At CUZIN HQ working with my band of merry men (and women) on our launch campaigns…yeeew! — with Tori Cave, Daniel Danilov, Spiros Kotsialos, Jonathan Salgo and Mari Stroh.
At CUZIN HQ working with my band of merry men (and women) on our launch campaigns…yeeew! — with Tori Cave, Daniel Danilov, Spiros Kotsialos, Jonathan Salgo and Mari Stroh.
Was looking on Tumblr and came across this picture which happens to be the Signs on the main road to my village in Greece. The post was from a person with the handle ‘failgreece’.
I personally love this sign in Greece, although have never been able to work out why the sign to kastania is so small. (It’s the white painted sign on the very right of picture)
http://kotsialos.tumblr.com/post/65326536421/still-cant-understand-why-the-kastania-sign-is
I am really excited to announce my involvement in XisHere.Com, a project that I have been working on for some time with the Ben Allan and Clara Chong from the Film Bakery.
We were inspired to create XisHere after we started talking about X was Here, a feature film script written by Clara about the journey of one Xer who was in danger of becoming obsolete – to becoming a reluctant hero to inspire a generation.
We are already underway in producing the proof of concept for what we believe will be a unique digital destination for Generation X.
There are 4.4 million Australians are in Generation X which is 21% of the population, born between 1965-1979. Surveys show two-thirds want to be thinner, 57 per cent live from week-to-week financially and 40 per cent worry about their families.
Those in Generation X are ageing, financially-aware, have young families, are the mainstay of the present workforce, consolidating position, worth and families, having grown beyond their opportunistic years, Y![1]
More will be announced over the coming months but in the meantime if the following sounds true to you, and you want to be involved in making a difference, please let me know!
I am Generation X- an Xer – and I’m skeptical, right? I’m reluctant to say ‘I want people to be inspired’, but I do.
I grew up as part of the original latch-key generation, with both parents working and widespread divorce – the most under-parented generation in history. I embraced grunge, good coffee and alternative music as a student, only to graduate during a time of corporate ‘downsizing’ and ‘restructuring’. I am now part of the highest educated generation by age bloc to earn less than my parents at the same age – reversing a historical trend. I’ve been called a cynical slacker, a grungy no-hoper…a baby busting McJobber – but I’m not.
In less than a decade, I’ve been hit with the boom then bust of the dot-com, two downturns, this latest one of the worst on record. I’m scrambling to catch up after each downturn, but have never been able to get a firm foothold so whenever the upswing comes, I’m so far behind because they hit at such critical moments in my financial development that yet again Boomers and Generation Y profit, while I scramble back from the brink once more.
Now, in my 30s and 40s, I beat myself up for not having made it. I’m at an age where I should be in the prime of my life and career, stepping into crucial leadership roles and starting families. Instead, I’m stressed, exhausted, and overwhelmed by debt. Meanwhile, my government boasts about a booming economy – even though I can see for myself the reality is far from the truth by the sheer magnitude of my local shops and restaurants closing down or being shut down around me.
There’s an order to things. Every generation is supposed to have their time. Baby Boomers are supposed to be retired to make way for me. They bought houses in their 20s because they bought 40 years ago. Today, the average house price costs about seven years’ earning for the average worker. Now Generation Y are nipping at my heels. Y’ers who have a strong sense of entitlement, a need for instant gratification and an apparent lack of any kind of filter – yet they live rent-free at home with their Boomer parents, so they can just buy…stuff and live out their reality TV lives.
Generations are to Xers what gender was to the Boomer, and race was to the Builders. I’m fighting for equal rights. I’ve had to work twice as hard as Boomers yet I’m constantly getting downsized and have to work double-time to prove myself. I just want my due. Google. YouTube. Yahoo. Wikipedia. Amazon. MySpace. I’ve done things that helped keep the world from sucking.
Unlike Boomers and Yers, I’ve never had much interest in the limelight and I resist the collective, but I don’t want to be treated like the forgotten middle child. I want to connect and relate with the people around me. I want to feel I am not invisible, that I am not alone in dealing with middle age, children, divorce, career-improving / career going backwards, dealing with older parents etc….
I want to know that I’m real and that I do in fact exist. Success isn’t just defined by money. True success can be gained by the legacy you leave behind. I want to be successful. And I want to leave behind a legacy of who I was and how I lived, so that my children will know and remember me.
[1] Referenced from changedrivers http://www.changedrivers.com.au/Articles/generational-change.htm
I was recently asked to present at de.Frost*
It’s a free event held monthly at their Surry Hills studio, designed to stimulate creative thinking for their staff, clients and the wider network.
On Thursday night I lead a conversation about the ‘The future of publishing’.
The 20-minute talk focused specifically on digitisation and industries’ changing landscape. I then led a Q&A session for about 40-minutes, which debated – with publishing, advertising, design and other creative professionals – just what the future looked like.
If you’re interested in having me talk to a group of people about digital publishing, then please contact me for more information.
I have established a new business called “Fair and Balanced”. Its goal is to be the future of news presentation and technology. No small goal – but I believe, achievable.
This business has been created to deliver the following:
The business is in its early days and is working with a number of potential partners to establish its go-to market brand and fund its development.
If you’re interested in finding out more, please let me know.
I’m excited to be working with the team at Allen and Unwin on the sale, relocation and integration of Murdoch Books.
I will be working closely with all areas of the business, to assist in the migration and establishment of the required systems, processes and technology. This will enable the continued publishing success of Murdoch Books.
It’s a real privilege to be involved with two great businesses – and working with some of the best examples in non-fiction publishing, not only in Australia but globally too.
Do we have g.s.t. or not?!
Having listened over the last few days I am amazed at the public reaction to the question of charging g.s.t. or not on internet sales. It seems that many are merging three very different arguments into one and I think the outcome is going to be one that does not work for all if this continues.
The Arguments
Should we be charging g.s.t. on internet sales?
I think we should if we can! Why should a business that pays Tax, Rates, Wages and Rent within Australia be disadvantaged by a company that does not.
To say that companies are whingeing is right, they are and fair enough. Currently I hear of internet companies that are setting up their business outside of Australia to specifically sell into Australia. In doing this they bypass all local taxes including company and income tax. Surely this can’t be good.
There is an alternatively which is to get rid of g.s.t. I don’t have a specific preference but if people have a problem with internet retailers paying g.s.t. then why don’t they have a problem with g.s.t. in general?
Goods are too expensive in Australia especially with a high Australia $$
Fair point on the whole, people need to recognise that g.s.t. is only accountable for 10% of the price difference; having said that we need to keep this in some perspective as there are a number of other factors that do come into play such as movable exchange rates, warehousing, transport, etc…
In other words this is a big and complex argument but would like to concentrate on one very clear issue that Australia has when it comes to internet retailing and that’s transport cost/infrastructure. Australia businesses should have one MAJOR competitive advantage over any overseas retailer and that is speed and convenience. One of the major contributions to increased prices in Australia is the cost of warehousing and transportation yet the advantage of getting product to customers quicker and cheaper is often removed by the cost and slow speed of moving goods within Australia.
Why is it that people can get stock from Texas to Sydney faster and cheaper than many can get it from Perth to Sydney. This is a major issue and perhaps some of the revenue from g.s.t. should be focused on this problem.
By enabling businesses to provide better service and cost is surely the best outcome?
It’s impossible to charge g.s.t. on internet sales so why bother
I am sure there was a day when ships used to turn up on the borders of Australia and people said this was too big a land to bother with customs.
If e-retailers today can determine if the Credit Card, the IP address and the delivery Address is from Australia the technology to gather that revenue will be there. If it is not today then it will be tomorrow.
In conclusion
Charge g.s.t. or remove it all together. If you charge g.s.t. then change it on all goods and services when it’s possible to-do so and yes I agree everything should be cheaper just make the playing board equal.
Note: all thoughts in are personal and do not necessarily reflect any organisations I represent.
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