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BP spills coffee. Obama bursts into song. Beer O'clock has obviously come early.

What's the difference between tragedy and comedy? According to Mel Brooks: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." For the rest of us, the difference is usually just a matter of timing. Is it too soon to start making fun of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (also referred to as the BP Oil Spill)? Well that, according to the folk at UCBComedy, depends entirely on who you are making fun of.

Does brokepacker.com deserve to be our website-of-the-week?

According to the brokepacker.com founder Kevin Lippy, backpackers are only interested in three things: "Beer, sex and cheap deals." And he should know. Last month, we quoted another of Kevin's 'off-the-cuff' remarks as a Tequila Shot when he described his recent achievement moving into a youth hostel as a form of career advancement. (Of course, his goal was to gain a better understanding of his audience.)

Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin's $500 startup in 7 days… 133 days later [VIDEO]

Frequent Anthill readers may recall Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin's blog series, How to build a startup in seven days and under $500. I caught up with Sebastien in Sydney last month and had a great time sampling fine coffee and sharing war-stories. Of course, I also had to ask that important question: What has happened to his 7-day startup in the past 133 days?

Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin’s $500 startup in 7 days… 133 days later [VIDEO]

Frequent Anthill readers may recall Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin's blog series, How to build a startup in seven days and under $500. I caught up with Sebastien in Sydney last month and had a great time sampling fine coffee and sharing war-stories. Of course, I also had to ask that important question: What has happened to his 7-day startup in the past 133 days?

Hey Baby-Boomers… We are sick of your ‘booming’. (Why young entrepreneur programs are NOT...

As a Master of Throwing Rocks, I understand why boomers might want to attack young entrepreneurship programs. But if these loud-mouths can forget about unfair for a moment (yes, it’s not nice losing your place as the centre of attention), they might learn why programs of this type are so important.

Hey Baby-Boomers… We are sick of your 'booming'. (Why young entrepreneur programs are NOT...

As a Master of Throwing Rocks, I understand why boomers might want to attack young entrepreneurship programs. But if these loud-mouths can forget about unfair for a moment (yes, it’s not nice losing your place as the centre of attention), they might learn why programs of this type are so important.

The problem with youth is that it’s wasted on the young (on young entrepreneurs,...

I have a problem with youth. Or to be more precise, I have a problem with society’s obsession around all things youth. Take for example, Anthill’s “30 under 30” initiative, designed to “encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians”. Why has this particular demographic been singled out for recognition?

Gerry Harvey talks about his retirement… not! [PODCAST]

Gerry Harvey, chief of Harvey Norman, is now in his 70s. In this rare interview with Gary Barker and Leon Gettler, he talks about the stupidity of people retiring at 65. He also shares insights on the future of Harvey Norman.

Podcast: Talking Business – The Australian economy in review (3 May 2010)

Today we're launching a new weekly podcast series by seasoned business journalists Leon Gettler and Gary Barker, produced in association with RMIT University.

Check out the new Twitter list of Anthill contributors

Anthill Magazine (in both its print and digital incarnations) has always had a rich and varied group of editorial contributors. In light of Twitter's newish lists feature - which allows users to compile and/or follow curated lists of Twitter users - we thought it was worth creating a list containing all of Anthill's regular contributors who are active on Twitter.

Australian iPad launch delayed one month

Early adopters frothing at the bit for the much anticipated iPad launch, will be forced to wait another month. Earlier this morning, we received a very brief email from Apple's Australian spokesperson on such matters, Fiona Martin. It read...

The most intelligent uses of Twitter accounts from around the world, in one place

Clever Accounts (@CleverAccounts) tweets about interesting and intelligent uses of Twitter from around the web. The feed is taken from Clever Accounts' Posterous blog, which carries the apt tagline: Twitterers that make you say, "Now I get it!"

What going home with a hooker taught me about my business

These nuggets of wisdom shared by a brothel worker are more useful than most pieces of business advice you’ll read in a book.

Website of the Week: What would you do for a Fiverr?

After learning of Fiverr's existence, I figured it was going to be jokey. And, indeed, there are some humorous "gigs" (see examples). However, Fiverr is a serious commercial site -- it's brimming with legitimate postings by service providers who are deadly serious about completing the jobs they offer (the site facilitates the transaction). It's quite remarkable how much work some people will do for US$5.

How Anthill turned a $900 blog into one of Australia's Top 50 Business &...

Like most would-be web-entrepreneurs, we discovered very early on that the 'Fields of Dreams' approach to web development is, unsurprisingly, flawed (i.e. 'if you build it, they will NOT come'). If building a profitable (or even sustainable) website were that easy, every web developer would be too busy swimming in their personal Jacuzzis of cash to apply their web-developing expertise to the many projects of small business owners and marketing professionals.

How Anthill turned a $900 blog into one of Australia’s Top 50 Business &...

Like most would-be web-entrepreneurs, we discovered very early on that the 'Fields of Dreams' approach to web development is, unsurprisingly, flawed (i.e. 'if you build it, they will NOT come'). If building a profitable (or even sustainable) website were that easy, every web developer would be too busy swimming in their personal Jacuzzis of cash to apply their web-developing expertise to the many projects of small business owners and marketing professionals.

Create your own Jackson Pollock-like artwork by simply tracking your mouse movement over time

You don't have to be a fragile artist to produce a masterpiece like this. Simply install IOGraph and get on with your normal computer business. After a while, open the software and save your visual tracking abstraction for others to admire.

How to win Coles Egg Racer game. Prepare for a beat-up!

The app is a rare example of an Aussie brand developing a promotion exclusively for iPhone users. I'm talking about the development of an actual application, rather than the increasingly passe trend of giving an iPhone away as a prize. Or, strangely, giving iPhone users free access to Twitter and making a big fuss about it.

This should hang on every entrepreneur's wall

From the wonderfully verdant mind of entrepreneurial illustrator Hugh MacLeod, author of Ignore Everybody (listed among Amazon's Top 10 Editor's Picks for Best Business Books 2009), comes this print worthy of hanging on any entrepreneur's wall.

This should hang on every entrepreneur’s wall

From the wonderfully verdant mind of entrepreneurial illustrator Hugh MacLeod, author of Ignore Everybody (listed among Amazon's Top 10 Editor's Picks for Best Business Books 2009), comes this print worthy of hanging on any entrepreneur's wall.
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New Zealand’s Xero eyes US IPO, further disruption as subscribers increase...

Xero recently held its annual meeting in Wellington, during which the company revealed some interesting details about its future. As has been widely suspected, the...

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