{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0}

Dear {!firstname_fix}

I am sitting here writing this as the rain pours down outside on this August "summer" day...! The weather so far during the summer holiday period has not been the best, here in the UK. But how short our memories are...! This is the same kind of weather as August 2009 and August 2008. Plus we had a fantastic few months of brilliant sunshine and hot weather earlier in the year. It's a reminder that human beings tend to focus on the here and now, sometimes forgetting or ignoring earlier experiences until reminded of them. How much of your business life is focused on the here and now, rather than taking into account your previous experiences? Often we ignore what we know we should be doing because we are too tied up with the present. Which neatly brings us to this week's question...! 

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

How much priority should I give to mobile web access?

Mobile is the current buzzword. Everywhere you look people are explaining that your website should be usable on mobile phones. Indeed I wrote about it recently in this blog post. But making your website suitable for mobile phones, or the new range of "pad" devices such as the iPad or the Dell Streak  is not as important as you might think.

Recent research shows that mobile phones are mostly used for three things - making telephone calls, sending text messages and accessing email. Checking websites, though growing rapidly, is a small percentage of the overall use of mobile technologies. Indeed one recent study showed that in a typical month people spent 50 minutes using their mobile phone for internet access - and half of that time was on checking emails.

In other words, even though your website should be mobile accessible, it is not absolutely top priority - in spite of all the buzz. I make my website accessible using mobile phones by diverting people to the ".mobi" domain extension. This is automatically achieved for a mere £19.99 a year, plus the cost of the domain name using the "Instant Mobilizer" service from Domain Monster. It means that whenever someone tries to connect to my website using a mobile device, they get a page which loads more quickly compared with the normal website - plus it is easier to view being in a single column. I don't have to do anything, the Instant Mobilizer system does it all automatically.

True, it is not a perfect mobile site - but it helps and is a good solution considering the small numbers of people who access my site using mobile phones. For many businesses this kind of service is all you need. But for retailers - especially those who also have physical stores - a dedicated mobile site is essential these days. That's because of location-based services, where people are trying to find the details of nearby shops and services. If your business is dependent on attracting local people, or those close by, mobile web access should be high priority. If, however, you provide a more widespread service, then mobile web access should be considered, but not placed too high in your task list. Getting"Instant Mobilizer" from Domain Monster may be all you need to do.

Remember, you can always ask your question and get it answered in this newsletter by going to: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/questions

WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK:

Having a coffee with your friends is vital 

Yesterday I met my friend, the negotiating expert, Derek Arden for a coffee and a chat. Derek is a fellow Board Member of the Professional Speaking Association and is taking over from me as President in October 2011. We had a few PSA matters to discuss, including the forthcoming Annual Convention at which Derek is a speaker. Inevitably, the conversation got round to business and what each of us was doing currently. Derek is working on an idea which is similar to a concept I have had in the back of my mind. Indeed, some time ago it was at the front of my mind because I bought the necessary domain names for it...! But since that time, my work on this project has stalled. Talking things through with Derek showed me two things - firstly, unlike him, I had not put any dates on my project and secondly, without having sat down with him and chatted generally about business, I would not have received the kick up the rear that I needed to get this project off the ground.

Far too often I hear people at business events saying "let's have coffee" but few of us really taking action. Perhaps we cannot see a purpose in meeting; what's the point, we may ask ourselves, since those people will probably never buy from us. But my meeting with Derek reminded me that we sometimes do not see the point until after the event. It is always worthwhile meeting for coffee with your friends; unless you are psychic or telepathic you never know what will come out of it. In my example it has given me the much-needed stimulus to carry on with an idea that was merely that - an idea. Now it is an active project with dates set and so on. All because I had a coffee with a friend. . 

If you want to check out what else I've been doing for the past week, you can always look at: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/week

Record everything and then make money..!

There's gold in them there words...! Every conversation you have has the potential to make money - if only you could record it. Luckily, there is a handy recording device which is a combination of four microphones, a high quality digital voice recorder and a storage system. It is called the Zoom 2 and it stands on the desk in front of you. Because it has four microphones, one in each corner, it means you can place the device in the middle of a group of people and it picks up the sound all around you. That allows you to interview people easily, or hold discussion groups, focus groups and the like and record the outcome. But once you have the recording you can copy the file to your PC and edit it for use as a podcast or some other kind of audio download which people will buy.

One of the things which puts people off recording audio is not knowing which is the best kind of recording equipment, or the need to have voice recorders and then adaptors for several microphones and so on. This device removes all of that confusion.