I guess I went a little viral this March, though not in a way that helps my business at all. And it probably means I have a few hundred new Twitter followers who might be disappointed when I talk business, football, and travel.
When Cyclone Alfred changed direction and headed for South East Queensland in March 2025, we faced a family dilemma. The Cyclone ended up hitting just a week before we departed overseas, scuppering a lot of social plans and leaving us at our Gold Coast apartment to ride things out.
I’ll be riding out #CycloneAlfred in Australia’s tallest residential tower; still 36+ hours from landfall, and you can feel the building shaking!
— Jacob Aldridge (@jacobaldridge) March 6, 2025
Allegedly the footings go 150 metres deep. Gonna be safe, and a wild ride. pic.twitter.com/AdCUfWhYYw
My short video in the lead up gained traction, and was ultimately viewed more than 325,000 times. Just a shame it didn’t have the same impact on my family Instagram channel, where those new followers might have found some long term enjoyment.
The enormous news hole created by the first cyclone to hit Brisbane in 50 years meant that my video was also shared in multiple ways.
Yahoo News headlined it “Australia’s tallest residential building ‘shaking’ from winds”.
Travel Market Report used it in an article that covered “Hundreds of Flights Canceled, Evacuations Ordered as Cyclone Alfred Nears Australia’s East Coast”.
(Read more at https://www.travelmarketreport.com/destinations/articles/brisbane-braces-for-cyclone-alfred-cancels-flights)
Documento headlined it “Πλησιάζει την Αυστραλία ο κυκλώνας Άλφρεντ – Χωρίς ρεύμα πάνω από 80.000 σπίτια” which is Greek to me but apparently translates as “Cyclone Alfred is approaching Australia – Over 80,000 homes without power”.
(Read more at https://www.documentonews.gr/article/plisiazei-tin-aystralia-o-kyklonas-alfrent-xoris-reyma-pano-apo-80-000-spitia-photos/)
And Hindi News 24 Online headlined it “खतरनाक चक्रवाती तूफान तबाही मचाने को तैयार, जानें Cyclone Alfred से बचने को ऑस्ट्रेलिया कितना तैयार?”, so with apologies to my Indian ancestors I used Google to translate as “Dangerous cyclone ready to wreak havoc, how prepared is Australia to avoid Cyclone Alfred?”.
I also received a news alert from AOL – in case you were surprised that Yahoo still existed! – but they don’t seem to have a permalink structure I can share.
Broadcast Media Loves Me Too
I was interviewed for KIIS 97.3 radio in Brisbane, to describe what we were seeing from our ocean view apartment.
And a team from Channel 7 News (where I interned back in 2002) came over to Q1 to interview me in person and get some footage for their national bulletin.
While this kind of media coverage doesn’t really change my life, and certainly not my business, it’s always fun to do.
