Nothing like rain for a good blogging

It's been a while since I last posted... however that is for a very good reason. I tend to read ALOT of books and someone suggested to me that I should start a blog to record what I think about them... basically a book review blog. At first I thought it would be tedious, but then I discovered theres a massive market of book bloggers. I used this as my opportunity to get to know book bloggers. I always thought blogging was dying down with people moving to flickr and posterous.... man was I wrong! There are thousands and thousands of book blogs that are looked at every day. They are mostly women bloggers, nevertheless, they are fantastic writers and very friendly.

In under 2 months I have had 1318 page views, 38 google subscribers, 4 network blog followers, 65 goodreads friends (a site where people share books and reviews), 278 twitter followers, authors sending me free books to review, my favourite authors engaging with me on twitter and dozens of comments!

It really has been an amazing experience, one which I will continue with as I learn about the blogging world and the publishing industry.

I have even branded my blog, created a button and have had bloggers promote my button on their pages... creating more followers. Definately a success!

Brilliant Interactive Infographic using census data!

With Infographics being a very popular tool this year to share information across various channels, I stumbled across probably the most brilliant one to date. Using the data from the Australian Census in 2006, an interactive infographic has been created that allows Australians to see how they fit in different areas, such as age, occupation, heritage etc. I found this extremely fascinating and think this is a tool that all countries should start to use. What people usually think of the census as useless and boring, this is their opportunity to engage and see where their data has gone and they can begin to learn a bit more about their country and how important this data all is.

To create your own infographic, visit: http://spotlight.abs.gov.au

If you are not Australian, but would like a go to see how it works, enter the postcode 2000, which is for the city, and while it wont be accurate for you, you will get the chance to see how fascinating it is... and who knows, your country could be the next to implement it into their census data!

My personal infographic (this is accurate as I am Australian):

Introducing Pottermore!!

Very excited about Pottermore! Thanks to J.K Rowling and the folks at Sony and Adam and Eve, we know a little bit more!! Just a few minutes ago, J.K Rowling made an announcement on Youtube giving us a clue into what Pottermore is about. As a massive Harry Potter fan, I am hugely excited about what this would entail.... however there are always many effects this may have on the rest of the franchise, particularly on Warner Bros and Bloomsbury. An interesting article can be found on Wired.

Now if you are a big HP fan, Id advise you to sign up to Pottermore to be on the mailing list to be informed when it opens up in October, but be aware, thousands are probably thinking the exact same thing, which is why the site is now down!















An update since I posted this: Screenshots of Pottermore now available on Wired!! MEGA EXCITING!!!

My stories

This week, I was asked to bring back presents from my trip to Cambridge, although I hadn't received the message until I was back in London. I decided to pick up some maltesers and a kinder surprise on the way to work and handed it to my colleague (Who doesnt love an awesome milk chocolate/white chocolate combo that screams yummy!!)... anyways, my colleague also known as KCool told herself that theres probably a story to go with my choice... well obviously I hadnt thought of that... until 10 minutes later, when I produced a story that had the rest of the office demanding more.... and in social media, we all know that something interesting in the moment leads to a twitter, facebook or tumblr page... behold, my colleague's dedicated tumblr page to my insane and ridiculous stories:

KRISTINA'S STORIES

Just look at the deliciousness... and the surprise... who know what you will get!! Go on... treat yourself :P

YouTube takeovers

It seems everyone is on the YouTube takeover train... I remember back to university days when all the students were coming up with the most creative YouTube takeovers. We didnt think it would last long, but as it seems, they have made a come back recently. First with the Kitkat takeover and now with Schick takeover. I have no problem with them as they are interesting, although the only downside is the only people that notice them are your regular customers who are on your facebook page, website or YouTube page... I think its a great way to introduce a new product, as Schick had given away free samples of their new product using facebook. Maybe these companies need to consider a way to takeover popular videos or using keywords that they know men will look at... Warning, I am about to stereotype: #sexywoman #games #newmovierelease #rocky #shaving #racing etc

M&M game page takeover!

This is absolutely brilliant from M+M's! Especially since in the office yesterday we were discussing M+M's and how brilliant the new pretzel flavour is.
This amused me for most of the morning... go to the website and follow the instructions!

Once you get it up and running, you can use it anywhere to destroy everything!

Google:



Facebook:

Red Bull *LIKE*

Quick post about Red Bull. This came to me from the wonderful @CatTurner.

They are obviously very subtle about getting fans for their facebook page as you can see below. It definately got me to click like.

I expect nothing less from Red Bull. Sticking to their guns, always being honest with their audience. Simple but effective :)