#different

Joe Bogan and the future of radio

There are a lot of podcasts in Australia wanting to be the next Joe Rogan. While some have done an ok job in taking up the mantle of being a comedian turned journalist turned political analyst turned expert on everything and MMA fighter the man who is really about to become Australia’s answer to Rogan is our very own Joe Bogan, aka Karl Stefanovic. Karl does have some decent street cred when it comes to journalistic integrity given he’s been on the Today show for the last 55 years! Ok it’s not that long but he’s been around.

Karl, despite his mega salary from Channel 9 is one of those rare people who still has the ability to connect with the average punter. The late great Shane Warne had the same thing, Karl I’m sure isn’t on the great man’s level but nonetheless he’s got this unquestionable ability to connect to people no matter who they are or what they do.

Karl it would seem has been planning his Today show exit for some time now given he’s has started his own podcast but off the back of that has now apparently signed on with Kyle and Jackie O’s former employer ARN. It’s not immediately clear what Karl will be doing with ARN but it’s surely going to be a bigger version of his already successful podcast. Will Karl keep the podcast and do the morning show or just the Podcast it’s not clear but what is clear is that off the back of ARN’s disastrous dealings with Kyle Sandilands they want the bloke who can rebuild the network!

Out of all the podcasters, out of all the radio people it’s Stefanovic that’s the one that could indeed become the Aussie Joe Rogan. The only other person who could is Ross Stevenson from 3AW but I’m not sure the AM legend could be bothered and given his extreme wit and intelligence I suspect he’d end up running rings around anyone he didn’t find interesting.

So what does the future hold for Joe Bogan? It remains to be seen, but what is true, the airwaves of Australia are in for a massive shake up!

Influencers and misinformation 

As the world struggles with the cost of living crisis and now a fuel crisis the influencer seems to be shifting its attention to the cost of goods. Now there’s no doubt that things cost more money but there are now a number of social media users using their platforms to garner outrage by highlighting pricing in supermarkets.

Supermarkets are unquestionably blood sucking parasites but that we have the so called influencers running around supermarket isles highlighting cost of high end items reeks of people wanting to grow a following rather than offer any kind of real support and criticism in a crisis. But the role of the influencer begs the question are we over the influence of the deluded influencer?

A recent post from a luxury car dealer showed the car retailer receiving a call from said influencer who said she wanted a car in return for her postings on her socials. The person was quite upset when the car retailer wouldn’t hand over the keys to a $200,000 Porsche for the suggested postings and you have to say, I’m not sure real celebrities would ever ask such a thing. Yes there are sportspeople who receive cars, watches etc in brand deals but they’re mega famous! Yes there are a select few social media personalities who can demand product for posts but they’re again in short supply and yet businesses seem beholden to some of these so called influencers.

Now I am not a 25 year with a social media following of 50,000 neither do I want to be but if you’re thinking that any of these people can help your business then you are kidding yourself. There was a young man recently who decided to host an in person signing for his 150,000 followers, no one showed up. And herein is the thing while trends can emerge online and then go viral influencers don’t actually have real influence instead they’re just a bunch of free loading wannabes who don’t really have anything to contribute to your business.

If influencers are in your business plan you’re on the wrong track, you absolutely need to be posting on your socials and you unquestionably need a plan to role your brand out but you do not need any kind of influencer validation. 

What the influencer does do very well is propagate misinformation which comes back to supermarket pricing and it does nothing but increase discontent in a modern society that doesn’t need any more bullshit in it!

The rescues of rescues 

When a US Airforce F15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran the US military knew they had a race on their hands to find the pilots and save them from a horrific end. When the plane did hit the ground the first pilot was recovered relatively quickly but the second wasn’t so lucky. A bounty of $100,000 USD was put on the head of the remaining pilot and so we saw images and video of Iranian farmers and workers setting off in search of the missing pilot who was to no doubt be paraded in front of the world had he been captured by any of them.

The US military scoured the areas surrounding the crash site with satellites and surveillance equipment developing a rescue plan for when the pilot appeared on their gear. The pilot who like all US fighter pilots had been trained in evasion tactics was managing to stay ahead of the Iranians while the US military prepared to bring him home.

When the pilot made contact with the search team the US military had members of their special forces ready to go in and save him. An aerial assault was carried out on the surrounding area near where the pilot had signalled from and the special forces team went in on the ground to grab the pilot, get him onboard assisting black hawk helicopters and then get the hell out of the area.

It really is the stuff of a Chris Ryan book or a spy movie but the US were very much committed to finding this pilot, not only for the personal safety of the man himself but because they were not going to allow a member of the US Military to be used as leverage or as a pawn in a game.

This is the second time in a year that the US Special Forces have been used with precision and timing. What we can only assume was Delta Force in both instances the first was the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and the second now the F15 Pilot. 

We may not agree with Trumps war on Iran or many of his other decisions but the members of the US special forces are to be commended for their skill and bravery as they save one of their own…not that any of us will ever know who they are.

Trump wants $1.5 TRILLION for the Military

As Trump continues to destroy the global economy even if the right wingers suggest he’s doing a great job he’s asked Congress for a staggering $1.5 trillion for military spending.

Just as an FYI that is $1,500,000,000,000…

If we just ask ourselves what the world could do with $1.5 trillion we could,

• Eradicate malaria
• Give the world access to clean water and sanitation 
• Fund basic education 
• Fund healthcare in poorer countries 
• Build affordable housing 

And yet, the US wants to spend all of it on their military forces. Not only do they want to drop that much money on the defence budget they’re going to take money away from the US education system to fund it. The republicans plan is to leave education up to the states and for it to have less burden on the federal government, I mean who needs education when you’ve got the biggest guns?! Did someone say the need for a gun is as a result of lacking something somewhere else? I digress…

The point is that while the US seems to be fighting a war in Iran it hasn’t yet won despite all its military strength why does it need more money than ever before to fight wars that do not need to be fought? 

The US king of war, Pete Hegseth has in the last day or so sacked three high ranking US generals, one of who was leading the Iranian conflict, but now? Boom, relieved of his duties, why is that? War not moving fast enough? Things not going as well as they had thought they would? Who knows but as the world suffers because of these warmongers beating their chests and demanding more than a trillion dollars to move onto the next war, we are the ones that really suffer, oh and the people who get killed with the military firepower, they don’t like it very much either…what a fucking farce! $1.5 trillion! And what a waste of money.

Time for blokes to grow up!

I fully admit that I have made some terrible decisions in my life that have fucked a lot of things up. The three vices I had were, booze, smoking cigarettes and women. A combination of the three saw me throw my life away more than once. Yes as an adult I had to come to terms with the issues I’d had as a kid, including abuse, neglect and lack of care and yes it took the help of my second wife to get me through but through I came! 

In everything I had to face I never once played the mental health card, I never once played the victim, I never once blamed anyone but myself for the things I fucked up. I have never played the hero, don’t want and have never wanted any kind of pat on the back for overcoming what I did it’s always been about head down get sorted and bounce back. But look over at the blokes currently in the headlines for all the wrong reasons and how many of them play the victim when they’ve smacked the wife in the mouth? Said it wasn’t my bag of coke? Couldn’t take the responsibility for something offensive? Couldn’t just take the blame for an indiscretion and blamed mental health issues?

The world is full of mental health organisations nowadays, full of tough guy courses for men wanting to finding themselves, full of motivational speakers who say it’s 4am ice baths and journaling that will bring you back. Blokes do what you’ve got to do, be part of whatever organisation you want but stop bull shitting yourselves and those around you. 

Mental health is a serious issue, especially at the moment, people are indeed struggling but to make real change in your life you have to be honest with yourself and you have to be the one who wants to change. Any addict will tell you it wasn’t til they wanted to change did anything happen. For me, it wasn’t til I was capable of acknowledging the past could I heal and change. 

Go to rehab, talk to your mates, go on he-man courses, do whatever you’ve got to do to ensure change but don’t bullshit yourself because if you do you may as well just go get another baggie and head for the party because you are fucked. Get real, stop bullshitting yourself and grow up, it’s not rocket science and it’s not easy but if you can do all three things you’re on the path to becoming a better human.