Posted by Paul Ryan, Editor, Anthill Magazine

The good folks over at TechNation Australia (TNA) have begun compiling a monthly Aussie Startup Index, which ranks the highest trafficked Australian startup websites.

The final figures are arrived at by averaging each site’s global Alexa and Compete rankings – only sites with a ranking of less than one million are listed (lower is better).

Not sure how TechNation is defining “startup”, as the list contains a few companies that are well and truly ready to leave the nest (ie Atlassian). But it contains several sites I hadn’t heard of so I’m betting there are some in there that you’re not aware of either. This can only be a good thing, as exposure is like oxygen for Aussie web start-ups.

The Index was launched in August and the September rankings are now live. Check it out, and let them know if your web startup isn’t included in their Startup Australia wiki list.

Posted by Paul Ryan, Editor, Anthill Magazine

A few months back I wrote about FreeRice.com, an online word definition game run by the UN’s World Food Programme, which donates 20 grains of rice to needy people around the globe for every word correctly defined by users. Since then, several people have told me that they made FreeRice their homepage and spend the first 15 minutes of each day on the site improving their vocabulary, feeding starving people and assuaging their own bourgeois guilt - all in one blow. What a website!

Now there’s a new instalment in the ‘save the world by clicking your mouse’ website genre. ClickGreen is an advertising-supported tree planting initiative recently launched by Australian company ExtraCorp. Users are given the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions by opting in to receive targeted email advertisements. Approximately 50 percent of the site’s revenue will be invested into tree planting, which will be managed by Greenfleet (a federal government endorsed not-for-profit).

It’s an interesting model. GreenClick can sell the targeted enthusiasm of opt-in users to advertisers and the eco-conscious brand of advertisers to users. And, of course, there’s a viral component, with users also earning tree-planting points by referring other users.

ExtraCorp certainly isn’t the first company looking to make a difference (and a buck) in the green revolution. After all, saving the planet is big business.

So go forth, opt in, click and be absolved. It’s free.

Now if only we could name our trees…

Posted by Paul Ryan, Editor, Anthill Magazine

With the recent boom in online viral marketing through sites such as YouTube and Facebook, many people seem to have forgotten that word-of-mouth is actually the oldest form of marketing. Sure, cavemen weren’t able to upload videos of themselves vanquishing upstart rivals at the point of a club, but you can bet your last Pterodactyl tail that eligible cave ladies heard all about it on the grapevine.

Following in the steps of popular US customer review site Yelp, Australian entrepreneurs Fiona Adler and Brad Bond have been busy building WOMOW.com.au (short for ‘Word Of Mouth On the Web’) since launching the site in July 2007.

The concept is simple enough. Users write reviews of products and services from local businesses they have used. Businesses don’t pay for listings (as they do in a business directory), users don’t benefit (directly) from writing reviews and the feedback is better organised than a web forum. The idea occurred to Adler in 1999 when renovating her home and being reluctant to hire service providers without a positive recommendation. (Interesting side note: Adler recently completed an MBA and in 2007 became just the third woman to climb Mt Everest.)

Local businesses tend to have a love-hate relationship with user-generated review sites. In the US, several businesses became so peeved by regular vitriolic customer reviews on Yelp that they fought back by launching several anti-Yelp sites.

WOMOW hasn’t reached that level of notoriety. However, the site recently surpassed 20,000 reviews hosted. That still leaves a long way to go until every business in Australia is reviewed several times. But it’s pretty good going for 12 months’ work.

To succeed, user-generated business review sites have to place the interests of the readers over the interests of businesses. Inevitably, they ruffle a few feathers. Whether you welcome WOMOW reviews or regard them with suspicion, every Australian business owner would be foolish not to keep tabs on how they and their competitors are being portrayed.

Posted by Paul Ryan, Editor, Anthill Magazine

So you’ve had enough of the dog next door barking all night, not to mention the techno music two doors down. And, what’s that, it’s the third time this year someone has broken into your car? Now you can share your inside knowledge about your street/neighbourhood online and research the opinions of candid locals in other neighbourhoods before you move.

StreetAdvisor is the brainchild of Melbourne-based brothers Adam and Jason Spencer. They wanted to create a place online where people could read and write reviews, talk about local issues, see photos, videos, guidebooks, maps and more. Street Advisor is now in 25 countries, with a major focus on Australia, USA, UK and Canada.

As you can imagine, it will take plenty of time and millions of contributions before every street is rated and reviewed (the main road near my street was unrated). However, StreetAdvisor has had a good year, being covered by CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Age, A Current Affair. The site has also secured a partnership with RealEstate.com.au featuring StreetAdvisor on every single property listing page. It’s a safe bet to assume that the property market is where the real pot of gold lies for StreetAdvisor.

So check it out and have your say about your street and neighbourhood. The era of hyperlocal is upon us.

You can read more on the StreetAdvisor blog.