RobiNZ Personal Blog

Socially media influenced by Webworm's David Farrier!

Recently Substacker (Webworm), Podcaster (Flightless Bird), Director (Tickled, Dark Tourist, Mr Organ), former TV3 Journalist, David Farrier posted about dyeing his hair... (Quote from subscriber locked post used with permission) WEBWORM WITH DAVID FARRIER - The Origins of Rage I dyed my hair pink - then the angry comments began. DAVID FARRIER | MAR 30, 2024 | PAID Hi, I dyed my hair pink* this week. If I was being pretentious I’d say it was an art project. I’d used a pink-hair filter on social media earlier this month, which had people evenly split between “Oh my God you dyed... Read more →

Remembering September 12 2001 | 9/11 in NZ

It may seem strange but I don't remember anything at all significant about September 11, 20 years ago. September 12 though... I'll never forget. New York, NY, USA | Tue, 11 Sep 2001 | 8:46 a.m. Auckland, New Zealand | Wed, 12 Sep 2001 | 12:46 a.m. I woke, as usual, about 6am, and turned on the radio to catch up with the news. Before long was, like so many, staring at the TV in disbelief. As it was a Wednesday, went to work but not as usual. Colleagues similarly stunned, reinforced by our office view of the Auckland CBD... Read more →

Siouxsie Toby Spinoff's COVID-19 Omnibus

Nice to see a summary of the brilliant COVID-19 Info from Siouxsie Wiles (@siouxsiew), Toby Morris (@XTOTL) and The Spinoff ( @TheSpinoffTV) The bumper Toby Morris & Siouxsie Wiles Covid-19 box set The animations and illustrations created by Toby Morris in collaboration with Siouxsie Wiles and published by The Spinoff have been shared in their hundreds of millions over the last couple of months. For ease of reference we’ve put them all together in one post. Read more →

NZ Media complain about losing advertising revenue they handed to social media

'Media actively drove their readers to social media and the advertisers followed. Every time you said "Visit our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter" to comment or feedback you were accelerating your own demise. They didn't take your readers, you handed them over willingly.' My response to: 'Media bosses challenge Government to recognise damage of social media advertising' where media bosses accuse social media of 'taking' , 'stealing', 'scooping up' revenue for eyeballs they actively sent to social media. Look where they are... Read more →

Will Tibet ever be free?

It was sobering reading an email today (reproduced below) from Tibet Watch marking the 30th anniversary of the 1987 Lhasa protest uprising. It is impossible to visit Tibet without confronting the oppression Tibetans live with and wondering if you are supporting it. In addition to information and current news on the Tibetan struggle freetibet.org/about/travel-in-tibet has information on ethics of travelling in Tibet and recommendations for travellers. Oppression on display, my travel experience In 2014 I was part of a cycle tour from Lhasa across Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal. Although we travelled without a Police ‘escort’, I believe uncommon, and could... Read more →

NZ Herald’s terrible new site

I just saw the “New” NZ Herald news website and filled out their “What do you think of the new design?” survey. Comments in reply to: “Once the site is finalised and launched to the public, how likely is it that you would recommend the new NZ Herald website to a friend or colleague?” VERY UNLIKELY Site doesn't look like a professional news media site, looks like a blog with stolen Herald logos on it. I tried in Windows Edge and Chrome on an i5 13 inch HD screen hybrid machine, no browser add-ins or ad blockers Enormous sidebar menu... Read more →

Make an impact on Earth Day with @kiva

Tomorrow, April 22nd, is Earth Day and The March for Science. As The March for Science calls on our governments this Earth Day to face the facts, in its policy-making, a parallel movement gives you way to directly support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other climate change effects around the world. Kiva offers a simple way for everyone to make a small investment and, via targeted green projects, make a real impact. This Earth Day, lend to a project that helps curtail climate change, get repaid, repeat! Kiva.org/earthday is meaningful way for you to take action today to help... Read more →

Scientology and Me–Attending the Auckland Real Org opening Jan 2017

Curiosity about changes to a historic building, an interest in a ‘religion’ (cult?) and the “Oh No, Ross & Carrie” podcast led me to a rather strange place. I attended the opening of the Auckland Scientology Real Org on January 22 2017. I wrote most of this post at the time but withheld publishing to see if there was any follow up from the Scientologists. They have a reputation for their eagerness to attract new members and reluctance to losing existing ones. Well over a year later apart from one rather odd text, and me noticing them campaigning in public... Read more →

NZ Herald, the zero research newspaper @nzherald

So I see this story on the NZ Herald site about a man who took a photo of a strange object in the sky over Fendalton Rd, Christchurch: Man discovers photo of strange object on phone - www.nzherald.co.nz They even ask “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or an alien life form?” and said “The New Zealand Defence Force has been contacted to see if the UFO was an object included in a training exercise.” . The article also has a zoomed in photo revealing the numbers “s 150 c” Two minutes on Google Street view is obviously... Read more →

Good News 2015

Not all news is bad; The Top 6 Good-News Stories of 2015 | Bill Gates Read more →