Marketing & Media

Companies can no longer hide behind the “official company line” or rely simply on media spend to influence the public’s thinking on any given subject. Take the recent tempest caused by on-air remarks made by conservative US television commentator Glenn Back when he called Obama “a racist”. Ignore social network-driven campaigns at your peril.

Marketing and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. How else does one convince an investor to back a product that doesn't exist yet? The new documentary film 'Art and Copy', by Doug Pray examines advertising, creativity and inspiration and how effective and accurate pitching can sell just about anything.

Marketing and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. How else does one convince an investor to back a product that doesn't exist yet? The new documentary film 'Art and Copy', by Doug Pray examines advertising, creativity and inspiration and how effective and accurate pitching can sell just about anything.

Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox and many other networks and studios. It topped Fast Company's Top 100 Innovators list for 2009, beating both Google and GE. It is a rival to YouTube (offering full episodes, rather than 10 minute teasers), threatens Apple's strategy for renting and selling video content online (as a logical extension of iTunes) and in April signed a deal with Disney that sent shivers down the spines of television and studio executives the world over (those execs with spines, anyway).

Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox and many other networks and studios. It topped Fast Company's Top 100 Innovators list for 2009, beating both Google and GE. It is a rival to YouTube (offering full episodes, rather than 10 minute teasers), threatens Apple's strategy for renting and selling video content online (as a logical extension of iTunes) and in April signed a deal with Disney that sent shivers down the spines of television and studio executives the world over (those execs with spines, anyway).

ThinnerView.com doesn't promise to deliver you six-pack abs while you munch crisps on the couch watching trashy telly. It doesn't even promise to get you off the couch and into a gym. It invites you to upload a photo of your current self, then digital artists shave off the amount of kilos you wish to shed (2-50kgs) and you are sent the altered image - the thinner view of you - to pin on the wall and remind you of how much better you could look (fatty).

ThinnerView.com doesn't promise to deliver you six-pack abs while you munch crisps on the couch watching trashy telly. It doesn't even promise to get you off the couch and into a gym. It invites you to upload a photo of your current self, then digital artists shave off the amount of kilos you wish to shed (2-50kgs) and you are sent the altered image - the thinner view of you - to pin on the wall and remind you of how much better you could look (fatty).

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!

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!

Hanging around Bell's neck wherever he goes is a device called a SenseCam, which takes pictures of whatever is in front of him at predefined intervals (generally within a few minutes) or when the sensor detects a change of light, signalling a change in environment. The pictures are stored on a server along with constant audio, some video and the rest of Bell's "life".

Good advertising should generate the same kind of buzz inside you as when your Dad used to arrive home from work. Mum knew everything you needed; Dad had just what you wanted. Like the keys to the car, or $15 for the movie ticket, or the magical ability to build a go-cart out of the washing basket and wheels off the lawn mower.

The typical Australian YouTube user could just as easily be your grandmother as your brooding teenage son, according to the results of the first ever comprehensive study into how Australians use the popular online video site.

The typical Australian YouTube user could just as easily be your grandmother as your brooding teenage son, according to the results of the first ever comprehensive study into how Australians use the popular online video site.

It looks like this recession-that-wasn’t-actually-a-recession is coming to an end. As a business owner, you are right to be proud to have survived a frightening 18 months, when so many others have gone to the wall. But beware. It is not a given that survival in the downturn will equate to success and riches in the upturn. Indeed, there is a strong risk that recession conditions have deceived you about the general health of your organisation.

Have you banned Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter in the workplace or are you actively encouraging staff to participate in online conversations?

There is a popular blog post currently doing the rounds - a list of 25 Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs. It provides a brief description of 25 tools (including some familiar ones, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) but with very little analysis or commentary on each. Committing to any new social networking tool is time consuming. So, I figured it might be helpful to test each out and share my views on which are useful and which... quite simply... suck (i.e. are ugly, awkward and generally suck time from your day with very little return).

There is a popular blog post currently doing the rounds - a list of 25 Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs. It provides a brief description of 25 tools (including some familiar ones, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) but with very little analysis or commentary on each. Committing to any new social networking tool is time consuming. So, I figured it might be helpful to test each out and share my views on which are useful and which... quite simply... suck (i.e. are ugly, awkward and generally suck time from your day with very little return).

Michael Keaton, General Manager Lego Australia & New Zealand, is taking a stand. He estimates a typical office worker could save around eight working days each year by cutting the number of emails they send and receive by 20 percent, writes Persephone Nicholas.

Pollenizer's Mick Liubinskas, Anthill's man on the ground at this week's TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco, has been wandering around with his trusty video camera hunting down Aussie startup entrepreneurs to interview for you. In this first video, he interviews Green Lane Digital, the team behind iPitch, an online platform matching companies and investors. Below, Liubinskas catches up with another regular contributor, spellr.us founder Kevin Garber.

Pollenizer's Mick Liubinskas, Anthill's man on the ground at this week's TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco, has been wandering around with his trusty video camera hunting down Aussie startup entrepreneurs to interview for you. In this first video, he interviews Green Lane Digital, the team behind iPitch, an online platform matching companies and investors. Below, Liubinskas catches up with another regular contributor, spellr.us founder Kevin Garber.