Rand, have you never met an Australian before?!?! do you even know where it is?) it’s not a bad interview.

  • Primus Telecom Are Scammers

    I’ve just received a call on my mobile that I thought I’d share with everyone rather than complain to the TIO and ACCC.

    The phone rings, I answer it.

    There is silence, then a foreign ring tone….a sure sign I’m about to talk to an Indian Call Centre.

    Me: Duncan Riley Speaking
    Call Centre: I’m calling from Primus Telecom and am calling to say that we will be sending you a free phone
    Me: OK……., so it’s totally free
    CC: Yes
    Me: free calls?
    CC: You get $29 worth of calls a month
    Me: so I get $29 worth of completely free calls
    CC: We are sending you a completely free Nokia 53XX
    Me: ok, so what is the catch
    CC: We are sending you the phone today
    Me: I still don’t understand, will the calls be free
    CC: you will have $29 worth of calls a month
    Me: but will I pay for those calls
    CC: $29 a month
    Me: so it’s not free
    CC: we are sending you a free Nokia 53xx
    Me: But I already have a phone
    CC: We are sending you a new phone sir.
    Me: But I didn’t ask for a new phone
    CC: We are sending you a new phone sir.
    Me: but I’ll have to pay $29 a month to use it
    CC: That includes $29 worth of calls
    Me: but I don’t won’t a new phone
    CC: you don’t wont a free phone sir?
    Me: no, I don’t.
    CC: Good bye Sir. (Hangs up).

    The worst thing: if I hadn’t asked questions and just listened to “we are sending you a free phone” and thought “you ripper, a free phone” I would probably have agreed to accept the phone, which would have then locked me in to some sort of Primus Plan without knowing it; after all, they would have a voice recording of me saying that I am accepting the phone.

    To say this is an appalling scam would be an understatement. I wonder how many unsuspecting Australian’s have received “free” phones from Primus to only discover a month later that they are stuck on a $29/ month plan. Lets hope someone important (ie: in the relevant Commonwealth Statutory Body) reads this and takes action. 

  • Andrew Keen Is a Twit

    I’m being polite tonight, Twit is far too nice. What I don’t get is how he figures we should be fed news by “impartial journalists” when there is no such thing as an impartial journalist, in the same way there is no such thing as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Typical of the MSM and its supporters: they continue to delude themselves by stating that they remain impartial when they are no different than bloggers or anyone else.

    (via Deep Jive)

  • Australian Blogging Conference Is Back On: Sep 28 in Brisbane

    BlogOz180

    Got an email from Peter Black this morning: the Australian Blogging  Conference is back on. Venue is QUT Brisbane September 28. Details here. Format is a Dave Winer style unconference. I haven’t booked a flight yet but I’ve already said yes to attending, I’m certainly not going to miss something I’ve been advocating for over the last 4 years 🙂

  • Why the AFL is Farked

    Read this.

    WTF? Instead of the issue being focused on yet another couple of AFL players being on the Persian rugs, I say yet another couple because if you look at the Weagles alone more than one are on them, the problem is Channel 7 publishing the truth. Yes folks: AFL players may boycott the Brownlow because Channel 7 said that they had evidence that AFL players were on the Persian rugs. I know now why my son will play the game from Heaven (Rugby Union) and not AFL. Want your next AFL team, head down to your nearest dark corner. As long as the AFL continues to condone drug use with absurd media bans and other behavior, Australians should unite and boycott the AFL, or perhaps just take drugs, after all that is what they are condoning.

  • On The Pod Episode 3 Is Live

    OK, so I was shocked to find that my last post was to episode 2 a week a go. Yes, I need to start personal blogging some more, but in the mean time check out Episode 3 of On The Pod. This week I interview Bronwen Clune of PerthNorg.

  • Strippergate: Don’t Forget How It Touches The Ladies

    Interesting online discussion 12 hours after Strippergate hit the headlines. All the commentary I’ve seen so far has been from men who think Rudd has done nothing wrong. Of course they all would have done the same thing in the past (to an extent) although at least in my own credit I’ve never touched a stripper, after all who would want to be on the wrong side of a Kings Cross bouncer (for record the last time I was in a strip club was probably 19 or 20).

    What the commentators are forgetting is the female vote. Women dont like strip clubs. Period, unless of course they are a stripper themselves, and even there you wouldn’t get a 100% favorable vote. Rudd will probably get a rise in the polls from men, but a big decline from women. Whether he has the viagra in his pocket to sway women voters again (as opposed to happy hands) will be seen in time.

    Also some context as some have immediately compared Rudds lecherous hands to the shitfaced Glen Milne attacking Stephen Mayne last year: Milne wasn’t representing his country. Rudd was Opposition Spokesman for Foreign Affairs at the time (Shadow Foreign Minister) and was in New York representing Australian at the United Nations. If Rudd has done this at 18 instead of signing bible hymns and telling everyone how he’d be Prime Minister one day, we’d all accept it as a right of passage ritual (although again: I’ve never touched a stripper before, but maybe I was deprived). He did this as a grown man on the taxpayers pocket. We may laugh it of but it certainly brings into question his overall sense of judgement. I wonder if he’ll be inviting some world leaders down to the Cross during APEC? Maybe God told him to lay his healing hands on the strippers? 🙂 (another Christian hypocrite).