Give nothing to racism

18.06.2017/11.59

What an honour it was to appear as one of the first batch of people in the Human Rights’ Commission’s Give Nothing to Racism campaign. Taika Waititi, New Zealander of the Year (and a Lucire feature interviewee from way back) introduced the campaign with a hilarious video, and it was an honour to be considered […]

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Avon walling

21.01.2017/12.35

A week ago, Avon found an inventive way to get its brand noticed in peak-hour traffic. I could make this about how people don’t know how to drive these days, or about the media fascination with Asian drivers when the reality does not bear this out, but let’s make it all about Avon—since they […]

Facebook’s ad targeting: evidence now filed with the Better Business Bureau

04.12.2016/22.19

As of today, I’ve sent off my evidence to the US Better Business Bureau so they can continue their investigation of Facebook. The DAA was too gutless to investigate but the BBB, by contrast, gives a damn. Let me note here that I have nothing against Facebook making a buck. I just ask that […]

Why the next Holden Commodore will have a traditional boot

01.12.2016/13.24

Above: The Holden Commodore SS-V, facing its last year of manufacture. The current wisdom appears to be that when the Holden Commodore VF leaves production in 2017, it’ll be replaced by the liftback version of the Opel Insignia B. After all, the only big sedan Ford Australia’s offering in place of the now-defunct Falcon is […]

Autocade reaches 8,000,000 page views; viewing rate up slightly since last million

05.03.2016/12.19

I had expected our car encyclopædia Autocade would reach 8,000,000 page views this month, just before its eighth anniversary. The difference was that this time, I was there last Monday GMT (the small hours of Tuesday in New Zealand) to witness the numbers tick over—almost. Usually, I find out about the milestones ex post […]

Your preferences mean nothing: Facebook still profiles you, even after you switch off interest-based ads

15.02.2016/23.32

A few years ago, I discovered that Google was monitoring and gathering user preferences even after one had opted out. Google would initially put an opt-out cookie that went with your browser when you first opt out, which is exactly what every other ad network does—but, then, within 24 hours, it would replace it with […]

Facebook’s still deleting drag accounts and keeping bots

21.06.2015/00.09

Some interesting bugs out there on Facebook that my friends are telling me about. One has been removed from all her groups, including one that I run (we never touched her account), another cannot comment any more (an increasingly common bug now), while Felicity Frockaccino, well known on the drag scene locally and in Sydney, […]

Geely Vision: as fast as a Citroën 2CV ﬂat out

23.01.2015/10.25

I was very interested to see this graphic on the Geely Instagram account today: Spot the issue? I commented (and I wonder if they will delete it): ‘I would be a bit worried if the Geely GC7 found 71·5 mph its “flat out” speed. That would make it only as fast as a Citroën […]

All the Geelys on Autocade

01.12.2014/13.41

The Geely King Kong Hatchback, one of the new entries on the Autocade website. Not that I blogged it at the time, but Geely’s multi-brand strategy in 2009 felt doomed. Earlier this year, the company retreated, and brought everything from Englon, Gleagle and Emgrand back under its parent brand again. It wasn’t unlike Mazda’s […]

Where the action is on social media, and it’s not Facebook

16.10.2014/13.41

I’ve blogged several times about the bot problem that Facebook has, and this is an issue that runs alongside the click farms that operate on the website. One of my groups has over 12,000 members, and it’s a magnet for click farm participants, who target these bigger ones. And when you look through the […]