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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · 1d

Don’t let Big Tech make you feel redundant. New email: auscommsguide.com/2025/10/09/c...

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · 23d

I promise the tech behind #comms has gotten easier! Here's what I use for an affordable, portable set-up that saves my bum with some essential redundancies: auscommsguide.com/2025/09/18/s...

Saving my bum when the tech goes wrong

Me, catching the tram with a week’s worth of clothes, a promo banner, 6 cameras/phones, a laptop and an iPad…but nothing was stopping me from getting my morning coffee too… Every …

auscommsguide.com

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Aug 27

- Pull up banner.
- A bag of flyers and print-outs.
- My clothes for 4 days packed around all the gear to cushion and protect it all.

And it’s 8am, nothing was stopping me from getting my morning coffee.

#Glam #HighLife #Fancy #ThisIsMyWorkout

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Aug 27

Being a non-profit comms manager/consultant is walking to the tram with:

- Suitcase filled with tripods.
- Backpack of photo/camera gear.
- Laptop, iPad and 4 iPhones for video content.

JB carrying lots of bags at the tram stop.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Mar 28

Stealing other people’s ideas isn’t “thought leadership” 🤦‍♂️

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Jonathan Brown • You
Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes
How is stealing other people's ideas "thought leadership"?
And doesn't "thought leadership" involve...thought?
Like...actually having thought about the stuff you're posting about?
And won't you be instantly found out to be a fraud when people talk to you in real life about the things you've posted online only to find out you never put the effort into actually investigating and interrogating those thoughts?

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Mar 22

Too many of the numbers you’re being fed by my industry are meaningless crap. And I’m over it.

Jonathan Brown • You
Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes
4m・G
..
#Media, #Comms, #PR, #Marketing professionals and agencies - stop lying to your bosses and clients. You're destroying trust in our profession.
Some examples l've personally seen in recent years:
- "Our website has amazing traffic" - I looked into the stats and discovered that 90% of the traffic was going to one SEO optimized article that had nothing to do with the organisation's actual work.
- "We got you coverage in 10 publications" - 9 of those publications were bots that copy + paste media releases into a generic "news" style website.
- "Your story had an audience reach of over 70m" - your "reach" stats for this Australian story include the publication's global audience, even though it was only published on their Australian site. You didn't magically reach over double the Australian population.
- "SEO will solve problem x" - no, you've applied the business/ marketing strategy of a drop shipping business to a non-profit so you can sell your cookie cutter SEO services.
and don't even get me started on the ridiculous promises being made about #Al.
Many of these little white lies were never called out or picked up on until I saw them. So sure, you might think you're getting away with them for now, but one day they will come back to bite you in the ass.
Be honest with your bosses and clients. Say no when your services aren't the right fit. Have the hard conversations and educate instead of presenting fancy numbers and fake successes.
Yours sincerely,
A communications professional who is sick of being fed fake, meaningless numbers from my own industry.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Mar 14

Flashback! Remember when Triple R in Melbourne celebrated 40 years with a giant radio takeover at the State Library? I wonder where that radio is now? 🤔

A giant old school style radio stands in front of Victoria's State Library as pedestrians walk past.

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 27

If I run this as a webinar I want to make sure it covers the most important/urgent questions on your minds!

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 27

Recently I’ve been doing a fair bit of work with some excellent policy makers on how to translate policy for public audiences.

I’m thinking of running my next webinar on this topic. Policy whizzes: what would you like to know about engaging with media, government and stakeholders?

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 22

PSA:

Jonathan Brown • You
Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes
Pet hate: If you're a business/organisation that markets to marginalised communities, don't insult us by advertising to us with Al slop.
Al companies don't need your money but a disabled designer does. A queer artist does. An Indigenous writer does.
You can make a material difference in the lives of the people you say you're there to help by actually hiring them. Actually investing in their talents and skills.
By using Al slop rather than hiring us, you're contributing to the problems that drive marginalisation.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 17

Thank you! Feels like coming home 🥰

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 17

News: Today I started as Communications Manager at The Community Broadcasting Foundation!

I’ll be cheerleading for community media organisations across Australia 📣

The role is part time, so JBAU Comms is still here for your media training and comms strategy needs - don’t hesitate to get in touch!

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Feb 8

Please share if you can!

JB_AU @jbau.bsky.social · Feb 8

Are you a queer person who has experienced homelessness in #Sydney? Do you know someone who has? I'm hoping to hear about your experience: forms.gle/YgGArEZtzkaK...

Experience of homelessness in Sydney as a queer person

Hi, I'm JB, a queer writer/content maker/advocate and I need your help! In the lead up to Mardi Gras I'm hoping to hear about the experiences of queer people who have lived through homelessness in S...

forms.gle

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 31

Video podcast recording today with one of my oldest friends in a very, very cool space 🥰

A delightful way to end the year, but you’ll have to wait for details on this one 😁

A man smiles in front of giant pink wall art that says “Big Queen Energy”

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 22

Luyee Bai shares his takeaways after attending media training for scientists, researchers and experts with JBAU Comms.

Thanks for coming along! 😁

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 20

omg everyone follow @drkimclimate.bsky.social - she’s amazing!

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 16

Some lovely feedback from Students in Renewable Energy 😄

students_in_renewable_energy
students_in_renewable_energy On Tuesday, 3rd
December, @afrizans from the solar team took part in this awesome opportunity from @jbaucomms!
The media training for Scientists, Researchers and Experts focuses on building the skills to communicate accurate and research-backed information in a clear and relatable way. This is particularly important in a world where today, many global issues, including climate change, are heavily politicised.
Well done Afriza, we are blown away by your public speaking skills!!!
* thank you so much
@jbaucomms for providing this invaluable opportunity to our members!

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 15

It’s this passion and simple human moments I live for - so it was lovely to do some JBAU Comms media training with Alex this month to brainstorm ways to get people just as excited about the possibilities of biochar as he is 😄

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 15

The first time I spoke to Alex Wood - he held out a clump of soil and excitedly told me how there were more organisms in that clump of soil in his hands than there are humans on earth.

Then with a shrug and a big smile he simply said “I love soil”.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 12

Insights from this session:

- Connect with people using personal stories! Lots of our trainees had engaging personal stories that put their policy work into a powerful human context 💚
- Give the audience a way to act or react to the stories and information. Make them want to go and learn more 👩‍🏫

JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 12

Things I learned about:

- Bringing families together to clean up the oceans 🏝️
- Encouraging backyard gardens to boost food security 👩‍🌾
- Making sure communities have access to safe drinking water during droughts 🚰
- The people working across Government to help communities adapt to climate change 🙋‍♀️

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 12

The fellowship is a partnership with Melbourne Climate Futures, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and the Pacific Climate Change Centre.

So, in the spirit of all that collaboration and partnership it was wonderful to co-facilitate with Jarni Blakkarly - bringing all of his expertise.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 12

A great morning delivering JBAU Comms media training with the Australia Awards ‘Advancing climate adaptation, resilience and just energy transitions in the Indo-Pacific’ fellows.

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 8

I've had so much fun this last week working with from people across the enviro, legal, science, academic, activism and policy sectors.

Next week I'm doing one-on-one sessions - so if you need a quick refresher of your interview skills, get in touch 😁 events.humanitix.com/how-to-be-a-...

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JBAU Comms @jbaucomms.bsky.social · Dec 5

Alyssa Seckinger-Crow has been sharing her passion for our oceans for years and is a now a leader in some pretty powerful climate movements.

Thanks for coming along to one of this week’s JBAU Comms media training sessions!