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Federal Budget 09 brings hope for emerging companies, but time is still critical
Following on from his first report plotting the impact of the closure of Commercial Ready Grants on Australian innovation, Nick McNaughton provides his assessment of the 2009 Budget and looks specifically at the impact of the announcements relating to the improved R&D Tax Concession and the introduction of the Commonwealth Commercialisation Institute (CCI).
Website of the Week: Deck of Secrets on the iPhone
A few months back, Matthews teamed up with software developer Shaun Ervive to turn the Deck of Secrets guides into iPhone applications.
Is Twitter the start of Web 3.0?
The people at the pointy end of the internet pecking order are already talking about and planning the Semantic Web - or Web 3.0 - which is meant to help us make sense of all of this data.
So what is Web 3.0 and what does it have to do with Twitter? To explain, let's start back a few years...
The internet, laid out like a city subway map
Information Architects Inc. (iA) has released its fourth annual Web Trend Map, which maps the 333 leading Web domains and the 111 most influential Internet people onto the Tokyo Metro map.
Are these the first signs of The Great Recovery?
So how did 'The Great Recession' on Monday become "The Great Recovery' by Friday? Well it didn't, but in between the beginning and end of the week, we did have a remarkable run of good data to boost our spirits (such evidence is now better known as 'green shoots' after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used the term to describe a positive run of data showing signs of a possible recovery).
Investing in private companies: risk management tips for the minority investor
In today’s information highway, there is no shortage of advice on how to invest in the stock market, but very limited information on how to invest in private companies. The only way you can really get out of a private investment is when there is a liquidity event, such as a trade sale or IPO. This may take years, if it happens at all, so there are certain steps you should take prior to investing in your neighbour’s ‘exciting new venture that’s sure to go global’.
Tunnel Talk: Managing Hierarchies
Human beings are extremely sophisticated animals. But are we really that different from our tree-dwelling primate ancestors? With the global economy biting and organisations scrutinising their structures for inefficiencies, it’s worth considering the impact our biology has on leadership dynamics.
Website of the Week: Webby Award winners announced
The winning websites and digital campaigns in this year's Webby Awards - dubbed the "Oscars for the Internet" - were announced last night.
6 tips for raising private capital in Australia
Although there is much investment capital available in Australia, raising it can be a tough road for entrepreneurs, particularly for early-stage or start-up companies....
How to generate media attention for your startup
When aiming to generate media coverage for our start-up or business, we often get one thing wrong. It relates to our training as marketers. We are too targeted.
12 months on from Commercial Ready axing, Australian companies are hurting
Nearly 12 months after the Federal Government's surprise decision to axe the popular Commercial Ready Grant Scheme, Nick McNaughton embarked on a mission - to plot the impact of its closure on Australian innovation. In his first report, McNaughton heads to the coal-face, seeking feedback from those most affected by the cut - technology developers and members of the early-stage investment community.
What the newspaper industry needs to do to survive
Frankly, it sounds like newspapers are struggling to understand the opportunities and rules that govern the online world. There is a whole generation that has grown up with the concept of freemium economics. Try to charge them for something they have always had for free and you’ll lose them altogether. They need to remember that their main customers are advertisers.
Website(s) of the week: Students locked up until they built 6 web startups from...
The idea of locking a bunch of creative people in a room until they have hammered out a plan for a new business is not new. In fact, it's been done at Mixer events around the world for a number of years. But the concepts - which tends to engender a form of Stockholm Syndrome in entrepreneurs held hostage by market problems - always seems to churn out interesting formative business. They might not always go on to become the next Google, but the process illustrates the power of focused collaboration.
Setting up an advisory board
Advisory boards can provide small businesses with an invaluable resource and support structure, and it doesn't have to be a daunting or expensive task.
The...
Basejumpers use wingsuits to fly – just amazing
These basejumpers grew board of just jumping off cliffs, falling for a bit then popping a shoot. So they built sugar-glider wing suits and began to fly. That wasn't quite doing it for them, so they went to Norway and began flying close - really close - to cliffs and rocks... even roads.
6 Social Media mistakes other people make – and how to avoid them
Internet marketing is complex and it's becoming more so every day. You can't do everything, so it is essential that what you do is...
Website of the Week: Business Exchange
The real value in this new digital media landscape rests with networks and the ability to extract what is interesting and useful from the cacophony created online by pornographers, pontificators and penny-stock pushers. Last August, US business magazine BusinessWeek lifted the lid on Business Exchange, a social media initiative that it had been developing for two years.
Work and the “F” Word(s)
Last year I was enlightened by a friend about the 3 Fs of work - Fun, Fame or Fortune. This lady is a brilliant...
21 things to consider before carrying out redundancies
Most business owners stress out at the thought of redundancies. It is very important to find a middle ground (it will never be a perfect balance) between acting under the legal and commercial requirements and responding humanely to people's lives being affected so dramatically. Here are 21 things you must consider before carrying out redundancies.
Don’t overlook the value of referral marketing
What's the fastest way to generate new business without spending a fortune? How can you develop a targeted list of potential clients that have a need for your product or service? Do you need to improve your conversion of potential clients into new clients? It's time to think about referral marketing.