Nokia World Expo - Free Trips and Social Media

Well I've probably scored the best ever perk of being a blogger - a free trip from humble old Perth to London as a guest of Nokia to attend the Nokia World Expo. It all started with a blog about the Nokia E65, then the blog about Nokia E63 started when the E65 was replaced. The premise was something quite simple, record all the tips and tricks that I learn whilst using the phone. The E65 and E63 blogs became the most comprehensive blogs on the internet about the E65 and E63 and both continue to rank on the first page of Google searches for their respective users.

Nokia caught on to the internet traffic moving through Perth and started offering me the opportunity to trial new phones that they were launching. I thought that was a pretty neat gig to land, receiving a new phone to trial every few months. A few weeks ago, I received an email from 1000 heads, Nokia's brand marketing gurus who had been liaising with me over the last few years.

Would I like to go to London to attend the Nokia World Expo? Of course I would!

CEO of Nokia and other speakers at Nokia World 2010

This weekend I will board an Emirates plane to blog all the way to London and back about the upcoming Nokia offerings for 2010/11. Amongst the phones to hit the market will be the Nokia E7 and the Nokia N8 which brings in HD video, 12MP camera and WebTV. 25 bloggers from around the world, and one from Australia, will be covering the launches, posting photos, tweeting updates and Facebooking the event to whoever cares.. and those who don't. Great strategy? I think so.

For the next week, expect to see Nokia trending up in the social media indicators.