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News, opinions and advice on technology development and the state of innovation.

SMEs dumping Internet in the face of economic slump

The Business Monitor, which surveyed 1,004 SME operators, found online business activity such as online transactions, email marketing and social media to be in decline. Less than a quarter (24%) used search engines to promote their business, down from nearly one-third (31%) in March. Social media activity on Facebook, YouTube and Google+ fell three percentage points to 15% and professional networking on LinkedIn fell six percentage points to 13%

In our mobile age B2C and B2B simply cannot afford to forget about apps

At one point in time, it was more cost effective to develop a mobile version or mobile-friendly site and call it a day. That...

Two tech innovators have partnered to help Australians get better doctors and dentists

HealthcareLink.com.au, Australia’s first and leading online jobs platform for the healthcare and medical industry recently partnered with HealthEngine, Australia’s largest online booking system and...

Incubator Blue Chilli gets in on (rich) mobile apps

“We recognised that Blue Chilli could take our value proposition, extend it to other vertical sectors and cement it as a loyalty and marketing platform through the team’s technology expertise,” said Vividways founder Paul Williams, who will continue to work with Blue Chilli. “We look forward to the journey ahead.”

Wanted: Australia’s greatest innovators

Sydney University’s Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering is on the hunt again for Australia’s greatest innovators. Nominations are being sort for the Innovation Heroes Award, which the Warren Centre bestows each year on innovators who have created successful products or services from brilliant engineering ideas or inventions.

What Canberra needs are champions and cheerleaders (and can you stop that bashing, please?)

Stop this Canberra bashing, will you? It’s not merely the home of politics. And, you Canberrans, it’s time you began to take a little...

Dropping the ball: Only one in five Australian small businesses is digitally engaged

Tech start-up Netstripes has found that only 22 per cent of Australian businesses are digitally engaged and using technology to grow their business

This rugby league player turned PhD is the man behind the biggest websites you...

Enter Dr Ian Birkby, a former professional first grade rugby league player turned science PhD whose Sydney-based website network is whipping up a storm...

This AI-powered national security startup has secured $4 million in funding for global expansion

Fivecast, a leading open-source data analytics company has secured a $4 million investment round from Main Sequence Ventures’ CSIRO Innovation Fund and...

Computing with a wink of the eye! Microsoft, University of Melbourne to collaborate on...

Microsoft’s new $8 million centre at the university will develop ways to help humans use computers in natural, intuitive ways – with a variety of facial expressions, perhaps, building on recent successes with motion sensors, touchscreens and voice commands.

Most Australian small businesses say ‘no’ to internet

A solid majority of Australian SMEs don't use email, a web site or any other aspect of the Internet, a recent research report has found. Talk about missed opportunities -- that same report notes that the average Australian now spends nearly 18 hours a week online.

Stackla raises $2 million to be the ultimate social media guru

Social media is one massive jungle, and most companies struggle to keep up with it all. Well, Australian company Stackla has been helping hundreds...

Big brands in search of a Second Life

Newsflash! Virtual Reality has arrived. If you think it's still the domain of pasty-faced geeks in bulky black goggles slaying digital dragons or bedding impossibly voluptuous sprites, brace yourself.

What will it take to get innovation back on track?

“Open innovation” isn't a term you associate with Australia. We don't even fund it anymore. When we used to, it was called Innovation Exchange. But it collapsed. Listening to accomplished speakers highlighting this point at the recent Innovation Series event at Langham Hotel, I asked myself: “Why?”

Report: Australia well positioned to ride out economic crisis

While global economic conditions are likely to remain shaky in the short-term, Australia looks set to ride out the crisis better than most other developed nations, according to Dun & Bradstreet's quarterly Global Economic & Risk Outlook Report released today.

Interactive playground, green vacuum cleaner and even a new Golden Circle Chilled Juice Bottle....

It's often said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. For commercial designers, beauty usually lies in the eye of the consumer. At the Australian International Design Awards -- Australia’s design 'Oscars', if you will -- top companies and designers showed off their form, functionality and distinct styles, last month, in everyday products as much as scientific devices and even heavy machinery.

Australian tech team helps companies worldwide switch to digital during COVID-19

Liberate learning developed software that helped businesses like Coles and NAB keep over 150,000 staff up and down the country safe while working from home or at the workplace. The people behind the technology could see the widespread benefit of the application and went a step further.

Small businesses that use Facebook and Twitter enjoy higher online revenues, survey finds

Australian small businesses that use social media as part of their online business strategy are more likely to achieve greater revenue returns from their websites than those that don't, according to a new research report launched by Melbourne IT. The results also found mobile applications on the rise and confusion around cloud computing.

Online Marketing by Design (Seminar)

Success in online marketing requires excellence in two areas – an understanding of the ‘purpose’ and ‘personality’ of any given project. ‘Online Marketing by Design’ will draw on the experiences of real business owners and creative professionals to determine what constitutes well designed and commercially effective online marketing.

Jack Matthews on the future of Fairfax Digital [PODCAST]

As CEO of Fairfax Digital, the online arm of Fairfax Media, Jack Matthews has been steering the Australian news giant since 2006 (when internet journalism was still an afterthought for most publishing houses). Matthews says in the interview that while advertising still drives of the bulk of Fairfax's revenues, he is aware that media companies are experimenting with the sales of good and services.
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New Zealand’s Xero eyes US IPO, further disruption as subscribers increase...

Xero recently held its annual meeting in Wellington, during which the company revealed some interesting details about its future. As has been widely suspected, the...

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