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Worried that your industry might soon become obsolete? Here are five that survived (and...

Despite predictions of obsolescence, brought on by the world-wide-wide, some unexpected industries are not just surviving. They're thriving! Cinema screens did not go blank. Human resources agencies didn't get the axe. Travel agents were not sent on a long vacation. Department stores were not put on indefinite lay-by. And Postal services were not sent packing.

Australian women less confident in the economy than men. Could this hurt spending?

According to Michael Blythe, Commonwealth Bank Chief Economist, “The divergence between retail and non-retail spending trends, where women and men’s spending dominate respectively, correlates with the divide in gender sentiment. Department store sales, for example, where women are responsible for 59% of spending, is soft. And this softness is linked to the less positive sentiment of female consumers.”

Was removing the drudgery from laundry the greatest feat of the industrial revolution? [VIDEO]

What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? The automobile? The assembly line? The leaf blower? Wrong on all counts, says visionary Hans Rosling, who makes a compelling and personal argument for... wait for it... the washing machine. In this peppy presentation for TED, Rosling concludes that freeing his mother from the drudgery of hand-washing gave her time for things that improved, exponentially, the quality of life for her and her family. It's the holy grail of innovation.

If you’re feeling low this Friday, take inspiration from one gutsy penguin’s leap of...

This clip might seem frivolous (as if that's stopped us before), but the next time an entrepreneurial challenge appears to block your path, take inspiration from this penguin.

Global Hub network pops up in Melbourne. “Would you like a connection with that?”

There may be a conspicuous 'Me' in the word Melbourne, but a new global movement has taken root in the city's business district to encourage teamwork in dynamic spaces. Collaborative consumption is the name of the movement. You may have heard of it: The Financial Times has deemed it a “social revolution gaining momentum.” Hub Melbourne is its latest achievement.

Finding the moment where everything ‘clicks’ into place

So there I was, punching my pillow, questioning everything: why my life wasn’t working, why I my work life wasn't satisfying, why I felt directionless and why the universe was so cruel. Dad had recently passed away at the age of 52 from a brain tumour. I was just 23 years old and had my world thrown into complete chaos. I didn’t know who I was anymore, I was depressed and I was angry.

Look out, Times Square: Hacker can take control of your video screens

The young man in this video tickles our antennae here at Anthill Central. He has rigged up a transmitter to an iPhone4 that, in concert with a tiny repeater, will commandeer any video screen in the vicinity of the latter. But what really puts his hack over the top is the look of the gadgets. The bare circuit boards and paper-clip-like antennas are soooo MacGyver.

Spreets founder Dean McEvoy shares the art of romancing investors [VIDEO]

Dean McEvoy, founder of Spreets -- the subject one of the most jaw-dropping business acquisitions in recent Australian history -- shares his insights about raising money and wooing investors (two talents in which he appears to excel).

New Entrepreneur in Residence Program launched by AngelLoft in Sydney

Private Sydney-based angel group AngelLoft has launched an Entrepreneur in Residence Program to help grow new ventures and secure funding. In addition to place to a bunker-down and hang a shingle, participants score a seat at AngelLoft dinners, where they can shoot the breeze with the group’s high-powered business types.

Five ways to commercialise your intellectual property (and make the big bucks)

The first step to making big bucks from your IP is to obtain the appropriate protection. Once that’s done, it’s time to reap the rewards from your hard work and sheer brilliance. Should you licence your IP, start a franchise or assign it?

The iPad vs the Tablet PC vs the Notebook: Which one will come out...

With the release of the iPad 2 earlier this month, all signs indicate the tablet is here to stay. Yet some disenchanted users (and their sore fingers) are ditching tablets for the no-nonsense notebook. Stephan Lange assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each and predicts which models will fare the best with consumers.

How to run a global empire in your under-pants [Anthill’s First Ever Webinar]

You know the feeling. Yes, the fear is real. Would they still take you seriously if they knew the real size of your organisation? You might be a solopreneur or a 15 person upstart. You could be a medium enterprise well-practiced in the skill of looking bigger than you really are. If this sounds familiar, don't fret. You are not alone!

What ‘Dunbar’s number’ and ‘your weakest links’ can teach you about business.

As popularised in Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘The Tipping Point’, ‘Dunbar’s number’ is a theory suggesting each of us can only maintain stable relationships with a maximum of 150 other people (i.e. meaningful contact once a year minimum) at any one time. What’s more, the theory is now backed up by Facebook. The social networking juggernaut reports the average user has 130 friends, which slots nicely into Dunbar’s average range of 100-150 meaningful relationships per person.

Here’s video proof that Anthill is the perfect name for this website

For those who wonder why we chose Anthill as the name of this humble endeavor glowing on your screen, we offer this video, in which researchers create a 3D blueprint of a huge colony of ants. Take a look. It's rather stunning. And the results speak for themselves.

Why your press releases are treated like spam [Five ways to alienate a journalist]

Having run free PR and media leads service SourceBottle for just over a 18 months, I’ve gathered some rare insights into the minds of journalists and what will lead to a figurative black mark against your name. The average journalist will receive from 20 to 200 PR news releases per day. And, as a result, most are treated like spam. Are your media releases the PR equivalent to penis enlargement emails and Nigerian scams?

The 17th AIMIA Award Winners

The 17th AIMIA Awards have distinguished several projects and companies in the interactive media industry and as awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award to Oliver Weidlich.

Freelancer’s Matt Barrie defends online crowdsourcing

In this podcast, Leon and Garry talk to Matt Barrie, the CEO of Freelancer.com, a Sydney-based company and recent Anthill Cool Company Award winner. Freelancer bills itself as "the world's largest outsourcing marketplace" with over two million registered users. Barrie explains the keys behind the success of the website and the appeal of online outsourcing in a globalised economy.

New website encourages Australians to look death squarely in the eye

A new Australian website called WrappingUp.com applies social networking and information-portal tools to that one great certainty in our lives -- death. The site encourage people to be pro-active about managing end-of-life affairs.

Talking Business podcast. Commonwealth Bank: free money for all!

In the latest edition of Talking Business, Leon and Garry have a natter about Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s push to turn the prospective carbon price into an election issue. According to the chaps: “The horse trading’s begun already.”

Got capital? Markets about to tighten. So start planning now.

Everyone’s aware that obtaining capital is a tougher task now than it was before the 2008 global financial meltdown. While there are constant murmurs about the markets bouncing back and lines of credit being freed up, those at the coalface will vouch that it remains tricky out there.
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