Golden Opportunity – expert panel discussion & community forum

Wednesday 21st November, 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Paradise Showroom, The Arts Centre Gold Coast, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise. 

Free event.

Join leading arts, urban design and technology experts to discuss the City’s cultural future at a community forum next Wednesday.

The Golden Opportunity forum looks making the most of opportunities to enrich the Gold Coast's cultural life and economy through creatively amalgamating information & communication technologies and the arts. 

Inspired by a research paper by Professor Marcus Breen, entitled Golden Information: The Virtual (in the) Cultural Precinct, the forum will explore future opportunities for universities, schools, industry, local government, cultural and community organisations to intersect and collaborate around the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct and beyond.Co-chaired by Marcus Breen, Professor of Communication and Media, Bond University + Tory Jones, Executive Coordinator Major Projects, Gold Coast City Council. 

MC:  Professor Jeffrey Brand, Bond University.

With special guests Michelle Tabet (Arup), Sahba Abedian (Sunland Group), Prof. Michael Blumenstein (IT Forum Gold Coast), Dr. Lucy Cameron (Queensland Government) and Simon Goodrich (AIMIA).

Free event, please go to www.bond.edu.au/golden-opportunity for more information and to register.Invite friends and share on Facebook.Golden Opportunity is a collaborative cultural forum supported by Gold Coast City Council, The Arts Centre Gold Coast and Bond University.

RE-IMAGINING THE GOLD COAST

For those residents and business owners looking to be part of the Gold Coast cultural dialogue take a look at this invitation - ironically I cannot attend as I will be going to the Gold Coast Arts Centre to see the Sydney Dance Company.

BOND UNIVERSITY and TIGERMONKEY PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS... 

RE-IMAGINING THE GOLD COAST

Cerum TheatreWednesday July 25, 6:30pm-9:00pm

Experience a night like no other as the Gold Coast’s very own Jeff Licence and Dr. Sally MacKinnon take us on a journey intothe cultural underground of the Gold Coast, exploring issues that have formed the stereotypes and discovering a much deeper side to the coast beyond the ‘Glitter Strip'.

Professor Philip Follent from the Soheil Abedian School of Architecture, and Professor Marcus Breen from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences represent Bond University on a panel along with…

§  Rory O’Connor (Managing Director, Yugambah Museum),

§  Libby Sander (Founder, The Future of Work Project and Chair, Goldspaces)

§  Destry Puia (General Manager, Arts Centre Gold Coast)

§  Nerida Marshall (Screen Theatre and Writers Studio)

Bond University is also honoured to welcome the Honourable Ros Bates MP, Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts and State Member for Mudgeeraba; and Assistant Minister for Child Safety and State Member for Southport, Rob Molhoek.

Gold Coast’s Mayor, Councillor Tom Tate has also confirmed his attendance for the event, along with seven of our City Councillors.

Join leading people from our community to contemplate the future of our city.  

$15 general admission or $10 concession.

Ticket price includes drinks and canapés served during the intermission.

 To find out more & to register please visit:

http://www.bond.edu.au/about-bond/news-and-events/events/BD3_022122

Rebranding the Gold Coast - lets fix the 'product' first

Gold Coast Council is investigating a new brand for the Gold Coast in a move that could cost ratepayers around $2million.

This proposition in my opinion, is putting the cart before the horse and will ultimately be a waste of money, if we don't fix the product first.

This means firstly building on the standards we already have in place but then working to tidy up and better present our tourism centres, like Southport, sections of Surfers Paradise, Palm Beach and Mermaid. This tidy up is as simple as Council creating spaces that are appealing to the eye through implementing professional and consistent signage for business, streetscaping, upgrading foot paths and walk ways, cleaning up litter and creating community working groups to remove graffiti.

It will also be important for Council to work with the State Government to reduce crime, and create a safe atmosphere. If we are looking to attract tourists who spend more when they get here we need to provide locations that are safe but still fun, unique but not tacky. People feel vulnerable when they are not safe and part of a relaxing holiday is travelling to a location where you are safe to unwind.

We also need to educate stakeholders the importance of having a economically sustainable brand, a brand that isn't driven on a culture of discounting but instead a culture of value adding and providing a better product - this would be a win for local business, tourists and residents. And would mean the Gold Coast is less susceptible to fluctuations in the general tourism market.

Once we have a economically sustainable product in place then we identify the markets we want to attract to the Gold Coast - market segments that have money to spend when they get here. And this is where we need to ensure our new brand connects with domestic and international audiences - Audiences like the high earning and often over looked Canberra market, the traditional Sydney and Melbourne markets and the valuable Brisbane/SE Qld drive market as well as international emerging middle class markets in Asia like India, China and Malaysia.

Whatever the outcome of creating a new brand for our city, the Council need to realise this would be the brand we take into the Commonwealth Games in 2018, and this brand is more than just a mechanism to attract tourists, but also business - so in years to come we have well paid jobs and career options on the Gold Coast.

A new brand should be about what we want to be - what we aspire to be as a city.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2012/05/28/419481_gold-coast-news.html

QR Codes for a Queensland University

Griffith Enterprise is taking innovation to a new level by rolling out the use of QR Codes on their advertising and communication.

QR Codes or Quick Response Codes are already widely used in Asia, including widespread use in Japan.

A QR Code is a two dimensional barcode which with the help of your smartphone and a free QR Code application turns everyday printed material such as posters, flyers and billboards into measurable online communication tools.

The rapid increase of smartphone use and better broadband connection in Australia means QR Codes are emerging as an innovative way to enhance marketing and communication messages.

By scanning a QR Code customers can be directed to a website or specific landing page, a simple text based message, or even provide a Google map location, all without the need for remembering a web address or telephone number.

The University’s commercialisation office Griffith Enterprise is rolling out the codes on everyday marketing collateral, such as conference display material, so customers can be better directed to information about University’s capabilities.

Griffith Enterprise Marketing, Communications and Events Officer Gordon Watson said, “QR Codes are great because they are easy and free to generate. The codes also provide us with a quantitative way of measuring the effectiveness of our marketing material.”

Mr Watson adds, “QR Codes are an innovative tool and this attribute is a hallmark of Griffith Enterprise and the services we provide the University as well as government, industry and community organisations. Looking into the future we are looking to integrate the codes further into our marketing mix by linking them to online videos and other electronic media.”

Griffith Enterprise recently used a QR Code on a retractable banner at the ICMAN5 Conference in Brisbane to showcase the University’s Nature Bank. The code linked through to the online search feature on the Nature Bank website.

To maximise the effectiveness of QR Codes Gordon recommends linking them through to a designated website landing page where a customer needs to perform a desired action.

GOLD COAST INNOVATION CENTRE CEO LUNCHEON WITH DR CLARENCE TAN

The Gold Coast Innovation Centre is pleased and privileged to welcome
Dr Clarence Tan to present a CEO Luncheon Forum:

What I did last Summer @ Singularity University, Silicon Valley - Trends in Exponential Technologies and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs

Dr Clarence Tan is the Entrepreneur in Residence Fellow at GCIC. He was recently selected to attend the prestigious Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University in NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley**. Singularity University (SU) was founded in 2009 by Dr Ray Kurtzweil and Dr Peter Diamandis with founding sponsorship from Google, Cisco, AutoDesk, ePlanet Ventures, Nokia and Kauffman Foundation and hosted at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

Clarence will talk about what he has learned about the exponential technologies and the opportunities and positive impact that these technologies will bring in the near future as well as the grand challenges in the areas of poverty, global health, security, energy, space and education.

Details for the event:

Date:
Wednesday 16th November 2011, 12pm for 12:30 – 2:30pm (inclusive of lunch)

Cost:
GCIC Members $15 per head, Non Members $35 per head (pay cash or cheque upon arrival or let Jeanette know if you would like to be invoiced

Location:
Gold Coast Innovation Centre
Building G39, Level 3 Meeting Rooms 3.38/3.41
Griffith University Gold Coast Campus,
Parklands Drive, Southport Qld 4222

Car Parking:
Parking details will be sent on acceptance of this invitation.

RSVP:
Strictly limited places. Please RSVP to Jeanette at admin@gcic.net.au

Quick tips for taking pictures for your website

Getting strong images for your website doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and quite simply, if you have a reliable camera, the chances are you can do it yourself and save your self lots of money.

But before you reach for the camera, I recommend a visit to iStockphoto. At iStockphoto you can search for and purchase any type of image you maybe looking for, and for a small fee (approximately $1.50 Australian) purchase the rights to use a professional image.

Failing iStockphoto, i have put together four quick tips for taking pictures for your website.

1. Lighting, lighting and lighting. Depending on your subject be sure to make sure the lighting is right, and if you are using a flash, you should take into account how the flash might effect the picture, for example it may cast shadows for reflect off different surfaces. If you are taking internal shots you may want to switch on all the lights and use portable lamps to get the light just the way you want it. For example if you are a real estate agent, an external shot of a house at dusk, with all the lights on is always appealing.

2. Be creative! – Use Angles. Find a more interesting angle to present your item or shot. Don’t just take the same shot anyone would by just standing there. Try dropping to eye level or taking an overhead shot (depending on what you are taking a picture of). Also keep in mind if you are taking a picture of a person, a shot which is taken looking up to them gives the subject more power, whilst a shot with a downward look gives the subject less power, whilst straight on is neutral.

3. Hold the camera steady - Nothing worse than a bunch of blurry shots. Use a tripod as much as possible to keep your shots steady. Especially when photographing people.

And finally, if you are planning to use the images you use on your website in other marketing collateral like brochures, make sure you take the highest resolution possible, because, images used on the web are much smaller than those required for brochures and posters.

2012 Gold Coast Mayoral Candidates Forum

The race to the 2012 Mayoral election on Australia's Gold Coast is fast approaching and the Creek to Creek Chamber of Commerce plays host to the Gold Coast's first 'Mayoral Candidate Forum' on Thursday 1 September 2011 at Currumbin RSL from 7.00am -8.30am.

The Forum includes Mayoral Candidates Tom Tate, Suzie Douglas and David Power.

This is a chance to meet the Candidates and ask questions in an engaging and friendly atmosphere.

Details available on the Creek website tomorrow - pre-bookings now available.