That Was the Week That Was - July 10th: Weddings, Nett and Doctor Who

It’s been quiet in these parts for the last few days due to my teenage daughter descending on us for the school holidays. Suddenly, life revolves around entertaining someone whose default setting seems to be ‘bored’.

I originally started putting together this weekly wrap-up yesterday, but found I had more to say on ‘Hancock’ than I thought – hence yesterday’s post. Since then, I’ve discovered I’m not the only one to have made the observation of the incredible change of direction at the halfway point. I’m just hoping that ‘The Dark Knight’ doesn’t disappoint, but early signs are good.

The Wedding Planner

No, not the godawful romcom from a few years ago. Although hiring a wedding planner, even one as annoying as J-Lo, would mean Shelley and I would not have to look at one more bridal magazine or spend hours walking from venue to potential venue.

Yup, I’m over the preparations with five months to go. Shelley’s lucky I love her so much because in most other situations I would already have started looking for a get-out clause...

Weddings must be one of the most ritualized activities we humans get up to. Think about it – all the nonsense over throwing bouquets, removing garters, ribbons on cars, cakes with more tiers than guests, the right music, the right bridal waltz, the correct speech etiquette. Yet if I dispensed with all of that and restricted the ceremony to the vows that count, how many people would feel we had somehow broken the unwritten rules?

There are times when I love ritual and silly superstition. Christmas for me always has to be just so and I will fight to the death to ensure the decorations come down on Twelfth Night and not a day later or sooner. (My other blog, ChristmasWatch, caters to this obsession of mine in the weeks building up to the big day - it's currently in the off-season.) But this wedding malarkey is getting ridiculous.

Yet society loves ritual. We thrive on having a particular way of doing things, even when we no longer remember why we do them. After all, who on earth dreamed up the tradition of peeling off a piece of the bride’s intimate apparel and throwing it at a baying pack of beer-fueled and testosterone pumped males? Isn’t the bridal waltz designed to completely humiliate the grooms two left feet in front of all the people he cares about? If I bump into my intended in the hallway the night before the wedding, why should we be condemned to a life of bad luck?

If you want to be completely put off the idea of getting married, have a look at some of the freakier wedding superstitions. The idea that whoever of the couple falls asleep first on the wedding night dies first has me packing the caffeine tablets and coffee percolator.

Nett Magazine

The latest edition of Nett Magazine should make it to Australian newsagents in the next few days, containing my article on the importance of blogs and email marketing in any online business strategy.

In the meantime, a couple of my previous articles for the mag are now available online. ‘Ka-Ching!’ looks at online payment system and interviews representatives of Paypal and St George Bank about the different methods available. Alternatively, ‘The Host With the Most’ offers advice on how to choose the right web hosting package for your business needs.

Netregistry and Planet Domain Posts

If you aren’t already aware, I also write regularly for both Netregistry and Planet Domain on internet issues affecting small business. (Netregistry owns both Nett Magazine and Planet Domain, providing me many gardens to play in.)

For Netregistry, I recently unleashed a couple of successful articles for their website. ‘The Wild, Wild West of Search Engine Marketing’ compares the new frontier of online business to that of the old gold-rush, with appropriate gunfights in black and white hats. Alternatively, for a quick look at some tips for email marketing campaigns, read ‘Return to Sender’.

The Planet Domain Blog has been running for a few months now, with contributions from both myself and my glittering assistant, Stacey Manson. This week, the blog is relaunched with a fantastic new skin as the first stage in a complete update of the website. It looks fantastic - aside from a few css issues that are currently being tweaked. Again, the topics cover issues within the online marketing sphere. Recently, ‘Is Your Website a Google Athlete?’ was a particularly popular post.

As always, with anything you read, please Sphinn, Stumble and/or Digg as appropriate.

And Finally…

The 'Doctor Who' finale didn’t disappoint and achieved the highest ever chart placing the series has ever received in its 45 year history - #1. The previous highest position was held by the Christmas Day episode ‘Voyage of the Damned’ which made it to #2 behind the same day’s special edition of ‘Eastenders’. What is even more remarkable about the latest rating success is that it comes combined with an audience approval rating of 91. Scored out of 100, anything over 85 is considered ‘excellent’. 'Doctor Who' traditionally scores around 85-86. To achieve 91 for both the final episodes of the last series is not only a record for the show but also only matched by a tiny handful of mainstream shows since approval ratings were first taken. Never has such a high score been achieved with such high ratings, though, making this a double-whammy. With only four special episodes set to air in 2009 before Series 5 in 2010, the wait is going to be long and hard.

As you were. Class dismissed.