SOCIAL MEDIA  The 2010 Australian Election is going to be an interesting one for social media analysis, because for the first time we will see to be able to see whether social sentiment is going to have an impact on how people vote. I started looking at this on Friday 16 July, the day before the election was called, and left the social media monitoring tool looking at the same keywords over the weekend. Read on

MOBILE  The IAB Australia Awards are always a great showcase of online and interactive campaigns that have run through the year and this year was no different. However one thing stood out this year - the increasingly important role that mobile has to play in brand loyalty and retention. Read on

WEB  As we look ahead over the next 20 years its becoming increasingly apparent that the make-up of our candidate pool is going to change considerably. Sure, we will still have our fresh-faced university graduates, our gung-ho ladder climbers and our senior professionals but we will also have a surprisingly youthful crop of baby boomers aged anywhere from 70 up vying for jobs. Read on

WEB  Welcome to a special Digital People profile in support of XMediaLab's upcoming XML Film X-tended event on Wednesday & Thursday July 28 & 29 in Melbourne. This event explores what digital can bring to film with a focus on 'transmedia' which is the use of digital platforms to extend narrative and build interactive content around a linear property - think of the innovation we have recently seen in films such as Avatar, Pirates of the Carribean and Transformers. We have profiled several speakers appearing at this event where they forecast key trends in this fascinating digital segment and highlight their experiences. I heard great things about the recent XMediaLab Event in Sydney and followed the twitter hashtags with great interest. Melbourne is also sure to please. You can see information and grab your tickets at the end of this profile..... Read on

MOBILE  As the world wide web gears up for the full unleashing of HTML5, some web browsers are already supporting some elements of HTML5. The support varies widely, although almost all Smartphones support the new standard already which has to make one wonder why Apple and Google have thrown so much weight behind it already. Read on

WEB  Welcome to the next Digital People profile. In conjunction with the current Shanghai Expo - where technology is one focus and AIMIA as well as several private Australian technology businesses are participating - I thought it would be interesting to get an update from Beijing based Aussie entrepreneur - Dr Mathew McDougall, CEO of SinoTech Group. Matt shares his story of starting a digital based business in China and his forward plans. He includes his highly interesting insights, trends and forecasts to more performance based marketing in this vibrant and exciting market. He also gives valuable points and offers some pitfalls to be aware of for any Australian businesses thinking of entering China. A worthwhile read..... Read on

INDUSTRY TALK  What are the major developments you see happening over the next year or two in ad serving and ad networks? Will the changes be in the way visitors are targeted, in the type of media delivered, and/or in the way inventory is sold to buyers and brands. Are there other trends you find interesting? Read on

TECHNOLOGY  In a previous article looked at some of the powerful benefits that can arise from outsourcing your R&D. In this follow up piece I want to outline some guidelines companies can use to ensure their outsourcing experience is relatively painless & effective, and ensures the sort of quality outcomes one would expect from their own teams. Read on

WEB  Apples App store now offers 230,000 apps, which have been collectively downloaded 5 Million times. Android is catching up fast with 65,000 and GetJar, an independent mobile store claims 72,000 apps and 1 Billion downloads. Its all part of a platform war between different mobile operating systems, but that aside we asked industry luminaries what is their favourite mobile application, and why? Read on

INDUSTRY TALK  For the most part, Research and Development (R&D) budgets have tended to survive cutbacks. Generally, this is because many enterprises see their R&D - their so-called 'secret sauce' and the basis of their competitive advantage as something to be kept close. Often its the (clever) CTO who baffles the Board with technical sounding bull dust as to why this shouldn't occur. However while it may be a sensible decision to retain some R&D activities as core internal functions there are a number of powerful reasons worth considering both financial and technological for outsourcing your R&D. Read on