Search

Navigation
Subscribe
Other Cool Sites
Social

Follow me at:

Wednesday
17Jun

So shall we buy everyone a nice new shiny computer as well?

DateWednesday, June 17, 2009 at 09:15AM

So I picked up CITY A.M. this morning and read that the government is contemplating a £6 a year tax for everyone with a phone line to pay for for universal broadband access. While universal broadband would be great should consumers not pay for their own services? Broadband is not a utility, it is a service.

Gordon Brown claimed that faster internet access was 'an essential service as indispensable as electricity, gas and water'. Is it? Is it really? Surely without water we die of thirst, without gas and electricity we get cold and can't cook, but without superfast broadband we can't access YouTube. So Shall We Buy Everyone A Nice New Shiny Computer As Well? What is the point of this super fast crazy Internet speediness if you do not have a computer to access it?

 

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , in
Tuesday
16Jun

It is all or nothing with music subscriptions

DateTuesday, June 16, 2009 at 09:01AM

Virgin Media announced yesterday that it had agreed to a deal with Universal Music to offer its entire back catalogue for 'an undisclosed monthly fee'. Apparently this  forms part of Virgin Media and Universal Music's fight against Internet piracy. The problem is that this deal appears to have been thought up by someone who clearly does not understand music consumption.

How many people do you know who are fans of a major record label like they are a fashion brand? None, people are fans of the artists. What is the point in subscribing to one record label when you are only going to want music by artists signed to a different label at some point.

It Is All Or Nothing With Music Subscriptions, this is why I have a subscription to Napster and friends other services because at Napster I can find (almost) any music.

On NMA Neil Berkett, Virgin Media CEO, said, “In terms of both convenience and value, our new music service will be superior to anything that’s available online today.”

...but:
     1. It is not more convenient than anything available today as it only covers one record label.
     2. How do we know it offers more value as the monthly subscription price has not been revealed?

The press release announced that Virgin was in talks with other major record labels to add their content to the service before it launches but what if they can't strike a deal. Why not wait? Why not reach a tipping point where the service is worth having as part of a media bundle?

I can appreciate the effort to fight piracy but this will do nothing to stop a 15 year old downloading the latest number one from Limewire.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , , in
Saturday
06Jun

Facebook says jump and MySpace says how high?

DateSaturday, June 6, 2009 at 01:08PM

MySpace was the first serious social network, the first that everyone spoke about but Facebook and Bebo came along and swept everyone up. The reason it happened is because MySpace was a great idea poorly implemented and this wounded them.

Over the last couple of years MySpace has continued to justify its existence by copying all the best Facebook ideas and implementing them badly. First notable copy was the Facebook status, this micro blogging feature was added to MySpace, badly, all it shows is a list of the bands I like and what they are up to? Where are all my friends? They are on Facebook.

I just noticed when logging back in now they have added the chat functionality, but where are all my friends? They are on Facebook. The problem is when Facebook Says Jump MySpace Says How High but by the time they have answered another group of their users have gone.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , in
Saturday
06Jun

Google Wave will not replace email

DateSaturday, June 6, 2009 at 11:22AM

Google is brilliant at search and everything which feeds off this works perfectly, be it content, news, images or maps, but as Google is making more money than most countries they need to keep building new things. And with all the great things Google has built we have also had the duds like Google Checkout with its poor integration tools, Google Mail with its confusing layout and now Google Wave which will reinvent email...

...it won't. The problem with Google Wave is that it is not universal, good old Lars Rasmussen tells us that it is remarkable that we use email as the primary communication tool as it was invented before the Internet but this is its strength. Everyone has an email account and it is really simple to use, how can you expect everyone to suddenly open a Wave account and start learning its many features, will my Mum and Dad setup a Wave account?

I can imagine a situation where I receive an email to tell me that someone has sent me a Facebook message to tell me that I have a new Wave to pickup :=)

Google Wave Will Not Replace Email.

Email works because it is simple, Wave took the guys at Google over an hour to explain (I was bored and lost after 25 minutes). I am sure it will inspire lots of developers to create applications but for the average Joe it will be another tool they won't bother learning.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , in
Saturday
06Jun

Successful local email is a partnership

DateSaturday, June 6, 2009 at 09:46AM

Should local branches be allowed to manage their own email campaigns?

No!

Okay the answer is a little more complicated than just no! What is required is a partnership between the local marketing department, central marketing and the digital agency. Email strategies should follow strict legal and technical guidelines to avoid annoying your customers and being blacklisted by the ISPs yet many large companies are allowing their local branches to flounder all rules by managing their own campaigns.

Typical problems from locally managed emails:

  • Poor design
  • Poor technical consideration
  • Poor understanding of standards and regulations

Local marketing should control the content, central marketing should approve and control the brand and the digital agency should maintain standards.

Successful Local Email Is A Partnership.

With good procedures and the right software any company can run a successful local email campaign.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , in
Saturday
06Jun

Bing is not my default!

DateSaturday, June 6, 2009 at 09:37AM

So Microsoft has rebranded its search, again, it has rebuilt it, again, it has introduced revolutionary new technology, again, so what? MSN Search and Live Search were both rubbish so why should Bing be any different? Well I have had a chance to play with it for the last week and I love it, I think it is brilliant, I think it is better than Google...

Bing

...but all week my main search engine has still been Google, why? Well to use Bing I have to remember to use it where as Google is integrated into my life, it is my default search on my browser, it is my default homepage, on my iPod Touch it is the default on my mobile it is my default.

Bing is not my default!

Can this be changed? Well if my next Mac ships with Bing as the default search, if my next version of Firefox sets Bing as my default and if my next Blackberry has Bing has default then it has a chance. Shame really, it is a great search engine.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , , in
Friday
05Jun

MySpace is good for one thing

DateFriday, June 5, 2009 at 12:49PM

MySpace is pretty rubbish really, I think most people had an account once but when some of the better social networks developed they moved away. It has many problems but reminds me of those funny briefs you get occasionally that go something like this "I want to setup this new interactive social platform like Facebook but needs features like YouTube and Skype, I don't have a budget but I will consider an equity exchange."

MySpace is trying to be everyone, it is trying to be Facebook with its status updates and it is trying to be You Tube with its video channel but in reality MySpace Is Good For One Thing, music.

There is one reason many people return to MySpace again and again, it is a simple way to go and check out what your fav band is doing and listen to material. Guns N Roses, The Gallows and most recently Kasabian are example artists who have streamed a pre-release of their album.

Forget the social network MySpace is a music portal.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , in
Tuesday
12May

Do the simple things right

DateTuesday, May 12, 2009 at 10:17AM

When planning a digital strategy most clients tend to ask the same questions, how do we use Facebook? What is our Twitter strategy etc... The first question to ask is, Are You Doing The Simple Things Right? Yes there is a big opportunity with social media but it is an acquisition tool not conversion.

There are few examples of companies driving significant revenue from a social strategy yet there are many good case studies of companies driving revenue from traditional web and email channels. So remember although this channel is important within your digital communications mix you should first ensure that you Do The Simple Things Right first:

  1. Website - is your website maximising the opportunity to convert people?
  2. Email - does your email strategy follow standard practice?
  3. Search - are you optimised for Google?
  4. Measurement - are you measuring your digital stragegy, do you know where your traffic is coming from?

Do The Simple Things Right then have fun with the latest fad.

CommentPost a Comment | | Print ArticlePrint Article |
tagged , , in