Friday, 30 May 2008

God Bless Her


This weekend, New Zealand celebrates the Queen's Birthday. Monday is a public holiday.

Ever since I arrived in NZ from the UK in 2003, the irony of this particular public holiday has not been lost. In the UK, a public holiday to celebrate the Queen's Birthday would be deemed as either elitist or ethnically sensitive.

The UK Parliament would be far more likely to establish a 'Mandela Day', than a 'QE2 Day'. So it is down to her subjects on the far side of the world to share her day in London, Sandringham or Balmoral. When it comes to that real sense of 'Britishness', Westminster still does not get it.

Selling the Dream


As a start up company operating in the online space, Pingar has gone through all the highs and lows that come with taking an idea and transforming it into reality.

The highs and lows come at many levels. At a personal level, they can at times be quite stressful, but it is that absolute belief in what you are setting out to achieve that keeps you going. A characteristic that many entrepreneurs share is the concept of the 'calculated risk'. Sometimes it is difficult to quantify this, but it is an instinct honed by experience and judgement.

This week was one of those weeks that reaffirmed that belief. I have posted a number of blogs about Pingar's partnering and strategic alliance strategy over the past year. This week, that paid off handsomely, in the form of real client engagement in both NZ and the UK. No names, since NDA's mean the lips are still zipped. However, the successful 'selling of the dream' that has dominated my life for so long makes those calculated risks worth taking.

Next Saturday, I am joining Startup Magazine to shoot a video in Auckland about my experiences with Pingar. It will cover both the highs and the lows. When the video is available, I will post it on the blog.

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Europe’s 4th Entrepreneurship Day


An interesting invitation arrived overnight. Microsoft is organising Europe's 4th Entrepreneurship Day in Brussels on 11th June. Microsoft's vision for engagement in Europe is clear.

'The investor community remains a critical component of the European Innovation Ecosystem and together we aim to establish Europe as a major innovation cluster that parallels that in Silicon Valley.

We’re keen for you to understand how Microsoft programs and initiatives are helping to build better Education solutions, see some examples of R&D and Academic partnerships, incubation and funding solutions – such as the Start-up Accelerator, Imagine Cup and Entrepreneurship Forum.'


It's a tad far for me to travel for one day from Tauranga. However the invitation does reinforce the globalisation of Pingar.

Rod Drury recently posted a blog here in NZ on 'If I was in Charge of Microsoft'. The posting included some good stuff. There is however a catch. One the problems I find being based in NZ is that so many Microsoft programs exist offshore that do not appear to exist in godszone.

The agenda for the Brussels meeting is testament to that. I do not pretend to understand Microsoft's own global Ecosystem of internal organisation. It does seem to me though that NZ-based Microsoft developers are sometimes disadvantaged if they cannot engage with all of Microsoft Corp's global programs.

I believe NZ Microsoft developers punch above their weight in terms of technology development. They face additional commercialisation challenges though in terms of domestic market size and distance to the global market. Direct access to more of Microsoft's global programs would help.

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

The Working Day


According to the OECD, New Zealanders work some of the longest working hours in the developed world. I think I understand.

One of the major downsides of our geography is the dreaded word 'timezones'.

Typically, my 'working day' starts at 6.30am with a download of the overnight email. With partners in both the UK and India, much of the offshore work occurs at night. With the current 11 hour time difference between NZ and the UK, it also means I can call up business colleagues before it gets too late - so calls normally go through by 8.00 - 9.00pm UK time.

Then it's time for coffee and the New Zealand working day begins.

It's normally at about 5.00pm in the evening when HBI Software in Bangalore comes on line as the India working day starts. So a new set of email and Skype kicks in at that point. By 8.00pm in the evening, the UK is back online and I normally try and close things off by 10.30pm.

Today is no exception. This morning it was a 6.00am start and shortly I leave for Auckland. 6 hours driving and 3 meetings with the last slated in for 4.30pm means that I will get back in Tauranga for about 10.00pm. Lovely! And then it's time to catch up. Those OECD figures might just be right.

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

India Calling


'The Gateway to India' - Mumbai

Following on from my posting last week about the visit of Kamal Nath, India's Minister of Commerce to New Zealand, comes news that NZTE are organising an 'Indian Market Forum' in Tauranga in July.

It appears that there is a clear move by New Zealand towards negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. NZ Trade Minister, Phil Goff, said as much as he prepared to meet Kamal Nath last Thursday. All this follows on from the recent signing of the New Zealand-China FTA, apparent good progress on bilateral trade talks with Korea and the announcement last week that New Zealand and Japan will embark on a study of the benefits of a bilateral economic partnership agreement.

The interesting thing about each of these bilateral discussions is the diverse range of opportunity each brings. India is no exception. I have spent seven years engaged in direct business in India through HBI Software in Bangalore. The changes in the last seven years have been immense. India is changing and New Zealand can only benefit from greater engagement with it.

Monday, 26 May 2008

UK Founders Forum Event

An interesting take on perceptions from some of the UK's leading web entrepreneurs. A YouGov poll was taken at last week's third annual Founders Forum event, which was attended by 100 entrepreneurs including Charles Dunstone, Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Bebo co-founder Michael Birch.

Britain's leading internet entrepreneurs see the dominance of Google as the biggest threat to their business and would like to see Yahoo! acquired by Microsoft to help counter the threat. Some 44 per cent of those attending said they saw search giant Google as the biggest threat to their company's internet growth. Just 6 per cent cited lack of video bandwidth, while another 6 per cent said traditional media companies.

And nearly half of the group thought the economic slowdown would have a positive impact on their business by accelerating migration to the web, versus 29 per cent citing a negative impact.

I'm not sure Google's dominance would rank so highly in New Zealand. My own feeling is that for most NZ web entrepreneurs, there are greater challenges to face. Distance to market, size of market and access to capital are just three. It's about building scale. Some NZ companies including Xero and Ponoko seem to have recognised that and are executing strategies to tackle that. The numbers however are small.

A comparative poll amongst NZ web entrepreneurs would be an interesting exercise.

My NZX


Hats doffed this morning to the NZX.

It's not often that I immediately take to redesigned portals; particularly those I navigate on a regular basis. Yet the New Zealand Stock Exchange seem to have made their new site work. Not of course from a technical standpoint. That is to be expected. But I believe the new NZX portal does achieve its stated functional objectives.

As NZX Head of Communications Rowan Macrae says, "The new www.nzx.com is more than a typical stock exchange website. The site was developed with a goal of encouraging a greater level of interest, engagement and activity in the New Zealand market. Investors can now access market data, world-class interactive tools and the latest business and economic news in one place".

As one who browses several different global exchange portals reasonably regularly, I think the architects have got this one right.

Friday, 23 May 2008

MORGO 2008


I received an invitation this morning to attend MORGO 2008: 'Partnering for Success' being held on Thursday 28 & Friday 29 August in Waitangi.

According to its own website, MORGO is an annual recharge for executives that has a reputation as a must attend event. At MORGO 2008, speakers include Jeremy Moon from Icebreaker, Bill Day from Seaworks, Mike Riley from Endace, Brent Robinson from Rakon, Glenn Martin and Helen Priest.

It will be good to have the opportunity to network with other IT players in what I guess will be a reasonably informal atmosphere. The agenda looks like a mix of structured speeches and workshops with plenty of opportunities to engage away from the conference floor. I have not been to a two-day NZ hosted event like this before. It looks good. Invitation accepted.

NZTE Beachhead


I have blogged before about my perceived value of the NZTE Beachhead Program. Whilst much of the country's focus of Michael Cullen's Budget yesterday was on tax cuts, it was the additional NZ$8 million top-up to the Beachheads funding that caught my eye.

Back in January, I gave a presentation on Pingar to the UK Beachhead Advisory Board in London. Only last Monday, both John and Tim attended a UK Beachhead function at NZ House in Haymarket.

I guess this is relevant today as I finalise the documentation for Pingar's formal application to join the Beachhead Program. We have already experienced 'unofficially' some of the benefits that membership brings. It would be good to complete the formal route so that engagement can become more permanent.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Tauranga ICT Expo


Date: Wednesday 21st May
Location: Baycourt, Tauranga
Time: 12.30 - 18.30


All day, check out the Pingar stand in the main Exhibition Area and view the online demos.

At 15.00, check out the Waikatolink presentation in the Speaker presentation hall. And at 17.30, check out the free nibbles, cash bar and meet the team.

The Tauranga 'Technology for Smarter Business' Expo has finally arrived.

See you tomorrow.

Grabaseat v Grabalot


Grabaseat, Air New Zealand's online discount air portal, provides a pleasant respite from Air NZ's normal pricing policy. Using Grabaseat means Air New Zealand becomes a much more affordable travel option, for a wider number of customers.

Grabalot, is less well advertised. It landed in my email this morning. I had enquired, from my normal travel agent, the approximate cost of return flights to the UK this summer. The basic economy return quoted stands at approx NZ$3,500, premium economy at NZ$6,050. That's some advance on the same period last year.

Undoubtedly, part of this increase must come down to increased fuel costs. In a Press Pelease dated 30 the April, Air New Zealand said; "Over the last two months long haul international fares have increased by 4% to 8% dependent on route and class, and look certain to rise further as fuel continues to spiral".

More worryingly, Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand's CEO has said recently that some international routes are 'under review'. We know what that means. Any further reduction in capacity can only have one impact. Prices will spike again.

In the previous blog, I highlighted tomorrow's NZ New Thinking Export breakfast being hosted here in Tauranga. The economic challenges are real. For exporters, the ability to travel offshore to engage is crucial. So is the cost.

NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast


The Sebel Hotel - Tauranga

This time tomorrow morning, I will be attending the NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast hosted by NZTE and Export NZ (BOP) at the Sebel.

Jon Mayson, Chair of NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will be speaking about ‘Beyond Export Year - What do we have to DO to achieve export Growth?’ Jon will also provide a personal view on what we need to do here in the Bay of Plenty to build strong export growth.

The NZ New Thinking Export Breakfasts are a follow-up to the series of Export Year 2007 breakfasts organised last year. They provided a forum then, and provide a forum now, for exporters to share their experiences.

It was important that the framework built last year continued into this year. Whilst Export Year 2007 might have been a convenient label to focus minds, the need for the structures it spawned remain as relevant today as they did then.

Monday, 19 May 2008

Yahoo! Revisited


Yahoo founders Jerry Yang and David Filo

Microsoft walked from its offer to buy Yahoo! on 3rd May. After what might prove to be a short-lived 'victory' for Yahoo!, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has since then launched an effort to oust Yahoo's board.

Yahoo!'s shares were always going to tank following the withdrawal of Microsoft's offer. What has happened since has only dimmed the lights for Yahoo!'s founders. In a further escalation of the pressure of them, Microsoft released a new statement overnight.

Microsoft's Statement released Sunday 18th May

"In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo! Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo! at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo! or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo! or Microsoft or with other third parties.

"There of course can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions."

This is becoming a fascinating exhibition of corporate maneuverings. Icahn has clearly indicated that he wants Microsoft back at the table so a deal can be struck. 'No deal, then Sack the Board'. Microsoft on the other hand can bide its time and allow the pressure to build. Its statement overnight does that.

Forget the business case. This is fascinating stuff.

Friday, 16 May 2008

India Calling


Kamal Nath

Next Thursday, the Indian Minister of Commerce, Kamal Nath, is visiting New Zealand with a business delegation of around 25 companies.

I am expecting to meet up with both the Minister and three of the business delegation companies in Auckland during the visit.

One of the key focuses of my discussions will be based on potential JV and outsourcing work for HBI Software Pvt Limited. Another key discussion area will be around the potential exploitation of IP owned by The WH Consultancy Limited in the Indian sub-continent. So why post on this detail?

The recent signing of the NZ-China Free Trade Agreement has perhaps deflected some attention from the growing economic importance of the Indian economy in the global space. Nowhere is this more true that in some of the high technology sectors of ICT, bio and nano. Although many NZ businesses seem to be aware of the potential, few in my experience choose to engage. How different from my UK experience.

India offers huge opportunities to NZ companies. Next Thursday's visit reflects this and it is an opportunity I am happy to take up. I hope a number of others do too.

Thursday, 15 May 2008

Wednesday 21st May


The battle for ratings.....

At the recent Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum, the focus was on long-term inter sub-region and inter-agency cooperation, engagement and love. Fast forward to Wednesday 21st May.

Inter-agency cooperation in action? I think not.

Lining up at 7.00am in the morning is the Export NZ Bay of Plenty and NZ Trade and Enterprise sponsored NZ New Thinking Export Breakfast at the Sebel Hotel in Tauranga. (Cost: NZ$25, to include breakfast) There is absolutely nothing wrong with the agenda. Jon Mayson – Chair of NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will be speaking about ‘Beyond Export Year – What do we have to DO to achieve export Growth?’ Jon will also provide a personal view on what we need to do here in the Bay of Plenty to build strong export growth.

The session is scheduled to close at 9.30am. This provides enough time for delegates to get to their offices, open the post and then prepare for the next 'Event of the Day'.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce have organised their 'Meet the New CEO' lunch at Mills Reef from 11.30am - 2.00pm. (Cost: NZ$45 members, $NZ65 non-members, to include lunch). Greg Bold, the new CEO will talk of his journey to becoming CEO and where he sees the Chamber both now and into the future. Greg will also talk about his role of tutoring and some helpful hints on Problem Solving and Decision Making.

Tummies full, it is now time for delegates to return to the office to ensure staff are still working and time to sign off the day's inventory before setting off to the next 'Event of the Day'.

Priority One and the WBOP ICT Cluster have organised the well advertised “Technology for Smart Business” Expo at Baycourt (Cost: Free, with complimentary canopes after 5.30pm). This runs from 12.30pm - 6.30pm at Baycourt. The tradeshow is being held to provide an opportunity for local ICT companies to showcase their products and services to businesses in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty.

So there we have it. Three significant business events on one day. Inter-agency cooperation in action.

For the record, I will be at the Sebel for the breakfast session and then its off to Baycourt to set up the Pingar stand for the “Technology for Smart Business” Expo. Sorry Greg, but I reckon 2 out of 3 is as much as I can manage in one day.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

0161 44


New Zealand Calling...

It's the nature of my job that I have to engage with the UK and India outside normal working hours. (Unless 6.30am - 11.00pm are regarded as such).

Normally I try and communicate via Skype. Most of may regular contacts have now set this up as their default standard comms for me. There are times however when I might be on the road or be void of laptop, in which case I have to make a landline 2 landline call. It's at these moments that I revert to Telecom's 0161 service.

If you dig deep enough into the small print, you can find that this service exists. It costs nothing to set up and is only available for international calls. Dial 0161 before the country prefix, instead of the widely advertised 00, and your call tariff collapses. 0161 44 (UK) costs 7 cents per minute. That's cheaper than a standard domestic call from Tauranga to Auckland. It's the same rate to the USA.

Given my international call traffic, it does make a difference. Hopefully, this tip can help you.

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

The Pledge - An Update


'I'm fading away....'

Well, not exactly, but at least the receptionist at the Gym does now seem to recognise me when I walk in.

I reckon I have entered the 'place of pain' around 10 times in the past 3 weeks. When I pledged to resolve the 'mirror issue' 3 weeks ago, I gave myself one month to prove the resolve. So far, so good.

Next time I go I will actually try to enjoy it. The manual says so.

National Party Forum


An invitation dropped through the letterbox this morning inviting me to a panel discussion forum with National Party representatives here in Tauranga on 16th June.

Nothing unusual there, except the invitation was sent out by Export New Zealand (BOP), in association with Priority One.

Ever since I arrived in New Zealand in 2003, I have only ever really known of Government (Labour Party) trade policies. I was not aware of any major bi-party difference. So I plan to accept the invitation. It will be my first experience of listening to any National Party platform in NZ. With a general election only months away, the invitation, its source and its timing, is interesting.

Monday, 12 May 2008

Tauranga ICT Expo 'Noise'


In the past few days, the 'noise' around the Tauranga ICT “Technology for Smart Business” Expo, organised by the WBoP ICT Cluster, has grown.

I have received a number of emails including a list of the 25 local ICT Cluster member exhibitors who will be attending the Show. It is great to see such enthusism from the local ICT community and it will be great to see engagement with the wider Bay of Plenty business community.

The Pingar stand will be demonstrating the basic publishing platform created by WaikatoLink, Global Graphics and FAST. More about the detail as it becomes available.

Sunday, 11 May 2008

Wake Up Bay Of Plenty!


It's getting bigger...

I have just spent 48 hours in Raglan. The bach had no Sky, no internet access. It was a weekend of firsts.

It was the first time I had read the Waikato Times. An article on the front page of the 'Business' section caught my eye. Headed Extra Innovation, the article said that the Waikato Innovation Park will triple in size over the next three years thanks to NZ$8 million in grants.

According to the article, the Economic Development Ministry has stumped up with $NZ4 million from the Enterprise Partnership Funds, NZ$2.4 million has been provided by Hamilton City Council and the remaining NZ$1.6 million has come from Innovation Waikato Limited. The investment will be used to build and develop a new building, provide infrastructure to attract more multi-national companies and to expand the Innovation Park's business development services.

I have spent a lot of time in Hamilton in recent months and have blogged about the benefits that such a Park can have in terms of both adding value to the private sector and assisting accelerate regional economic development.

The drive and ambition in Hamilton stands in stark contrast to the current status quo on my side of the Kaimais. The fact that Hamilton is home to the University of Waikato is clearly a major factor in the positioning of the Waikato Innovation Park. It is the status quo though the Bay Of Plenty needs to address.

Last week, I attended the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum in Rotorua. The Forum was presented with a series of questions designed to map a 10-year strategy for boosting regional economic development. Ten years? Call me a sceptic but I guess that the economic landscape will have changed a tad by then. In the larger central north island macro-economic region, the expansion of the Waikato Innovation Park will surely generate some of this change. With its focus on fostering collaborative R&D between the tertiary and the private sectors, Hamilton will continue to attract high value businesses.

Realistically, the Bay of Plenty is NOT going to secure its own University any time soon. It is therefore important that the Bay Of Plenty's key business, local government and Iwi stakeholders engage directly with external research institutes such as the University of Waikato to attract their active presence in the greater Bay.

This engagement will lead to the fostering of a new awareness of value added R&D and assist promote the Bay as a destination for inward investment. Both are necessary if the mission of the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum is to be achieved.

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Auckland Bound


There comes a time most months when a trip to Auckland becomes necessary. The next 48 hours are one of those times, so the joys of the Southern Motorway, over-priced parking and dismal City centre architecture are only a couple of hours away.

It remains a sad fact that whilst Tauranga offers just about everything a nascent software start-up could want, there remain some services that only the big city can offer. So it is to that city I now go.

Wednesday, 7 May 2008

Ad Supported Models


Almost two thirds of media executives (63%) polled by Accenture say that the biggest driver of revenue growth over the next five years will be putting content on multiple screens, with short-form content picked as the biggest growth area.

That is according to the consulting firm's annual survey of more than 100 media executives.

In good news for ad-supported networks, about the same percentage (62%) say that advertising will remain the top business model for the media, with only 25% saying it would be subscription services and far fewer--only 11%--saying it will be pay-per-play. Over half (52%) said that digital ads will replace traditional advertising within five years.

The results of this survey pretty much support my thinking. Pingar's ambition is to provide high quality, premium content to users at no cost. This model is based entirely on an ad-supported strategy.

Users want it. And so it appears do advertisers.

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Start Up NZ


Start-Up Magazine is published and distributed with New Zealand’s leading business publication, Unlimited.

It features stories about and relating to New Zealand Start Up businesses that operate within the Web 2.0 space. Whatever this definition means, Pingar now features in the Start Up Directory.

Although I was aware of the magazine, it was a blog by Kris Olson, Microsoft Startup Zone Manager on the Microsoft Startup Zone that drew my attention to the portal. Based in the US, it was an interesting observation on the state of the Start Up market in New Zealand. Hats doffed then to Julie Gill and her crew at Infego for bringing this awareness to a global market.

Monday, 5 May 2008

BOP Regional Economic Development


I have been invited to attend the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum, to be held in Rotorua tomorrow morning. The purpose of the Forum is to identify strategic priorities to boost regional economic development.

I have received no shortage of pre-Forum briefing documents. The Bay of Plenty Regional Governance Group has clearly been busy.

The Forum provides me with a platform to press the case for greater engagement between the tertiary education sector (University) and the private business sector in the Research & Development space. It is becoming a bit of a hobby horse of mine. I guess that is down to my personal experience of this engagement back in the UK. In London, there was a choice of Universities to engage with. In Tauranga and surrounding districts, there is none. The impact on economic development is real.

The Forum's Agenda includes short presentations from Environmental Bay of Plenty, the Ministry of Economic Development and NZ Trade & Enterprise. There then follow sessions identifying the key strategic regional priorities.

This Forum and its stakeholders are the backbone for future development strategy. The challenge will be coordinating the disparate interests of the different stakeholders in the room. As one of the few private sector delegates invited, it will for me be an interesting take on public sector co-operation in action.

Monday 5th May - 2.00am


Promotion 12 months ago

Being a Blackpool FC supporter in New Zealand takes some commitment. As I post this blog at 2.00am in the morning, nerves in this part of Tauranga are tingling.

It is the final day of the regular Championship season and Blackpool need a draw to guarantee Championship football for another season. Arsenal are playing Everton live on Sky Sports, but everything else in the house is focused on Bloomfield Road.

I have five browser windows open as I follow the minute-by-minute action on BBC Online Sports. Because every live commentary seems to be able to detect my NZ IP, I cannot access live commentary. So in a surreal 90 minutes, I am surrounded by silence, but no lack of fellow sufferers. Over the past 45 minutes, I have blogged with fellow 'Pool supporters from Los Angeles to Sydney. Sad, but true.

It is half time, so I have a few moments to post. These are the current scores that will determine Blackpool's fate in the next 45 minutes:

Blackpool 1-0 Watford
Charlton 2-1 Coventry
Sheff Wed 1-1 Norwich
Southampton 1-1 Sheff Utd
Stoke 0-0 Leicester

As things stand, Blackpool are safe. Having said that, this is Blackpool and having supported then since adolescence, the word 'safe' is a concept only. So there we have it and by 3.00am we will know the result.

Time to get back to the browser windows and refill the glass. The next 45 minutes are in Bill Shankley's famous words 'approximate to life & death'.

(3.00am Report: Unbelievable. I managed to get an International BBC radio feed just after I uploaded my half-time blog, so I hooked into the last 45 minutes 'live'.

The 'Pool secured the draw they needed. We are in the Championship League next season. Sympathies to the Foxes. Leicester are down. One last time to refill that glass. Then to bed.)

Yahoo! BooHoo!


So the first round skirmish is over. Microsoft has dropped its three-month-old bid to buy Yahoo! because the two sides cannot agree on an acceptable sale price. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has formally withdrawn the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang.

From the day the original offer was made, I have made my reservations about this deal known. I blogged then:

"I really do not see how this deal will work. If it goes through (and that is a big if), I cannot quite work out how the two business models map."

Nothing I have heard in the three months since then has really altered my view.

For Microsoft, the withdrawn offer allows it to focus once more on its 'Software and a Service' strategy. I really do believe this offers Microsoft its best route to engage with 'The Cloud'. The upcoming Office 14 and other core Microsoft platforms and apps provide the company with the resource to pursue this route robustly. It is time Microsoft focused on its strengths and not its perceived weaknesses.

For Yahoo!, I see troubled times ahead. It's stock price will plunge near term and it had better deliver on its forecasts. A failure to do so will see it punished by the market. I see a rash of joint venture style announcements as it seeks to retain a modicum of independence.

I opened this posting with the words, 'So the first round skirmish is over'. If Yahoo! does fail to deliver, then I expect Microsoft to pay a return visit. By that point, Yahoo's shareholders might look upon any subsequent offer through a different set of perspectives. This particular engagement still has time to run.

Friday, 2 May 2008

Yahoo!xtra


I tend to use Yahoo! to catch up on US news and markets. So this morning, I was not impressed to find the usual domain address re-pointed my browser to Yahoo!Xtra.

This is of the course the result of the tie up announced last year between Telecom NZ and Yahoo. So what do I think of the Kiwi version?

The navigation is good and on the face of it, the content looks reasonably up-to-date. How proprietary is the content? A quick click through some of the News and Business links suggest that a lot of content is sourced from NZPA and NewstalkZB feeds. There are one or two bits of content originated by Yahoo!Xtra staffers, but I get the impression the portal is basically an aggregator of other content owner's property. The Telecom NZ partnership is obvious. You can access a full range of Telecom products and services via the navigation.

A link on the home page provides a link to the original US version. Unfortunately, you cannot set this as a default so it looks like I will have to pass through the Kiwi version to access the more familiar US content.

It will be interesting to see what impact on this joint venture, a successful Microsoft bid for Yahoo might have. Telecom NZ cancelled a previous joint venture agreement with MSN to replace the incumbent with Yahoo! 'What's around, comes around' springs to mind.