The Federal Government and private sector will invest up to $43 billion over eight years in a super-fast national broadband network, in the “single biggest infrastructure decision in Australia’s history”.

The significance of this announcement reaches far beyond the actual construction implications. The proposed National Broadband Network will affect how Australian’s do business, communicate, consume media and compete internationally.

There will also be an immediate effect, despite the projected 8 year roll-out, as companies begin positioning for what will be a very different future.

The fibre-to-the-premise network will run to 90% of homes and businesses offering speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. The remaining homes and businesses will be reached via wireless and satellite technologies offering speeds of 12 megabits per second.

Companies with strong online businesses should do well now as their future now seems so much brighter.

Superfast broadband will accelerate the move of content online and media companies with strong online strategies will be the best positioned in this exciting future.

Futurist and digital media commentator Mark Pesce wrote in SMH:

Very high-speed broadband of the kind the Government promises will completely change our expectations for the internet. It’s not simply that pages will load faster (and they may not, as that’s more to do with the computers serving those pages than the computer displaying them), it’s the new things that become possible…..

The next-generation broadband network (NBN) opens up possibilities we can’t even dream of today, because we don’t yet live in the world of super high-speed broadband….

Next-generation smartphones will tie into the network to become our points of presence within a “cloud” of information about ourselves, created by ourselves, and shared with those we love and trust.

Having just returned from two digital media conferences in the USA, and observing media consumption habits there, the National Broadband Network announcement seems very timely. Australia has been lagging behind much of the Western world with our slower Internet speeds, and our current network will clearly not cope with, or accept the demands of emerging media.

Whilst in the US I posted about how web technology is changing the face of television there. Privately, I was lamenting the fact that the existing Australian network probably wouldn’t foster such innovation. Suddenly, that is all about to change.

If traditional media in Australia wasn’t already worried (and they are), then they will be terrified now. Most haven’t positioned themselves well for a digital future. Radio has been avoiding the issue and delaying a digital launch. Television is reluctantly launching this year with half-hearted digital stations. Press has been seeing ad-sales drop rapidly as online eats into their readership and influence. Only Kerry Stokes and his Seven Network seem remotely prepared for change.

Australian businesses must begin taking their digital presence seriously. The game is about to change dramatically and those companies that are prepared will be in a position to make a quantum leap.

Social networks will explode. Web video will be fast and effective and ever-present. Advertising and marketing will change forever. New businesses will be launched at a rapid rate, betting on every aspect of a high speed digital future.

Nobody should under-estimate the implications of the National Broadband Network. We were already at a turning point in history, but it just received a kick-along.

Will you be ready or will you be left behind?

SNOBS is an online magazine designed for businesswomen and providing relevant information, news and events. SNOBS embraces social media philosophies of online community, open feedback and citizen journalism.

Carlee describes SNOBS as “an online magazine and social network for businesswomen. It is a resource for news, information and advice where career-driven women can connect with fresh industry contacts and keep in touch with valued friends.”

A former Newcastle radio announcer (NEWFM and NXFM) and freelance journalist (Sun Herald and Ralph), Carlee has moved boldly into the digital publishing world with SNOBS. The site mixes conventional magazine-style columns and social events coverage with interactive events calendars, citizen journalism and networking opportunities.

The site was designed and built by Sticky who continue to assist Carlee with her introduction to the world of social media. SNOBS will continue to evolve over the coming months with more features and contributors.

"We have been closely observing the changes to the modern media
landscape and feel that emerging media trends are becoming too
significant to ignore," said Sticky managing director Craig Wilson

"We have seen the future and it’s digital."

"As a result we have evolved to include Digital and Social media in
our core services and have released some revolutionary new products to
coincide with the changes."

Amongst the new offerings is Newcastle’s most dedicated Search Engine Optimisation package, allowing businesses to dramatically improve their rankings with online search engines.

Wilson says…."What is the point of a website that nobody sees?”

"So many websites have been poorly designed and do not perform well,
or at all, in Google, Yahoo and other searches. That is severely
hindering the online success of those businesses. We can fix this
quickly and cost-effectively."

A Newcastle digital advertising agency is delivering search engine optimisation that guarantees clients substantially better search rankings in a matter of weeks.

Craig Wilson, managing director of Sticky explains:

As Sticky has evolved from a traditional media agency to a digital and social media agency
we have become more fascinated and excited by the possibilities of
Search Engine Optimisation. Eighteen months of research and testing has
resulted in the development of an SEO approach that is remarkably effective.

How effective? Well the agency’s new website ranks at the top or near the top of Google
searches for every category it targeted within a month. Most SEO ‘experts’ would tell
you that result wouldn’t be possible for 3 to 4 months.

In fact, Sticky Advertising offers arguably the most effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in Newcastle.

The proof is in the actual search
results. There are dozens of businesses claiming to offer SEO services
in Newcastle and the Hunter, yet if you do a Google (Australia) search
for ‘SEO Newcastle’, Sticky is on the first page
after less than a month. Not once, but twice. You would expect that
this would be a very difficult search to rank well on, given the large
number of experts vying for position on the first page.

The Sticky SEO System
is designed to get results quickly in multiple search categories. It
works best on sites they design ourselves, but can still be very
effective on existing sites.

They believe so strongly in the benefits of effective SEO, and their system in particular, that they now bundle it into all new websites they create. They refuse to create sites that are not fully optimised (and you might be pleasantly surprised by the price).

With Sticky’s search engine optimisation system now up and running
and achieving great results, they have begun working on numerous client
sites to similar effect.

The second Newcastle site published using the Sticky SEO system was for Dolphcom whale and swimming adventures. Dolphcom’s previous site never ranked better than page 4 on Google for any of its key search terms. Within 3 weeks of launching the Sticky optimised Dolphcom site thye were ranking on page 1 for relevent searches. Site traffic has doubled in this time as a result.

If your business relies on traffic, enquiries and sales from your
website, then you must rank on the first page of Google searches.
Ideally in the first 5 spots. If your site isn’t there, you are losing
sales.

Media Hunter

According to Julian Cole: ”With Sticky Advertising having the minds of Media Hunter (Craig Wilson) and The Marketer (Gordon Whitehead) it would not be surprised if it was top dog in social media by 2010.”

Julian Cole and the team at Marketing Magazine
saw a need for a filtering of the insightful marketing blogs from the
total time wasters. While many marketers realize the power of blogs,
they often don’t read them, simply because they don’t know where to
find them.

“Blog’s excel at breaking news stories
related to their industry, generating new marketing strategies or
showcasing advice on marketing challenges. Believe it or not, blogs are
now influencing the rest of your learning sources too.”  says Julian.

The Top 50 Australian Marketing Pioneers Blogs
is a ranking of the top media and marketing blogs in Australia, as
developed by digital strategist and blogger, Julian Cole. Released
quarterly in Marketing Magazine, the rankings are constructed using six
different comparative scores out of 10. 

1. Google Page Ranking (ranking from Google)
2. Technorati authority ( the number of unique blogs pointing to their blog)
3. Pioneer ranking (subjective score by Julian Cole, depending on how pioneering the content of the blog is)
4. Technorati blogs reactions (the number of times the blog is mentioned by others)
5. Alexa traffic rankings (ranking in terms of website), and
6. Bloglines (the number of subscriptions)

A 24 hour "Bum Rush" co-ordinated by Chris Wilson saw hundreds of bloggers mobilize to promote the innovative marketing publication The Age of Conversation.  In one day the book has risen from an Amazon ranking of approximately 110,000 to finish the day at  #262 for all books and  #36 on the Business Bestsellers list.

The "Bum Rush" marketing effort saw the book’s release promoted on
hundreds of websites and blogs around the world, then heavily pushed on
Digg.com, where it was the fastest rising web topic in the last 24 hours.

Readers were encouraged to buy the book from Amazon, make comments, review it, Digg it and tell their friends, and discuss the progress on Twitter.

The rush started in Australia, which is only lightly represented in
the book, then proceeded around the world until midnight on the US
east-coast. Bleary-eyed bloggers stayed online for the entire push,
giving encouragement in a real online-style festival.

The book had another breakthrough when it became listed on Wikipedia during the "Bum Rush". A profile of the book and listing of authors can be found here.

Of course thats not the end of the story. Now that Age of
Conversation is well up the Amazon rankings, we want to maintain the
rage and try to push it further. Its not too late to buy a copy. Buy one for your business, your clients, your friends or family. All proceeds go to Variety, the children’s charity.