Following Australian Startups and Tech Trends

Today we showcase the story of an exciting venture, from Sydney, Australia, infome - Find Anything Nearby from your Mobile, co-founded by Scott Middleton, Andrew Lowe and Brett McDowall. In a recent email-based interview with us, Scott gave insights into how he is managing and juggling. This is what he has to say in his interview with us: • Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests? When I was about 12 - thanks to a book my parents bought me - I found out that I could create web pages, I was so excited I distinctly remember tossing and turning the entire night because I began imagining the possibilities, imagining what I could create; especially how I could build websites for local businesses. A year or two later, still excited and full of enthusiasm I’d learnt how to create mobile games, A well-established local mobile developer bought my first game and it went worldwide – it even made it to a top 20 list for Australian developers. Even now, I still love mobile. I...

Today we showcase the story of an exciting venture, from Melbourne & Sydney, Australia, Front Foot - Media Solutions for mobile phones and the internet, co-founded by Anton Sher, Ben Astill, and Richard Lennox. In a recent email-based interview with Anton, he gave insights into how he is managing and juggling. This is what he has to say in his interview with us: • How long it took before it was up and running Front Foot started in April 2006 and we launched our first mobile site in January 2007. Since then we have built several mobile sites, including the Winner and Runner-Up at AIMIA's 2009 industry Awards for EA and Sky Racing respectively. • Stage of Venture Three years on and our portfolio is growing. We now have a mobile ad server, billing and alert systems, and video platforms, and are integrated into Australian carriers. Currently, Front Foot is looking at several export opportunities. • Which Market Segment Front Foot provides mobile solutions for all market seg...

I recently did an email-based interview with Emily Freeman, founder of Mobilist , one of the emerging mobile consultants on the Status of Mobile Advertising in Australia. Let's explore what she has to say about this emerging platform and the opportunity: • Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests? My background is a mix of marketing and online. After my Marketing degree, I worked in marketing & product management for companies like Ernst & Young, Fairfax & Microsoft in the UK . I've always been interested in technology - even in 1997 at Fairfax I managed CD-ROM products! In the dot com boom, I worked as a community manager for a startup and luckily ended up in a stable role at Sensis when the crash came. At Sensis, I managed websites like Whereis Online and in 2004 I was offered the opportunity to develop Sensis' first WAP products. Back then there was no mobile industry, so it's exciting to have been part of something from the v...

After Silicon Valley in US, if there is another place where innovation & entrepreneurship is flourishing, then it is Israel. The culture of start-ups & innovation is widespread across Israel considering the challenging & sometimes hostile environment they face there. Today we explore more about LocatioNet & its flagship service amazeGPs . In a recent email-based chat with co-founder, Ofer Tziperman of LocatioNet , he gave insights into the emerging opportunity in Location Based Services(LBS). • Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests? My name is Ofer Tziperman. I am the President and co-founder of LocatioNet . I have over 15 years of experience in the marketing of hi-tech products and with startup companies. • What is the name of your venture/company? LocatioNet Systems Ltd. This is the company name. Our flagship product today is the amAze service. • Please tell us about your venture/company? LocatioNet was established in 2000 and acquired Totem ...

This is a guest post by Rajesh Jain, an entrepreneur based in Mumbai, India, and Founder and Managing Director of Netcore Solutions Pvt Ltd . He has put together his thoughts on the emerging opportunities in the Mobile domain especially focusing on India. Let's explore what he has to say about this emerging platform and the opportunity: The Shift from Internet 1 (Portals) to Internet 2 (Search) The early days of the Internet were all eyeballs and monetisation via banner (graphical) advertising. The business was about creating portals and destination sites like Yahoo and AOL were doing. There was also some eCommerce going via the likes of eBay and Amazon. These were significant opportunities but they paled into what was created by Google with the simplicity of paid search. Of course, Google did not create the base model - that was done by Overture (GoTo.com) which was later acquired by Yahoo. But Google refined it to perfection. Search captures intent - to find or buy. Google first...

Today we showcase an exciting and successful venture co-founded in 2008 by Ian McCallam from Sydney, NSW, Australia , SMS Poll - Mobile Text Message Voting Application. In a recent email-based interview with Ian, he gave insights into his venture and how he is progressing with it. This is what he has to say: • Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests? Born, raised and graduated in London. I now live in Sydney. I’ve always been a bit of an ‘inventor of ideas’ and when the Internet came along I knew I could put down my pencil and paper and start creating things in a new world where they would be seen by people across the world (rather than just my friends and next door neighbour!). I started my digital media career about 10 years ago at a London agency creating online solutions for a variety of blue-chip clients. I spent my spare time writing about emerging trends on the web and across the world as one of the founding writers for PSFK.com. I later went on to e...

The Mobile Industry Group of the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), in collaboration with m.Net Corporation and Ideal Interfaces , has published the results of the fourth edition of the Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index. The report provides invaluable insight into the background, usage behaviour and preferences of Australian mobile phone users. Some of the key findings of this report are: Mobile phone ownership: 49% owned a mobile phone for over seven years. 34% of participants noted that they owned a second mobile phone and/or SIM, with over half of those aged 22–40 years old, 62% of whom were female. Half of the respondents who owned a second mobile phone were married or living together. Telecommunications provider: Optus (35%) and Telstra (25%) were in the same positions as the last survey and were still the dominant telecommunications providers among the participants of this survey. Vodafone (16%) just took the third spot back from 3 (15%). 26% ...