So here we are Christmas Day. Great stuff going on around me all day. Watching the clock so to put on the TV for Top of the Pops – because that is the Christmas tradition. We already know that X-Factor finalist didn’t make the No 1 spot, but that shouldn’t stop it from being the one hour of TOTP a year that we enjoy.

Jon Morter’s Facebook campaign was an interesting one and his short-lived point was successfully made. But has he ruined Sony BMG? Has he ruined Simon Cowell? Has he ruined Joe McElderry’s future career? No, no, and definitely no! If anything Morter has succeeded in boosting the fortunes of the first two, as record sales were boosted for both sides of the race through his Facebook campaign. As for Joe, he loses out on the coveted accolade of a Christmas No 1, but will probably be No 1 for the New Year. He is already no1 in Ireland. He won’t earn any more or any less, because that’s how this machine works. Rage Against The Machine probably won’t make any money out of this either – they probably sold or mortgaged all future rights to their back catalogue years ago.

So who is the winner here and what’s the point? Morter’s point was to scupper the X-Factor’s assertion that it can produce a Christmas No 1. Well he succeeded there, but that’s where it ends. You don’t have to hold the number one spot to be successful or make money, it’s the total weeks in the charts and more importantly total sales that count (ask Robbie Williams about his best selling hit Angels!). UK charity Shelter is a winner - £64,000 raised for their benefit through the campaign. Fair enough.

The real winner has to be Facebook - the power of social networking to influence consumer behaviour being admirably demonstrated. Viral marketing spreading the message abundantly, getting serious airtime.

And, even with my unrefined and unmannerly affection for punk, hard rock, and rap, The Climb is the better song.

30th DECEMBER UPDATE:

Joe McElderry is No1 in the UK Top 40 for the New Year!

There really is something exquisite about a high-end restaurant that charges €100 per head. Half the dishes you can't pronounce and the other half doesn't make sense. But everyone is sitting proper, and there is always an air of distinguee. The wine will be fantastic, and the price per bottle astronomical. So the notion of such an haute cuisine restaurant being family-friendly where the waiter will happily warm a baby's bottle would be quite unthinkable. Not so in Disneyland Paris; screaming children and foie gras de canard go hand-in-hand, so everyone can get chance to enjoy the good life and ignore the recession.

But it just doesn't feel right, like when the Gents' toilets are closed for renovations and the instructed alternative is for men to go ahead and used the Ladies'. But then again it is France.

An internet friend pointed out to me recently that my commitment to blog more quality more often seems to have faltered. Guilty as charged, madam. But my desire to explore social media and blog ferociously was borne out of unemployment and uncertainty, procrastination and escapism. It is very easy to look for a job on the internet, but easier again to get lost in the unlimited resource that the web is. Indeed, at one stage I was getting packages delivered from ebay vendors so frequently that I had lost track of what I was expecting!

But my epiphany came, and my activities ramped up a gear or two, and I got busy, real busy. Doing real work. Making contacts. Getting out there. Being productive. Getting paid. Feeling enriched. Empowered.

Social media lost out! Work became the curse to my blogging and social media exploring. Now it is about balance, and maintaining that balance.