LagrangePoint - Brad Howarth

Nett magazine - That old broadband magic (or what is the NBN good for)

Got back from the US on Monday to fund that the September edition of Nett magazine is now out on news agent's shelves (it's not up online yet but should be soon). This one contains my exploration of what the National Broadband Network might mean for Australian SMEs. It was remarkably difficult to get some folk to think what life might be like in a world that was no longer constrained by bandwidth (and also not by its price) but this feature tries to paint a picture of what the world might be like. Thanks to everyone who contributed, including Intel fellow Genevieve Bell, KPMG demographer Bernard Salt and and Bob Quodling from Canberra company SIMmersion Holdings.

As soon as the story is available online, I'll put up a new post, but in the meantime you can do your bit to support Australia's print magazine industry by popping down to your local news agent and paying money for a copy. I promise that it will not expire or be erased by Amazon.

There's plenty of other good stuff in the September edition, including Josh Mehlmann's stylist feature on burlesque aficionado Jac Bowie, Jo-Anne Hui's feature on family businesses, Elissa Baxter's feature on the importance of content on SME websites and columns from Peter Blasina, Stefan Sojka and Stephen Murphy.

16th Annual AIMIA Awards announced - your change to take Amy home with you

AIMIA has announced the schedule for its 16th annual AIMIA Awards. Entries will open on October 1 and will close on November 4. Finalists will be announced in early 2010, and the Amys themselves will be handed out in Melbourne on Friday, March 5 2010. Check back here or watch the AIMIA website for further details ...

ZDNet Bootstrappr: B33hive founders start all over again

A lot of start-ups change models several times before they become successful. The trick is doing it before the enthusiasm - and the money - run out. In the case of B33hive, it has actually sold off its original business in premium mobile content and started again with a platform for community activity relating to television. You can read all about the new venture, iTweeVee, by clicking here.

My life in the cloud

I've been writing about cloud computing for a while now (such as this recent article for CIO Australia). On September 16 I'll be moderating a discussion on the topic for AIMIA, and featuring speakers from Macquarie Hosting, Viocorp, The Australian Rugby Union and VMware. Click here to register.

I also recently learned that Sydney is to play host to its first CloudCamp on August 27. For more information click here.

ZDNet Bootstrappr: Duel of the fates: Atlassian and Omnidrive

Atlassian and Omnidrive both garnered headlines during Australia's Web 2.0 mini-boom that followed the listing of Google on Nasdaq. The outcomes for the two companies couldn't have been more different, highlighting the many possible paths that lie ahead of a would-be entrepreneur. Both companies stepped back into the spotlight in July, and you can read why in this post at ZDnet's Bootstrappr blog.

Australian Anthill - Australian companies have so much unrealised potential

Australian Anthill may have stopped regular production of its print edition, but my columns will still be popping up from time to time. This one is a collection of thoughts built up over the past few months engaging in conversations about innovation. The conclusion is that there is a lot more to stimulating innovation than lofty speeches and ribbon cutting ceremonies. You can check out what  I had to say by clicking here.

Nett magazine - How green is my computer?

A couple of months ago I was invited to Umbria in Italy to see an example of how a small business can reduce its impact on the environment through the smart use of technology. Monte Vibiano winery has adopted a bunch of different technologies, including solar power and biodiesel, and virtualisation software from Microsoft (my hosts) to reduce the power consumption in its data centre.

Most technology suppliers have been designing environmentally-friendly ideas into their designs for a couple of years, and this article was a chance to look at how SMEs can adopt this technology to reduce their own environmental impact. It was a good chance to catch up on a lot of different ideas from services providers including 2and2, TradeSlot, Planet Footprint, and Climate Friendly, amongst others.

The story is not online as yet, but you can check it out in the August edition of Nett, out now in all good Australian newsagents ...

Stuff that I'm working on

I've had a lot of folk ask me what I've been doing of late, so I thought I'd better fill you in on some of it.

In terms of writing, my main focus of interest remains broadly categorised as 'change' - and more specifically those sectors that are undergoing significant change, including technology, the environment and media. By default, this sees me spending a lot of time writing about innovation and entrepreneurship.

To that end, I'm continuing to contribute to SmartCompany, and am currently working on a project looking into the changing media consumption habits of the higher end of Australia's demographics, and how media influences purchasing decisions. If anyone has come across any interesting reports of statistics on this topic in the past year, please drop me an email. And I'll keep you posted when the next feature story comes up - the last was helping out on the Hot 30 under 30 list.

I'm also still writing for Australian Anthill in its new online incarnation. My last piece was on the recently held Imagine Cup student software contest, and you can read more about it in this story on the Anthill website.

In the technology sector, I'm continuing work on the Bootstrappr blog over at ZDNet, covering Australia's next generation of entrepreneurial start-ups. Recent entries including this one on advanced mathematical modellers Biarri, and this one on audio networking company Audinate. I also recently wrote another piece for its BuilderAU site on the Imagine Cup contest.

I'm also writing features for CIO Australia, and currently have a cover story in the works. My last covered the topic of cloud computing, and you can check it out by clicking here.

I'm also working on a feature on cloud computing for IT User, an online magazine distributed to the resellers of Ingram Micro. You can check out a copy of the first edition by clicking here.

In terms of marketing and media,I'm still contributing to B&T's Digital Media magazine, and have a forthcoming article on adver-gaming. These remain trapped behind the paywall, but I hope to break some of them out soon ... You may have some luck getting to my feature that ran with B&T's list of the top 50 Australian marketing blogs, which is available here.

I'm contributing to the new Australia Post-owned magazine Australia Today, with a piece wtritten on a Tasmanian town that banned plastic bags, and another in development on buying your first car. I've also had several articles published in the latest edition of Men's Style Australia, including an interview with fashion guru Tim Gunn and an extended feature on the environmental programs of a number of Australian businesses.

And I"m also writing on an occasional basis for the team at AFR Boss magazine. 

I'm also writing for two overseas publications, the export and foreign investment magazine Pathfinder Business, and the US publication Government Health IT. I've also recently written for foreign publications including the US venture capital-oriented website VentureBeat and The Guardian newspaper in London, and hope to be doing more in the future.

No doubt there are a couple of publications that I've forgotten, but check back and I'll do my best to keep this site up to date. I'm also doing the odd spot of public speaking, including hosting a roundtable discussion for Tibco tomorrow and moderating a discussion on cloud computing for AIMIA on August 25 (tickets for that one are still available).

ANZA US market entry program for entrepreneurs kicks off

Since 2000 I've been fortunate to attend most of the Gateway to the US conference and showcase programs run by the ANZA Technology Network. This year's program kicked off recently with a series of presentations around Australia, and news has just come through of the next stage in the program, the Gateway Focus Workshops. The Workshops provide an opportunity to present your business to a panel of US and local experts, followed with one-on-one coaching. The Workshops are designed as a lead-in to the three-day Summit in Silicon Valley later this year.

Breaking into the US market is no easy task for any technology start-up, and over the past decade I've watched ANZA assist numerous Australian and NZ businesses test the market and make the leap.

The writing is on the web: Anthill and The Diplomat exit the world of print

Magazines close with every recession. Sometimes their audience grows tired and moves on. Sometimes the pool of readers and advertisers just isn't big enough. Others are noble ideas that may have just needed a little more of a push along.

And maybe also there is an underlying systemic change in media consumption with audiences fragmenting to various online channels that is seriously impacting the world of publishing.

The latter statement is something of a given now for almost all publishers - but just how deep it runs is hard to tell amidst the fog of the financial crisis.

Regardless, Australian Anthill, a magazine for which I have been writing a column pretty much since it began more than five years ago, has announced that its recent move from bi-monthly to quarterly publishing is being followed by the cessation of a regular print publication. Publishers James Tuckerman says this means anything but the end of the title, which earlier this year ramped up its online content. It is online where the future lies, as he explains in this post on the Anthill website.

I intend to keep writing for the site, and was working on my latest column when I heard the news. I certainly wish James and the crew the best of luck in making this somewhat logical publishing progression.

Also reportedly pulling out of print this week - and possibly out publishing entirely - is The Diplomat, a journal of foreign affairs that I have been contributing to on and off for the past two years. Word is that the print magazine is gone, but that the online edition may continue. Will let you know once I get confirmation myself ...