Today I am happy to interview a very special guest on the Comfy Sofa: Australia´s most successful female entrepreneur and inspiring businesswoman, Naomi Simson.

Her company RedBalloon offers unique and extraordinary services for folks down under and in New Zealand. More than a stone´s throw away from where I am right now. Together with her team she can find anything ot thrill nearly everyone on the planet.

But it´s not only her interesting business and her entrepreneurial spirit which caught my attention when I first met her almost a year ago in Dubai. Naomi also has an inspiring philosophy on life and she´s a mother-of-two as well.

Naomi, you are passionate about pleasure and making other people happy, which makes you happy. What was your earliest memory of being happy?
Being at kindergarten painting pictures - the delight of my parents and teachers at what I had produced (a blob on a page) it was really quite easy. Simply show people you cared....by painting them something gifting and they were touched.

Do you still remember how it felt?
I felt important

Benjamin Franklin said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work.” Could that fit for you too?
This is only my second business venture - though I did want to be an artist and I never started that career. I meet many people with many fabulous ideas...it is the implementation/application that makes the difference. The best idea does not always win.

What was it like to know you had made it?
I could walk into a shoe store and buy any pair without thinking of the price...not that I do it often. But I know I could. There is a feeling of calm, and now wanting to give back.

How would you describe your life’s ultimate purpose?
To give pleasure - to make things available to people that they might not have access to. To fulfill dreams, delight people or inspire greatness. Just remember my life is only half done...there still could be a greater calling but at the moment my pleasure is their pleasure.

Who was the hero of your childhood?
I loved Walt Disney...but I could not understand how he fit inside the TV...nor how he could be on TV when he was dead (I was pretty young maybe 4 or 5) but even as I got older I was fascinated with Disney's mix of creativity and business.

What would you do today if internet didn’t exist?
Go on holiday

For you the most inspiring person on earth is...
Steve Jobs

What is the next big thing?
Going Global

Naomi, thanks for the chat.

About 100 little yellow boxes will travel tonight making people happy and letting them shine a little bit  more than they already do. 

What about the boxes and what´s hidden inside? It´s a little  present  for some lucky people who took part in our 2nd international survey about communication and networking and won a prize: Believe me, you will look great with your own openBC basecap. And of course  it´s a limited edition. :)

According to Natalie Ferguson, a member of openBC, our site officially works. In a recent post she mention that within a two week period she is already doing business.

Way to go... read more here!

For small businesses like us who don't really expect to ever have customers in their local vicinity, the ability to gather them purely from online communication is extremely exciting, as is the ease of forming solid business relationships with like minded people all over the world.

And this is what we look like in the true light of day ;-)

We'll need to make sure that the successful Web 2.0 companies don't just sit on progress because it doesn't serve their business plans, like so many other computing companies have done in the past and continue to do today.

If Web 2.0 is the first stage in a revolution, we need to make sure it´s a permanent revolution.

BBC´s technology commentator Bill Thompson decides it is time he learned to stop worrying and love Web 2.0.

The results of openBC’s second “Communication & Networking on the Internet” survey reveal one very clear trend – namely users’ testimony that professional online networking supports their business potential and pays off financially.

Up to 85% of openBC users who took part, for example, rate maintaining contacts on the Internet as being “important” or “very important”. It is a tremendous boost for us to know that our members experience and believe in the positive power of networking on the net.

More good news: The trend towards increased levels of online networking has been substantial in the past year, with the number of contacts per person having risen by between 180% and 300%. Clear proof that people are getting together online on a large scale!

A grand total of 24,511 openBC users worldwide took part in this year’s survey. A big thank you to all of you!

Find out more about how users network online, what their experiences and expectations are and how professional networking is done differently in various regions around the world.

Contact me, if you are interested in more information.

One hour ago (10:00 pm) at openBC HQ. Networking doesn´t sleep and we are there for you, wherever you are ;-)

more pics

Today we are facing a serious slowdown of openBC.com. The reason is our partner for SSL-Handshaking is having issues.

We are working on resolving this issue. If you manage to login, please keep that window open, rather than closing it and opening a new window later.

Always look on the bright side of life...

The clip is hilarious, pure 70´s with open shirt, chest hair and a stuffed armadillo. Watch Pythons' first stop in the US after the premier of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Los Angeles in 1975. Unfortunately it cuts of after about 14 minutes.

Permalink Video
(Thanks to The sound of young America!)

Him: How are you doing?
Her: Didn't you read my weblog?
Him: No, I just wanted to talk to you.
Her: Oh.

(thanks Heiko!)

I have been reflecting on some of the terminology used in networking and while terms like Maven and Connector are being commonly used I believe there is space for some additional terms and in particular I would propose the following three;

Super collector;
Someone who spends inordinate time connecting  to people just for the sake of collecting them as a contact.

Trophy contact;
A contact that is held in such esteem as to be desirable to have and on some platforms to trade.

Blended Networking;
Combining on-line and live networking so as to create a deeper relationship with ones connections (the opposite feel of the first term.)

I am interested to see if there is more that we can add to our lexicon in order to better express some of the phenomena that we are seeing both the negative and the positive.

openBC has won a LeadAward!  Germany's most prestigious award for print and online media is given to the most creative and innovative work in the industry every year. openBC was awarded with the silver medal in the "WebLeader 2006" category, while Wikipedia won gold and our friends from Plazes won bronze.

What is special about the LeadAwards is their selection procedure:  It is not possible to apply - a  jury of media experts  nominates and selects the candidates after an extensive screening process. The awards are sponsored by Getty Images, Hugo Boss, T-Online and the German news magazine "Der Spiegel", as well as being supported by the city of Hamburg.

The great and good of the German publishing industry came together at the award ceremony in Hamburg last Wednesday - along with Brian Adams, who was presented with an award in the "photography" category. And no matter who you talked to at the ceremony, everyone seemed to be a member of openBC.  With Brian Adams as the exception - I just checked. But that might all change now he knows about our WebLeader credentials!  ;)

Mario recently published his podcast and videocast with Dave Weinberger, recorded within the last Edelman blue hour event in Hamburg. Absolutely worth taking a look!

Since Mario´s interview covers more the business aspects, my podcast with Dave is indeed a good completion ;-)

"Who´s The Dick Writing Comments On My Blog?"

I don´t know. I really don`t know. But another help it´s on her way. Egg-shaped. Now, before you seriously think about having small talk with your soft-boiled egg, read this:

With Crazy Egg you can easily see where visitors are clicking on a page and where they´re not.

A solution of striking simplicity? Put my egg-goggles on now!

(thanks mashable)

Alexaholic - for Alexa junkies only.

Try it. Play with it. Love it!

It´s with great pleasure that we can announce a brand new addition to our openBC family. Eoghan´s son Liam (4130g and 52cm) first saw the light of day this morning.

We send our very best wishes and warmest regards to the proud parents Alexandra and Eoghan.

The results of openBC’s second survey on communication and networking are in and we’re currently in the final stages of processing them.

Woaw, it is quite a job I can tell you… but an uplifting one as well! :)

A big thank you must go to all the 24,500 members from around the globe who wanted to have their say – the results of the survey promise to be both varied and insightful. They form an international comparison across five continents on everything from members’ online networking behaviour and blogging habits to B2B communication, right through to their views on offline communication within the business community. I’m sure you’re dying to see some concrete figures! ;-)

The overall response when it comes to members’ experiences and expectations of openBC has been very positive as well: The vast majority of members reported that they have either experienced business success as a direct result of using openBC or that they are absolutely certain of future success.

It is a great feeling when users tell us how openBC has worked for them personally. We love getting people together (wherever you are) and always enjoy reading and hearing members’ personal success stories about the professional benefits they get from their network.

Detailed results of the survey will follow shortly. I’ll keep you posted …

First of all I have to apologize: It’s only the second podcast (10MB, 22:30 min) I ever produced in my life and it's still miles away from being perfect. Nevertheless, don't miss the chance to listen to David! The interview was so much fun and the more often I play it the more I am impressed by his genius mind.

begin - Michael Heaton “The good times”…4:50…I am an ex-bourgeois hippy…7:20…my academic career was doomed…8:10…I don't like heights and I'm shy…8:35…I would like the Internet to be safe, I would like the planet to be saved…9:00…the Internet has been murdered by people who don´t understand it…9:30…www.onewebday.org, celebrate the values of the Internet…13:15…I admire people for lots of reasons…15:45…Bach hit me like a ton of bricks…18:30…Dwight Ritcher Band “Something special”…end.

PS. I probably sometimes sound like I have a frog in my throat. I don't. :)

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I bless my cotton socks that the English have a wonderful sense of humor! The House of Commons in London - in all places! consuming ½ glass of wine on an empty stomach with our good friend Thomas Power prior to a keynote speech and not being able to access a well prepared presentation on my laptop could spell a disastrous presentation or an entertaining delight. Counting the emails this morning we’re all smiling!

Last night marked the best official openBC event I’ve attended to date. The full room was exploding with energy, big grins, hand shakes, exchanging of cards and endless chatter. Well prepared by our UK Chairman Roger Ellis at The House of Commons in London it was strictly invitation only to premium members.

A star studded guest list including Lord Renwick, Earl of Erroll, Brian Chernett (CEO of Academy of Chief Executive Officers in the UK), Thomas Power, Carole Barnum (‘Staellium’ Self exploding SMS’s), Patrick Young and our host, the Honorable David Lidington MP.

Can’t wait for the next one Roger!