Internet Psychologist
Graham Jones Employees at Woolworths wake up this morning not knowing if they are going to have a job much longer. Not the kind of news that 25,000 people want just a month before Christmas, but sadly their company has gone into administration. Woolies owes its creditors some £385m – a debt …
Online shopping has fallen by 4% over the previous year, according to the latest comScore analysis. Of course, this is only to be expected – consumer confidence is at its lowest ever, the economic news is depressing and people are losing their jobs day in, day out. However, it’s easy …
If you think your business can survive the recession – think long and hard. The world’s biggest bank had to be baled out by the US Government yesterday, the historical Lehman Brothers has disappeared and leading car makers are on the verge of bankruptcy. Now, even Google is in trouble. …
Economists always disagree; put three of them in a phone box and they’ll come out with four different opinions. The thing is, economists would like us to think they run a “science” (indeed you can study “economic science” at university), but actually it’s all guesswork. Admittedly it’s reasonably educated guesswork, …
Webmasters worldwide have been scrabbling over the past couple of years to get to the top of search engine rankings. People are using “Search Engine Optimisation” techniques to help boost their appearance in search results. For many people, though, search is becoming “old hat”. Millions now rely not on search, …
Users of your web site are less likely to return if your site breaks or doesn’t work properly. People get frustrated by slow loading, by the addition of technologies that work only in certain circumstances or where your web site is simply too technologically “clever”. The latest “gadget survey” by …
Internet marketers are busy trying to sell more and more online as the recession starts to take hold. They are beefing up their web sites, they are trying to gain more traffic and they are advertising like crazy in a bid to bolster their sales. But these are all the …
Readers of web sites do it quickly; they take a quick glance, get the gist of what is being said and then move on. Few people spend hours poring over every last detail of your web site or blog. To be sure those people understand, you need to aim your …
Shoppers make irrational choices; that’s a conclusion you can draw from new consumer research from psychologists at the University of Chicago School of Business. The study looked at the influence of numbers on buying choices. It found that people chose things in a non rational way. For instance, when shown …
People aged over 40 are often amazed by what is happening online. Sometimes they find it difficult to consider things the way those born in the 1970s do. For instance, people under 30 tend to distrust corporates and they also seek the best solutions for what they want to achieve, …
Look at the statistics for web usage and you soon discover that the most popular web sites in the world are those which are focused on specific brands. Search terms also tell a tale or two about the importance of brand. For instance, the latest figures on search popularity show …
The businessman at the back of the room wasn’t that happy. When I asked an audience of business owners if any of them had used social networking one man at the back put up his hand: “I tried it once but it didn’t do me any good,” he said. In …
Customers love to be loved. In fact, we tend to shy away from companies who dislike us in some way. Only last week, after 9 years of loyal custom, I cancelled my Annual Membership with the RAC; I had found I could get an equivalent breakdown service for a quarter …
Congratulations to President-Elect Obama – an historic victory. But part of his success may be down to a psychological phenomenon known as “contextual priming”. A study performed last year revealed that the building you vote in has an effect on who you decide to vote for. In essence, the context …
So, it’s election day in the USA – and the world awaits the decision of the voters. Will it be McCain or Obama? The latest polls put Obama ahead by at least 5%. Already this is being hailed as the election that was won online. There are plenty of election …