What do you do?

I run an online social media business called SourceBottle. The free site helps journalists and bloggers find ‘fresh’ sources, and businesses and PRs get publicity. My vision for the service is simple: for every ‘call out’ that’s posted on SourceBottle to be flooded with quality responses; and for every journalist or blogger using the service to be spoilt for choice.



What was your first job?

I was a Building Construction & Litigation lawyer for about three and a half minutes.

What did you study?
First Law, then Business majoring in Marketing and Public Relations.



Describe a typical day?

A typical day kicks off at about 6.30am with a wake up call from Mr one and a half for breakfast, followed by a similar demand from Mr four. Then it’s a quick bite and cuppa for me so I can jump online to approve call outs for sources posted the night before. This must be done in time for the 10am Drink Up! email alert that goes out to subscribers to the service who are waiting to see how they might get quoted in the day’s media.

A quick run to daycare and kindy and then I’m back in my home office tweeting call outs and responding to the day’s challenges – which can include anything from responding to international offers to run the site to ‘I’ve missed the deadline for a call out. Can you please help me get in touch with the journalist?’ I try to schedule any meetings for between 10am and 1.30pm, which allows me just enough time to approve the afternoon’s intake of call outs to go out in the 2pm alert.

By 5.30pm I’ve posted my last tweet and started preparing dinner before collecting the boys at 6pm. Then it’s bath time, dinner time, playtime and bedtime (for the kids) before it’s finally ‘our’ time – when my husband and I can kick back with a cuppa on the couch.

What is on the agenda for the next year?

Expansion overseas, but always with a local focus. SourceBottle’s about to launch in New Zealand and then later in the year in the UK and Canada. I feel it’s vital for a service like this to work within its geographic boundaries, and by that I mean offering local call outs to local sources. I don’t believe in a ‘one site services the world’ approach. Journalists prefer to deal with local news and local sources. So that’s what SourceBottle’s giving them – one country at a time.

What brand do you love the most? Dislike the most? Why?

Mmm… that’s a tough one. Google is definitely up there for me. I love the simplicity of the branding and the name and the fact that I feel it lives up to its brand promise. As for brands I don’t like, they’re usually the forgettable ones… like… um… I forget.

What do you believe has been the most significant moment in the history of marketing?

Big call, but I can’t go past the introduction of YouTube and it’s ability to launch a brand globally with a limited budget and at lightening speed.

Where can people find you?

www.sourcebottle.com.au or follow me @SourceBottle for the latest call outs (and some personal musings too).