Mobile tracking service may be controversial

The creator of a new Australian service that allows mobile phone users to locate their friends is already bracing for an angry reaction from concerned husbands. "It will create a bit of controversy over privacy and I don’t know how many husbands will want to be tracked by their wives," he admits with a nervous laugh. But whether Michael Robson’s new service helps to end marriages or find lost children, it is bound to prove useful for some tech-savvy Aussies.

Mr Robson recently launched the service, called Mapmates, after 14 months in the planning. The service helps friends, family members and workmates find one another on a map using the GPS navigation systems in their mobile phones. Once two users have accepted one another as "mates", they can view each other’s most recently updated location on the Mapmates website or through an application on their phone.

Similar mobile phone tracking services have been launched recently in the US and Europe, sparking concerns that parents, partners and employers could misuse the technology. The most controversial of the services, Social Network Integrated Friend Finder, or SNIFF, offers an application for Facebook to allow users to track others through the social networking website.

Mr Robson said he came up with the idea after hearing about the increasing speed of mobile internet access in Australia, and watching his twin 19-year-old sons visit websites and SMS several friends to formulate weekend plans. "One of my sons came home at 5pm and started visiting Facebook and MySpace trying to find out where the latest party was," he said. "Then he started texting friends on his mobile. An hour later he had the information and was out of the house. "About half an hour later, my other son got home and did the same thing. I thought there had to be an easier way to do this."

After teaming up with some computer programmers, Robson was able to bring his idea to life. Mapmates is a Java application suitable for any GPS-enabled mobile phone with internet access. Users must download and install the program on their phone, and register their details with Mapmates to use the service.

Once set up, the Mapmates program sends your location co-ordinates to its web servers, and your location can be accessed by registered users you have allowed to see your details. Likewise, you can see their locations. You can find your friends either by looking online, with their location pinpointed on Google Maps, or through a map image sent to your mobile phone. Mr Robson said users could choose how often Mapmates updates their location, to prevent the application draining a phone’s battery, and could even specify when each nominated friend was able to view their location. "My son doesn’t like me seeing where he is on the weekend, so we’ve had some interesting discussions about that," he said. "You can also delete your nominated friends or change the timeslots they can see you at any time."

Like Facebook and MySpace, users can also add and update a personal "status" message that appears with their location. Mr Robson said the website and status bar were designed with savvy Generation Y users in mind, but Mapmates could prove useful to a much wider audience. "We think it would be really useful for backpackers, so their family could see where they are in the world and track their progress," he said. "I’m also already getting feedback from parents who say they want that to track their kids."

The service could also prove useful in tracking lost or stolen mobile phones, Mr Robson said, as phone owners could simply log on to the Mapmates website to track a missing mobile’s location. In perfect conditions Mapmates could track phones to within 1m of their location, Mr Robson said, compared with around 200m offered by similar services overseas. Each new Mapmates user is allowed five free "finds". After that, $25 gives each user a year of access to the service or up to 2000 finds, whichever comes first. Mr Robson admitted the service had limitations, though. People should ensure they are on an economically priced data plan before using the service, as mobile phones send small amounts of data each time they update their location, and maps messages are about 30kb in size, he said.

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Sex And The City has world premiere in London

LONDON put on its designer frocks today for the world premiere of the movie version of Sex And The City, the worldwide TV smash charting the lives and loves of four New York women.

In keeping with the film, the dresses worn by its four principal stars to the premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square were as eagerly awaited as any snippets about the plot, which picks up on the characters’ lives four years on.

First to delight the crowds of fans was Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays the main character Carrie Bradshaw, wearing a pale green dress by British designer Alexander McQueen and a spectacular green headpiece of flowers by Philip Treacy.

She refused to answer question about a reported rift with co-star Kim Cattrall, who plays man-eating public executive Samantha Jones.

British-born Cattrall was next on to the red carpet, wearing a red off-the-shoulder knee-length dress with a faint stripe by Vivienne Westwood.

Asked if she would be willing to make a sequel, Cattrall said simply: "Perhaps."

Reports say Cattrall’s demands led to a delay in making the film.

Cynthia Nixon, who plays feisty lawyer Miranda Hobbes, arrived wearing a floor-length pleated black Calvin Klein dress slashed to reveal her thighs.

Kristin Davis was the last of the famous foursome to arrive, wearing a cherry-red vintage sleeveless dress and cream peep-toe heels.

Asked why the world premiere of a film so closely associated with New York was being held in London, Davis said: "Why not England? I like Britain. There’s enough of us to go round."

The producers, New Line, insist that the decision was taken simply to maximise the movie’s "global appeal."

Fans of the series have been eagerly waiting to find out the fate of Carrie, and her main love interest, Mr Big, portrayed by Chris Noth, who did not attend the premiere.

The film opens in Britain on May 28. The Australian premiere is slated for June 5.

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Optus announces it will release iPhone too

OPTUS has become the second mobile carrier to announce it will release the iPhone locally, confirming Apple does not have an exclusive deal in Australia.

"Optus, SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Globe today announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia later this year," the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes exactly one week after Vodafone announced it will release the iPhone locally.

Optus’ revelation confirms that Apple does not have an exclusive deal with an Australian carrier.

It is not known if the handset will be completely unlocked, and thus available on all mobile networks, or locked to Optus and Vodafone.

Apple’s new non-exclusive approach in Australia was predicted last year by legal experts who claimed that an exclusive contract would breach local competition laws.

Optus’s announcement signals a dramatic change from the original iPhone launch in the US and UK, where the handset was locked to one carrier in each country.

No launch date for Australia is known despite the iPhone being released in the US almost one year ago.

The announcements by Optus and Vodafone are the first official confirmation that the device will be on local shores soon.

Two weeks ago, Optus refused to comment on rumours it would releasing the iPhone in Australia by the end of June.

Apple is holding its Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June, where the company is expected to make an announcement.

Source

Gordon Ramsay won’t dance for Seven

He won’t dance, don’t ask him … Gordon Ramsay

HE’S the hottest property on TV right now, but Nine’s star performer Gordon Ramsay has burned an offer to sizzle on the dance floor for Channel 7.

While he’s hot-to-trot for Channel 9, Ramsay has spurned the advances of producers from Dancing With The Stars to appear in the next local series of the show.

Despite emailed assurances he’d "win" Seven’s B-list shoe shuffle – based on his overwhelming popularity with audiences on Nine – the celebrity chef is understood to have passed on the proposal.

Banking an estimated $10 million for each of his own TV projects, including Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, not surprisingly, the kitchen whiz was not sold on being "paid in publicity" for the 12-week gig.

The hot Scot – who works tirelessly across 25 restaurants and pubs globally, with three TV shows on the boil – would have no time to commit to the extra appearance.

Meanwhile, the eighth Australian series of the celeb dance-off is also rumoured to be making moves to include the top four finalists of Ten’s hit So You Think You Can Dance.

Industry sources have told Confidential starlets would be paired with the amateur dancers, whose profiles have already been boosted by the rival TV dance show.

Ten’s talent is already poised to save the day, with Dancing’s hosting personnel also up in the air.

With hanging judge Todd McKenney to face court on drugs charges next week, SYTYCD choreographer Jason Gilkison is said to be waiting in the wings to slide into his position on the panel, if needed.

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Digital PR:Tips on engaging with bloggers as a social media strategy

As social media continues to expand, marketers, public relations staff and corporate communicators in Australia need to address the issue of whether their organisations should be using digital and online public relations techniques to monitor the growth of blogs and engage with bloggers.

An 2007 Australian study of online chatter on blogs, chat rooms and forums by advertising group Y & R brands was trumpeted in The Australian (13 September 2007) as ‘Big issues don’t rate on blogs’.

Superficially that might make Australian marketers think they don’t need to bother. However, the results were hardly surprising given that the events tracked included APEC and the Live Earth Concert.

Many marketers would be astounded at the degree of ‘chatter’ that is taking place about organisations, products and service within social media.The big public issues might not generate much online conversation, but there are dozens of niche subjects where people who have a passion are busily conversing.

So let’s dip our toe into the water on the question of bloggers and their relevance to marketers by asking – and answering- some of the basic questions coming from those new to the world of social media and online engagement and conversations.

1. The uptake of blogging is still statistically small across the Australian population – why should it be considered as part of our marketing or corporate communications?

A:It depends on your sector. For some sectors (e.g. entertainment) there is a deep use of blogging by consumers – for others, there may be relatively little use.Also consider that in most instances bloggers are as influential in your marketplace as media.Organisations principally engage with bloggers because it’s a PR function – joining the conversation with people who are opinion formers or are influencers. You can’t apply the advertising reach criteria to blogging.It’s not a numbers decision – it’s all about influence.

2. How do I discover whether there are a lot of bloggers in my sector? Also, how do I gauge how important they are?It’s very time consuming!

A:Unfortunately there are no ready-made lists of bloggers as there are for media publishers. There are tools that the few PR agencies in Australia which work in the social media and blogging space use, that short-cut the whole process. Essentially what you need to do is to identify and rank blogs on several criteria – both quantitative and qualitative. You also need to distinguish between influencers and enthusiasts.The former are like media commentators while the later are like those who read, listen or watch the media and like to offer an opinion. There might be 1000 Australians blogging about your product or service, but they in turn might be largely influenced by just five. Link to the influencer chart showing small percentage are influencers rest are influenced.

3. Are bloggers really ‘citizen journalists’?Should we think about dealing with bloggers as we do with media?

A:Yes, there are a lot of similarities – after you have sorted out which bloggers in your sector are influential and opinion formers and are therefore acting like media. If your sector is rich in bloggers you should probably develop a blogger communication program to run in parallel with your media program. But bloggers are not journalists (ignoring those journalists who do blog). They are not obligated to report fairly on issues, they don’t run to deadlines and many have a personal bias (which they are open about). So don’t even think about stepping into this world with a corporate message or perspective without doing a lot of homework. Just as dealing with media requires specialist skills so do does dealing with bloggers.

Quoted in an article about ‘Sony’s “No Baloney” Blog’ in the Public Relations Society of America’s publication “The Strategist”, Winter 2008 he says, “The other factor from a corporate communications point of view is who’s in a position to really have a discussion, or dialogue, with people?

“Corporate communications and PR people are in a strong position to be at the centre of this whole social media revolution because we are the communicators. We are listeners. We can engage in a conversation, and we’re not necessarily going in with an overt agenda to sell or market or hire someone.

“We’re there to have a discussion. Certainly we’re advocating a point of view, whether it’s about a product or a technology, a social issue or an environmental issue, but we have the mind-set of conversationalist’s. You don’t find that in many other disciplines within an organisation”.

Source

RSVP Melbourne announces Talking Heads Program

RSVP Melbourne, taking place at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on 14 and 15 May 2008 is the event for anyone who organises corporate events and parties.

RSVP Melbourne, the special events industry event, taking place at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on 14 – 15 May 2008 has announced the highly–anticipated Talks program, brought to you by Solution RED, that cover all aspects of organising successful, memorable events and headline the leading creative minds in the events industry.

Topics include: Imaginative Catering, Coolhunting, Theming, Branding, Reinventing Corporate Hospitality and an Industry Exclusive with Brendan McClements, CEO, Victorian Major Events Company and much, much more….

Make sure you register for your FREE pass to RSVP Melbourne and book your tickets to the Event Talks today. Visit www.rsvpevent.com.au for more information.

Source

Revlon gives Burdeu lip

Acclaimed catwalker Alice Burdeu was accused of an eleventh-hour withdrawal from a fashion parade for cosmetics brand Revlon last night, prompting organisers to suggest she had partied too hard at the Logie Awards.

But the Australia’s Next Top Model winner’s agent Priscilla Leighton-Clarke weighed into the catwalk catfight over the in-demand redhead, denying Burdeu had ever even committed to headlining the show.

An account director for PR and events company Undertow Media contacted Confidential yesterday, claiming Leighton-Clarke’s agency had pulled Burdeu out of the Revlon Professional parade, citing tiredness following television’s night of nights.

Staged to promote a new hair product, the high-profile event was a fashion and beauty showcase for key designers and media.

Undertow claimed Burdeu had been booked "for months" to star in the fashion feature, held in conjunction with Vogue magazine at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

"It’s very disappointing and has left us scrambling to replace her at the last minute," the account director complained.

"Obviously because of Alice’s profile and striking hair colour she was the perfect choice, but the whole schedule has now had to be rearranged."

While Burdeu attended the Logies on the arm of fellow Foxtel star Ian Thorpe she did not over-indulge and was walked back to her hotel by a network publicist at 1am.

Leighton-Clarke called the withdrawal claims "absolute lies".

"On Friday, the organisers were told Alice would only be available if they could cover her flight back to Sydney from Melbourne, and they declined.

"Then they ring up this morning and say they’ve changed their mind, but it was too late – Alice had made commitments.

"She did not pull out, she would never do that because she is an absolute professional."

It is understood Revlon was not paying a fee to models participating in the parade, instead offering free haircare and beauty products from their range.

The tizz is unlikely to damage Burdeu’s stellar career – fresh from legging it down the catwalks of Europe, the striking beauty was the toast of last week’s Rosemount Australian Fashion Week after she hit the runway for designer Alex Perry.

Source

Marketing Coordinator, Sydney – Inner

$45K plus super

How would you like to work with a Marketing Team that comprises of 5 high-energy, fun- loving individuals? This is an absolutely fabulous opportunity to join this great Market Leader situated close to North Sydney.

You will not only enjoy the beautiful offices but just love the team you work with as you go about your day.

Your role will include -

• Providing general administration and direct support to the Head of Marketing
• Coordinate the purchase of promotional products and maintain inventory records
• Update and maintain website content
• Assist in identifying and executing promotional activities
• Coordinate advertising and communications
• Maintain extensive media and sales data bases
• Work to tight deadlines to implement marketing activities for special events and conferences
• Assist in the production and mail procedure involved in direct marketing campaigns

You will need to have-

• Intermediate to Advanced Microsoft Office skills
• Excellent communications skills
• Strong organisation and time management skills
• A proven record of successful delivery and commitment to task is required

· You will be REWARDED for all your hard work

To apply for this position, please call Carol Heather on 0299576922 or forward an updated resume in Word format only, to resumes@sinclairconsulting.com.au. In order for your application to be processed, please quote Ref: 16686/CH

Event Coordinator, Sydney CBD

$45k

Are you an experienced Events Coordinator looking for a new challenge? Do you love what you do and want to learn more?

CEDA, Australia’s leading economic think-tank is the place for you to thrive and grow. Highly respected for almost 50 years, CEDA is a not-for-profit member association which offers cutting edge research and corporate events to promote Australia’s national economic development.

We seek an Events Coordinator in our Sydney CBD office who can skilfully manage:

Event Administration – registration and logistics

Event Supplier Management – venue booking, liaison and AV coordination

Event Financial Management – budgeting and cost control

Event Participant Management – speaker coordination, meeting sponsor requirements and delegate management.

If you have 2-3 years event experience, strong attention to detail, can multi-task and are highly organised, CEDA offers you a great team environment. Strong computer skills, database management (IMIS preferred), budget control and communication skills will ensure you grow within CEDA. Past experience in professional service firms or commercial conference companies will be highly valued.

Like to know more?

To submit your application, in strict confidence, please apply online using the appropriate link below. Alternatively, for a confidential discussion, please contact Breony Johnston in our Sydney CBD office on 02 8233 2472, quoting Ref No. 2B/41502

Event Assistant Intern, Sydney

Start:June 08 – Dec 08

Days:2 days per week (may increase during festivals)

We must make it clear that this is unpaid work experience but any event work that you do out of the office time will be paid above award rate.

General Description:

mixitup is the leading event and festival partnership agency in Australia, specializing in music. We work with Australia’s best music and event promoters, consumer brands and agencies.

mixitup represents some major Australian music and cultural events such as ‘V Festival’, ‘Mardi Gras Festival’, ‘ We Love Sounds’, ‘NeverEverLand’ and many more.

Role Description:

The role of the Event Assistant intern will be to support the team. This will include administration, marketing, event logistics and reception. The role will give the intern unique hands on experience within the event and sponsorship Industry. This is a very hands on role and will include some general office duties.

Work experience requirements:

• Have a passion for the Industry however realise you have to put the hard yards in first.
• Have a strong attention to detail
• Be able to use your initiative and be super efficient
• Be well represented with excellent communication skills
• Intermediate to Advanced Computer Skills

Essential:

• Drivers License

To apply by email only to
shelleym@mixitup.com.au by 31st May 2008

Ticketing Coordinator, Melbourne Inner

Melbourne & Olympic Parks is Australia’s premier sports and entertainment precinct encompassing world class venues and facilities, including Rod Laver Arena, Vodafone Arena, Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne Park Function Centre and the Lexus Centre. It is also home to a number of elite sporting organisations such as Tennis Australia, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Storm, Athletics Victoria, Collingwood Football Club, the Victorian Institute of Sport and many others.

Reporting to the Ticketing Manager, the Ticketing Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

• Project manage the ticketing operations of assigned events
• Liaise with Ticketing Contractor to project manage the event’s ticketing operations and requirements on behalf of the event Promoter.
• Manage Group Bookings for events, including taking enquiries and sales, marketing, performing database updates and coordinating casual ticketing staff
• Facilitate and manage any inquiries from hirers regarding ticket sales, projections, group sales and marketing activities per event
• Deliver successful ticketing experience for patrons and hirers, assisting at event time with escalated customer issues, event reporting and all aspects of the event ticketing
• Various administration duties as required

To be considered for this role, the ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience in the following areas:

·Experience within the Event Ticketing Industry required, with ticketing software knowledge

·Exceptional customer, client and stakeholder relationship skills

·Exceptional organisational, time management and problem solving skills

·High level of initiative

·Ability to work unsupervised and within a team

·Flexibility – Must be able to work evenings and weekends.

·Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite (Adobe Photoshop an advantage)

If you possess the required skills and experience and wish to apply for this position, please forward your application and covering letter to recruitment@mopt.vic.gov.au

Applications close Friday 30 May 2008

Food Promotion Coordinator, Perth- Inner

$45k – $52

Fresh Finesse is a specialist public relations, promotion and marketing group servicing the fresh food sector.

We are looking for a passionate, experienced professional with knowledge in food or health complimented by good skills in admin / Event Coord/ team management /Marketing to develop our services in the fresh food sector and achieve results for clients in fresh fruit and vegetable, meat, fish, dairy industries.

With relevant tertiary qualifications and a couple of years experience, you need to be results focused and enjoy working as part of a small multi-skilled team whilst being self directed and motivated to achieve desired outcomes. You will be a pro active, creative thinker with a ’can do’ attitude and demonstrable ability to communicate well in both written and verbal forums. A methodical approach with accuracy and attention to detail are essential.

Some flexibility with hours.

Varied Responsiblities include

• Recruit and train casual staff

• Manage and motivate promo team of 15
• Client liaison and quoting
• Coordinate retail promotions
• Event coordination
• Manage promo equipment and supplies

• Produce POS material

• Develop marketing plans
• Project budget management
• Post event evaluation & reporting

The ability to monitor and critically analyse performance is essential.

Desirable Experience
• Relationship Building

• Highly developed written and verbal skills
• Sound food knowledge and skills

• Recruiting and managing personnel

• Strong interpersonal and motivational skills
• Advanced computer skills – excel
• Problem solving, organisational and planning

Our central Subiaco office has free parking and convenient access to all facilities.

FRESH FINESSE fresh approach to food promotion. www.freshf.com.au
Send CV to noelene@freshf.com.au. by 8 May

Advertising Coordinator, Melbourne East

$44k + super

The Australian Physiotherapy Association is the national body representing the physiotherapy profession in Australia. We advocate for equitable access to physiotherapy and optimal health care for all Australians and we assist our members to provide quality physiotherapy through professional excellence and career success.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Advertising Coordinator to join our small but dynamic Publications and Corporate Relations Team based in our national office in Camberwell. This position is responsible for coordinating the display advertising in a range of printed publications including our flagship quarterly scientific journal and monthly member magazine.

Tasks will include-

·Maintaining advertising databases,

·Taking bookings,

·Collating artwork,

·Proofing and placing advertisements,

·Generating distribution lists for the mail house and

·Invoicing clients.

The Advertising Coordinator will also assist with the development and promotion of advertising initiatives and special offers and will undertake ongoing liaison with potential and current advertisers.

Using advertising databases and drawing on client relationships, this position will also be involved in promoting and administering opportunities for sponsorship and trade exhibitions at APA conferences including onsite liaison and post-event follow up.

To be successful in this position you will need to have-

• Customer service focus
• Ability to organize and prioritize your workload.
• Excellent administrative skills
• Excellent roof reading skills
• Demonstrated experience using the Microsoft office suite.

You will be a team player with a broad understanding of the print production and distribution processes and will have the ability to work to deadlines without close supervision.

Basic design skills with some experience using the Adobe Suite would be an advantage.

For further information about the position please contact Matt Hall, Manager of Publications and Corporate Relations on (03) 9092 0845 or at matt.hall@physiotherapy.asn.au

Applications close on Friday 16 May 2008.

May 8^th-9^th- PRomote2008, Hamilton, Brisbane. Learn how to make your business stand out from the crowd with practical and affordable marketing and PR advice during PRomote2008.

May 10^th- Flying Boats – Sydneys golden age of aviation

May 11^th – Mothers Day Specials-Rupertswood Mansion, 3 Macedon St, Daylesford & Macedon Ranges, Victoria.

Mothers Day Breakfast – 8-10am

Mothers Day High Tea – 2-4pm

Mothers Day Dinner- 6.30-11pm

May 13^th – Southern Cross Soloists: Showcase Series Concert One, the Conservatorium Theatre in South Bank, Brisbane

May 14^th-17^th – Branch Nebula’s Paradise City-Fusion of Street-Style and Dance, ArtsHouse Melbourne.

May 16^th- Vintage Reds Interstate Luncheon, South Brisbane.

May 17^th- A Night of Latin Rhythm, Crown Towers, Southbank, Melbourne- in aid of Australian Red Cross.

May 18^th- Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon

May 19^th – Art for Art’s Sake, Waterfront Place, Brisbane- in support of the Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland.

May 19^th-25^th- Sydney Writers Festival

May 21^st-22^nd – Australian Events Expo, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

May 23^rd-25^th Generations in Jazz 2008, Mount Gambier.

May 24^th – A Woman Under the Influence, ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square, Melbourne.

May 27^th – Snow Travel Expo, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre

May 29^th- June 14^th- Edward Scissorhands, Sydney Opera House.

May 30^th-June 1^st- Good Food and Wine Show, Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre

May 31^st– Docklands Twilight Movie Festival, Victoria Harbour, Docklands.