Cyrius

FAME: We live in a time in history where fame seems to be the ultimate marker of success, and this shift has brought about a few important, and sometimes troubling, consequences. Think about Google’s business model. It’s built around making people and businesses more visible, more famous. Social media only amplifies this: if we’re not producing content, making videos, or curating an online presence, we risk being seen as “nobodies,” left out of both personal and professional opportunities. Fame—or at least being known—has become central to achieving success, and it creates immense pressure on individuals to keep up with this relentless push toward visibility.

But what happens when everyone is vying for the spotlight? As fame becomes democratised through social platforms, we’re left in an unusual state: fame becomes the new normal, and the great equaliser. With everyone trying to be known, fame itself loses its uniqueness and value. Think of how the volume of content on social media has led to fame deflation, where being famous for one viral moment rarely translates into long-term success or fulfillment. It’s a fame desperation treadmill that leaves many exhausted and, ironically, more isolated.

There’s another significant risk that comes with becoming too visible: As soon as you cross that threshold into widespread recognition, you’re suddenly exposed to countless strangers – who don’t care about you and have complete disregard for your personal well-being. Without the guardrails that social media giants have failed to provide, you risk personal attacks that can be devastating. With fame, especially online, comes the real fear that “sticking your head above the parapet” makes you a target for criticism, bullying, and even threats of physical harm. This can create a culture where many hesitate to pursue success or visibility, fearing that the cost of being known could ultimately destroy their sense of self, security, or peace of mind.

Yet, there’s an interesting prospect emerging, especially as AI technology continues to evolve: what if we didn’t need fame to feel fulfilled? What if, instead, AI could offer us a different, more personalised kind of fulfillment—a sort of tailored reality version of digital media? Think about it: through the same technology used to create deep fakes and hyper-realistic simulations, we could create worlds that give us the feelings associated with fame—connection, recognition, and appreciation—without needing to broadcast our lives to the world.

Imagine being able to engage with high-quality, AI-driven experiences where you’re the protagonist in your own narrative. Instead of watching Tom Cruise star in an action movie, you could star in your own, perfectly produced Hollywood-quality movie, uniquely crafted to reflect your interests, skills, and personality. And beyond entertainment, AI could offer opportunities for curated, positive online communities—ethically screened to ensure safety and well-being—where people can engage in genuine, constructive interactions without the fears of public judgment, shame and humiliation.

This vision may sound utopian, but it raises an important question: Could tailored AI experiences become a healthier alternative to our fame-driven culture? In an era where we are being compelled to chase fame, personalised AI could serve as a quiet refuge, allowing individuals to connect with themselves and each other more authentically. Rather than striving for mass appeal, we could focus on meaningful experiences that fulfill our unique interests and goals.

©2024 Stefan Sojka

Tonight is going to be a great event at Curzon Hall, hosted by Navarra Venues and MMacquarie Park Ryde Business Chamber moderated by Randall Walker and featuring yours truly, Ben Pike from Business NSW and Matt Pound from Sydney FC on the panel. I think you can still book in at the last minute!

Make your brand a gamechanger. Hope to see you there.

https://events.humanitix.com/make-your-brand-a-gamechanger-wed-16-oct-small-business-month-curzon-hall

Make Your Brand a Gamechanger! • Wed, 16 Oct • MPRBC • Curzon Hall Make Your Brand a Gamechanger! • Wed, 16 Oct • Small Business Month • Curzon Hall

We couldn’t be more excited to unveil our fresh brand identity. Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work revamping everything from our logo to our agency collateral. Our goal? To capture the essence of Cyrius, after almost 30 years in business, in a punchy and contemporary way.

Our new brand has been carefully crafted, with bold typography and a vibrant colour palette that reflects our agency’s confidence. We’ve also refined our brand personality and style guide, ensuring that every aspect of Cyrius is cohesive and compelling.

Behind the scenes, our team of creatives – both internal and external – have been working tirelessly to research our brand, skillsets, customers and competitors. The result? A brand that distils complex ideas into perfect deliverables, represented by our emblematic hexagon.

Cyrius’ Tagline: "Simplify. Amplify."
At Cyrius, we excel in simplifying complex business challenges into actionable, compelling strategies and communication. Our tagline, “Simplify. Amplify.” encapsulates our process of getting to the heart of your value and getting you out there. It’s not just a slogan – it’s a philosophy that guides everything we do.

Cyrius Website: Where strategy meets creativity
As an agency specialising in web technology and communications, we understand the importance of continuously evolving in the online landscape. That’s why we embarked on this creative journey to reimagine our identity and purpose.

Experience the new Cyrius website
We invite you to see our new brand and website for yourself! Head over to
www.cyrius.com.au to explore our fresh look, learn more about our services, and discover how we can help your business thrive in today’s world. We have lots of new resources for you to tap into: blogs, fact sheets and case studies….

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We’re excited for what the future holds, and we can’t wait to continue supporting you in your endeavours.

https://littlepure2333.github.io/MindBridge/ So AI would really like to scan lots of people's brains in order to make its ability to read minds way more powerful, as it can compare the brainwaves of each person, based on the same stimulus, to really fine tune the results. Sounds like a great idea. 🥸

Spectacular vistas, investor/owners sought. A place to call 'home'. Limited, affordable, income-generating, flood-free housing packages available. AI-optimised. Apply now. Reserve your plot today. 🙂

Very proud to have recenlty joined Parramatta Chamber of Commerce and looking forward to a fruitful relationship after many engagements over the years through Ryde Macquarie Park Chamber, of which our founder Stefan Sojka was President (pre-COVID).
Parramatta Chamber is a vibrant and thriving chamber, supported by a very progressive and community-minded council at City of Parramatta

https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Business-and-Development/Business-and-Economic-Development/Business-Case-Studies read our - and other - case studies thanks to City of Ryde

Business Case Studies A selection case studies of local businesses, large and small with a focus on innovation, relocation and problem solving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j0DUxw4tW4 Great to be featured by the City of Ryde Economic Development team in this case study.

Business Case Study | Small Business Spotlight: Cyrius Media Group CITY OF RYDE CASE STUDIES | SPOTLIGHT ON SMALL BUSINESSSmall local businesses share their challenges and the steps they took to ensure their business remains...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdwoyRJS040 Great to see City of Ryde releasing this promo reel on YouTube. Nice to have invited our Creative Director Stefan Sojka to spruik the area.

Invest Macquarie Park | Business Community Find out why Macquarie Park is great for all business sectors

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-copilot-autocomplete-for-code/ - Things are evolving rapidly.

How an AI Became My Code-Writing Genie OpenAI’s new tool sped up my work and wrote entire pieces of software from a simple prompt. But it might riddle the internet with even more bugs.

Logo development. Here is a snapshot of our idea-sketching process 10+ years ago. In the end we went for the very first idea and it seems to have suited us ever since! LOL

https://www.wired.com/story/disruption-mobility-platforms-politics/ The times they are a-rapidly changing. Grass roots form the network.

‘Disruption’ Is a Two-Way Street There's a wave of innovation that we're failing to recognize—and it's being led by users and networks, not tech companies.

https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/ecommerce-trends-2022

10 Ecommerce Trends That Will Define Online Shopping in 2022 In this article, we’ll dive into the top ecommerce trends shaping 2022 and beyond, and the recommendations you need to help merchants build brands that last.

Pretty much sums it up.

https://moz.com/how-to-rank - A very comprehensive run down!

How To Rank On Google: 25-Step SEO Checklist How do you actually rank a webpage? Follow this step-by-step SEO checklist outlining requirements and what to look out for in order to optimize your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Google reviews

Google Reviews are an excellent way of differentiating your business from your competitors. These can be displayed on Google Maps, in Search Results and on Google Maps. To get more reviews you can include a link to your Google My Business page on follow up emails you send to customers.

Negative Reviews
Reviews will not always be 5 Star (though that would be nice!). A company addressing a negative review (via the response system) can be seen as a positive to future customers. It is important to have clear guidance for staff to use when responding so there is consistency. You should receive an email anytime someone leaves a review - be quick to respond.

Negative Reviews can be seen to make a company more authentic - stats show that people look for negative reviews of companies before engaging. if you respond to the reviews you can control the messaging.

Of course we want you to have many more positive reviews than negative ones - so we can advice on methods to improve this if you require.

Options for Removal
If you find a review is incorrect - sometimes non-customers leave reviews for example - there are some methods for requesting Google to review.

Step 1 - Through Google My Business
Log into Google My Business. Navigate in the left to 'Reviews' and then find the relevant review. In the top right there was three dots - select 'Flag as Inappropriate'

This can take a number of days to be manually reviewed.

Step 2 - Legal Method

For this method you will need additional legal documentation for Google to remove the review. Please be aware that this documentation will also be made available on https://www.lumendatabase.org/

https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905 =9723198%2C7170398%2C7687149

Select "Create Request"

Please contact us to discuss your Google Reviews needs - whether it is to grow the number (30+ reviews is seen as having a large positive affect) or to address negative reviews (either in removal or reponding)

The Google link spam update is rolling out; Wednesday's daily brief And, the review stars are back in Google Search results.

Zero-click Google searches rose to nearly 65% in 2020 Efforts to regulate Google aren’t making a dent. And, the pandemic may have resulted in greater overall search volume, but zero-click searches may rise even further as people become more mobile.