The Pit - IMI Trust

…actually, no.

1318 days and counting… there must have been a lot of bugs …

You are seeing the world of business revolutionise right before your eyes!

Business is not about building databases anymore, it is now about building networks or communities. It is taking what is so powerful offline and utilising the technology available to create networks online.

It is no longer about selling your customers, it is about educating them and providing them with a platform to contribute to your business.. The more you educate and inform, the more loyalty you attract. It is about involving them in the community which you are developing, and allowing them to be active within it.

Advertising platforms allow marketers to target their customers, in ways which 10 years ago… were not even thought of. The way consumers think is now in terms of ‘keywords’. Companies like Google, take an approach to advertising which I have never seen before. That is… the better you are at targeting your customer, and the better you are at relating your text to your customers desires… the cheaper your advertising rates.

For business, sites like LinkedIn have gone from strength to strength. Facebook is now evolving at an amazing rate and astonished the business world when Microsoft invested US$240 into the company for a minor stake. This investment valued the company at US$15 Billion.

Google is on the verge of cracking $700 a share, and it’s aquisition of Youtube has proved wise, with it now being the platform of expression for the new generation. Politics has seen a rapid change, with a strong focus on capturing Youtube’s audience to promote their message.

Now we are seeing Australian politicians John Howard and Kevin Rudd go toe to toe, utilising Youtube and Myspace as their platform.

Promoting your business is now more complex and strategic than ever. Those companies that don’t advance with the changes, will be left behind by the companies that adopt the Web 2.0 and Social Networking models.

How are you utilising Web 2.0 and Social Networking in the growth of your business?

It seems like each month we are hearing announcements that companies will be outsourcing support and IT functions to India.

Companies are finding that they can no longer get the depth of experience they seek in Australia. Companies are finding that they can outcomes achieved for cents in the dollar and in less time then they can in Australia.

In Australia, this has caused a lot of controversy! The interesting thing about this is, if you ask people who have dealt with Indian IT companies, more often then not they will rave about their standard of service and their responsiveness.

An Australian based company recently tendered a job to both Australian and Indian companies. The response highlighted a strong difference in the hunger to do business, and the reason why companies are using outsourced services.

By the time the company received a reply from an Australian service provider, the job had been completed in India, and they were going through a testing phase.

Many corporate organisations are outsourcing to India, whether it be there call centre or the IT departments. Globally, the largest companies on the planet are also outsourcing these departments. In the UK, the have companies which have established European shop front, and then they outsource the business to India. The companies are generally… none the wiser.

It is great to see these developing nations thrive. It is refreshing to see the professionalism in their approach to business. Their hunger to succeed and thrive will make news announcements about the outsourcing of jobs increasingly common.

The business of going green and becoming community and humanity focused has become increasingly popular amongst listed companies around the world.

Businesses have discovered it adds to their bottom line, governments have discovered they can secure votes with it and consumers are doing their bit to contribute to the planet. In fact, ethical investment funds is the fastest growing sector in Australia at the moment.

You know that it has become popular when Rupert Murdoch comes out and promotes that his company will be carbon neutral by 2012. Google are utilising alternative energy sources to power their server farms and Virgin Blue are offering heir passengers the opportunity to help them become carbon neutral.

Capital Raising is an important arm of the IMI Trust service and we are fortunate to come across some amazing companies, who’s innovation is quite astonishing.

Inventors out on their farms in the middle of nowhere, are coming through with breakthrough innovations that will go along way to contributing to the empowerment of our planet. They are quite possibly tomorrows billionaires and millionaires. Overnight success stories that are 10 years in the making and out of the spotlight.

What has been even more amazing is the amount of assistance the Federal and State Governments are providing to assist these technologies and innovations. Australia is often accuse for not ratifying Kyoto, and yet they are continuously sponsoring and investing in companies which can benefit the world. There are a multitude of programs, and people in place to advise and guide companies on the path to commercialisation.

The old tradition of political marketing was all about direct media advertising, with carefully designed ad placement and a whole lot of kissing babies. TV, Radio, and Newspaper photo ops. Media organisations love nothing more than an election year for marketing budgets to open up.

Whilst this platform is still very relevant, there is an entirely new landscape that has opened up and both parties are feeling their way through new media.

The new platforms being adopted are Social Networking sites, Wiki’s, Online Video and Blogs. The main sites the politicians are looking to utilise are Myspace (which now has it’s own political section), YouTube, and Wikipedia.

This new media offer more power and opportunity then ever before to sell their promises… but on the flipside it makes the public acutely aware of the potential pitfalls.

TV, Radio and Newspaper have all the same features. They are expensive, can only provide short messages, and only provide generic messages.

New media is different. Inexpensive, gets instant media coverage, can provide long or short messages, can target specific groups, they can provide interaction with voters and it allows the parties to respond to comments from their opponents.

This is Political Marketing the Web 2.0 way. In the US, YouTube created national Online debates, where Youtube users ask the questions, and viewers can watch the debates live. Australia is looking to follow this lead.

It is now common in the US for candidates to spend more time with influential bloggers, than with journalists. If you look at the websites of Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, the have embraced the Web 2.0 medium completely. The have blogs, online videos, user profiles and offers to ability for supporters to unite and communicate their message.

Whilst elections can be won this way, they can also be very quickly lost. Just ask John Edwards. The Democrat politician was doing what he called “The Poverty Tour.” His entire campaign was about helping people out of poverty and getting back to basics.
His campaign was ruined when footage of him appeared on YouTube, getting a US$400 haircut. The YouTube footage, made its way to all the blogs, other video sites and then into the mainstream media. His popularity has never been the same since.

It will be interesting to see how John Howard, Kevin Rudd and fringe parties like the Greens use this new media when the election date is announced.

The new Apple iPhone flew off the shelves in the US after many months of hype.  Incredibly, consumers still parted with $600 (3 times now that on eBay) for a phone that is limited in functionality.  Even when you look at the basics, you can see where the issues are for the average phone user.

• Basic Camera 
• No Video Recording
• No MMS
• No Custom Ringtones
• No Speed Dial
• No Voice Dial
• No Flash Support

As is always the case with technology, Version 2 should be a lot better.  We hope