I’m sure almost all of you would be on a mailing list of some sort, it’s unavoidable these days. It is the no-brainer PR tool of our era. When most people spend their working day sending and receiving, the easiest way for websites to target their market directly by getting you when you’re guard is down at the counter of your favourite store or at the door of a nightclub. It seems harmless enough at the time to scribble down your email address, but in fact you are soliciting a potential floodgate.Here in Australia, we have a adopted a law based on an American model.

The Spam Act of 2003 states that companies or websites using mailing lists are obliged to address specifics such as: –

- Consent – must obtain proof of consent to contact the recipient

- Identify – include accurate information to identify the website/organisation as the authorised sender of the message in the email

- Unsubscribe – email messages must have a functional unsubscribe facility allowing recipients to permanently opt out of the list at any time.

Now, as long as I can easily unsubscribe at any time I have no issue being signed up to a mailing list. What really is annoying is when you have no way to unsubscribe or the mailing list breaks and then all sort of nonsense happens. This was the case last week with a mailing list for a methodical NY Street label. Their email list broke and all of a sudden every reply back was sent to everyone on the mailing list so it has become one big email orgy and so far it hasn’t occurred to anyone controlling it to shut it off.

I have had the pleasure of experiencing this in the past when the sender was too cheap to use a third party web based emailer for sending out e-flyers. The result is a million people asking to be unsubscribed and telling everyone else not to reply all.

I suppose these things happen, but there are A LOT of Australian small businesses and designers who fall into the same trap out of ignorance. This may well be a cheaper option, but you run the risk of breaking the law (OK, so who cares?) or alienating the exact people you are trying to win over which is far worse a crime!

- David Goldberg – article provided by Design Federation

Thanks to Web Directions South , Design Federation and Web Directions are offering one lucky reader the chance to attend the Web Directions South Conference in Sydney on September 23 – 26th.

The competition is drawn on the 21st August 2008. This prize is valued at $1050 and is

“A definite must have for any web professional.”
Dmitry Baranovskiy, Freelance web developer

So how do you enter this amazing comp? Just go to the Design Federation website right here .

Are you a web designer/developer? Then why not enter your latest website to the McFarlane Prize. Thanks to our friends at Design Federation who are supporting this wonderful event, Two Flat Whites is proud to promote this competition to our readers.

Now in its third year, the McFarlane Prize, named in honour of Australian open source and web standards pioneer Nigel McFarlane is now open for nominations. You may nominate your own work, or the work of others, but please familiarise yourself with the entry conditions before nominating.

The Prize will be awarded to an Australian designer or team for a site launched or significantly upgraded between August 1 2007 and August 31 2008. Sites may be designed for Australian or non Australian individuals, organisations, companies or governments, but must be designed by a team which works in Australia for an Australian company, or by Australian citizens or permanent residents. Anyone may nominate a site, and there is no cost for nominating or being nominated for the prize.

Nominations must be received using the official nomination form by August 31 2008. Good luck!

Since the dawn of the civilised world, humankind has been asking the question What is art? This week has prompted many Australians to ask the same question, with the controversy surrounding Bill Henson’s latest photographic exhibition. Read the article right here .

Established in 1973, the ACP opened the doors of its first gallery in Paddington Street, in 1974. In 1981 the Centre moved to Oxford Street where it remains today. It is now Australia’s longest running contemporary art space.

It is the ACP’s mission to promote and enrich the understanding of photo-based art in Australia and this is achieved through a dynamic mix of exhibition, education and publication. In its blend of activities and range of photographic media, the Centre is unique in Australia.

The ACP is a not-for-profit organisation supported by the NSW Government through the NSW Ministry for the Arts, the Australia Council, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments. The ACP raises over half of its revenue from non-government sources.

The Two Flat Whites office headed over to the Australian Centre for Photography along with our friends at Design Federation today. We all enjoyed the exhibitions. There is something for everyone! So why not go & check out the exhibition on ‘Phantasia’ , vivid, complex and magical, the works in this exhibition abandon the traditional realm of the photographic – the real world – to conjure images of the fantastical. Or ‘Head On’ which is an innovative showcase of Australian portrait photography, reflecting a vibrant, diverse cross-section of new and traditional photographic practices. Now in its fifth year, the show includes the work of 40 finalists, competing for prizes worth over $30,000.

Australian Centre for Photography

257 Oxford Street
Paddington, NSW 2021 Sydney

Tel:
Fax:

Gallery Hours: Tue-Fri 12.00am – 7.00pm, Sat & Sun 10.00am – 6.00pm
Workshop Hours: Mon-Sun 12noon-6.00pm

Admission to the Gallery is Free

Our good friends at Design Federation are running a competition in conjunction with Absolut Machines. To win a limited edition ABSOLUT ‘T’ (10 to giveaway) designed by Gareth Moody of Chronicles of Never from ABSOLUT MACHINES click here . 

Competition winners will be announced on the 24th of March 2008.