CBD
According to the two Sydney men who have caused an international storm with their app "Titstare", abuse is "the Australian way of showing affection".
In that case, tech entrepreneurs David Boulton and Jethro Batts must be feeling the love right about now. On Monday the pair took to the stage at a US tech conference to debut Titstare.
As a room full of male nerds who have never had sex chortled, the pair promised the app would allow you to "take photos of yourself staring at tits".
The app supposedly features a real-time feed of boob photos, together with the ability to rate the pictures and upload your own.
Reaction was swift and scornful, with the pair's effort traduced all over the internet as "disgustingly sexist", "brain-bleedingly sexist", "offensive and misogynistic" and a "gutless, sexist, little shitfest".
Boulton and Batts were themselves described as "Beavis and Butthead from Oz", "morons" and - CBD's favourite - "paramecium" (a single-celled underwater protozoa).
The pair's previous effort was hateyoucards.com, a website that enabled users to send abusive postcards to their mates. It was in that context that Batts and Boulton spoke up in favour of "playful abuse" as an Australian tradition.
Given they love abuse so much, it's something of a mystery why their social media presences started evaporating following the backlash against Titstare.
Gone is Boulton's Twitter and Batts' LinkedIn profile, which listed him as "just another ridiculously charismatic brokenprenuer".
However, Batts' entry on Meetup, under his middle name Clayton, remained alive on Monday afternoon.
It reveals he's the member of 11 eclectic groups, including GreenUps (drinks for Sydney greenies), Young Entrepreneurs Sydney and, of course, the Sydney Freemasons Meetup Group.
Schmooze daters
Call it speed-dating for CEOs: the heads of 30 Australian companies are off to New York, via Boston, this week to schmooze institutional investors.
Bosses attending Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Australian Investment Conference in the Big Apple this Thursday and Friday include Elmer Funke Kupper (ASX), David Robb (Iluka Resources), Chris Delaney (Goodman Fielder), David Bartholomew (DUET Group), Geoff Lloyd (Perpetual), Mark Steinert (Stockland), and David Dearie (Treasury Wine Estates).
CBD's ultimate boss, Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood, will also be there, together with chief financial officer David Housego.
About 160 fund managers are to front up, with 300 one-on-one meetings scheduled.
Some of the Australian CEOs will be pulling double duty, putting in a similar appearance in Boston on Wednesday.
Jobs unstocked
Singapore-owned PhillipCapital is continuing its drift away from stockbroking, shedding jobs in the process.
CBD understands somewhere between one and five positions have gone in the past week or so as the business, formed when Intersuisse took over the broking business of boom-time glamour house Austock, moves to consolidate its position as a wealth manager.
Lighting up
It's official: smoking makes you cool.
"The benefits that smokers receive from smoking may include immediate pleasure, control of stress, improved self-image and the avoidance of withdrawal symptoms," Treasury officials say in a regulatory impact statement on tobacco excise.
On the other hand, "Tobacco use leads to serious illness and premature death," the officials say.
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bbutler@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Titstare was an app publicly debuted by two Sydney tech entrepreneurs, David Boulton and Jethro Batts, that they described as allowing users to "take photos of yourself staring at tits" and to rate or upload photos. The presentation provoked swift international backlash for being offensive and sexist.
Reaction to Titstare was widely scornful, with critics calling the effort "disgustingly sexist," "misogynistic" and worse. In the wake of the backlash some of the founders' social media profiles reportedly began disappearing — Boulton’s Twitter and Batts’ LinkedIn were gone, though Batts’ Meetup profile (under his middle name Clayton) remained.
Before Titstare, the pair were behind hateyoucards.com, a site that enabled users to send abusive postcards to friends. The founders have defended their approach as "playful abuse," a claim that helped fuel criticism when Titstare was launched.
The article says about 30 Australian company bosses travelled to the conference. Named attendees included Elmer Funke Kupper (ASX), David Robb (Iluka Resources), Chris Delaney (Goodman Fielder), David Bartholomew (DUET Group), Geoff Lloyd (Perpetual), Mark Steinert (Stockland), and David Dearie (Treasury Wine Estates). Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood and CFO David Housego were also present.
According to the article, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference is essentially a chance for company CEOs to schmooze institutional investors: roughly 160 fund managers were expected to attend and some 300 one‑on‑one meetings were scheduled. For investors, these events are an opportunity for direct management access and investor engagement.
The article reports that Singapore‑owned PhillipCapital is continuing to move away from stockbroking and has shed jobs in the process. CBD understands between one and five positions were lost as the business — formed when Intersuisse took over the broking arm of Austock — consolidates its position as a wealth manager.
The article quotes Treasury officials saying smokers may perceive benefits such as immediate pleasure, stress control, improved self‑image and avoidance of withdrawal symptoms. It also notes the officials’ clear statement that "Tobacco use leads to serious illness and premature death."
The article lists a contact email for tips and further information: bbutler@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
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