Tag: Opinion

Globalisation is really about direct international investment. Investment will flow to where the innovators are, so innovation must be focused on global impact.

There is a time-honoured business model in China known as "Copy To China" - find a product or service or business model that works in the US or elsewhere and replicate it in China. In the technology industry this is exemplified by ChinaHR.com Holdings Ltd building a Monster look-alike and then selling 40 percent off to Monster Worldwide, Inc. for US$50m or Joyo.com Ltd replicating Amazon and then selling it to Amazon for US$75m. The same model is popular in many other markets, particularly Australia. Seek has had great success emulating Monster.

Mobile companies across the globe have spent billions of dollars creating networks that essentially all offer the same services. It's been a huge investment just to get to the starting line. But the real challenge is in providing something that is different from the competition.

G'day Anthillians. These are troubled times, but nothing some good PR can't fix! Antagoniser extraordinaire, Ray Beatty, considers exhibit A: the brand new Hardest Job In The World. (Hint, it's not W's.)

I had a fascinating exchange with a venture capitalist the other day. I made the mistake of having a private conversation about the industrial relations reforms (yes, I know, religion and politics), which he overheard. I was delighted when he exploded next to me - "I can't stand listening to this socialist crap any longer!" Readers, I am not now, and have never been, until last week, accused of being a socialist.

Lists. Endless lists. The latest curse of the web are those endless swimming pools of customer data - most popular, most active, most tagged or downloaded. Personally, I hate them. They tell me nothing, other than other people's aggregated bad taste. Worse, they miss one of the internet's most subtle and powerful features - the discovery power of networks.

Wandering through the halls of the enormous 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February, it was plainly evident that mobile communications is still in the very active stages of the innovation cycle. This event, which brings together most of the world's top telecommunications technology and network companies, has come a long way from its humble beginnings last decade in the French seaside town of Cannes, when early attendances numbered in the hundreds.

Wandering through the halls of the enormous 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February, it was plainly evident that mobile communications is still in the very active stages of the innovation cycle. This event, which brings together most of the world's top telecommunications technology and network companies, has come a long way from its humble beginnings last decade in the French seaside town of Cannes, when early attendances numbered in the hundreds.

You may well ask, “What’s the point of getting up in the morning? What’s the point of carrying on with our business and affairs...

You may well ask, “What’s the point of getting up in the morning? What’s the point of carrying on with our business and affairs...

A debate has been simmering in the business media, approaching boiling point of late, around whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that can...

My favourite CD shop when I was a kid was small and selectively stocked. Small handwritten comments adorned every cover, and the owner had...

You don’t have to speak to very many entrepreneurs to hear a lot of negativity about the Australian VC industry. Use of the term...

Australian companies are frequently criticised for their poor levels of investment in innovation. The most recent set of figures from the OECD shows that...

Australian companies are frequently criticised for their poor levels of investment in innovation. The most recent set of figures from the OECD shows that...

Whether it be trading for silk and spices or chasing online eyeballs, the West has had a long fascination with expanding Eastwards. The lure...

I am filing this on the eve of the fourth annual ANZA Technology Network showcase and conference, deep in the dark heart of Silicon...

Following the tech market these days is a bit like watching a Japanese b-grade disaster movie. While Microsoft has long held the title as...

Following the tech market these days is a bit like watching a Japanese b-grade disaster movie. While Microsoft has long held the title as...

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...