Anthill Magazine

There are good reasons to watch this clip of film critic and cancer survivor Robert Ebert's presentation earlier this year at the TED conference in California. It's inspirational. It proves we live in interesting times. But it also provides perspective. So, you think you've had a tough week, eh?

Seen from a distance, this video is just three inhumanly rich guys sitting in comfy chairs and chatting for an hour about philanthropy, luck and comfort zones. But then you move in and focus on the players. And ... wow. Warren Buffet. Jay-Z. Interviewer Steve Forbes. Watch and learn.

Orvar writes for numerous newspapers and magazines, lectures on popular culture and games, and has led a seminar on game culture in Swedish parliament. He is also the producer of video game music concerts, currently holding the world attendance record for a game concert (17,000 at Joystick in 2006). Säfström has a background in film, having twice been voted "Best Swedish film critic of all time" by the readers of leading national newspaper Aftonbladet. From 2003 to 2006, he co-hosted Filmkrönikan on the Swedish television network SVT.

Can you tell when someone is reading from a script? While many organisations understand and appreciate the importance of a sales script, a clumsily-worded pitch teamed with awkward delivery is unlikely to inspire confidence in your business. Similarly, a salesperson who’s unable to think on their feet when the prospect strays off-script makes your brand look amateurish.

We contend that imaginative commercials may come and go, but catchy jingles are forever. Sure, we recognise the Energiser Bunny and the Qantas koala. They're memorable. But not can't-get-it-out-of-your-head memorable. And now, will a possible ditty for 99Designs join them?

A few select iiNet customers in New South Wales have become the first in mainland Australia to connect to the NBN, in what the Labor Government and ISPs alike hope is a sign of good news to come. After reports of successful connections from residents in the city of Armidale, NSW in April, iiNet made its NBN launch official this past week at a ceremony showcasing the benefits of superfast download speeds. Let the rollout begin!

Every business wants to get more done in less time, right? Even the smallest of businesses can benefit from a dedicated server. It offers greater security and tees up your tech so you’re ready and raring for that big ol' growth spurt that’s just around the corner. And, as luck would have it, a server based on an Intel Xeon processor provides an intelligent solution to today’s business IT challenges… What are the chances, eh?

When any organisation or industry grows rapidly, as many of the group buying companies have already done (Spreets acquired over 500,000 email addresses from a nation of 20 million in less than 10 months), it's hard not to wonder whether the growth is sustainable. Naturally, every market has a ceiling. Doesn't it? Perhaps not.

For those of you who know what a delicious temptation procrastination can be, we offer this amusing and information clip from Charlie McDonnell, a young Londoner who YouTube pays to make videos (Really!). Watch it. Now.

Hackers' security breach of Sony's PlayStation network ranks among one of the worst online attacks in history, according to Australia-based ComparisonFinder, which put together a timeline of the hack that cost Sony about $1.25 billion. Check out this awesome infographic.

Australia's most innovative mothers will be getting a break from their demanding workplace and household duties when they are honoured at the 2011 AusMumpreneur Awards, which will be presented at a gala event at Mercure Sydney on Saturday 27 August. Award nominations are being accepted until Friday 17 June.

Major media has reported an “alarming” 22% decline in the number of Australian students studying Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean from kindergarten to year 12 between 2000 and 2008. And when the Australian Industry Group surveyed 380 business organisations, it found that most CEOs neither speak nor understand any Asian languages, and have minimal experience in the region, yet more than half of those surveyed planned to expand into Asia in the future.

According to the latest BizExchange Index, the volume of businesses for sale is expected to increase in the future as many business owners seek retirement. However, younger generations seem unable to come to the party, already heavily in debt and are unable to access their superannuation.

Would you buy a car without researching it first? Nopes, us neither. How about a house? Ditto.

Carolyn Creswell, the CEO of Carmen's Muesli recently opened a 7:30 am breakfast meeting by saying, “When the alarm went off this morning, I thought this breakfast seminar better be good. And then I thought: Shit I better be good!” The audience laughed and connected with her straight away. Carolyn had her audience at hello.

In about a month, on 15 June, Google will push its Internet-based kingdom into a new realm. The big question is: Will users follow? The product is called Chromebook, and it will be the first device to run Chrome OS, the operating system based largely on Google's Chrome browser. Notice that we've not used the word "computer" in describing the Chromebook. And that's because it's something... different. It will run no software. Everything you see and do on a Chromebook will be pulled down from the cloud. Everything.

Good parody is hilariously true. This send-up of online entrepreneurship, courtesy of CollegeHumor.com, hits all the right notes about the worst aspects of Internet-based start-ups. So, carve out a couple minutes of your hectic day, watch this video and marvel at how many times you've heard something like this in real life.

A well thought out sales promotion is an integral part of an overall marketing strategy. While the ‘spray and pray’ approach may tempt time-strapped business-types, it’s the highly-targeted campaign that will see you achieve the Holy Grail of promotions: high conversions.

For many sales and marketing professionals, customer complaints are one of their biggest bugbears. While it’s never nice to be on the receiving end of aggro, most of the time it can be diffused (or avoided altogether) if the relationship is handled properly from the outset.

Boy howdy, the Reserve Bank of Australia gave us a righteous scare, didn't it? All that hullabaloo about creeping inflation and the threat of rising interest rates. We were this close to expanding Beer O'Clock to three days a week. Plus holidays.