13 Comments

1. 

   cymast

    /  February 20, 2009

   The most brilliant advertising campaign ever!

2. 

   acilius

    /  February 21, 2009

   I wonder what the catch is.

3. 

   cymast

    /  February 22, 2009

   The catch is the selected island blogger will also be the object of much publicity . . which also may by viewed as a perk by some . .

4. 

   cymast

    /  February 22, 2009

   It’s a real 6-month job with real duties: exporing the Whitsunday Islands and the surrounding sea, going on safari, taking pictures, blogging, posting a video diary, giving interviews, et cetera . . sounds like a BLAST!!

5. 

   acilius

    /  February 23, 2009

   That sounds like a dream job for anyone who likes the outdoors, who makes friends easily, and who has a highly developed visual sense. A lot of people meet that description- I don’t, but I used to wish I did. I can see why it would rank as the world’s greatest job.

6. 

   cymast

    /  February 23, 2009

   Turns out their initial video application selection process is haphazard. I submitted a video made with a basic office cam were I am closely and clearly visible and speak from start to finish- it was rejected because of “poor technical quality” (low number of frames per second). Yet many videos applications displayed on their website are simply a series of pictures strung together with a dubbed-in speech. A string of pictures may make for high FPS, the what’s the point if the subject is far away in the shot? In one initially accepted video the applicant says nothing- it’s just a series of 2-second action shots. You can’t even tell what the guy looks like or sounds like.

7. 

   acilius

    /  February 23, 2009

   Maybe they were overwhelmed by a large number of applications and didn’t have the ability to judge them fairly? In any case, it’s their loss if they turn you down.

8. 

   cymast

    /  February 23, 2009

   Thanks. Agreed.

   “who likes the outdoors, who makes friends easily, and who has a highly developed visual sense” You *used to* wish you fit that description?

9. 

   acilius

    /  February 23, 2009

   Yes, I did. I’d still be glad to develop any of those three characteristics, but I don’t really worry about my lack of them any more.

10. 

    cymast

     /  February 23, 2009

    Ironic that you spend more time outdoors walking than a lot of people who love the outdoors but drive everywhere. Plus . . I always thought you were the social type, at least you gave that impression.

11. 

    cymast

     /  February 23, 2009

    Wait a minute- aren’t you a speed-reader? How the heck do you get through all those periodicals?

12. 

    acilius

     /  February 23, 2009

    I do read pretty fast. And the periodicals are easy. Magazines I read regularly come to have their own personalities, so I know what to expect of them. For example, in the 90s I used to read THE ECONOMIST. Its personality was that of a 23 year old bond trader who thinks he rules the world. At the same time I also used to read HARPER’S. Its personality was that of an embittered humanities grad student in his late 20s who thinks his kid brother, the bond trader, rules the world. Anyway, knowing what to expect makes it easier to reset your mind at the opening of each article.

13. 

    acilius

     /  February 23, 2009

    Maybe the reason I don’t say I have/ wish I had a love of the outdoors is that for the last few months the only outdoors available to me has been an Indiana winter. But certainly I do like to walk. And I’m definitely not the social type. Maybe the reason you got that impression was that when you saw me I was usually in a group with several outgoing people, so everyone in the group seemed outgoing.