11th December 2009 | Written by Jonathan Crossfield | viewed 528 times | Be the first to comment

Stomach bugs and beer don't mix. But taking the night off and still receiving a pay packet don't mix either. I don't think I ever missed a night in all the years I DJed both in the UK and Australia. At certain periods I was DJing up to three nights a week and holding down a full time job, so there was very little time to be sick. DJing can be a rain, hail or shine type gig, particularly when you've carved out that niche for yourself. Social media is no different. Blogging requires constant attention, otherwise the audience will drift away. Quite often, I have to force myself to produce a couple more entertaining and researched posts even though I don't feel particularly inspired, awake or even well. View full article

4th December 2009 | Written by Jonathan Crossfield | viewed 490 times | 3 comments

It wouldn't be entirely original to liken social networks to nightclubs but the comparison is a highly legitimate one. They operate in extremely similar ways with very similar dynamics and rules. There are the regulars hogging the dancefloor, a moderator (or DJ) keeping everyone happy, cliques, gossip, alcohol-fueled mishaps (don't type with whiskey, trust me) and many other important similarities. View full article

24th July 2009 | Written by Jonathan Crossfield | viewed 1048 times | Be the first to comment

I love it when popular culture memes slide over into the general lexicon. One such word that seems to be making the transition from fiction to fact is 'borg'. Just recently, I've come across the word a couple of times - not in reference to the Star Trek villains, but as a descriptive word aimed at large companies. Scott Heiferman, founder of Meetup, is quoted by Jeff Jarvis in his new book What Would Google Do?, talking about the insurance industry, where he refers to "the corporate borg (AIG)" and "the government borg (social security)". View full article