Commercial creativity from around the globe.
CREATIVE ESPRESSO By Stephen Sammartino ************* ANT BYTES Something in the air The irrepressible imagination of regular Anthill contributor and rentoid.com founder Steve Sammartino has borne yet more fruit. Following on from his “Rentoid Rapper” effort last year – breakdancing in the street, pocketing $63 in tips and posting the video on YouTube to promote…
CREATIVE ESPRESSO By Stephen Sammartino Click to image enlarge ************* ANT BYTES Scouta hits the tube Richard Giles, CEO, Scouta Remember Scouta, the Perth-based intuitive online video and podcast recommendation service we covered in back in Issue 21 (“Scout’s Honour”)? Well founders Richard Giles and Graeme Sutherland and the team have been pushing along nicely…
CREATIVE ESPRESSO By Stephen Sammartino Click image to enlarge. ************* ANT BYTES Facebook costing Australia $5b There was a time when, if someone was huddled over a computer at work, they were, in all probability, hard at work. But recent research suggests that sweat could be being shed in the cause of tracking down ex-partners…
QUOTE "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." — Napoleon Bonaparte ************* CREATIVE ESPRESSO By Stephen Sammartino Click image enlarge. ************* MY BIG IDEA Tania de Jong In this Year of the Idea, we are asking a series of successful…
BACK-ISSUE BULL-ANTS Web 2.0 pay day You might remember our coverage in issue 19 (Dec’06/Jan’07) of Australian web entrepreneurs Nick McNaughton and Yorke Hinds, whose slick email marketing application for blogs, Zookoda, was up for sale. In April, Zookoda was acquired by US marketing company PayPerPost for an undisclosed sum (although McNaughton has…
Contents: HOW TO PREVENT YOUR COMPETITION FROM SPYING ON YOU AUSSIE BUBBLES ENVELOP BEIJING DIY BOOK PUBLISHING TAKES OFF MY BIG IDEA ANT BYTES HOW TO PREVENT YOUR COMPETITION FROM SPYING ON YOU Anthill issue 20 (Feb/Mar) had been on the news…
INTRODUCING THE LATEST CRIME-FIGHTING SUPERHERO: ONLINE VIDEO The rise of YouTube and other online video sites has provided police and crime victims with a powerful tool in an effort to capture criminals. In December, a Brazilian man on business in Germany received a mobile phone alert from the security firm that monitors his Sao Paulo…
Wake up, gents. ‘Lift and separate’ is no longer just for the ladies. Sydney-based business, aussieBum, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of men’s underwear, swimwear and leisurewear, has launched its latest product offering – the Wonderjock. The Wonderjock was designed by aussieBum co-founders Sean Ashby and Guyom Holland to make men look bigger without the…
ANT BYTES
If you’ve ever received an invitation to a wedding being held interstate or overseas, you’ll know that sharing the love can be expensive and time consuming. But with technology doing more and more of our leg work these days, more palatable options were bound to emerge.
It was an outrage. In March, celebrity US blogger Arrianna Huffington caused a squall of controversy when she cobbled together quotes criticising the Iraq war from various articles and interviews with George Clooney, gained approval from Clooney’s publicist and ran the post on thehuffingtonpost.com under Clooney’s name, with a few of her own words tossed in for good measure. It was perceived as an assault on the central tenets of journalistic professionalism and drew fire from many quarters (leading to her qualified apology when the great man arced up). But The Huffington Post is a blog, not a newspaper of record, and Ms Huffington had as many defenders as accusers during the affair.
It was an outrage. In March, celebrity US blogger Arrianna Huffington caused a squall of controversy when she cobbled together quotes criticising the Iraq war from various articles and interviews with George Clooney, gained approval from Clooney’s publicist and ran the post on thehuffingtonpost.com under Clooney’s name, with a few of her own words tossed in for good measure. It was perceived as an assault on the central tenets of journalistic professionalism and drew fire from many quarters (leading to her qualified apology when the great man arced up). But The Huffington Post is a blog, not a newspaper of record, and Ms Huffington had as many defenders as accusers during the affair.
Reminiscent of the Simpsons episode where Homer has a $1 billion note until it is stolen by Fidel Castro, US Federal authorities have seized 250 bogus $1 billion notes in a Los Angeles raid. The notes, which bore the portrait of President Grover Cleveland, were believed to be modelled on actual $1,000 notes from the 1930s. Rumour has it that the notes will be used to relaunch the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The boots might be warm and fuzzy, but the term “Ugg/Ugh” sends chills down the spines of many Australian retailers. For decades, “Ugg/Ugh” remained off the Australian Register of Trademarks, largely because it was considered by manufacturers and retailers to be a generic term in Australia. Then US giant Deckers Outdoor Corporation registered “Ugg” (and its derivatives) as an Australian trade mark and, like all diligent patent and trade mark holders, began mailing cease and desist notices to Australian retailers selling boots under the name(s).
ALMOST FAMOUS While most people, at some stage in their life, indulge in the surreptitious daydream of one day being awarded a Nobel Prize, very few make it onto that prestigious stage. For those possessing the necessary fervour to make things happen, but whose genius is a little misguided, there are the ‘Ig Nobel’ prizes….
We’re all aware that small companies can be more nimble and innovative than bigger ones. But being innovative will do you no good in the long run if your company is a one-trick pony. History is littered with examples of small companies that have pioneered the way forward for new technologies or business practices, only…
Bill Delves is a partner with Ernst & Young and head of the firms Emerging Growth Markets Group. He is also national leader of Ernst &Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year program. Ernst & Young recently released its Enterpriser Report, which surveyed more than 400 entrepreneurs in the UK. Does it contain any outcomes that would…
“Genghis Khan started with a tribe of seventeen people, including his mother. He conquered everything. It seems to me you don’t need much in life other than enthusiasm and your mum.” Stuart Wilde – author, The Secrets of Life QUICK QUESTIONS: ‘John Fernandes’ John Fernandes is the Director of International Business Development at Microsoft Corporation,…
“Traditionally, most of Australia’s imports come from overseas.” Former Australian Cabinet Minister, Keppel Enderbery Bulls, Bears, Beers and Cheers Watermark, a bar located in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct, is giving power to the people by placing the price of drinks at the mercy of the thirsty. Every Thursday night, the barSTOCK Exchange turns drinkers into traders….
BACK-ISSUE BULL-ANTS Glass of steel If you’ve been with Australian Anthill since issue #1 (Sep/Oct 2003), you might remember one of the first herd of bull-ants we featured. Australian company Stop Shot International (SSI) had developed an astonishingly effective form of bullet-proof glass that was attracting great interest from defence and security organisations around the…
End of content
End of content
GET THIS AMAZEBALLS THING!
Click the button to get it now
