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As part of my previously announced role as regional organizer for CloudCamp, I want to create some t shirts for the events.

I’m looking for something that combines the CloudCamp logo with both the theme of cloud computing and the fact that these events are firmly tailored for Australasian audiences.

In what some might call an act of laziness but what I’d call an act of crowd-sourcing, I’m reaching out to design savvy people out there to come up with a cool design.

The winning design will gain huge fame but limited fortune – the stellar prizepack will include:

• The ability to have the designers name printed on each shirt created
• A limited edition copy of the t shirt (first off the press no less!)
• The adoration and adulation of the cloud computing community
• A gilt edged invite to all regional CloudCamp events for 2010
• Some other prizes as the come to hand
• My undying love and respect (maybe)

So there you go – get to work and see what you come up with. I have a high res logo – email me (ben@diversity.net.nz) with any questions – winning entry will be shown here in a few weeks!

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Confirmation this morning that CloudCamp Sydney will be taking place on the 4th of March. Cool kids expanz have stepped up as platinum sponsors for the event (a great thing about CloudCamps is that there is only one platinum sponsor slot per event – better for the attendees, better for the sponsors).

At this stage we’re still finalizing a venue and agenda – but write the date down in your diaries – The afternoon of March 4th will see Sydney become the central hub of Cloud thought!

We’ve still got some of the other sponsorship tiers up for grabs – companies who are interested should drop me a line – ben AT diversity DOT net DOT nz

Thanks to Matt and James at Expanz for stepping up and taking charge of the local aspects of the camp.

See you all in March!

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So it’s Thanksgiving. And it makes perfect sense that the only regular CloudAve writer who ISN’T based in the US should get to have a holiday as well… even if he’s actually going to be at work today (Thanksgiving isn’t a New Zealand holiday although, as anyone who has visited here will attest to, we sure have lots to be thankful for in our country).

So there you go – no mention of cloud computing, PaaS offerings, SaaS solutions, integrations, VC funding, pricing models or any of the other minutiae that normally graces these pages.

Rather a thank you to you all… Thanks to Zoho for backing CloudAve these past 14 or so months. Thanks to Zoli for keeping us all in line. Thanks to all the permanent and guest writers. The active commenters and the silent lurkers.

Thanks to the other more populous tech blogs who took our stories and used them on their own spreads, imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.

In keeping with the Oscar’s speech ethos it only seems right to thank my parents, my family, God (whomever and wherever she may be) and Steve Jobs (although many would say the last two are one and the same).

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Recently I attended the Wellington installment of the WordCamp series – WordCamps are “conferences that focus on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core…

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At the recent New Zealand WordCamp, one of the sessions looked at building successful media relationships. In a session titled “How to be a Media Darling”, Doug Casement from Renaissance talked about building relationships and pitching for coverage with mainstream media. I covered the event for Idealog magazine but thought it was worth returning to for this audience.

His advice was good, and was, in my opinion, applicable to organizations wanting to foster relationships with both mainstream and new media – there’s significant crossover and it’s certainly not black and white as to who is traditional and who is new.

Anyway, Casement contends that the mainstream media still has a place, it can deliver;

• General publicity and profile
• Increased awareness in a target audience
• It helps boost word-of-mouth (what viral marketing USED to be…)
• If SEO and content are similar, mainstream media can make the difference
• Multiple information streams – the gestalt effect, the whole being greater than the sum of the parts

But you need to remember that everybody sells… Even you. You need to answer these questions;

• Can I trust you?
• Do you understand my issues?
• Do you care?
• Are you committed to working with me?

Because people do business with people… and prefer to do it with those that they like and trust.

Given his experience in journalism, Casement had some good lessons for the most successful strategies to engage with journalists. Some press myths he advises that it’s best to ignore;

• The press is not always adversarial – they’re just often busy
• That influencing the press takes lunch, trips or tacky giveaways

But, he said, not all publications (or journalists for that matter) are equal – there are those who, like a common street hooker, will sell themselves for a junket, a gadget or some cash.

Questions you shouldn’t ask of technology journalists;

• Do you have a technology section?
• So you’re a weekly – how often do you publish?
• Can I have my advert next to the story
• I’m booking an advert, any chance of an interview?
• I’m considering advertising – but I need a front page story first..

Seduction for dummies;

• Journalists are people too – find out what interests them, invest in the relationship, engage with them – not just when you want something
• Don’t hide behind “off the record”

Simple tactics that work when engaging with journalists;

• Read, and understand, the publication. Understand the “editorial window” of the publication, understand the readership, what’s the angle of the story and the relevance for the particular journalist/publication
• Don’t call at deadline time!
• Never demand or harass them
• Regard it as a sales call – be comfortable talking

The Zen of press releases;

• Short and simple
• Don’t tell fibs or exaggerate
• Delete superlatives, adjectives and adverbs
• Customize to fit their editorial window
• Don’t shotgun – the press love exclusives!
• Press releases should be teasers

Above all else… Be Relevant!

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