To own a smartphone is one thing, but as technology becomes more advanced, it also becomes more pervasive, edging itself further into the household. Soon it seems we’ll have a smart everything: smart beds (yes that’s a thing), smart watches, smart thermostats, smart bikes. The list goes on. Yesterday Spark released its Morepork smart home technology, but it’s not using the native owl of which it’s named after to market the product, but rather a family of emojis. We spoke to Spark’s Gemma Croombs to find out more on how the telco is pushing the product and her insights on smart technology. PLUS: a few examples of the latest in home smart tech.

There’s a battle for talent happening in the tech sector, as evidenced by the massive salaries and various sweeteners being offered by big tech companies like Facebook, Google and Apple. That battle is also being waged in New Zealand. And while it might not be on the same scale as Silicon Valley, Kiwi tech companies are also employing a range of different tactics to try and find good staff and keep them engaged. From charity schemes to creative offices to Friday kegs, here’s what TradeMe, Vend and Xero are doing.

Air New Zealand lodged itself firmly into the glow of the upcoming Rugby World Cup by launching a new safety video featuring the All Blacks depicted in a Men in Black setting. The five-minute clip shows chief protagonist Richie McCaw and his sidekick Dan Carter walking into the Men in Black building for a meeting with Agent Zed (played by actor Rip Torn), who instructs them to keep Air New Zealand passengers safe. What ensues is a safety rap performed by Stan Walker with some reasonably impressive supporting vocals by Israel Dagg.

The Auckland City Mission, which provides specialised health and social services to marginalised Aucklanders, is running a unique campaign through Rapp where it’s “cyber-squatting” on the .nz homepages of dozens of New Zealand organisations in an effort to raise awareness about homelessness in the city and increase donations.

Netflix has taken a rather innovative and interesting route for its latest ad which promotes its show Sense8 by creating an original piece of music using people’s brainwaves.

New Zealand has a horrible rate of boating deaths. And, in an effort to reduce those numbers and get people wearing lifejackets, the powers that be have tried campaigns involving everything from peer-pressuring clowns to ’80s-inspired gunfights. But French watersports company Tribord has gone down a different, more abstract path and created a rather unique drink.

A round of applause for Maggi, McDonald’s, Hallenstein Brothers, F. Whitlock & Sons and NZ Olympics.

Since 2009 when 2degrees first entered the local mobile market, the company has attracted over a million customers, which came largely at the expense of Vodafone and Spark. And now, with the launch of its broadband offering, 2degrees is again being pitted against these competitors as well as a few others. So, what are the chances of the telco replicating its mobile customer haul in the broadband space?

Over the last few months, Jay Alvarrez has become something of a YouTube and Instagram sensation through a series of videos and images that show him skydiving, surfing, flying helicopters, visiting tropical islands and just living what appears to be the ideal life. And in case there was any doubt that the ridiculously good-looking Alvarrez and his annoyingly gorgeous girlfriend had way better lives than pretty much every other person in the world, Hallenstein Brothers has now confirmed it by commissioning the pair to appear in its new brand spot.

At sporadic intervals between the 1980s to the early 2000s, the Care Bears, a multi-coloured collection of pint-sized heroes, appeared on television entertaining kids with their various adventures against the forces of evil. Powered by a range of super powers indicated by the emblems emblazoned across their chests, the Care Bears dedicated their days to increasing the levels of care in the world. And, now, three years after the Care Bears last made a TV appearance, tissue brand Earthcare has introduced its own variation of a bear that can’t help but care, perhaps a little too much. But rather than following the cute footsteps of the Care Bears, Earthcare has opted for a slightly more intimidating iteration of a do-gooder bear.

In a television age dominated by reality cooking shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, no doubt many of us feel we need to step up our game in the kitchen, and make sure each dish has at least one food source which is impossible to pronounce or perhaps includes kale from a remote region of New Zealand which has grown to the sound of children’s laughter and been watered only with water collected from a luscious mountain stream, or some chia seeds, or maybe some salted caramel topped with cream churned by the feet of baby ducks. But considering most of us don’t have the time or money to regularly produce artisan cuisines, sometimes we just want to whip up something quick, something we know improves the taste of our meal and something that won’t make us recoil from the state of our bank balances, like some ready-made gravy paste by Maggi.

Longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart bowed out today after 16 years. And the tributes flowed. Here are a few of the best.

Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.

The undeniably adorable Piggy Sue has returned to screens once again in a continuation of Vodafone’s brand campaign developed by FCB, this time she’s been recruited as a flanker.

The persuasive arts are often jokingly referred to as the colouring-in department. But the appeal is obviously not limited to marketers and agency folk, because adult colouring books are going gangbusters in New Zealand and around the world.

Massey University graduate Jason Khoo has taken out first place in the New Zealand leg of the 15th James Dyson Awards with his tree house platform called Tree Mount, designed to encourage Kiwi families to spend more time together and get back to nature.