January 2014

Welcome to 2014 everyone, I hope you had a safe and enjoyable festive season. This year, thanks to the federally funded DIgital Enterprise Funding we snaffled in 2013, we are again able to bring you more free information sessions to help you and your organisation, whether it is a small/medium business or community group/Not-for-Profit, to get online and make the most of the internet. 

kind regards,
Michele

(Michele Dale, Project Manager, DEP FNQ&TS)

We think the best thing about the DEP is the followup. Once you or a representative of your organisation has attended an information session, your organisation is then eligible for up to 4 hours of one-on-one mentoring sessions.

These sessions are FREE and ON-SITE - an ideal opportunity particularly if you are unable to get away from the office yourself.

First, attend an information session. They're free...and we're right back into it for our Cairns participants with "Creating a website" in January!

• practical tips for getting your organisation online
• how to make plans and set budgets
• buy a web address
• develop web content and
• build, promote and maintain a website.

This month two sessions are available:

1. Wednesday 22 Jan 4pm-6pm ARC Disability Services Building 92 Little St Manunda, Cairns or
2. Wednesday 29 Jan 11am-1pm Civic Reception Room, Cairns Regional Council Spence Street .

Visit  http://bit.ly/DEPsessions to register to attend a free session. You can also email us info@diveintodigital.com.au or call 0422902664 for more information.

Remember - once you have attended an info session, you can then register for free followup one-on-one onsite mentoring sessions!

Free wifi has become standard in public places, with the Community WiFi service in Cairns still available to users in and around The Lagoon area of the Esplanade, Cairns City Library and Babinda Library. The service is currently under review for potential expansion.

But once free WiFi is everywhere, how can businesses differentiate themselves?

Read the full article in 'Flying Solo'

Pictures, story telling, and location-based marketing are in Gary Nissim's top 5 digital marketing trends for 2014. Gary is General Manager at Agency M. and in this article in Marketing Magazine he tells us what he thinks will leave the biggest imprint on the coming 12 months. Click here to read more.

A restaurant owner in an Arab village outside of Jerusalem says he is on a mission to save culinary culture by making diners a simple offer: Turn off your cellphone and get a 50 percent discount.  In this article by Aron Heller of Associated Press, owner Jawdat Ibrahim says smartphones have destroyed the modern dining experience and he hopes the generous discount will bring back a more innocent time when going to a restaurant was about companionship, conversation and appreciating the food, rather than surfing, texting or talking to the office.