Small screen, big thinking

By Gena Tuffery, April 10, 2007 @ 11 pm

Small screen, big thinking

From the creators of Idolblog and Street Talk comes throng.co.nz, an impassioned tale of good conquering boredom. Combining for the first time everything to do with TV—news, pics, gossip, blogs, streams, spoilers and recaps—Throng is a new way of thinking inside the box.

“TV is going through a big change period, about to merge with the Internet,” says co-creator Regan Cunliffe. “And we’re positioning ourselves to be at the forefront of that movement. By the time everyone is using the Internet for all their entertainment purposes we plan to be huge.”   

Huge is a relative term, but not when you tighten up the parameters like this: Regan and his wife Rachel expect Throng to be in the top ten New Zealand websites within 18 months.

They’re chugging along nicely. Since going live in November last year, Throng has hosted 260,000 visitors—that’s about three thousand uniques and half-a-million page views every day.

“People love TV,” says Regan. “We’re just providing an outlet for that.” And the Cunliffes aren’t shy about sharing the love—they launched Throng in Australia, Canada and the UK soon after they turned New Zealanders on.

“Everything we’ve done has been an experiment,” says Regan. “luckily, they’ve been successful.”

Coming up next: And They All Blogged Happily Ever After.

Follow this sheep

New Zealand’s international image is changing fast, but for now it retains a strong association with sheep. It makes sense then, to capitalise on this woolly perception for as long as it lasts—which is exactly what Amie Design has done with the merino wool Go Go Bag.

Lined with this natural fibre to regulate baby’s temperature, these miniature sleeping bags also feature a bib-like top to keep it in place, plus vents for seatbelts. This simple yet ingenious design won the Internet-based company a prestigious iF (International Forum) Design Award in November last year—and up to six international distribution enquiries every week ever since.

The sudden increased growth has necessitated two new supporting ranges of 100% natural baby clothing, Merino Kids and Pure Cotton Kids—with all three ranges soon to be found in New Zealand, Australian and UK shops and mailboxes worldwide. You can’t say bah to that.

Deal me in

Technology may be the way of the present, but in an age where we email our desk neighbors someone’s finally had the sense to say: enough. That someone is Damien D’Cruz, and his something is Bisvision—a ‘hardcopy’ business strategy card game.

“When you make business decisions you sit down and talk about them,” says D’Cruz, “so you need a strategy tool in front of you—not on a computer somewhere.” Makes sense. Who’s ever heard of a Business Roundcomputer?

The cards each feature one of 174 questions to prompt your thinking, prompting 42 Below’s Geoff Ross to say, “I can’t think of a single question on business strategy that Bisvision doesn’t cover.”

But if you’re a diehard pen-phobe don’t worry—Bisvision comes with a scribe application enabling you to export your strategy straight onto your computer. And email it to your desk neighbour.

Running on water

When you’re watching rugby league at your mate’s house, his beauty therapist wife isn’t an obvious candidate for Person Of The Room. But when the diluted energy drink she’s knocking back gives you a brilliant business idea, suddenly your friend finds he’s been usurped.

Simon Hera’s new best mate explained that she adds water to energy drinks because she hates the taste and chemicals but loves “the kick”. Thinking “what a good idea”, Hera acquired two business partners and a bottling plant, and 18 months later some of our top sports people are agreeing with him.

Containing nothing but filtered water, caffeine and a dash of lime or mandarin, Fuel is in the unique position of straddling the hypertonic (energy) and isotonic (hydration) drink categories. It’s also widening the stride of The Warriors, with many of the players throwing a bottle back before the game and another at half time. “A lot of athletes use caffeine to improve their performance,” Simon explains, “but this drink hydrates them too”.

Fuel is also proving popular with tired mothers who want an energy kick that won’t hurt their health one. “Oh, and there’s one more thing,” says Simon. What’s that? “It’s the best hangover cure I’ve ever found”. Sold.