MAX MASTERCLASS Dr Robert Cooper, one of the world’s foremost new product development and innovation gurus, is heading to New Zealand. His masterclass workshop on Maximising Profit From New Products is targeted at directors, managers and marketing and R&D professionals, and will be held on March 15 & 16 at Auckland’s SkyCity Convention Centre.
SCIENCE AND INNOVATION
Science and innovation is the topic of an upcoming panel at the Auckland Museum, from early ‘Number 8 Wire’ agricultural inventions through to current biotech projects and speculation on the future of the industry. The discussion will be moderated by Finlay Macdonald and features inventor/entrepreneur Ray Avery (sound familiar? You might recall he recently won New Zealander of the Year; we also profiled him not so long ago) and Dr Helen Anderson of the Ministry of Research Science and Technology. Mark Thursday evening in your diary and book a place online.
Meetup with a Investment Angel
Bill Payne, one of America’s leading angel investors, is in the country for three months to share his knowledge with local entrepreneurs. Idealog and Escalator have teamed up to offer you the chance to meet him—and various other mentors—as part of Meet an Angel Day on April 17. The cost? Absolutely free. Register your interest online, call 0800 822 748 or email karen@escalator.co.nz.
Telecommunications Industry Group is helping innovative New Zealanders keen to set up their own business. They will have a chance to turn their dreams into reality in a competition being run as part of the Planet 2010 Communications and Technology Conference in Auckland next month.
The Telecommunications Industry Group (TIG) is offering 10 start-up companies the chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges at Launch Pad, a public competition which will take place during the Planet 2010 conference on March 12 and 13.
The winner will receive $70,000 worth of IT, marketing, legal and accounting services, as well as three Hewlett Packard Netbooks and 12 months’ account management support from four of the competition’s sponsors, WorldxChange, Republik, Hudson Gavin Martin and MYOB.
The second and third place-getters will receive prizes of $10,000 and $5000 sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development. The 10 start-up companies selected to take part in Launch Pad will be short-listed from a field of applicants who must submit their entries through either a New Zealand business incubator or a university technology transfer office (TTO).
Each incubator or university TTO can enter business plans for up to two start-up companies.
Entries close on 1st March 2010.
TIG chief executive officer Rob Spray says his organisation is committed to helping innovative New Zealanders achieve their goals. “We see Launch Pad as a way for us to find and champion New Zealand’s best start-up companies, and help them grow their ideas into something spectacular.”
Simon Martin, a partner at Hudson Gavin Martin, which will provide legal services to the winner of Launch Pad, says that innovation is vital for New Zealand’s economic future. “Competitions such as Launch Pad provide a great platform to raise the profile of and further stimulate this innovation. We are delighted to be able to sponsor a competition that supports new businesses to achieve their potential.”
If you are in business and especially if you have an international profile there is a high chance of you being approached by a Chinese Domain Name register….or some purporting to be an Registrar. Don’t be fooled by fancy web sites either … just think back to the last Olympics and the international ticket scam web site where they made millions from unauthorised ticket sales.
So how does the work domain name scam work? Well you will receive an email from a Registrar saying that they have received an application from a company and that they wish to take your base domain name and register it. The Registrar is writing to you under the premises that they are concerned someone is infringing your trademark etc.
Do not be forced or feel compelled to do anything other consider whether you should register your name with .hk, aisa, cn etc. If you do decide that you should secure your domain url in those jurisdictions then I would recommend that you use to normal registration partner.
If you are an exporter, especially in those regions then you should secure the domain to protect you from any ambush marketing. You can use such sites as http://www.godaddy.com, http://www.eyename.com.
I recommend that you do not register from the company whom you receive the email from as it is highly likely to be phishing or a scam.
Here is an actual email recently received on behalf of one of my companies. I have received a few of these over the last few years.
Also be wary of companies chasing you as your domains come near their expiry date, They will scam you for exorbitant renewal fees. One such company is (exact name escapes me. Domain Names of America or similar out of Australia. Renew with your original registrar.
—————————- Original Message —————————-
Subject: [spam?] URGENT:Verification for Domain Registration
From: Byron.wang@nan-zhan.com.cn
Date: Tue, September 22, 2009 6:33 pm
To:
————————————————————————–
Dear CEO,
We are the department of registration service in China. we have something need to confirm with you. We formally received an application on September 18, 2009, One company which self-styled “Acci Corporation” are applying to register “iceav” as internet brand and Domain names as below:
After our initial examination, we found that the internet brand applied for registration are as same as your company’s name and trademark.These days we are dealing with it, hope
to get the affirmation from your company. If your company and this”Acci Corporation”as the same company,there is no need reply to us,We will accept their application and will
register those for them immediately.
If your company has no relationships with that company nor do not authorized,please reply to us within 7 workdays,if we can’t get any information from yours over 7 workdays,we will unconditionally approve the application submitted by “Acci Corporation”.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Best Regards,
Byron Wang
Tel£º(86)-21-64609758
Fax£º(86)-21-64609768
Website: http://nanzhan.org.cn
(I RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY)
Skype the VOip telephone solution that rattle a few cages when it launched and more so as broadband connections increased is heading into rocky territory but not of its own making … well almost.
Due to a dispute over the core technology used to make the internet telephone system work Skype might have to shut down.
EBay is now facing a court battle with the original founders of the company who retained the rights to the technology at the heart of the system despite eBay paying $US2.6 billion (£1.6 billion) for the voice-over-the-internet system back in 2005.
In a regulatory filing eBay admitted that it might have to close the company down. It said it was trying to develop alternative software but if that did not work. If eBay lost the right to the original software: “Skype would be severely and adversely affected and the continued operation of Skype’s business as currently conducted would likely not be possible.”
EBay’s plan to spin off Skype, scheduled for next year however the dispute now threatens these plans.
Skype filed a claim in London against Swedish company Joltid earlier this year, which is controlled by Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Skype is seeking resolution on a dispute over a software licensing agreement between the parties that Joltid was seeking to terminate.
“In particular, Joltid has alleged that Skype should not possess, use or modify certain software source code and that, by doing so, and by disclosing such code in certain US patent cases pursuant to orders from US courts, Skype has breached the license agreement,” eBay said in the filing.
Joltid states that Skype was in violation of the original agreement and brought a counterclaim, reiterating that it held the rights to the peer-to-peer technology
A court hearing has been set for June 2010 in London.
When it started in 2002 Skype, allowed users to make calls from their computers to landlines, mobile phones and other computers. The heart of Skype is its key peer-to-peer technology created by its founders who also created the file-sharing software Kazaa.
The service has continued to grow rapidly. It added 37.3 million users, bringing its total number of registered users to 480.5 million, making it the most widely-used international calling system in the world. The unit’s revenue increased 25 per cent during the second quarter from the previous year to $170 million, according to eBay’s results in June.
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Kevin and Jill Heinz had been planning their wedding for months. The flowers, dresses, mens suit, reception, the guest list and the organising they went through, could not have prepared them for international fame and TV appearances days after their special day. What was intended to be a private family wedding with close friends and family has turned into the stage for a music sensation that has stormed TV networks around the world and seen by over 8 million online viewers on YouTube withn days.
Business opportunities occur all around us. If I said to you on the 17 July, “What would you do if over 20,000,000 world wide were to visit your web site within 7 days and view your 5 min handy cam video, resulting in you appearing on national TV channels, on 100’s of TV news broadcast. In New Zealand 27 July your video was broadcast over over 5 times. For those of us specialising in Social Media we cringe at the lost opportunity that Kevin and Jill did not take or maybe just did not understand. Within 7 days they could have become multi millionaires and never needed to work again for the rest of their life had they put in place a Social Media strategy. Of course hindsight is a wonderful teacher. Their 5 minute dance down the church aisle could have been their dance to riches they could not have imagined as they said their vows. Are you read to maximise Social Media and dance your way out of the recession?
Kevin and Jill decided to have a traditional wedding to say their vows to each other, however they added a small twist. Instead of walking down the aisle the entire bridal party decided they would danceThe bridal party. Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz could have imagined the sensation this little decision would rocket them into the history books as the entire bridal party danced to Chris Brown’s Forever song and sending the song into the Top Ten.
The above video is the official video that has been uploaded. We recommend that you do not click on any other video clips and only visit recognised TV channel videos.
The sensation was then recreated live down town St Paul, Minnesota, where the wedding party regrouped and again became a downtown TV sensation with crowds flocking to be part of the moment. The original church video went on You Tube as father-in-law Mr Peterson kept requesting Kevin to get it on YouTube so family members could view the entrance dance. Still reeling from the enjoyment from his wedding, Kevin finally got it onto YouTube. What was meant for a few 100 family friends went global within 24 hours turning the newly weds into the most famous married couple this week and probably this year.
The JK Wedding dance is a powerful reminder of the power of Social Media and how video is turning and changing fortunes (see our Dave Carroll story), creating world wide waves. There are 1,000’s of wedding videos on YouTube however the Kevin and Jill Heinz wedding dance which is becoming known the JK Wedding Dance has ploughed through any other wedding video overnight to become the undeclared sensation.
The Only System Guaranteed To Teach Couples To Learn To Dance For Their Wedding In Hours Not Days.
For those questioning the power of Social Media and Video need to seriously pause for a moment and consider this question. “What could you achieve if you knew that tomorrow you could have over 8 million viewers world wide and growing watch your video”.
Below are suggested wedding links we recommend as being safe and perfect should you want to create you wedding sensation.
Tweet Twins recommend this excellent site for your wedding planning service
Their name has spread around the globe, web sites and TV shows. Of course on the down side are many scammers and viruses that take advantage of their name and fame by embedding their name in fake news and web links so that when the user clicks on it their computer becomes infected. Jill and Kevin of course have no awareness of this and in fact their name is being traded by unscrupulous programmers and hackers.
A scam virus trojan site trading on Kevin and Jill Heinz fame
Above is a link about their TV appearance that actually links to a scam virus site which ranks their name at numer one in Google. Do not visit the link. Please not this is not an actual link, just a screen shot.
The Tweet Twins wish a successful and happy life together to the JK Wedding Dance stars, Kevin and Jill Heinz.
United Airlines careless attitude infuriorated Canadian musicican Dave Carroll when sitting in the plane he saw ground staff throwing his guitar around. When brought to the attention of one of the flight hostess his complaint was brushed aside.
With a weapon he knows well, Dave crafted a song complaining of the poor customer service and now Within 12 days of posting his song on YouTube it has become an international YouTube sensation.
The news item and song was aired on national television as far away as New Zealand on 24 July and for United Airlines has become a disaster in customer relations that has seen the share price drop. The hit on United Airlines could continue as Dave has 2 more songs ready to launch.
United Airlines are now in damage control and one can imagine the board will be asking some hard questions of management as they attempt manage the broadside the staff have caused.
This very real and current example shows the power of social media technology and in particular that the power has swung to the people. By spending zero dollars and just some song writing and filming time, one obscure Canadia songwriter is now being heard world wide with an international fan base. When once this fame might have been because of a love song and subject to the whim of a record executive, the song is being broadcast from free on TV networks world wide and broadcast free on Internet Video channel YouTube.
United Airline is now crawling to Dave Carroll with apologies and offers, but for an obscure Canadian musician, Dave’s experience with United Airline’s shoddy customer service attitude has propelled him into the world stage at the cost of their share price. Thanks United, now watch out for the next two songs I am going into music history all because of the terrible customer service of the ground crew and three of your hostess staff. www.davecarrollmusic.com
Most companies experience problems putting numbers on social media marketing results. is it worth it, or is it a waste time, passing fad maybe?
Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group have released a study that examines how engagement with consumers using social social media correlates with financial performance. Does your company put much emphasis on social media efforts?
Download the free Report on the Top 100 Brands
The “ENGAGEMENTdb study” shows that companies who measured as having “the greatest breadth and depth of social media engagement” grew revenues by 18% over the last year, while the companies that were the least engaged dropped 6% on average.
According to the Altimeter Group and Wetpaint, companies that scored well have dedicated teams that vary from one person to many. The report shows it pays to have a team that will not be distracted by other tasks and can give the social channel the attention required for it to make a significant impact.
Gary Vanerchuck will challenge your mindset like a direct injection.
Gary Vanerchuk talks about chasing your passion and creating brand equity.
One for not giving S%$t about what you think, he knows the deal and has a passion for enabling peoples passion. Building the WineTV show to a $US50,000,000 turnover understands the reality of social media in the real word. The language is raw, the insight is rare, so join Gary in the trenches and he will expose some B*l$#@it and compell to build your brand.
Have you received a Dear John Letter? Hopefully you have not set yourself to inadvertantly qualify for a slap in the face and door slam from Google. The best way to avoid this costly attention is to play it safe and by the rules.
Getting dumped or bumped by your partner can have devastating results on your finances, living arrangements and peace of mind. The same experience can occur online and I am not referring to an online dating service. Rather I am talking about when Google BANS your web site from their search engine index. The consequences can be devasting to say the least and can see you being banned from Google Adsense and your account cancelled.
There are a number of common mistakes that can result in you being banned from Google Adsense. The mistakes are as follows.
1 – Generating suspicious clicks.
2 – Publicizing your Google AdSense earnings information
3 – Stealing content
4 – Generating fake traffic
5 – Getting multiple Google AdSense accounts.
6 – Showing pornographic material or linking to pornographic sites.
7 – Modifying the look and feel of Google AdSense advertisements.
During March 2009 a survey of the Senior Managers within over 400 technology businesses in Auckland to gain an understanding of the key insights from these organisations, both currently and in the coming year.
Key Summary
A significant portion of respondents are solely focused on expansion; fewer than 10% are solely focused on survival.
The vast majority are either neutral or positively geared towards their current business focus More than half of organisations are expecting to increase their revenue in the next financial year A few businesses are potentially confused and disoriented as to their key business strategy Company revenue projections appear to be bullish, with only 12% anticipating a drop in 2009-2010 Over 60% of companies are expecting to hire within the next 12 months, with a fifth doing so currently Over a quarter (28%) of technology companies have experienced redundancies Only 2% of organisations have asked staff to reduce hours and/or salaries More than two-thirds have NOT gone through any downsizing Just over half expect to be seeking permanent employees; yet almost half of all hiring will be comprised of contractors Only 3% of those hiring expect to pay more for their new recruits; more than a quarter of hirers expect to pay less The great majority of people believe that the calibre of available candidates is higher or the same The numbers of total applicants across the board is only slightly higher than usual for this time of year; however the behaviour of those applicants has changed dramatically – they are applying to multiple vacancies as many now need rather than merely want a job [This data was taken directly from Seek’s Analysis] The majority of Managers believe their team morale is level 4 on a scale of 1 to 5. Only a marginal number (8%) of companies feel their team morale has suffered Almost a third of companies plan to invest more in learning & development programs while only 13% anticipate spending less. Download here
The Canterbury Innovation Incubator
The Canterbury Innovation Incubator has provided an idyllic space for collaboration with other like minded entrepreneurs.
Aucklandict's Blog 