Year: 2007

Blogging

Your web site needs other bloggers

Bloggers are an important source of potential revenue for anyone doing business online. New research on the trustworthiness of advertising shows – as if we didn’t already know – that word of mouth recommendations are more trusted than any form of advertising. The two worst performing kinds of advertising were

Postal strike is a wake up call for online businesses

Postal workers are out on strike – the second time in a week – which means we have no post. Not only will people who have birthdays this week go without cards and pressies, businesses will lose cash because orders will be delayed or cheques won’t arrive on time. However,

Future of Internet selling looks, well, different

People who sell information online could be facing a bleak future. At least that’s what you might think if you had a peek at everyone’s prices and compared them with the fees they charged a year or two ago. For instance, two years ago a typical ebook was $97, now

A lifetime of Internet shopping – what will it mean?

You will probably know someone in their 80s – a grandparent, perhaps even a parent. Anyone under the age of 50 at the moment is expected to live into their 90s – and life expectancy – at least in the Western world – is growing each year. But turn the

Google search becomes more powerful – but are you taking advantage?

Google appears to have added “blogsearch” findings to it’s main index which means if you blog, your entries can appear in the main Google search results within minutes. Here’s an example: my posting “Make the most of online opportunities” was published here a couple of entries ago. Within 12 minutes

Online critics should not be silenced

Somebody, somewhere does not like you. Tough, but true. Sure, we would all love to be loved by everyone, but it just is not going to happen; live with it. It’s the same for business. I think Tesco is a great company, but I know people who detest it. Equally,

Make the most of online opportunities

The interview in the video is taken from a programmme I did for Thames Valley Pod TV’s business channel. Run by Neil Fairbrother, this is in innovative online TV service that provides a whole host of useful and informative programmes at the same time as giving guests an opportunity to

Blogging strikes it rich in Top 100 web site list

The Top 100 technology web sites in the world have been calculated by Techmeme, the industry’s news and information collector. Each day Techmeme collects news, blog items and other sources of information and publishes it all in one place, handy for those interested in technology. Now, Techmeme has published its

The end is nigh for Google

A new study of search engine activity shows that Google could be facing a dim future. The research showed that even though Google tops the search popularity stakes, well ahead of Yahoo or Microsoft, fewer people actually click on the results. For Google, less than two thirds of people click

Internet retailers need to be ready for Christmas

Today marks a special date in the calendar – it is the first significant spending day for Christmas. Most people get paid at the end of each month, so the last Saturday of every month is when most retailers can expect their highest footfall – numbers of people entering their

Joining social networks will help boost creativity if you do it right

Joining in social networks, such as Facebook, are all the rage at the moment. If you’re not in a social network, you’re no-one. However, when people join, say Facebook and then Ecademy, they tend to mix with the same people. Your collection of “friends” on Facebook is likely to be

PA Features just called

The features desk at The Press Association has just called. They are doing a feature for syndication to local newspapers throughout the UK on “Second Life” and they’ll be including comments from me on what the unreal world of Second Life means for us in the real world.

Internet purchasers want pleasure and pain

New research at Stanford University suggests that a decision to buy something from your web site is based on two competing brain activities. The study tested the brain activity in people making decisions to buy things like a DVD, chocolates or a book. At several points their brains were scanned

The Chuckle Brothers guide to Internet marketing

Paul and Barry Chuckle have been keeping the UK’s children (and many of their parents) entertained for exactly 20 years on British TV. Today is The Chuckle Brothers anniversary. They are a phenomenon in children’s entertainment in Britain. Not only have they celebrated 20 years, but their TV show “Chucklevision”

PR company calls for help

Interesting how things develop. The fact that I appear regularly in the media appears to have been spotted by at least one (very well known, international) PR company. They called today and asked me to be an independent spokesperson on a project they are doing. What they want to do

Blogging still isn’t getting through to businesses

Marketing people in businesses still don’t understand blogging, it seems. And if these people don’t understand it, what hope is there for the rest of a company which is not so marketing oriented. New data suggests that while 85% of marketing staff agree that the web helps a company hit

Online business does not depend upon web site traffic

Online business owners are consumed by getting traffic to their web site. The phrase “web site traffic” generates over 1.5m results in Google, for instance. Plus there are endless streams of newsletters and blogs that tell you how to increase your traffic. All fantastic, but all useless. Web site traffic

Internet connected wardrobe will prevent fashion errors

Imagine the scene – you are asked to a dinner party by an important client. You want to do well so you and your partner dress to impress. You both arrive at their home to discover your hosts are wearing the same clothes as you. Help! Consider too the fact