It’s official! Tourism Queensland has chosen Ben Southall as their Island Caretaker.

Ben is the hardiest and most impressive candidate as far as extreme adventurism goes. It is very hard to top the Land Rover roaring, tough-as-nails man who climbed 5 mountains and ran 5 marathons in the same year in some of the toughest conditions in Africa. I know he’ll be able to hack this job because of the physical and mental requirements of the role. He’s as tough as they come and so is his toughbook (which he showed to us the last time we met up)!

I’m sure he’s inundated with media requests at the moment and I’ll wait till this dies down to congratulate him privately. I would however like to congratulate everyone from the Top 50 to the Top 16 for all their achievements and I thank Tourism Queensland for the amazing experience. I’ve made good contacts from this campaign and have a renewed sense of purpose because of the Best Job in the World. Money can be made in many ways but the experience is something money cannot buy.

I hope that the Top 15 who didn’t make it will know that you’re all winners. I remember how disappointed some of the Top 50s were when we didn’t make it to Hamilton Island but look up because the opportunities for other things have just begun and I hope to get to meet the rest of you one day.

In an article published on the Edge on 31st March 2009, Emily Tan interviewed me and documented  my digital campaigning efforts for the Best Job in the World. Read the story here: Viral marketing makes ‘Best Job in the World’ campaign a runaway success.

Expatriate Lifestyle Magazine April Issue

Even though I did not make the Top 16 shortlist for the Best Job in the World, media coverage will still be popping up here and there as a result of earlier efforts that was part of my longer-term campaign strategy for Queensland.

I was notified by the Assistant Editor that the Expatriate Lifestyle April 2009 issue is currently out on the newstands. Do get a copy for your collection since my interview is in there. You can draw a halo on my head and cute whiskers from my cheeks if you like, and I promise to sign it if you bring it along the next time I am in Malaysia! Feel free to say hello and leave a comment on my blog. It would be nice to get to know my voters!

It’s 10:30am, the day after I found out that I wasn’t picked to be on the Top 16. I’m feeling a cross between a bad hangover and positive wishes for the friends that I’ve made along the way who made it through to the next round. The very first thing that comes to mind is to thank Tourism Queensland for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing journey. I have learned so much in the past few months about the power of initiative and that will help me onward.

Second thing that comes to mind is to thank all my friends and fans who has been voting and hoping along with me over the past few weeks. You’ve been amazing. Being based in the U.K., I couldn’t be in the country to do most of the legwork myself, and for a campaign that was purely-online and managed half way across the world, 25th place on the leaderboard was freaking phenomenal!

They say timing is everything and today, I feel that couldn’t be more true. When I had heard about The Best Job in the World something moved me to apply for it. So I began channeling my energy toward a standard that symbolizes the epitome of human happiness and I found myself pursuing, and surprisingly making the Top 50 out of 34,000 applicants. The past few weeks of being one of the Top 50 have been nothing short of amazing.

I have learned immensely about myself over the past two months that no other experience would have taught better. Queensland became a vision of something better to aim for, a kind of utopia that suggests that there exists a heaven on earth that is God-breathed. Brightest blues, clearest waters, and freshest greens to take you away from the illogical madness of sadness and an urban chaos that can overwhelm.

Although I feel as though I have let a nation down and know that some of my die hard fans and friends are bummed out on my behalf, beyond my ability to do the job there is the reality of a larger strategy at work and priority markets to consider that is beyond the control of one’s individual pursuit. There was also a resource and logistics factor which made my PR efforts challenging, but most importantly I’m not even sure if it would have made a difference because the final shortlist is looking to be market-driven.

I think that the other Top 34 applicants who did not proceed further must recognize that the Best Job in the World isn’t a personal validation mechanism but a strategic PR campaign for the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Not going through to the Top 16 is merely a punctuation that now opens new doors for our grand stories to continue its course.

So some people are wondering where I’ll be going from here? I am planning to give the U.K. another look-around before exploring the possibility of going to Shanghai. Depending on where I’ll be and how the bank account looks, I’ll either be a brain-for-hire or I’ll  be fiddling with my personal projects of “hopefully” sharable genius. As for losing the opportunity to enjoy all the sun and sea in Queensland, I plan to visit should one of my previous rivals gets the job. Hopefully that’s when I’ll get to hug a koala for real!

It has been a very busy few days for me. From moving house to being filmed for the BBC documentary, catching up with errands to watching James McAvoy in Three Days of Rain, I’ve been unable to sit down to blog for a stretch. With less than 24 hours before the Top 11 announcement, I thought I’d fit in one or two more reasons why TQ should pick me for an interview.

The creative direction of yours truly!

Experience in tourism is so crucial to the success of this role. I’m no rookie, so that means I won’t need to be taught how the service industry works so I’ll be able to get right to work. Having promoted island-tourism packages since I was 11 years old, the role of Island Caretaker will be just so natural for me to do.

I also ran a business that specializes in turning around weak occupancy levels at luxury hotels/beach resorts for several years with success. I can’t wait to help Queensland promote the islands and more than anything, I hope that I’ll be given an opportunity to make a measurable difference for Queensland like I have for my clients!

Here’s a Chinese article by a Malaysian Chinese national daily covering my success in making the Top 50. It was published on 5th March 2009.

Sin Chew Jit Poh Coverage - 5th March 2009

Beginning from today, I’m going to post reasons why Tourism Queensland should pick me to be in the Top 11. Here’s reason No. 1:- I have excellent taste in fashion. Forget the beanie, the akubra is the in thing now.

And that’s just the hat!

Fact: I was voted as the #2 most fashionable among my friends on a Facebook app, and my friends are mighty stylish.

Why that’s important?
The Great Barrier Reef needs a person with good taste to market the best of what the islands have to offer.

ITV's reality show "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"

Did you know that last year’s most popular reality TV show in the U.K. I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! was filmed in Queensland, Australia? Ah the greenery was so fresh it almost lept out of my T.V. screen. I think it’s time for “I’m not yet a celebrity… so get me over there!”

Now that the wildcard voting is over, I have a chance to dream about the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Last week my dad shared with me that someone told him that the Great Barrier Reef is “a place you must go before you die.”

I even had the chance to ask a few friends who have been there and the look on their faces is the kind of look I want to have when I tell people about my holiday. It’s that painfully dissatisfying look of contented speechlessness, the kind I simply have to go to find out why myself.

Thanks to everyone who has voted for me over the past couple of weeks. Though the wildcard position went to someone else, your dedication and fighting spirit has been a source of comfort since I was not able to be in my home country to rally for support in person. You did great, and though this is not a bribe, I’m likely going to throw a party if I get the job.

Everyone from the media to everyday Malaysians who took time out of their busy lives to cover my story and cast in their votes, as well fans from Hong Kong, the U.S., U.K., Italy, Philippines, Turkey, Spain and elsewhere who left notes for me… your votes meant the world to me!

To think that I made the Top 25 in the wildcard voting through social media, radio, newsprint and word-of-mouth viral activity on Facebook, Twitter and email has pleased me on two fronts. Firstly, as a web strategist it is deeply satisfying to witness the power of social media tools at work from a first-hand experience… the effect is a bit like catnip!

Secondly, because my campaign was so well received by traditional media in spite of my physical absence in Asia, I am certain that it would have been exponentially better if I had been there.

I would also have had a support system and would have been able to spread my campaign on the Internet faster and wider, but the reality was that my resources were limited the past two weeks. I was in the middle of arranging a relocation from the U.K. back to Malaysia after my trip to Spain, and as much as 200 influencers who could have been a compelling force in my London campaign headed to Canada to ski the same week I found out I got into the Top 50.

THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKING
In spite of that, my social networks have kept me in the running with candidates from countries with populations 3-15 times the size of  Malaysia! To think that my “digitally-focused” strategy could compete on this playing field is validation enough. At 25th place, I have a final tally of 2,815 votes, a total of 828 members in my Best Job in the World Facebook group, 748 twitter followers (150 new) and a new fan base from all over the world.

Although I have not had a chance to reply to everyone yet, I’ve read your notes and most of them have made me smile. You guys rock and don’t be shy… keep them coming! (I love fanmail)

THE SITTING BULL IS ACTUALLY BUSY AS A BEE
There will be a 9-day wait to see whether or not I make it to the Top 11. Although it may seem like the madness is over, it is far from over! I am actually busy behind the scenes in preparation for the next stage and I bet when the other 10 finalists are announced, the game will step up significantly. For now, I get to put my background, experience and a decade-long career in web marketing to work. Hopefully I’ll be chosen to present my grand plan to Tourism Queensland. *fingers-crossed*

Do check out my portfolio, and feel free to talk to me on Twitter.