Blogs

This month, we have decided to explore the many facets of online marketing - from web development to the application of social media channels. For want of a better name, we’re calling this exercise Online Marketing Month. Over the next four weeks, we’ll be bringing you a range of opinions, articles and 'experiments' on this topic, culminating in an evening seminar and half-day workshop, to be held in collaboration with Design Victoria (aptly titled ‘Online Marketing by Design’).

Every now and then one of our LinkedIn Group members poses a question or starts a discussion that we'd like to present to the broader Anthill community. We, too, have been feeling something in the air. But are our antennae twitching prematurely?

Forget "Intel Inside". The world's biggest manufacturer of microprocessors has a new tagline: "Sponsors of Tomorrow". Intel's new three-year advertising campaign kicked off in May with the launch of a thoughtful new website, viral video ads and interactive display advertising in New York's Times Square and other branding hotspots around the globe.

When asked by Anthill whether we could share 'the secret to our success' -- how we had attracted over 4,000 Facebook 'Likes' -- the first thing I felt compelled to explain was the purpose and function of our organisation, beginning with its name: "Leadbolt" (pronounced LEED-BOLT). To the uninitiated, this may sound like a circular reference until one understands the true meaning and ethos behind the company.

Last week, Anthill was the victim of a theft. The loss was felt immediately, not simply due to its effect on morale but also because the loss involved some important documents and many human hours of productivity. Now, there are two things that we can do: (1) Sulk; or, (2) Devise a way to turn a positive into a negative.

Many companies will often lament the lack of funding in their sector, or the impossibly-strict development window they are supposed to slot...

December is a time when many people pause to contemplate how fulfilled they are in their current professional role and size up a potential move in the new year. A decisive and often overlooked factor in this consideration is company culture -- a magic ingredient for employers and employees alike. Persephone Nicholas reports.

From time to time, when I’m sitting in an airplane, I think about the movie “Up In the Air.” I’m not thinking about how the main character feels most comfortable when flying from place to place, or how he has the awful task of firing good people on the ground. No, I think of a certain scene where the lead, played by George Clooney, informs a person he’s just sacked that “anybody who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you are now.”

When we made our big announcement yesterday that Anthill Magazine had become a quarterly publication, we never expected to receive the flood of emails, SMS messages and phone calls of support. But we were intrigued to discover that we'd become a discussion topic among the chirperati on Twitter.

Because it's Friday (and Beer O'Clock is nigh), we thought it might be fun to assemble Anthill's Top 10 Most Brainless Consumer Products. We made it to five before our thirst became too great. So, we're delegating the remaining five to you!

When handed lemons, this is one organisation that clearly knows how to make lemonade (perhaps with a dash of rum, a sprinkling of mint and a Virgin branded miniature umbrella). This does make me wonder, as veterans of email direct marketing, could Virgin have known about this possible outcome? To make such a big faux pas on Friday the 13th was an awfully convenient.Could Virgin be pioneering a new technique - the strategic marketing mistake?

Assumptions – those nasty things that sit around in the back of your head and stop your thinking going anywhere interesting – are one of the biggest creativity killers in organisations of all sizes. Chances are, if you have a problem you are trying to crack, your assumptions or pre-conceived notions are boxing in your thinking. Set them free.

Everything on the public web gets indexed and cached by Google, so even when we delete something it is still publicly accessible. The crisp click you hear when you hit the Enter key and send personal information into the digital wild is the sound of you relinquishing complete control over that information.

Two weeks ago, David Moore commenced his expose into the secrets of computer maintenance -- rules that are carefully guarded or simply too embarrassing to share. This week, he continues with the uncomfortable truth about brands purchases and the concept of ‘free’.

With no employees or office space, Yaro Starak makes half a million dollars a year sitting in a café typing on his laptop. He represents a new breed of digital entrepreneurs, one of just a handful of people who make good money from professional blogging.

The travel category of apps is the premium space on the iPhone app store - the Paris end, if you will. Although the more pricey apps reside here, they might make the difference between a great or average trip, missing or catching a flight, so it’s worth considering forking out the coin.

I know myself well enough now to succumb to the rush of a new concept 'that has never been done before', before heading back to the here-and-now. I figure that this sort of activity, although no help to my current workload, is good for keeping my mind active, rather than feeling guilty about never being able to put these ideas into action.

In an effort to secure required development funds and a way forward, open source media software platform Miro today announced its revised business model: adopt a line of the software's code.

Earlier today, Google made one of its most useful online services, the Sydney-developed Google Maps, even more useful for Australian users by adding current traffic information to several cities.

Let's start with the bad news... Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or an ant hill) for the last six months, you will have...