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Discussion paper: policy agenda-setting in virtual environments

I’m really pleased to announce the availability of a discussion paper on policy and virtual worlds. You can read all the details and download the discussion paper here.

As always, if you need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

A simple explanation of how Twitter works

Twitter’s simplicity gets an equally simple / plain English video explanation – it’s an ideal way to show a new user or skeptic its appeal:

Darth Vader: Social Media star

Over the past few years, one of the popular culture icons that keep popping up over and over is Darth Vader. YouTube is a particular Vader domain, with some very fine humour to be found.

For me, Chad Vader is the pinnacle. I initially came across these videos in 2006 and they remain very popular:

There’s actually eight Chad Vader episodes and the creators have quite a business going selling DVDs and t-shirts.

Then there’s Darth Vader – Thriller style:

Fake Australian politicians on Twitter

I use Twitter on a daily basis, and one of the more entertaining aspects are the fake aussie politicians on there. Here are the ones I’ve found so far in no particular order:

1. Tony Abbott (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/TonyAbbottMP – early days but humour a little too obvious.

2. Peter Costello (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/PeterCostelllo – not that funny IMO

3. Stephen Conroy (Federal MP – ALP) – http://twitter.com/stephenconroy – arguably the most popular and one of the funniest. The shine has been lost since his outing.

4. Greg Hunt (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/greghunt – early days again but has promise.

5. Penny Wong (Federal MP – ALP) – http://twitter.com/Penny_Wong – more prolific than some, and my money’s on her being a staffer.

6. Nathan Rees (Premier of NSW – ALP) – http://twitter.com/fakenathanrees – new but prolific as well, not sure on humour yet.

7. Sophie Mirabella (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/SophieMirabella – one of my favourites and money’s on a staffer or journo writing this one.

8. Anna Bligh – (Premier of Qld – ALP) – http://twitter.com/premierofqld – average IMO.

9. Wilson Tuckey – (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/WilsonTuckey – quality redneckisms.

10. Kevin Rudd (Australian Prime Minister – ALP) – http://twitter.com/KevinFuckinRudd – there’s actually a bunch of Rudds but for me this is the best (and definitely better than the real one on Twitter).

11. David Campbell (NSW MP – ALP) – http://twitter.com/CampbellDavid – nothing to write home about (there’s also a second version here).

12. Fred Nile (NSW MP – CDP) – http://twitter.com/FredNile – funny at times.

13. Steve Fielding (Federal MP – Family First) – http://twitter.com/SenatorFielding – regularly humourous.

14. Pauline Hanson (ex-MP) – http://twitter.com/HansonPauline – entertaining throughout recent Qld state election campaign but little activity since.

15. Robert Menzies (ex-Prime Minister – Libs) – http://twitter.com/robertmenzies – one tweet only to date.

16. Bill Heffernan (Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/billheffernan – great promise, but five tweets only, the last more than a week ago. C’mon Bill.

17. Alexander Downer (ex-Federal MP – Libs) – http://twitter.com/alexanderdowner – too early to tell.

Are there any others I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add to the list.

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