Anthill Magazine

With help from an Australian telescope, an international team of scientists extracted data from a quirky little quasar and concluded that cosmic dinosaurs called radio galaxies were far more powerful than originally thought. These mega-black holes sent out radio-emitting jets that transmitted energy to gas that formed the raw material for the creation of stars. Freakin' cool, yeah?

How easy is it to do business in Australia? Apparently, it's easier than doing it in Germany, Japan and Portugal. And it's a damn sight easier than in Argentina or the Solomon Islands. That's the assessment by The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation in their latest rankings of the world's economies. On the other hand, Australia crawled in at 63rd for "dealing with construction permits" and 59th for "protecting investors". Ouch!

With this sister-site almost live, we're now seeking progressive companies to partner with. Would you like Anthill to sell your products and services using this new sales model?

The establishment of an NBN, as currently proposed, creates a legitimate concern: will Australia supplant one great big monopoly with another great big monopoly? If the controlling body of the NBN displays monopolistic tendencies in pricing and management (which it may have to do given the proposed level of investment), then what benefits will we really be creating?

Microsoft Australia is giving away a $25,000 wedding and honeymoon package. The catch -- the groom has to plan the wedding in five days using a PC packed with Microsoft products. And yes, Microsoft Australia sent an application to the bluebloods in Windsor. No word on whether William has applied.

We all now understand that the past decade has let consumers build a 'social layer' on top of their everyday lives, using services such as Facebook and Twitter to capture their social lives on the web. In this clip from TEDxBoston, proud Princeton "dropout" and mobile-entrepreneur Seth Priebatsch considers the next layer in progress: the "game layer" (a pervasive set of motivating 'dynamics' that will reshape education and commerce).

The recent problems experienced by one of Australia's top four banks shows just how much people rely on their money 'being there' when they want it. This problem could have occurred at any of the financial institutions (and will surely happen again). So, how do you protect yourself from banking blunders like this?

I have lost count of the number of times my friends, colleagues, and business partners have made the statement, “Facebook is personal. It is not for B2B! Try LinkedIn.” I understand their sentiment. Since its inception, Facebook has always been an intimate space reserved for friends and family, or very close professional associates. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In this week’s Talking Business Analysis, RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about wages growth and the differential between male and female wages. He observes a sizable gender gap still exists in Australia and looks at some reasons that explain this disparity.

If you're wondering about the future of the internet but want more than the glib, usually poorly researched (albeit visually spectacular) YouTube memes that surface every six months, prepare to be impressed. In 20 minutes, Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker outlines the 10 most influential internet trends likely to influence the way we create, consume and exploit digital media in 2011.

This week’s Talking Business guest is the distinguished businessman and nuclear physicist, Dr. Ziggy Switkowski. He talks with Leon and Garry about his agenda as the incoming Chancellor of RMIT University, and explains why, in light of climate change, nuclear power is the most reliable energy source for Australia’s future.

A zoologist-turned-primary teacher who worked to bring real science experiments back into the classroom has received one of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science. Dr. Matthew McCloskey is the director of studies at Sydney Grammar's Edgecliff Preparatory School. Through his efforts, students in kindergarten through Year Six are taught hands-on science at least once a week.

A Victoria university is in its second year of a digital learning program that is replacing whiteboards with PC tablets. The system, called myLearningSpace, combines the tablets with an in-house-developed software that allows students to connect to instructors and to one another. The students import content, share a virtual whiteboard, collaborate online and pick up lessons where they left off at any time.

There are already countless videos on the Interwebs that present side-by-side comparisons of the most popular smart-phones. You know -- which has the fastest browser, the brightest screen, the quickest boot-up. This is not one of those videos. All we can say to the person who put this video together is, "Dude, we wish we had that kind of money to burn."

If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you will remember the demented antics of the bedeviling Kramer with his catch phrase, “Giddyup!” (as in, quicken the pace, quit hesitating and dare yourself to put all that you have into it). In today’s marketing world, marketers have more incentive than ever to dare themselves. It's called inbound marketing.

Everywhere this week, companies have been taking advantage of a red-hot Australian dollar to engage in mergers and acquisitions. Leon and Garry talk about AMP and France's AXA SA bidding on AXA Asia Pacific, Brambles buying the Dutch IFCO Systems, OneSteel buying business from AngloAmerican, and more, plus all the latest news in this Talking Business podcast.

They narrowly missed out on a place in the Top 5 but are still hot in our books. Introducing Anthill’s 2010 5over50 Honourable Mentions.

You’ll hear plenty of SEO specialists and your friendly neighbourhood search engine hobbyists touting the phrase, “Write for people, not search engines”. What a load of crock. What’s the point of writing for visitors if you have none?

After unveiling the iPogo 300, we at Stately Anthill Manor can only hope Sesame Street will attempt a send-up of the "Really?" campaign for the new Windows Phone 7. Or those Droid spots in which humans get all fuzzy inside over turning into machines. Yeah, those campaigns need an unhealthy dose of Elmo.

The National Broadband Network has been heralded as a groundbreaking advance but has also raised concerns that it will create just another monopoly. In this first of two parts, Tony Simmons argues that the NBN can at last bring to Australian telecommunications a genuine opportunity for competition and growth... provided we learn from past.