Category: General

Online video isn’t long enough

A couple of years back, there was much talk about the increased use of online video, thanks to the launch of YouTube. Then along came video on the iPod and the BBC launched its iPlayer. The online video revolution, we were told, was upon us; soon, we were “reliably” informed

General

Has Google met its match?

Today sees the launch of a brand new search engine, Cuil – and it’s an important development in the world of search. For a start it has been developed by a former Google engineers, plus it has a unique way of delivering results. As you can see from the screen

Your web site will love you – literally

Researchers in six of Europe’s top academic establishments have recently started work on a multimillion Euro project designed to help computers understand our emotions. Called The Semaine Project, the work has already produced some results – for instance in the area of non verbal communication. The studies are not as

Think local, not global, to make the most of the Internet

People are creatures of habit; we tend to do similar things each day. However, when asked about what we do in surveys or in research studies, guess what? We lie. We like to tell researchers what we think they want to know, or we want to make ourselves seem more

Credit crunch, downturn? Not on the Internet..!

Business owners are looking increasingly worried these days. Almost every conversation turns to the so-called “credit crunch” or to a potential recession. People are worried that a financial crisis is looming for business. Each day in the newspapers we read about job losses, businesses closing and companies having difficulties in

Your web site needs to create social currency

Anthropologists in the USA have just published the results of a year-long study performed on behalf of the Associated Press and which has some pretty important findings for all web site owners. The study’s results were announced today at the annual World Editor’s Forum in Sweden. The research is a

Don’t put your money into Internet banks

City bankers are a funny lot; they live in a world which few people inhabit. They have annual bonuses in the millions, they swig champagne as though it were water and they buy Porsches as though they were going out of fashion. At least that’s the stereotype we have all

Virtual worlds are useful after all

If you visit Second Life you will find me propped up against a grass bank, close to a river, watching the “world” around me. I’ve been there for several weeks now. The virtual world of Second Life is fascinating and many people spend part of each day “flying” around and

General

What do Tony Blair, Lance Armstrong and Mark Zuckerberg all have in common?

Lance Armstrong, Tony Blair and Mark Zuckerberg all have at least one thing in common. They are amongst the 100 most influential people in the world according to Time Magazine. If you have been living in a time warp, Lance Armstrong is the world’s most successful professional cyclist who beat

Why the Google advertising change doesn’t matter

Google quietly changed it’s terms and conditions for advertising yesterday. Up until now, advertisers using Google AdWords have been banned from using the brand names of their competitors in their adverts; now they can. This has spawned all sorts of suggestions as to how businesses might capitalise on the change.

General

Internet training courses might not help you

Trainers are available on all sorts of Internet subjects. Want to learn how to do “SEO” (search engine optimisation)? well, there’s a course on it. Like to discover how to “monetise” your web site? There’s a course on that too. Perhaps you’d really like to learn about corporate blogging. Well,

The World Wide Web is just a baby

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, claims today that the technology is merely in its infancy. It’s almost 17 years since the first ever web site was published (6th August 1991), so you’d expect the web to be a spotty teenager. The first British newspapers can

Where do all the Internet profits go?

Billions of pounds is traded everyday here on the Internet – do you see any of it? Probably not much. If you do make money online you don’t get those billions, I’m guessing. So who does? Well, the vast majority of the money that is spent online goes to just

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General

Did you do anything for the “global” Earthday?

Today is the worldwide (apparently) Earthday. You knew that this morning if you strolled along to Google to discover the logo had changed. In fact for every Earthday for the past seven years, Google has changed its logo in honour of Earthday. The idea behind Earthday is to mobilise people

Now the BBC fails to understand the Internet

The BBC has been pioneering the use of the Internet for several years. It has invested huge amounts of cash in its new media strategy and is seen as having real leadership position for the way it has incorporated the Internet into what was a rather fuddy-duddy organisation. Now, though,

Don’t believe everything experts tell you about the Internet

Apparently a study by researchers shows that if you search for “suicide” you are more likely to find material pro than anti. Mental health campaigners are now calling for “something to be done”, says a report of the research at the BBC web site. The original research was conducted by

Are you a morning or an afternoon Internet marketer?

Internet businesses have been hampered lately by the cutting of undersea cables connecting the telecomms networks of various countries. Only last week, cables close to the Egyptian coastline were cut, probably by ships anchors. The problem is increasing – plus some of the longer established cables, such as those crossing