Travelling the world ain’t all that glamorous ya know!
The jet lag, interrupted cash flow (I’m getting better at doing expenses more regularly now), the late nights, rich food and being away from the wife (although some see that as a bonus – I don’t though, because she reads my blog), all balance out the nice hotels, air miles and exotic passport stamps.
I’m certainly not moaning. Not at all. But at the end of the day I realise I’m in a privileged position and make sure I pay for it through sheer hard work. At a 3 day conference I’ll be up working at 7am and rarely stop until 10.30pm or……much, much later!
This morning I’m off to Seattle to see the family, spend a couple of days in the office in Redmond, and then it’s off to LA for the Digital Hollywood conference.
I was just covering the show on the blog and through Twitter, but I’ve now been asked to speak on:
Advertising Accountability: Metrics and Analytics around Video, Social Media, Broadband and Mobile
With my background in adCenter and the work we’ve been doing recently on multi-screen advertising, Engagement Mapping and LookingGlass, I should be able to contribute intelligently to the conversation. One hopes.
I am looking forward to staying at the hotel – Lowes Santa Monica – photo above.
And I’ll be meeting up with my friends Dave and Ilyse Mckimmie who work in the movie business for Fox and Sundance.
Dave actually got me on the set of Austin Powers Gold Member to watch Mike Myers doing his thing. I’ll never forget it!
I’ve written about our participation on the blog. There are 15 of us speaking which is great for Microsoft.
In the last 5 years we’ve come along way from being that software company that dabbles on the internet, to being recognised as one of the leading players in digital.
As Ashley Highfield told me recently, we really are getting our Mojo back!
Sent to me by a friend who only emails stuff if it’s really, really good.
This is really, REALLY good!
Strewth those Aussies can be funny when they try!
The Icelandic language isn’t the easiest to pronounce.
I was ticked off about my pronunciation of a friend’s wife’s name recently because my loud utterance across a Reykjavik bar apparently sounded more like their word for “number twos!”
So glad, in the face of all this adversity, they can see the funny side of all the TV coverage.
Just been told that the Icelandic volcano that’s causing so much trouble for flights in and out of the UK, was under a glacier we visited last year!
We were in Reykjavik for an internet marketing conference and our gracious hosts NordicEMarketing took us on a 4×4 trip into the icy wilderness.
Me in front of the glacier
A wider perspective
That’s us all on a bridge that doesn’t exist an more!
Fffffrightening stuff!!
Like many people interested in maintaining a healthy online reputation, I have a Google Alert set up for my name.
It helps me keep pace with what people are saying about the work I do for Microsoft, and enables me to quickly respond to blog posts or articles that feature something I may have said or written.
Sometimes – shock horror – Google gets it wrong and I get sent some irrelevant randomness.
This morning’s was a random but nevertheless funny alert containing this video.
I’m not sure where this couple are, but rest assured, she won’t be sidling up to a palace guard ever again!
Just got back from India and loved this ad at the baggage claim carousel at Bangalore (Bengaluru) Airport.
For the short-sighted, the strap line says “Just how much did you miss your daughter?”
We spotted a number of witty marketing goings on – Ashley and I were attending a friends wedding – although the fake gear below could do with an overhaul given the gushing nature of the brand faux pas!
The thighs are aching, the knees are creaking and I can’t stop eating, but at least I finished in one peice!
Thanks to everyone who sponsored me to run the Human Race 1/2 marathon around Dorney Lake yesterday.
I was most touched by your generosity towards my chosen charity – National Association for Children of Alcoholics
I was even more touched by the stories many of you told of how you’d wished a charity like that had been around when you were growing up.
£590 so far is then doubled to nearly £1200!
Not too late to help either: http://www.justgiving.com/melcarson2
As you can tell from the video, my wife Ashley was on hand for some fantastically enthusiastic support, and you can see from my bewildered face at the end that I never in a million years thought I was going to break 2 hrs 30 mins.
So satisfactory job all around.
Now for a bit of a rest and a think about my next challenge!
Any ideas?
This raised a smile this morning. Spotted just outside our offices.
Now then, now then!
Just back from holiday having missed this, so just taken a peek.
So pleased Danny got to finally quiz Steve B and, as someone who’s been at Microsoft for 5 years talking about search and adCenter, so pleased to see our CEO up there so eloquently explaining the problems we have with search, and what Bing is setting out to achieve in solving those conundrums.
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