START UPS  Steve Baty who will be speaking at Xmedia Lab Sydney 8-10 June, gives us some ideas on the when, the why and the how to start a business. Steve is a Principal at Meld Studios, a Sydney-based design studio and President at IxDA, a global network dedicated to professional practice of interaction design.
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START UPS  Welcome to the entrepreneurs profile. This week we have a profile of a company I came across in my UK travels called twiDAQ. As the name suggest its where Twitter meets NASDAQ. I was very impressed with the idea both as a fun game but also as a means where companies can literally track the perceived consumer value of their brands in real time. Below is an interview with Jim Morrison its founder.
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PEOPLE  Welcome to Digital People where we profile interesting people at the coal face of digital innovation and ask them what inspires them, whats hot now and future technology trends to watch out for. Today we have Howard Goldkrand, an all round interesting guy, digital nomad, artist that works across all media including digital and more. If you want a different perspective from the mundane, read on..
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START UPS  Welcome to the first entrepreneurs profile where we will look at those who have the gumption to get out there and create a digital marketing start-up. We will ask them what drives them as an entrepreneurs, how they keep motivated, handle stress and rejection and their plans for the future. First company is iPledge a crowd funding platform based in Oz started by Bryan Vadas & Andy Tompkins.
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INDUSTRY TALK  We continue the discussion about how technology is impacting and changing the way we market and perceive brands. In particular the mostly over looked importance of sound and music in brand identity. Listen in on an excellent discussion between industry experts about the impact of music & musical identity on brand associations, positioning and strategy.
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Digitals reaction: this one is a bit obvious, ROI Is Still Huge, but interesting points.

n 2011, social media had its share of growing pains. Large brands and corporations took to social media in force to try to find footing in this expanding medium. Some brands found success, while others found peril and new PR nightmares. One person who has helped brands navigate the proverbial social media minefield is Amy Jo Martin. She is the founder of Digital Royalty, a social media firm that has set itself apart by helping A-listers find their social media voice. Amy works with people like Dana White of the UFC, Dwayne The Rock Johnson of acting/WWE fame and brands like Nike and Fox Sports (and now Joel Stein). Her specialty is working with organizations or individuals and making them look good online. Since the online world is in perpetual flux, I wanted to get Amy s take on the social media landscape for 2012. Here were a few key trends Amy said we should look out for in 2012:
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Digitals reaction: Vaughan Smith, Facebook’s director of corporate development, told Bloomberg in August that he intends to make about 20 purchases in 2011, up from 10 the previous year.

Gowalla, the increasingly-distant rival to location check-in service Foursquare, has reportedly been acquired by Facebook. By Guy Daniels. Late Friday evening, CNN Money broke the story that Gowalla had been acquired by Facebook for an undisclosed sum. Facebook has to date declined to comment, although Gowalla CEO Josh Williams appears to have confirmed the story in a leaked email. First, here s what a Facebook spokesperson said to CNN: We don't comment on rumour and speculation.
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