Google releases “Wallet”, rivals likely to follow

May 30th, 2011

Google became the first company to allow people to use their smartphones as credit cards when they released “Wallet”, and it is expected their rivals will follow suit.

Not everything went smoothly for Google though, with EBay filing a lawsuit accusing Google of stealing trade secrets to build the platform.

Apple, Amazon.com, eBay and Facebook are all believed to be working on similar technology, also allowing consumers to use smartphones to pay for goods or services.

You can read more at the sydneymorningherald.com.au

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Facebook, Google, smartphone | No Comments »

Internet boom 2.0 is here

May 23rd, 2011

Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence data has revealed upwards of US $5 billion of venture capital investment has been injected into growing web companies in the first 4 months of this year.

This means 2011 is on course to be the busiest in dollars terms since way back in 2000, when the web was really starting to take off. More than US $55 billion was shared back then.

Valuations for Facebook (US $70 billion) and GroupOn (US $15 billion) are believed to be one of the reasons for the growing investments in web start ups.

You can read more at the sydneymorningherald

 

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Posted in Facebook, investment | No Comments »

New marketing potential as organisations set to get approval to register brands as domain names

May 16th, 2011

ICANN, the governing body for internet domain names, is set to announce on June 20 the decision to approve rules allowing businesses to register brands as internet domain names.

This means that we will no longer be limited to traditional domains such as .com, .com.au etc.

In an earlier blog post, on the 26th of April we posted that cities will be able to register their names as a domain, such as .sydney, but with businesses also likely to get approval you can expect to see domains such as .sony

Next time you want to buy a TV online, you may have to simply type in tv.sony

You can read more at theaustralian.com.au

 

Posted in domain names, Sony | No Comments »

Mozilla resists US request to help censor the web

May 11th, 2011

Mozilla, a Non Profit Organisation who develop the popular internet browser Firefox have resisted a request by the Government to remove a software tool that is claimed to assist in circumventing federal efforts at curbing internet piracy.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the US Department of Homeland Security, have been taking over domain names it believes house piracy related information.

The MafiaaFire tool, available to Firefox via a third party matches these website domains with an alternate address, so that visitors can reach the sites.

You can read more over at the sydneymorningherald

 

Posted in Homeland Security, mozilla, piracy | 1 Comment »

Strong growth in online shopping

May 2nd, 2011

Online purchases via credit card have risen on average 15% a year since 2005, the Reserve Bank has announced.

These figures support the trend that more consumers are willing to shop online, both within Australia and internationally.

You can read more at sydneymorningherald.com.au

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Online shopping boom ‘here to stay’

April 28th, 2011

It looks like online shopping won’t slow down when the AUS dollar weakens, with data indicating online shopping is less effected by the exchange rate.

Tony Davis, director of Quantium said retail stores need to be thinking about how they can add an online strategy to their business.

“All consumers are far more likely to consider at least shopping around online, even if they make the final transaction at bricks and mortar”

“E-tail used to be thought of as the domain of the spotty geeks in the back bedroom – that isn’t the case any more, we’re seeing older demographics, more financially mature”

You can read more over at smh.com.au

Posted in Online Sales | No Comments »

Cities battle over geographic internet domains

April 26th, 2011

A rivalry that’s better known on the footy and rugby fields has moved to the internet.

Sydney and Melbourne are both vying to be the first Australian cities to own a top level domain.

This would mean addresses such as google.sydney would be possible.

Present rules dictate only top level domains such as .com, .org & .net etc are available, along with international country codes like .au and .nz

It’s not cheap to apply though, setting the NSW Premier’s Office and the City of Melbourne back $US185,000 a piece.

You can read more over at theaustralian

 

Posted in Australia | 1 Comment »

Teachers urged to give students an Apple

April 19th, 2011

Apple is offering an ‘unforgettable learning experience’ to teachers wanting to take students on a class trip, a chance to take their students to an Apple store.

According to the Apple website, ”Your class will experience the Mac, iPad and other Apple products as learning tools – and have fun to boot,”.

There are two trains of thought here, one would argue it’s a good way to get kids into IT and learning about computers. Others would argue it’s a chance for Apple to push their brand.

What do you think?

You can read more about this at theage.com.au

 

Posted in Apple Mac, children | No Comments »

Is your company in control of its social media?

April 13th, 2011

Social media is one of the things which keeps executives at top companies awake at night, says a Risk Management Benchmarking Survey conducted by Aon.

“Increased use of social networks was specifically sighted [sic] as providing potential risk to an organisation’s brand, image and reputation,” states the report.

Why can social media be so potentially damaging? Well its hard to control what people may say in relation to your Facebook or Twitter accounts, including people from your own company. Examples of fallout from such activities include the Tweet from Qantas CE Alan Joyce that a plan had crashed, which wasn’t correct, resulting in a lowering of the Qantas share price, or the Dominos pizza makers who posted images of themselves mucking about with customers’ food – later fired of course.

But whats the flipside of not using social media? Your company can become outdated, fast!

View the full article on SMH.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Cigarette advertising wars

April 8th, 2011

If the Federal Government has its way, smokers will soon have their cigarette packets covered in dire health warnings, with a drab olive green colour to complement their…internal organs?

The proposed legislation will only allow the cigarette companies’ brands to be displayed in small logos, rather than the huge industry currently in place in which cigarette makers differentiate between brands using a myriad of imagery and colours.

The cigarette makers are watching the legislation closely, as are other countries around the world.  And the federal government may find a fight on their hands, with British American Tobacco spokesman Scott McIntyre saying “The government could end up wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in legal fees trying to defend their decision, let alone the potential to pay billions to the tobacco industry for taking away our intellectual property.”

The legislation is set to be phased in from January 2012, subject to legal challenges.

Watch this space!

View the full article here.

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Posted in cigarette, Federal Government | No Comments »

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