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Observations and questionable insights from Anthill’s Editors by James Tuckerman and Paul Ryan.

Could SME business owners soon become the new media barons?

After reading Matthew De Silva's post yesteday on last month’s Media 2010 conference, I spent the evening thinking about the challenges facing old media. As I pondered, I was struck by a radical (yet logical) series of thoughts, leading to the following question. Could small business owners soon become the new media barons? Let me explain.

A formal response to our rabble rousing from Senator Carr’s office

Following our recent series of articles on innovation in Australia (our Australia Day series), we received the following note from the Office of Senator Kim Carr, Australia’s Innovation Minister. We were expecting a dressing down. Here's what we got instead.

A formal response to our rabble rousing from Senator Carr's office

Following our recent series of articles on innovation in Australia (our Australia Day series), we received the following note from the Office of Senator Kim Carr, Australia’s Innovation Minister. We were expecting a dressing down. Here's what we got instead.

Why we’re STILL embarrassed about our new site (and STILL proud of it)

The site might not be the polished pearl just yet and some of the links might initially seem underpopulated. But don't bother asking, "When will the site be finished?" Because the simple answer is, "Never!" Instead, keep the suggestions coming in. If you find a dead link or something just plain weird, let us know.

Why we're STILL embarrassed about our new site (and STILL proud of it)

The site might not be the polished pearl just yet and some of the links might initially seem underpopulated. But don't bother asking, "When will the site be finished?" Because the simple answer is, "Never!" Instead, keep the suggestions coming in. If you find a dead link or something just plain weird, let us know.

Would you like to be CEO of Commercialisation Australia?

Our 'secret-squirrels' have revealed to Anthill that the seven board positions, appointed to analyse and approve Commercialisation Australia funding applications, have been filled and that an announcement is imminent. No-one knows who will be among this 'magnicifent seven' other than those appointed or involved in the decision. In fact, it is a complete mystery to external observers how these important functionaries were selected. Was there some sort of process behind closed doors? Were they vetted? Were the decisions political? Or vaguely political, chosen in the same fashion as a US High Court Judge, to perform the role yet still be 'on-side' with the powers that be?

The proposed Australian R&D tax reforms… Do they walk the talk?

Inconsistency is what most influences an organisation's decision to invest in R&D and the extent of its R&D investment. This is because a company cannot budget and minimise risk if it does now know the extent to which it is likely to be eligible for a tax concession. The proposed reforms to the R&D tax concession not only conflict with their stated purpose but offer no consistency to organisations already engaged in the complex task of commercialising innovation... whether novel or risky.

The proposed Australian R&D tax reforms… Do they walk the talk?

Inconsistency is what most influences an organisation's decision to invest in R&D and the extent of its R&D investment. This is because a company cannot budget and minimise risk if it does now know the extent to which it is likely to be eligible for a tax concession. The proposed reforms to the R&D tax concession not only conflict with their stated purpose but offer no consistency to organisations already engaged in the complex task of commercialising innovation... whether novel or risky.

Debate rages at Mumbrella/Anthill Online Marketing by Design in Sydney last night — #mumhill...

There were plenty of great insights and conversations shared about marketing and social media at last nights Online Marketing By Design event held at the Shelbourne Hotel in Sydney, co-hosted by Mumbrella and Anthill Magazine.

Can Australia really claim to be a nation of innovators?

Is innovation a driver of economic development down-under? The simple answer is, yes. But is it a core driver – part of our national psyche, supported by government policy? I personally don’t think that it is. I’m not so sure that ‘necessity’ is a part of life for most Australians. I don’t think that the ‘tyranny of distance’ still forces us to work smarter, not harder. In fact, the only cultural description I believe worth citing as part of this innovation debate is Australia’s reputation as a ‘lucky country’.

Australian Innovation Policy… Where the bloody hell are you?

While most Australians will have enjoyed the wonderful economic prosperity that digging things out of the ground can bring (while there’s still a market in China) and enjoyed the fat of our land, grilled and shish-kebabed (when not exported to the Middle East), a minority - a rarely celebrated part of our ‘cultural mix’ - used the rare solace of a national public holiday to work on that thing often described as ‘innovation’.

How I made Twitter my ‘dirty whore’ and got suspended

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, I have very little patience for marketing campaigns that can't give me a definable and measurable result, which is why, I thought it might be helpful to write a post about how we, at Anthill, and I have personally used Twitter over the past 12-months for business related purposes. Let me start with a confession.

How I made Twitter my 'dirty whore' and got suspended

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, I have very little patience for marketing campaigns that can't give me a definable and measurable result, which is why, I thought it might be helpful to write a post about how we, at Anthill, and I have personally used Twitter over the past 12-months for business related purposes. Let me start with a confession.

Anthill print back issues in the bargain basement basket already? That didn't take long.

Anthill print editions always had a pass-on rate -- i.e. how many people read the same copy -- that was well above the industry average. In other words, they had a great shelf life. However, it seems that, in some people at least, the desire to continue sharing Anthill back issues is more pressing than the desire to wait patiently for their collection to mature into a golden egg.

Anthill print back issues in the bargain basement basket already? That didn’t take long.

Anthill print editions always had a pass-on rate -- i.e. how many people read the same copy -- that was well above the industry average. In other words, they had a great shelf life. However, it seems that, in some people at least, the desire to continue sharing Anthill back issues is more pressing than the desire to wait patiently for their collection to mature into a golden egg.

2016 'millennium' glitch delivers text messages from the future

We'd barely concluded our 2009 Dumb Report rankings earlier this week when the Twittersphere lit up with reports that a "sizeable" number of Bank of Queensland and BankWest ATM and eftpos machines had malfunctioned due to an internal glitch of 'millenium' proportions.

2016 ‘millennium’ glitch delivers text messages from the future

We'd barely concluded our 2009 Dumb Report rankings earlier this week when the Twittersphere lit up with reports that a "sizeable" number of Bank of Queensland and BankWest ATM and eftpos machines had malfunctioned due to an internal glitch of 'millenium' proportions.

Anthill named Australia's "most engaging" media site, according to Audit Bureaux of Australia

Today, we were pleased to discover that Anthill has defied a downward trend and, indeed, scored top spot as the most 'engaging' site among the Audit Bureaux of Australia's Top 20 Media Sites.

Anthill named Australia’s “most engaging” media site, according to Audit Bureaux of Australia

Today, we were pleased to discover that Anthill has defied a downward trend and, indeed, scored top spot as the most 'engaging' site among the Audit Bureaux of Australia's Top 20 Media Sites.

Is this what the magazine of the future will look like… again?

Over the past two weeks, we have published the Sun Newspaper’s parody of the iPhone ads (and other mobile alternatives to print newspapers), Time Inc's prediction of what magazines of the future might look like and a fake (or real) leak of Apple's new Tablet Mac (aka MacTablet aka TabletMac aka iPad aka Apple Slate). But this concept piece put together by design collective BERG certainly has wow factor.
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