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"There has been a shift in spending with more consumers searching for meaningfulness from their purchases,” said Melbourne-based social researcher Jeff Gilling. Small businesses should take the time to get to know their costumers individually and ask for their feedback, they should investigate how they can contribute to their local communities and should develop incentives to encourage customers to return.

The latest AVG Digital Diary report studied technology use among young Australian children and found out that 51% of Aussie kids use social networks to keep in contact with each other and that they spend more time online than the global average. Yet most parents (58%) still aren’t fully aware of their children’s social networking practices.

According to Ernst & Young, there is no entrepreneur gene. However, many do possess certain characteristics that have proven vital to their success. For its report titled Nature or Nurture: Decoding the Entrepreneur, business advisory behemoth Ernst & Young surveyed 685 entrepreneurs from all over the world and interviewed winners of its Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Cisco’s annual Visual Networking Index (VNI) foresees that internet traffic in Australia will grow at a rate of 41% per year until 2015, which means that current internet traffic volumes will grow six fold over the course of the next four years. By 2015, 10% of global traffic and 18% of internet video traffic will be consumed by Web-enabled TVs. Average global traffic in 2015 will be equivalent to 200 million people streaming an HD movie at the same time all day.

The awards are open to all NSW companies that are doing business in the international marketplace. Award categories recognise the range of exports from the State and include small business, manufacturing, information and communications technology, services, and agribusiness.

According to the BSI, retail registered the biggest fall of all the industry sectors in April with a loss of 1.4%. The BSI, which tracks spending in the Australian market, indicated that sales fell in April across all sectors by 0.2%. Curiously, if one doesn’t take retail sales account, the BSI found that sales have risen by 0.3%, which is the highest rise since November 2009.

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has announced that NICTA will receive $1.42 million to fund GiFi, a high-speed gigabit wireless transmission technology. These funds will be granted to Nitero, a company created by NICTA researchers, which will further develop GiFi and put in the market.

As one of the pioneers of branded entertainment in China, Mr Zho has helmed several groundbreaking, high-profile projects including Wo Xing Wo Show, China’s first Pop Idol reality show produced in partnership with Universal Music Group and Shanghai Media Group, attracting more than 100,000 applicants countrywide and 100 million viewers each season. The show broke Dragon TV’s rating record and set a new standard for TV programming in China.

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.

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.

During a recent visit to the off-leash park my dog was being jostled either side by a couple of rouge, running hounds. Instead of carrying on, enduring the torment of being corralled by the hecklers, my dog stopped, stood tall, and let them go past. Then she changed course and reasserted herself. This has been the strategy of Intel, Hollywood and independent schools.

Nissan Casting Australia (NCAP), a company that manufactures casting and parts for the automotive industry, wins bid to develop components for Nissan’s LEAF electric car with the help of a series of cost-competitive casting technologies developed by CSIRO.

Being a member of Generation Y sure ain’t cheap. According to a new study by credit card big-wig American Express, Australians aged 18-24 have been priced out of owning assets that previous generations took as a given. Instead, they’re opting for the more wallet friendly renting, loaning and swapping.

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, has announced, together with Premier Lara Giddings, CSIRO’s CEO Dr Megan Clark and Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie, that the Tasmanian ICT Centre will receive a $50 million package over the next five years to help Tasmanian’s development of information and communications technologies.

Are you a really, really small business operating out of New South Wales? Specifically: small enough to fit everyone on your payroll inside of your Subaru Liberty, and still leave the front seats unoccupied? If you answered 'yes', then you are one of some 570,000 micro-businesses in NSW, and MicroBiz Week 2011 is your week.

Last year's Mother's Day gifts of showy bling and fancy perfume will likely give way to chocolates and bouquets. It's not that we love you any less, Mum. It's the economy, y'know.

According to “The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011” compiled by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD The Business School of the World , New Zealand and Australia are the two most fastest places in the world to start a new business.

Many of Australia's small- and medium-sized business are at risk of being eclipsed by larger competitors in digital marketing. Sensis and its Yellow Pages team of digital experts are embarking on a tour of Australia to help SMEs become more digitally savvy.

Travelex has issued a a word of caution to Australian importers and SMBs so they be careful with their purchasing practices in a moment when the $AUD is strong.

According to a new report from the ARC Centre for Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology, Australians spent $17 billion in the entertainment industry in 2009, with each Australian over fifteen years old spending an average $756. That ranks us fifth among the world’s biggest entertainment spenders, right behind the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and Germany.