wallydownundy

Everyone’s ga-ga about social media, on-line communities, new technologies and all their potential. But what’s forgotten is how fundamentally old the on-line experience is. The computer has replaced the community centre. For an exceptional presentation on the subject, check out this presentation off SlideShare!

The Pope is imploring Catholics to give up social media networks and texting for Lent. Oddly enough he made this request on The Vatican YouTube channel. He doesn’t want followers to substitute virtual world friendships for real world friendships. (Farewell Silk Charm, tell Laura I’ll miss her.) He says over-use of on-line mediums:

 ”…may isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development”.  (Source: The Australian)

Now it may sound odd but in a funny way I agree with the man. Too much of a good things is…great? No! Living on-line to the exclusion of real-world friendships is wrong. Every once in awhile it pays to leave the PC and see what’s going on in the 3D world.

Yet I don’t think the plea hits the mark. (And I can’t risk offending die-hard Catholics now because, really, you’re not supposed to be here!) Had earlier Popes warned about too much radio? Excessive television time? In olden days were we warned to stay away from Punch & Judy shows?

Seems the very Pope who is trying to embrace digital technologies shows his lack of understanding. Social media is a channel and texting is a method of communication - no more, no less. These allow one-to-one communications - or with PopeTube, one to many. The on-line world is a great way to connect with the exact people who share your enthusiasms and interests. And for teens, texting is a cheap alternative to mobile phone calls that retain and reinforce the very ties that make a community.

Since his youth the Pope has seen the village square replaced with an interconnected global network. My best friend may no longer be across town. He may be on another continent. And because it’s Lent am I to forego friendship? I don’t think so.

Now here’s one last test - let’s check YouTube to ensure there are no updates between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. After all, if it’s good for the goose….

In the rush to publish on-line I sometimes forget to spell check.  (Is that a venal or mortal sin?) So I was reassured today to see I’m not alone. In their afternoon edition of “The Australian” the sub-editor misspelled the headline. Don’t fret - it wasn’t anything noticeable. Just the name of the country:

Auistralian vehicle sales fall 22pc in February

I’m not sure but isn’t that a Euro Zone country?

It’s financial results time in Australia - and the picture is far from rosey. Seems a number of companies decided to post their financial results on a Friday. Thanks to Stephen Mayne of The Mayne Report for compiling a chronology of one day’s announcements. For the record, here are the losses announced on Friday, 27 February 2009:

8.28am, Reckson New York Trust: $74.8m loss
8.29am, Pike River Coal: $NZ9.56m loss
8.29am, Hedley Leisure & Gaming: $174m loss
8.42am, Paperlinx: $567.5m loss
8.55am, HFA Accelerator Plus: $163.4m loss
9.11am, Chandler Macleod: $2.5m loss
9.17am, Funtastic: $50.8m loss
9.19am, Oz Minerals: loss of $2.4 billion.
9.23am, Staging Connections: $15.1m loss
9.27am, Every Day Mining Services: $10.1m loss
9.34am, GPG: $110m loss
9.35am, Trafalgar Corporate: $33.2m loss
9.38am, Roc Oil: $430m loss
9.40am Abacus Property Trust: $52m loss
9.42am, GPT: $3.25 billion loss
9.47am, Babcock & Brown Infrastructure: $245.8m loss
10.05am, Clinuvul Pharmaceutical: $9.05m loss
10.09am, Crown: $407.9m loss
10.17am, Rubicor Group: $20.8m loss
10.21am, GRD: $66.7m loss
10.32am, Tap Oil: $7.5m loss
10.34am: SciGen: $7.8m loss
10.37am: Ambition Group: $24.5m loss
10.41am: Drillsearch Energy: $5.5m loss
10.50am: Templeton Growth Fund: $14.5m loss
10.55am, Transoil Corp: $6.03m loss
11.04am, Babcock & Brown Capital: $1.43bn loss
11.11am, Tissue Therapies: $1.78m loss
11.12am, Rey Resources: $1.7m loss
11.18am, Sofcom: $77.7m loss
11.19am, ITL Ltd: $1.9m loss
11.20am, Clime Investment Management: $2.97m loss
11.25am, ORT Ltd: $1.62m loss
11.26am, Swish Group: $1.2m loss
12.03pm, India Equities Fund: $11.6m loss
12.04am, Teys Ltd: $2.04m loss
12.04pm, Environmental Clean Technologies: $1.05m loss
12.06pm, Sun Biomedical: $1.25m loss
12.20pm, Lend Lease Primelife: $204m loss
12.50pm, Lifestyle Communities: $2.24m loss
12.56pm, Western Areas: $12.34m loss
1.15am, Heartware International: $40m loss
1.16pm, Forest Enterprises Australia: $4.1m loss
1.18pm, Medical Therapies: $2.16m loss
1.19pm, Compass Hotels Group: $80.5m loss
1.20pm, RuralAus Investments: $1.2m loss
1.26pm, Automotive Technology Group: $2.96m loss
1.27pm, Univesrsal Biosensors: $12m loss
1.38pm, Allomak Ltd: $68.17m loss
1.40pm, Tyrian Diagnostics: $3.89m loss
1.45pm, Dyesol: $4.54m loss
1.50pm, ING Industrial Fund: $445.9m loss
1.52pm, KLM: $1.4m loss
2.15pm, Phoslock Water Solutions: $1.54m loss
2.29pm, Coretrack Ltd: $1.02m loss
2.32pm, Avita Medical: $2.96m loss
2.38pm, Electrometals Technologies: $2.3m loss
2.51pm, Hyro Ltd: $41.4m loss
2.55pm, Acuvax Ltd: $1.82m loss
2.57pm, Australian Education Trust: $41.3m loss
3.03pm, Novogen: $8.97m loss
3.05pm, Amazing Loans: $21.05m loss
3.06pm, APN Retail European Property Trust: $297m loss
3.10pm, Indigo Pacific: $6.6m loss
3.10pm, Contango Capital Partners: $26.2m loss
3.12pm, Rox Resources: $1.31m loss
3.13pm, Powerlan: $4.63m loss
3.20pm, Vinoto Ltd: $1.7m loss
3.21pm, Phylogica: $2.86m loss
3.22pm, Broad Investments: $2.59m loss
3.22pm, Everest Babcock & Brown Alternative Investment Trust: $300m loss
3.23pm, Praemium Ltd: $6.6m loss
3.25pm, ICSGlobal: $1.11m loss
3.28pm, Neuren Pharmaceuticals: $NZ18.43m loss
3.33pm, Over Fifty Group: $9.83m loss
3.33pm, Transpacific Industries: $52.6m loss
3.34pm, Macquarie Fortress Notes: $61.07m loss
3.39pm, ING Real Estate Community Living Group: $242.4m loss
3.40pm, China Century Capital Ltd: $2.88m loss
3.47pm, KTL Technologies: $2.63m loss
3.48pm, JV Global: $1.82m loss
3.52pm, Contango Microcap: $64.85m loss
3.53pm, 4C Security Solutions: $1.3m loss
3.54pm, LinQ Resources Fund: $225.83m loss
3.54pm, Astron Ltd: $5.83m loss
3.55pm, Jatoil Ltd: $1.8m loss
4.00pm, MacarthurCook: $11.46m loss
4.03pm, Natural Fuel: $40m loss
4.04pm, Two Way Ltd: $1.42m loss
4.06pm, Biosignal Ltd: $3.3m loss
4.08pm, Metal Storm: $10.65m loss
4.11pm, Community Life: $2.5m loss
4.11pm, BBX Holdings: $1.6m loss
4.11pm, Cellnet: $10.2m loss
4.15pm, China Cattle Ltd: $1.4m loss
4.17pm, Jackgreen Ltd: $1.9m loss
4.17pm, Wentworth Holdings: $10.26m loss
4.17pm, AnaeCo Ltd: $2.38m loss
4.18pm, Van Eyk Blueprint Alternatives Plus: $11.64m loss
4.22pm, Century Australia: $5.03m loss
4.23pm, Benitec: $1.13m loss
4.31pm, Allco Max Securities and Mortgage Trust: $105.17m loss
4.32pm, Select Vaccines: $1.16m loss
4.34pm, Carnegie Corporation: $5.96 loss
4.37pm, Celtex: $1.2m loss
4.37pm, National Leisure & Gaming: $8.45m loss
4.38pm, Jupiter Mines: $1.5m loss
4.41pm, Allstate Exploration: $1.3m loss
4.41pm, Range River Gold: $2.15m loss
4.42pm, Hudson Investment Group: $3.87m loss
4.43pm, CBD Energy: $2.29m loss
4.44pm, Enviro Mission: $3.8m loss
4.44pm, Datadot Technology: $7.75m loss
4.45pm, Bluefreeway: $14.65m loss
4.45pm, Shaw River Resources: $1.9m loss
4.46pm, ING Private Equity Access: $8.2m loss
4.46pm, Jervois Mining: $1.28m loss
4.47pm, Boulder Steel: $4.04m loss
4.54pm, Salinas Energy: $2.86m loss
4.57pm, Perilya Resources: $77.17m loss
5.01pm, Mercury Mobility: $1.7m loss
5.01pm, Zylotech: $1.36m loss
5.02pm, Van Eyk Three Pillars: $27.6m loss
5.06pm, Commquest Ltd: $46.4m loss
5.09pm, Flat Glass Industries: $4.67m loss
5.10pm, Living Cell Technologies: $2.89m loss
5.12pm, Fig Tree Developments: $1.49m loss
5.14pm, Polartechnics: $4.43m loss
5.16pm, ChongHerr Investments: $1.28m loss
5.25pm, Cue Energy: $16.72m loss
5.26pm, Australian Biodiesel: $1.9m loss
5.27pm, Cloncurry Metals: $3.54m loss
5.27pm, Viento Group: $6.21m loss
5.27pm, AFT Corporation: $1.12m loss
5.28pm, Kings Minerals: $4.39m loss
5.28pm, 3Q Holdings: $2.49m loss
5.32pm, Green Invest: $1.39m loss
5.33pm, Optiscan: $5.62m loss
5.35pm, Facilitate Digital Holdings: $2.1m loss
5.37pm, Carbon Conscious: $1.1m loss
5.39pm, Minerals Corporation: $11.7m loss
5.40pm, Marine Produce: $3.86m loss
5.40pm, Multistack International: $8.5m loss
5.42pm, Sirius Corporation: $1.06m loss
5.42pm, African Energy Resources: $1.41m loss
5.43pm, Omnitech Holdings: $1.05m loss
5.44pm, Fermiscan Holdings: $9.24m loss
5.44pm, Amex Resources: $1.37m loss
5.47pm, Advanced Ocular Systems: $18.54m loss
5.47pm, Nusep: $1.95m loss
5.48, Coltech Australia: $1.13m loss
5.51pm, Fox Invest: $6.12m loss
5.52pm, Pacific Environment: $1.74m loss
5.54pm, TTA Holdings: $1.24m loss
6.01pm, Wasabi Energy: $12.2m loss
6.04pm, CVC Ltd: $56.2m loss
6.06pm, Austpac Resources: $1.07m loss
6.07pm, Charter Pacific: $4.77m loss
6.09pm, Luminus Systems: $11.1m loss
6.11pm, Planet Gas: $17.07m loss
6.12pm, Australian Power & Gas: $5.65m loss
6.13pm, Quay Magnesium: $4.2m loss
6.16pm, Cockatoo Coal: $2.35m loss
6.59pm, Stirling Products: $15.3m loss
7.00pm, Globe Securities: $1.67m loss
7.01pm, Mikoh Corporation: $1.92m loss
7.02pm, Quantum Energy: $10.13m loss
7.02pm, Straits Resources: $106.7m loss
7.06pm, Cockatoo Ridge Wines: $54.8m loss
7.07pm, PanAust: $62m loss
7.07pm, Real Estate Capital Partners: $13.9m loss
7.09pm, Kagara Zinc: $49.9m loss
7.10pm, Cool or Cosy Total Comfort Solutions: $1.14m loss
7.13pm, Wallace Absolute Return Fund: $28.28m loss
7.13pm, Energy Ventures: $1.87m loss
7.17pm, NSX: $12.58m loss
7.21pm, Sino Strategic International: $3.1m loss
7.22pm, Payce Consolidated: $33.84m loss
7.27pm, Valad Property Group: $821m loss
7.28pm, Bentley International: $1.78m loss
7.33pm, Pacific Enviromin: $3.6m loss
7.39pm, EFTel Ltd: $1.72m loss
7.40pm, Centamin Egypt: $24.43m loss
7.40pm, Capitol Health: $1.1m loss
7.45pm, Orchid Capital: $2.1m loss
7.44pm, Tolhurst Group: $38.5m loss

Either you get Twitter or you don’t. There’s no middle ground.

The Twitter-ati update their followers several times a day with one sentence observations or actions. These posts provide insight into the daily actions of people noble and humble. Great Twitter-ers gather a following where people subscribe to receive their updates. The truly great have hundreds of thousands of people following their daily actions.

Twitter is huge. Really. If you’ve never tried start now or you’ll be left behind - and risk being a nitwit.

So what’s the experience? Once you create your profile and upload your picture and add a posting your screen looks sadly empty. It can remain that way for some time. Think of it as a new address book - all blank and fresh. If you have no friends it can remain pristine forever. But both are tools better off used. Uncap your pen…

In Twitter that means following others. Search for names of people you know - or maybe heard of. There are the famous and the obscure. Some famous Twitter-ers may be on the bus next to you. (Handy hint - if they’re typing into their phone their writing a Twitter post about being watched by you. Where is Franz Kafka now that we need him most?)

Soon those you follow elect to follow you. Now you’re really in the pooh. People are watching. What are you doing? Don’t fret - your updates don’t need to be worldly. (”Got off phone with Madonna - will she ever get over Guy?” or “Told Wayne Swan how to manage credit risk - does he listen?”) My Twitter friend Steven Noble commented on the stately homes in The Rocks as he walked back to work. Nick Hodge is celebrating the life of a dead maths teacher - gosh, he sounded cruel!

Today Doonesbury takes the mickey out of Twitter (see The Australian “Business” page 20 - or if you can’t be bothered and want to follow the series then click here. Below is the one from today’s paper). Seems Twit Wit and nitwit aren’t mutually exclusive.

Great communications achieves cut-through. You hear a phrase that you immediately understand and remember - and it epitomises the issue at hand.

Warren Buffett - the Oracle of Omaha - has a wonderful way with words. He’s been tested in his most recent shareholder letter when trying to explain the devastation wrought by the global financial collapse. Buffett says of 2008:

By year end investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game.

No confusing that imagery. And yes, I feel much like a battered sparrow. Who doesn’t? 

But what chills the blood is Buffett’s description of the government’s response:

In poker terms, the Treasury and the Fed have gone ‘all in’.

That doesn’t leave any room for maneourvre, does it?

In Australia the government has kept a few spare chips in reserve. The Reserve Bank of Australia chose not to lower interest rates at today’s meeting. That means there’s a little more flexibility for future changes. And Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has rushed AU$42 billion in aid out. But that’s billion with a “b” and not like the $1 trillion now being laid out in America. (Cut to Dr Evil in Austin Powers who exits a time machine and decides, in the 1990’s, to blackmail the world for $1 million. What comes after trillion? Gazillion?)

But back to bloodied birds. If you’re trying to make sense of the global financial collapse then look no further than Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders. It’s plain, understandable and damn sobering.

After the Detroit CEOs flew private jets to Washington DC, caps in hand, crying poor mouth, the beleaguered corporate jet industry can’t get a break. Cessna has launched a series of advertisements - “We think it’s time to tell the other side of the story”. And oddly I have to concur - to a degree.

Most companies use corporate jets for rapid point-to-point service for mid-level managers. The interiors have more in common with no frills airlines than luxury jets. They fly routinely from headquarters to distant plants in cities no longer serviced by direct flights. Ford had one such workhorse that went from Detroit to Memphis then Kansas City in a routine circle twice a day. There was no on-board catering or movies. It was traveled by engineers and product designers working on day-to-day tasks.

At times like this, the corporate jet is the workhorse of the sky.

But let me tell you about the show ponies. Ford Credit had one CEO particularly enamoured of private jets and Ford had a fleet of them. Each jet was kitted out with an interior evocative of each major brand. My staff were instructed to get the Aston-Martin jet every time. This long-range aircraft was first ordered ostensibly to fly to Asia non-stop from Detroit. Problem was the marble and leather interior weighed so much the plane needed to refuel mid-way through long haul flights. But it was nice inside.

The private jet terminal was small and comfortable and dedicated to Ford management. As soon as all passengers arrived the jet was boarded and cleared for take-off. When’s the last time your flight left five minutes after you got the airport?

In some instances the jet still made sense. Eight executives huddled together to plan the day’s activities then conducted long-distance business with stop-watch precision. But like any smart option the corporate jet was prone to abuse. Like the time an in-flight meeting was called on a direct flight to Orlando with the CEO’s family a few days prior to Christmas. Once the leader and his encourage were off the plane - and the hold was emptied of gifts - the meeting was cancelled and the plane flew back to Detroit.

Today sales of corporate jets have fallen off a cliff. Second-hand jets are available with “make an offer” listed on their web ad. I’d encourage you to gather some friends and bid as a consortium. A plane that commanded $48 million in boom times can now be had for $30 million. Imagine - where else in your life can you make an $18 million saving? At these prices why not buy two? It sure beats flying commercial…