I was sitting in a tutorial today keying an assessment date into my iPhone calendar. The tutor walked up and told me I shouldn't be text messaging in class and to focus on the task. I explained to him that I was doing nothing different from the student next to me writing the date into her paper diary.He smiled and asked what question I was up to.Yet another example of the University demonstrating just how far behind they are.The fact I was actually on Facebook because the tutorial was terribly boring is irrelevant....

Just because your video has a few million page views doesn't mean it's gone viral. It just means a few million people have seen it. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Of course it depends on your objectives. So when Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend video (not available to Australians) passed Evolution of Dance for the All Time Most Viewed video on YouTube earlier this year, it's hard to argue her video had the same viral qualities because she cheated. When a campaign runs a microsite with a video on the front page, you can earn millions of pageviews. This doesn't mean the content has been spread, especially not virally. Therefore you can't measure if a video has gone viral just on hits. Instead look at how many people are talking about it and ultimately their influence on those listening....

I just watched ABC's Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure. Seriously funny shit. My perfect genre of comedy. Instant favourite.Side note before I start, how fucking awesome are the ABC? Not only are they producing the best television content in Australia but they're doing a killer job in the transition from old to new media. Podcasting, online content, iView. Awesome. They continue to lead the way, in fact my second ever post 18 months ago said something similar. Anywho, in the show, Lawrence was looking at some techniques for picking up girls. One guy suggested the use of phonetic ambiguity, which is when you say something that can be interpreted as something else but more subtly.The example they used was the term "below me", which can sound like "blow me". So when you say to a girl about something being below you, she's apparently meant to drop to her knees. I'm struggling to see this actually work but more interestingly has it been done in marketing before?Or can you think of your own to use in a TVC or radio spot?...

When I think of those "classic" marketing campaigns and examples, the majority of them are from when I was running around as a little tacker or even younger. But here's something a bit more recent. Hungry Jacks and their two handed Whopper salute. I read about it a couple of times in this week's marketing magazine readings (Marketing, AdNews and B&T) and realised how deeply that symbol is now embedded in consumers' minds. Even more incredibly, it only took a few months. Now it would be cool to see a UGC element, maybe a Flickr competition with people doing the salute. And I'd give it an official name to concrete it in everyone's mind. And a quick look on YouTube shows heaps of people trying to order in stores using the salute...

I always assumed my Melway (directory of Melbourne's streets that sits under every car seat in Victoria) would be replaced by a GPS system. Turns out it was my iPhone.I've now had my iPhone for three months and I can't believe how much it has changed my daily behaviour.It's changed my life and made me a better person.Maybe I should look at getting a Mac....

In what seems like months ago, I raised a few questions on how Gen Y and iGen's consumed content. As one old bull kindly pointed out, it's easy to ask questions and not answer them. So how do you as a marketer, media producer or content creator get through to me? Simple. Using one of these new media business models, based on the concept of free or with microtransactions. Things like Dr Horrible and Clark and Michael are great examples. We, as Gen Y's and iGen's, are not going to pay more than what content is worth. And we've been brought up thinking that this content, especially digital content, is free or valued at only a few dollars. Most advertisers, content creators and media producers fail to see how this can be monetised, but the examples above show it's possible. That's how you get through to someone like me and still walk our profitable....

My blogging has been a little sporadic of late. And it's probably going to get worse before it gets better.I tend not to discuss too much personal stuff here hence why you're still waiting on your 7 Things, Nathan. But I suppose once in a while it doesn't hurt.While I've been busy writing articles for Marketing Mag, promoting the student union on campus, hitting the books at Uni, hitting the beer at Uni and loving my internship at Naked, the biggest time consumer (and most fun) has been working on L'Oreal's Brandstorm.Last Thursday, me and two mates presented to L'Oreal Maybelline in what was a Pre Case Study looking at Maybelline's first fragrance. We just received word that we've been selected for nationals in two months, up against five other teams. In that time we'll be working with McCann Erickson on a promotional strategy as well as a packaging agency developing the launch of Maybelline's first perfume.If we some how manage to blow their socks off, we head on to Paris. Excitement much?Anywho, any girls wanting to participate in some qualitative market research let me know. That is all. I love you. Each and every one of you. Not you Stan....