Apologies for the 3 week gap in the news front, I figured you’d all be too busy over the short Easter weeks to read newsletters. Did you OD on the chocolate? I spent more time hiding the goodies from my daughter than devouring them – not helped by Greek Easter the following week. We also celebrated my so-called “newborn” William’s 1st birthday (isn’t he gorgeous).

Thanks to Studio Channel I also had the delight of seeing The Australian Ballet’s “Infinity” Performance. Such a wonderful expression of movement and not your usual ballet so I recommend getting along to check it out.

We have some interesting new projects on the boil too which I can’t quite talk about yet, but watch this space, there’s plenty to be excited about.

Who’s liable for your social media comments?

It’s a common question when we talk to our corporate clients about social media – everyone seems to understand the impact of interactions but there is little clarity around who takes the heat legally. This post from von Muenster solicitors gives a nice outline on who gets what with some additional references to cases with Google, Twitter and Facebook. Invest 5 mins of reading to make sure you don’t get caught out.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a flying car!

With the congestion of all major arterial roads in pretty much every state, I’m sure we’re all going to welcome this new technology from PAL V who has developed a flying car. Skip the traffic entirely – though I’m looking forward to NRMA’s Safer Driving School taking this on! The 3-wheeler needs an airfield to take off and valued at USD$300k we don’t have to worry about too many less experienced P-Platers falling out of the sky. I feel a little bit close to this project because I actually know the voice over dude! (Kudos to you Nick).

Personalised, Digital Shopping for Men

Shopping used to be about women and I quite dislike the stigma because men have the same needs, just not the same care-factor as women. Trunk Club out of the US has taken that need and turned it into a personalised & stylised experience for men. Your personal stylist will select a wardrobe based on your preferences and anything you don’t like you just send back. It’s online with a difference – for men who are too busy to be shopping online. I need one of these I think.

An eco-toilet fail

Elise’s blog “When Technology Crosses the Line” was just the beginning of many examples of things we don’t really need. When I saw this luxury eco-toilet from Kohler, it simply got added to the list. I get the features in some ways if you lived in a Nordic country, but what type of loser thought that a toilet using power and requiring a remote control could be classed as “eco” anything? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Baconize your site

I don’t know many people who aren’t bacon fans – it’s one of those meats that has a certain something about it. So when I came across this behind the scenes “Baconize Button” from Kraft, it kind of got my taste buds flowing. What an odd way to pull something together in the light of the digital industry’s ability to CGI anything! Everything is better with bacon.

First Twitter Ad?

I’m not a fan of Smart Cars, but their Argentinian ad for Smart is exactly that. Go to the Smart Argentina Twitter page and hold down the J key to watch it live; otherwise you can see the video in action here. I’m still trying to see the commercial value of Twitter and this is an interesting start. Smart could have taken a leaf out of the book from American Express by rewarding tweets / retweets.

Is Everything.Me going to rival Google?

As Twitter & Foursquare were launched at SXSW, most people are expecting to discover the next big thing at the event of the year. One of the highlights that seems to have stood out is the Everything.Me platform – a mobile search engine ready to rival Google. What rubbish I hear you say? Well, Everything.Me is a visual experience where Google is a very text heavy one – have a look at the difference. There are definitely some pros of this and what I like about them is that they are focused on mobile only for now, on the basis that “PC is not broken”. Good work.

Apps to Tap

I’ve been coming across a bunch of apps lately that I thought I should share around. GymPact gets you motivated to make use of your gym membership using cash incentives; HeyTell is push-to-talk messaging rather than sending an SMS; AllRecipes Dinner Spinner takes the guess work out of what to cook – just pick an ingredient and a time frame and it sorts you out quick smart; FoodSwitch lets you scan an item’s barcode and will make a healthy choice recommendation for you; and whilst we’re on food, the Woolworths app just got a whole lot better by allowing you to shop & pay on your mobile to have goods packed and delivered to your door.