Millions set to disconnect their fixed-line phones

ABOUT 2 million people are considering ditching their fixed-line home phones, as Australians move closer to becoming one of the world's first wireless economies.

For the first time this year, the communications giant Telstra has had more mobile phone subscribers than fixed-line subscribers. Mobile phones now outnumber fixed lines by more than two-to-one.

How tweet it is

How tweet it is

Monday, 01 June 2009 | Katherine Milesi

Twitter is a micro-blogging website that publishes updates of up to 140 characters in length. Users post what they are doing and, when other users choose to "follow", those updates appear when they log in.


So why use it?

  1. Build an online presence: Expanding your activities beyond your organisation's official website, into new areas such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs, is part of creating an integrated online presence that will become more important as the public moves to a fully networked existence.

  • Keep in touch: Use Twitter to keep your admirers, followers and even critics informed about upcoming product releases and conferences or conventions you will be presenting at, and to elicit feedback about new products and services. Create a dialogue with your customers and present an approachable, human face to your enterprise. As part of a comprehensive online presence, this helps humanise your organisation and encourages discussion and involvement with your clients. Dissatisfied customers can also be communicated with and a resolution can be found quickly and publicly.

  • Protect your brand: Just like purchasing www.yourname.com, creating Twitter accounts will help protect your online profile. Even if you have no immediate plans to use them, it's a good idea to be prepared because the online world moves so quickly.

  • Stay one step ahead: Although Twitter isn't as popular yet as social networking sites such as Facebook, it is growing - and fast. Creating a presence after all of your competitors have joined, and the network has become louder and busier, will make it more difficult to attract new followers. Gathering followers now, and benefiting from a likely upsurge in popularity and coverage, makes a lot more sense.

  • How to use it

    1. Reply to your readers: If you want your customers, fans or the general public to continue reading your tweets, you should consider creating personalised communication that is directly engaging, even though it seems less efficient because it requires consideration of every incoming tweet. Twitter is about being effective, not efficient, and using it effectively involves leveraging the directness it offers between users, rather than risking an automated reply that is insensitive, unhelpful or simply confusing.

  • Keep informed: Similar to how media monitoring can watch for keywords and alert you to coverage you would otherwise miss, the micro-blogging technology allows you to receive notification of keyword usage by other users. Twitter is a quick and easy way for people to talk about what is happening to them right then, which can often translate into a way to express frustration or praise at a product or service they are using.

  • Be creative: Engage your audience by tweeting a story in instalments, or by having some fun with your brand. Any narratives your organisation is experiencing can be written as a story. Narratives can span the traditional (a new TV show, movie or publication) to the more ambitious (organisational change, expansion, a new product line). By playing out a narrative, in some cases by a fictional character, or by providing entertaining updates, you can engage your audience with passion and creativity.

  • Give yourself a voice: Your brand may already have a defined voice, but Twitter allows you to vary it and create a broader online persona. Updates can be written by "the organisation", an excited new employee who chronicles her experiences, the chief executive about the strategic vision, a help desk member, or any other passionate, involved worker. Multiple accounts can be created.

  • Broadcast: If your organisation broadcasts in traditional media, use Twitter to reach an audience that is not as interested in TV, print or radio. By partnering your account with your website, you can automatically publish tweets that direct users to updates. At September 2008, a review of United States newspapers showed about half used sites with automatic updating (source: graphicdesignr.net). Twitter provides immediacy, improves your profile and can increase credibility.

  • Risk management

    1. Negative feedback: By establishing a presence, you may receive more direct input from other users about your products and services, and these comments will sometimes be negative. Take the opportunity to respond quickly and appropriately, by providing assistance or information where possible and directing the user to an alternative communication channel if appropriate. From a negative update, create a positive interaction.

  • Falling behind: Effective use entails being aware of all relevant updates, responding promptly where necessary, and keeping your followers informed of your latest news. This is not a set-and-forget tool, so it is imperative that your organisation allocates adequate resources to manage your account every day. A slow, silent account will do more damage to your online presence than no account at all.

  • Under-resourcing: Just as your organisation needs to be up to date in its management of an account, you also need to consider who will be managing it. A resource will need to be allocated, with enough time every day dedicated to reading reports, responding appropriately and updating with the latest news. Although this seems simple, don't risk under-resourcing your approach.
  • Twitter is a micro-blogging website that publishes updates of up to 140 characters in length. Users post what they are doing and, when other users choose to "follow", those updates appear when they log in.


    So why use it?

    1. Build an online presence: Expanding your activities beyond your organisation's official website, into new areas such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs, is part of creating an integrated online presence that will become more important as the public moves to a fully networked existence.

  • Keep in touch: Use Twitter to keep your admirers, followers and even critics informed about upcoming product releases and conferences or conventions you will be presenting at, and to elicit feedback about new products and services. Create a dialogue with your customers and present an approachable, human face to your enterprise. As part of a comprehensive online presence, this helps humanise your organisation and encourages discussion and involvement with your clients. Dissatisfied customers can also be communicated with and a resolution can be found quickly and publicly.

  • Protect your brand: Just like purchasing www.yourname.com, creating Twitter accounts will help protect your online profile. Even if you have no immediate plans to use them, it's a good idea to be prepared because the online world moves so quickly.

  • Stay one step ahead: Although Twitter isn't as popular yet as social networking sites such as Facebook, it is growing - and fast. Creating a presence after all of your competitors have joined, and the network has become louder and busier, will make it more difficult to attract new followers. Gathering followers now, and benefiting from a likely upsurge in popularity and coverage, makes a lot more sense.

  • How to use it

    1. Reply to your readers: If you want your customers, fans or the general public to continue reading your tweets, you should consider creating personalised communication that is directly engaging, even though it seems less efficient because it requires consideration of every incoming tweet. Twitter is about being effective, not efficient, and using it effectively involves leveraging the directness it offers between users, rather than risking an automated reply that is insensitive, unhelpful or simply confusing.

  • Keep informed: Similar to how media monitoring can watch for keywords and alert you to coverage you would otherwise miss, the micro-blogging technology allows you to receive notification of keyword usage by other users. Twitter is a quick and easy way for people to talk about what is happening to them right then, which can often translate into a way to express frustration or praise at a product or service they are using.

  • Be creative: Engage your audience by tweeting a story in instalments, or by having some fun with your brand. Any narratives your organisation is experiencing can be written as a story. Narratives can span the traditional (a new TV show, movie or publication) to the more ambitious (organisational change, expansion, a new product line). By playing out a narrative, in some cases by a fictional character, or by providing entertaining updates, you can engage your audience with passion and creativity.

  • Give yourself a voice: Your brand may already have a defined voice, but Twitter allows you to vary it and create a broader online persona. Updates can be written by "the organisation", an excited new employee who chronicles her experiences, the chief executive about the strategic vision, a help desk member, or any other passionate, involved worker. Multiple accounts can be created.

  • Broadcast: If your organisation broadcasts in traditional media, use Twitter to reach an audience that is not as interested in TV, print or radio. By partnering your account with your website, you can automatically publish tweets that direct users to updates. At September 2008, a review of United States newspapers showed about half used sites with automatic updating (source: graphicdesignr.net). Twitter provides immediacy, improves your profile and can increase credibility.

  • Risk management

    1. Negative feedback: By establishing a presence, you may receive more direct input from other users about your products and services, and these comments will sometimes be negative. Take the opportunity to respond quickly and appropriately, by providing assistance or information where possible and directing the user to an alternative communication channel if appropriate. From a negative update, create a positive interaction.

  • Falling behind: Effective use entails being aware of all relevant updates, responding promptly where necessary, and keeping your followers informed of your latest news. This is not a set-and-forget tool, so it is imperative that your organisation allocates adequate resources to manage your account every day. A slow, silent account will do more damage to your online presence than no account at all.

  • Under-resourcing: Just as your organisation needs to be up to date in its management of an account, you also need to consider who will be managing it. A resource will need to be allocated, with enough time every day dedicated to reading reports, responding appropriately and updating with the latest news. Although this seems simple, don't risk under-resourcing your approach.
  • Twitter is a micro-blogging website that publishes updates of up to 140 characters in length. Users post what they are doing and, when other users choose to "follow", those updates appear when they log in.


    So why use it?

    1. Build an online presence: Expanding your activities beyond your organisation's official website, into new areas such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs, is part of creating an integrated online presence that will become more important as the public moves to a fully networked existence.

  • Keep in touch: Use Twitter to keep your admirers, followers and even critics informed about upcoming product releases and conferences or conventions you will be presenting at, and to elicit feedback about new products and services. Create a dialogue with your customers and present an approachable, human face to your enterprise. As part of a comprehensive online presence, this helps humanise your organisation and encourages discussion and involvement with your clients. Dissatisfied customers can also be communicated with and a resolution can be found quickly and publicly.

  • Protect your brand: Just like purchasing www.yourname.com, creating Twitter accounts will help protect your online profile. Even if you have no immediate plans to use them, it's a good idea to be prepared because the online world moves so quickly.

  • Stay one step ahead: Although Twitter isn't as popular yet as social networking sites such as Facebook, it is growing - and fast. Creating a presence after all of your competitors have joined, and the network has become louder and busier, will make it more difficult to attract new followers. Gathering followers now, and benefiting from a likely upsurge in popularity and coverage, makes a lot more sense.

  • How to use it

    1. Reply to your readers: If you want your customers, fans or the general public to continue reading your tweets, you should consider creating personalised communication that is directly engaging, even though it seems less efficient because it requires consideration of every incoming tweet. Twitter is about being effective, not efficient, and using it effectively involves leveraging the directness it offers between users, rather than risking an automated reply th

    Good advice

    Outline Of My Case Against God | AnAtheist.Net

    Here’s a brief outline of my major points:

    1. The word “God” denotes an incomprehensible concept. An absurd concept. A concept full of logical contradictions. Such concepts ought to be rejected as nonsense rather than believed or even seriously considered as live possibilities. (Go to posts)
    2. “God” – to the extent the term makes any sense at all – seems to be a purely hypothetical entity which is completely undetectable by human senses and scientific instruments alike and for which no convincing physical evidence has ever been found. For all practical purposes, this renders “God” synonymous with “non-existent.” (Go to posts)
    3. The “God” which people talk about has all the substantiality of an imaginary friend or a figure in a dream. “God” varies in important and significant ways from person to person, from culture to culture, and over time. This variation seems as arbitrary and unprogressive as the random swirlings of vision-blocking fog.
    4. Concepts similar to “God” are routinely dismissed out of hand by theists, agnostics, and atheists alike. There are no logical grounds for treating “God” any differently.
    5. The origins and continued existence of the “God” concept are easily explained by the social and psychological functions and needs it serves. When those functions and needs change, “God” changes, too. There is no reason whatsoever to think that an actual “God” being inspired the idea of “God” or that the idea of “God” is anything more than a human invention.
    6. Belief in the “God” concept is worse than merely wrong or illogical. It inspires patterns of thinking and behavior which negatively affect us all. Whatever good this belief may have inspired owes nothing to its basic, dangerous irrationality and will survive our rejection of that irrationality.

    Poker Hands Ranking , Learn Poker

    Poker Hand Ranking

    Pictured below are the hands of poker, listed in order from highest poker hand to the lowest.

    In poker, certain combinations of cards, or hands, outrank other hands, based on the frequency with which these combinations appear.
    The player with the best poker hand at the showdown wins the pot.
    Although used in poker, these hand rankings are also used in a variety of other card games.

    Royal Flush Royal Flush
    The five highest cards, the 10 through the Ace, all five of the same suit. A royal flush is actually an ace-high straight flush. Which suit it is doesn't matter in poker. Two people with royal flushes would tie.
    Straight Flush Straight Flush
    Any five cards of the same suit in consecutive numerical order. Our example shows a five-high straight flush.
    Four of a Kind Four of a Kind
    Four cards of the same denomination. Our example shows four jacks with a deuce kicker.
    Full House Full House
    Any three cards of the same denomination, plus any pair of a different denomination. Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then the pair. Our example shows sevens full of threes.
    Flush Flush
    Any five non-consecutive cards of the same suit. Our example shows a queen-high diamond flush.
    Straight Straight
    Any five consecutive cards of mixed suits. Ace can be high or low. Our example shows a six-to-ten straight.
    Three of a Kind Three of a Kind
    Three cards of the same denomination.Our example displays three of a kind, fours.
    Two Pair Two Pair
    Any two cards of the same denomination, plus any other two cards of the same denomination. If both hands have the same high pair, the second pair wins. If both pairs tie, the high card wins. Our example shows two pair, eights and fives.
    Pair Pair
    Any two cards of the same denomination. Our example displays a pair of nines. In a tie, the high card wins.
    High Card High Card
    If no other hand is achieved, the highest card held wins. In our example, the king of hearts is the high card.

    Intranet Site Visits - August 31 & September 1, 2009

    This week I attended an Intranet Site Visits event in Perth, Western Australia. These events are invaluable for Intranet Managers as it gives the opportunity to see inside other organisations and see their Intranets first hand. Because of the fact that Intranets are internal facing and seldom seen by outsiders I value events like this. It also reinforces the fact Intranet Managers and Teams everywhere share the same kind of problems and issues regardless of the size and success of their organisations.

    Dawkins’ Ten Commandments

    Dawkins’ Ten Commandments

    August 27th, 2009

    In his latest book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins presents his own Alternative Ten Commandments. I enjoyed the list so much I wanted to share it here. [Edit: it has been pointed out that this list was not written by Dawkins, but only offered in his book. Whoever wrote it, I think it is a great list of principles.]

    1. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you

    2. In all things, strive to cause no harm

    3. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.

    4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.

    5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder

    6. Always seek to be learning something new

    7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.

    8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.

    9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.

    10. Question everything

    Item #10. Question everyting. Including this list.

    If It’s Not Working… Doubt Yourself | Illuminated Mind

    So what I’d like to invite you to do, is to doubt everything about yourself.

    • Doubt that you’re not worth it.
    • Doubt that you don’t have what it takes.
    • Doubt that what you think about yourself is true.
    • Doubt that you can’t achieve whatever it is you want.
    • Doubt that you can’t move past the stuck place you are.

    An interesting viewpoint.