Guest Bloggers Wanted

I have recently entered my twelth and final year of high school, and as such my priorities have changed. I will not have enough time to keep posting as often as I have been. To try and keep The S-Bend going I am forced to rely on guest bloggers for posts. This is a call for anyone who is able to write about interesting and thought provoking things to contact me either via email or leave a comment.

The topics to write about is to do with the theme of this blog (look through some of my previous posts). I must stress thought, that no money will be changing hands, but due credit will be given through a link back to your site.

Do not fear, I will still be posting as often as I can. This is merely a re-shuffle of the administration, at least until the holidays...

Categories: Guest, Bloggers, Life, School

IPod Domination

My brother has just bought himself a PSP and because of this has given/leant his iPod to me. This got me thinking about why iPods are so much more popular than other Mp3 players that do the exact same thing. A one word answer hit me: marketing!

Advertising, big musician spokesmen, different types, colours, and generations, and the especially popular iTunes have all been used extensively to gain a boost in the social status of iPods (eg. "You only have an mp3 player. I have an iPod!")

The actual item has the capacity to play music, videos and also work as a removable hard drive, yet none of this is unique. The only difference is the makers, Apple, and their reputation for creating things that are out of the ordinary.

What makes one product more successful than another identical one? I will have to meditate on this...

Categories: iPod, Consumerism, Rants

Australian Open 2006

The finals for the 2006 Australian Open were held last night and ended with an expected win for Roger Federer. The Swiss number one has never lost a Grand Slam final and will not for a while if his recent game is anything to judge by.

Personally I wanted the Greek Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis to take victory. He has charm.

While Federer is a genius on the field, Baghdatis is a master is gettign the crowd on their feet and on his side. His trademarked bouncing the ball between his legs before each serve is one of the most talked about sporting phenomena in schools, and is closely followed by the word 'cool.'

The undisputed 'best tennis player of his generation' may have won the match and the Championship, but Baghdatis won the hearts of the people and has gained an enormous support crowd.

Gael Ovide-Etienne has stated that 'one of the most important factors in sport is mental,' and it seems that this was especially the case last night with such excitement distracting the young player.

This makes one wonder what this youngin' will do with himself in the years to come.

Categories: Tennis, Australia, Events, Federer, Baghdatis