EMAIL SEGMENTATION

Innovative businesses know they need to use innovative means to attract innovative talent. Prompted by Twitter's recent foray into viral video recruitment, we decided to assemble five of our favourite recruitment videos from the not too distant past (including those that are so bad, they're kind of good).

This week, the satirical commentary program rose even higher in our approval ratings when it unintentionally became a serious, political production house for the Greens when this 'fake' TV spot was aired on Wednesday night. Regular Gruen panelist Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson said on the program to its creators from Sydney agency Republic of Everyone, "It's the best ad The Greens have ever done. I'm sure you'll get a phone call". And they did.

This week, the satirical commentary program rose even higher in our approval ratings when it unintentionally became a serious, political production house for the Greens when this 'fake' TV spot was aired on Wednesday night. Regular Gruen panelist Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson said on the program to its creators from Sydney agency Republic of Everyone, "It's the best ad The Greens have ever done. I'm sure you'll get a phone call". And they did.

Yesterday, we received the following 'pitch' through our editorial ideas submission form: "We are looking for a charismatic solo entrepreneur (or aspiring entrepreneur) to take part in an innovative documentary film project... available to travel overseas for up to two weeks sometime in the next couple of months." Sounds like fun.

While this election is unlikely to become Australia's first 'social media' election, it could be the first where citizen journalism trumps the traditional channels. In fact, these types of contributions are fast becoming the only interesting thing about the current election.

According to an article in The Australian: Fairfax Media should axe its Melbourne and Sydney daily print editions and focus on e-readers and online to boost earnings. Macquarie analyst Alex Pollak suggests Fairfax could get the ball rolling by spending about $50m to give away 100,000 e-readers to seed the migration of readers away from print.

Niles Toh thinks people need honest assessments -- unvarnished opinions from folks outside their trusted friends, from voices beyond your inner circle. That's why he cobbled together a website that aspires to give people what they need rather than what they want to hear.

Niles Toh thinks people need honest assessments -- unvarnished opinions from folks outside their trusted friends, from voices beyond your inner circle. That's why he cobbled together a website that aspires to give people what they need rather than what they want to hear.

Google Commerce Search lets online shoppers browse, navigate and search in the way they're used to with Google web search, with familiar features like spelling correction and search suggestions. The opportunity to tap into the Google magic comes with a price, of course; the cost of Commerce Search starts at $25,000 a year.

Some creative Australians have tossed a virtual soccer ball into the ever-expanding universe of iPhone apps. And that ball is enjoying a rather big bounce. The ball is the star of Upsies, an "augmented reality" game developed by Blind Mice Studios and Protein One.

Some creative Australians have tossed a virtual soccer ball into the ever-expanding universe of iPhone apps. And that ball is enjoying a rather big bounce. The ball is the star of Upsies, an "augmented reality" game developed by Blind Mice Studios and Protein One.

It's such a clever, funny and well written advertisement. But it always leaves me feeling strangely conflicted. It's extremely effective in its capacity to communicate a disruptive message. And its creators could almost be described as visionary, producing these insights well before the rise of the social web. But is it an effective tool for selling Search and Banner advertising?

At Anthill, we like to promote, encourage and sometimes even reward commercial creativity. But creativity doesn't always come in commercial form. So, occasionally, we like to relax the rules and make an exception. Because it's Friday (and Beer O'Clock is nigh), here's such an example that we simply couldn't overlook.

Take your standard fitness centre treadmill. Add water. Lots and lots of water. In unimaginative hands, the result would be a sloshy, slippery mess that only a bucket and mop could cure. But in the hands of the folk at HydroCo, based at Seaford in Victoria, wetness plus walking-in-place equals the Physio 1611, a compact aquatic centre that can go where an Olympic-size pool couldn't hope to fit.

Take your standard fitness centre treadmill. Add water. Lots and lots of water. In unimaginative hands, the result would be a sloshy, slippery mess that only a bucket and mop could cure. But in the hands of the folk at HydroCo, based at Seaford in Victoria, wetness plus walking-in-place equals the Physio 1611, a compact aquatic centre that can go where an Olympic-size pool couldn't hope to fit.

It's been an election dull enough to bore even the most Machiavellian of political pundits. With nothing much ado on the frontlines, the only option left for those in the commentary box is to... well... comment on the commentators. Fortunately, in the era of digital media, analysis has never been more interesting.

It's been an election dull enough to bore even the most Machiavellian of political pundits. With nothing much ado on the frontlines, the only option left for those in the commentary box is to... well... comment on the commentators. Fortunately, in the era of digital media, analysis has never been more interesting.

Authenticity and trust will be two of the key cornerstones for corporate reputations in this Era of Responsibility. This will come not only from your policies and public pronouncements, but from the actions and beliefs of your employees.

For beer consumers, I imagine this innovation might be an enormous boon (personally, I'm a quantity over quality type of guy). However, I suspect that the real commercial advantage drawn from the Beer Vault might not be its capacity to expand beer drinkers' palates and prevent wastage.

The IAB has announced the winners of its interactive advertising awards. Who came out on top? A mix of social media, video, games and movies, trumpeting the achievements of Lynx, Freddo, Tourism Victoria and Tooheys. Advertising has never been so cool.