Having been unable to raise the scratch to pay for a fare to Seattle, WA for the Blog Business Summit in January this year, I was interested, nay, mildly excited, to find that there was to be an Australian Blogging Conference in Melbourne, a very gracious (if often cold and wet) city several hundred miles south of where I live, in February.
I registered my interest enthusiastically and awaited the inevitable (?) barrage of emails/ rss feeds about the conference. Well, we are now into the first week of February and the latest entry on the heralded conference site is December 10, 2004. Why do I think this conference might not actually happen? And of course the fact that my emails to the organisers have gone unanswered has nothing to do with my scepticism.
Anyhow, I do not expect to be going to Melbourne in a couple of weeks from now (back in December they were not even sure which weekend the conference would be).
But not to be downhearted, I decided to explore further about the state of blogging downunder. Not a huge amount to report, I have to say, but there are a few interesting items.
First, and probably not for the fainthearted in matters of language, sex and politics, there are the Aussie Blogs Awards - 2005 results. I could not find a lot to get excited about in the winning sites, but then I’m not really into “yoof” culture, the indiscriminate use of vulgar language or lashings of gross sexual imagery to make an “intellectual” point. I could not see much sign that business blogging was getting a look in at these awards. It seemed to me from looking at the prizewinning blogs that being provocative, culturally/politically (left or right did not seem to matter) was a big winner in the voting.
Some interesting items emerged nevertheless: for example, did you know that Australian internet users are more narcissistic than their
It’s definitely a mixed scene. Australian Anthony Hicks, who it appears has recently departed these sunny shores, was an early and recent recorder of Aussie blog activity – check the http://aussieblogs.org site. He has some statistics on the number of Australian blogs - make of them what you will.
For anyone who is actually interested in where blogging might be in this great south land, there was a good review in Blog Herald for Australia Day (January 26), which basically covers what’s above, with a couple of additions.
On the business blogging front in this part of the world, I could not find anything to get excited about. A review of Australian business blogging on the CIO website and headed, rather imaginatively “Blogging for Fun and Profit” (Pakii Pierce where are you?) indicated that the general attitude of corporate Australia was “not interested just now, mate, too busy”.
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Firstly, about the Australian Blogging Conference: I’m not really surprised it’s gone this way because it was never well organised.
There was a lack of information on the website, no date had been set and they were seeking sponsors way too late in the game.
This kind of thing needs a proper marketing/pr campaign months before hand.
Secondly, I am getting downhearted about the business/tech blogging scene in Australia.
There doesn’t seem to be much around in Australia - unless I’m looking in all the wrong places. Where are all the independent Aussie journo’s/bloggers?
There doesn’t seem to be much with an Australian focus.
From my point of view, I focus on voip technology in Australia. But I’m not getting anywhere.
Most of my visitors are from the US (84%); Europe (12%) and my intended audience: Australia (2%)
I just can’t find enough “serious” blogs to link with/work with.
With the failure of the Blogging Conference I seriously have to face the fact that Australians don’t seem to go into business/tech blogging - if there’s not much of an audience/interest then these blogs won’t appear.
I’d have more success ditching focusing on Australia and “going global”