LagrangePoint - Brad Howarth

Just how big is Australia's mobile technology and marketing industry, anyway?

I asked this question of a few folk a couple of weeks back, and no one had an answer. So I'm thinking of finding out myself, through a qualitative and quantitative research project. The idea is still in the formative stages of development, but if you wish to know more about what I have planned, or even contributing to the exercise, please contact me via email.

AIMIA Awards early-bird registration closes soon

A quick reminder to anyone who is planning on heading to the AIMIA Awards on March 13 that early-bird registration ends this week. Get in early and save yourself $15 by clicking here before Feb 8. I won't be heading along this year - the first time in a long time - as I'm heading over to New York to attend the AIMIA/Austrade Digital Media trade mission. The Awards are always a great night, and if you've got an interest in seeing some of the best we can produce in digital media, don't miss it.

AIMIA Awards finalists announced

The shortlist of finalists for the 15th annual AIMIA Awards has now been announced - including a whopping seven nominations for SBS. For the full list, click here, or to buy tickets, click here.

Some good advice to SMEs from SmartCompany

There is a lot of discussion taking place right now as to whether online services will flourish or suffer during the current economic crisis. History generally shows that below-the-line marketing gets a boost during these periods, as companies move away from mass media and start spending on more targeted activities with measurable performance. But for many brands online tools do not represent the same tried-and-true methods such as direct marketing. My publishers at SmartCompany recently added their own thoughts to the discussion, with this list of 20 trends that will affect online activity this year.

Media 09 early-bird registration ends today

In February I'll be attending and live-blogging Media '09, an event run by X Media Lab and Fairfax that is bringing to Australia a group of interesting thinkers on digital and social media, including special adviser to Guardian Media Caroline H Little, Google in-house counsel Amin Zoufonoun, and the controller of journalism and digital media at BBC Future Media & Technology, Nic Newman. The early-bird discount rate for registration ends today, so if you think you might be interested, click here.

Update - SmartCompany 10 Next Big Things Online

To everyone who has provided information for this feature - thanks. But in case you were wondering, it's been pushed back a little further. Should be running in the next week or two - stay tuned.

AIMIA announces its 7th trade mission to ICT Expo Hong Kong

Each April for the past few years I've flown myself up to Hong Kong for the annual ICT Expo. It's a great chance to see the many weird and wonderful gadgets being churned out of the factories of Hong Kong - and a good time to catch up on the developments of the digital media industy throughout Asia. AIMIA has run a trade mission to the event for the past six years, and has just announced that it will be leading its seventh trade mission to the event. More more information, click here.

Story in development - And in a Flash, it was gone ...?

I have no doubt that Microsoft wants to see Silverlight dominate as the preferred format for online digital media, in the same that Microsoft likes to dominate everything it gets involved in. The company has a lot more muscle than its main competitor, Adobe's Flash, and is not afraid of flexing it. What it lacks however is anything close to the installed based that Adobe boasts - something like 99 percent of the world's desktop PCs have Flash installed. Microsoft didn't do itself any favours with a somewhat lacklustre Silverlight site for NBC's Olympic coverage. But history has shown that when Microsoft puts its mind to it, mountains can shift a little.

If you have any thoughts on this topic that you want to contribute, I'll be writing this feature between now and early February - please drop me a note ASAP.

Story in development - Are rumours of the death of print greatly exaggerated?

Few industries ever give up life without a fight (although many, such as barrel making and stage-coach driving a probably can't really vouch for). The printing industry is however a huge industry - one which has been around for a long time - and one which is clearly taking a battering from web-based alternatives. Be it newspapers and magazines, direct marketing material or even book production, more and more things that used to be done in print are now being done on screen.

But with huge amounts of money at stake, the print industry is not lying down. Numerous new technologies and business models are being developed to breathe life back into print, and in some areas of direct marketing it is even clawing its way back into the spotlight.

If you have any thoughts on this topic, or examples of the rebirth or slow-death of print in action, I'll be working on this feature between now and early February. So please drop me a note ASAP and I'll be able to provide more details.

Story in development - IT's totally automatic

After a couple of false starts, I've finally been able to get this story idea off the ground - at its new home, CIO Australia magazine. The premise is as follows:

While IT has done a wonderful job of automating business processes such as accounting or HR, little attention has been focused on automation IT itself. There are plenty of tools that help to monitor IT environments, but many still require human intervention. Hence many organisations report that 70 percent of their budget and time is spent ‘keeping the lights on’ rather than investing in enhanced services for the business itself. I’m currently seeking examples of businesses that have used technology to automate processes within their enterprise IT environment.

I’m now on the hunt for suitable local case studies.If you have any suggestions, please let me know by the end of January.