123-reg.co.uk

If ever glance at those job ads you see down the side of many webpages you will have noticed an increased number of positions with ‘social media’ in the title. The fact is social media is – or should be – an integral part of every business but too often, even those advertising for ‘social media executives’ and the like are getting it wrong.

This blog by Shane O’Byrne, Social Media Director at agency MEC seems to sum it up perfectly. The thing about social media is that it is not just and add-on and it is not even a separate department. Of course you need experts in social media within your business but to be successful your social media needs to be driven throughout the business. That way by getting more people within your firm or project thinking about social media you will become much more innovative in your use of it and therefore in more successful all round.

Have a read and have a think. Do you agree with Shane?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Today is the day. Prince William and Catherine Middleton today will be wed amongst a wealth of excitement across the globe.

Millions are expected to flood the capital today – an extra public holiday in the UK – with some having camped out along the route for days hoping to grab a glimpse of the newest Royal couple. Yet the online world is just as excited. Google search trends have been featuring ‘royal wedding’ for the past week or so in tens of countries across the world. It really is the buzz across the globe.

If you’ve not yet set out to take your place along the route they chances are you’ve missed the opportunity so why not watch it online? Yes, TV stations will be showing back to back coverage but we like to celebrate online opportunities.

If you want to sample what those in the crowd will be surrounded by Google Earth will offer a “Royals’-eye” view of the wedding procession.

For those looking for live coverage though there is also no need to be disappointed. Embracing the digital world the Royal Household will be live-streaming the entire ceremony on their official YouTube channel. The live stream will begin at 10:00 BST and will follow the wedding procession, marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey and the sealing balcony kiss.

In fact, The Royal Channel will make even the best football reporting websites seem light. As well as the live stream, there will be live blog commentary of the event too. Plus if you want to leave your own best wishes for the happy couple you can leave your own message on the video guest book.

For background information while you watch, you can visit the official website for the royal wedding where you can even find details of how the congregation will be seated within the Abbey.

Just over 50 years since the marriage of The Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, and Antony Armstrong-Jones became the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television the marriage of William and Kate is truly set to become the first internet wedding. Hey, it’s even got its own Twitter hashtag: #rw2011.

If all the excitement has you dreaming of a royal wedding of your own, why not try our Can I Marry Harry compatibility test, to see if you might be suitable for William’s unmarried younger sibling.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Just as 3D technology begins to become more familiar in our homes, so somewhere in the world has to go another step further, well actually two steps further.

Unsurprisingly, that place in the world is Japan where Sharp has revealed details of new theme park attraction dubbed “The 5D Miracle Tour”. The dutch-themed, Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan is to play home to a new installation made up of 156 60-inch LCD TVs set out below the feet, above the heads and surrounding visitors on three walls.

Yet, while the claim is 5D, and there is all round action, we can’t quite see how they can truly claim it to be 5D technology. The screens used aren’t 3D and from the initial press literature it appears there are no plans for smell-o-vision or even extra special effects. We guess it is all about the experience.

The installation will open this Friday (A Japanese public holiday) running an 8 minute long specially prepared video.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Smartphones are our future so we keep getting told and a recent survey reported recently in New Media Age suggests the UK consumer is embracing App technology as a way of purchasing, ordering and simply spending money online.

In fact the the research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of the marketing firm The Bio Agency, found that owners in the UK are spending £581 million a year via downloaded apps. The report suggested 20 per cent of UK smartphone users purchased goods by using applications with a spending average over £33 per person.

3,000 UK residents were surveyed with nearly 80 per cent indicating convenience as the major reason for conducting m-commerce. With the recent high profile marketing of Apps from Tesco and Waitrose amongst others it is not surprising the the biggest average spend  (over £75 a month) came in the grocery sector, with travel tickets not too far behind at over £56 a month.

It certainly appears that m-commerce is set to continue driving forward and change the way we do business.

Did you know you can purchase domain names using your phone with 123-reg? Our iPhone app is the perfect way of ensuring those quirky domain names don’t evade your grasp just because you are on the move.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

You know how sometimes you get an invite to a party where the person extends the invite you and a guest by using the “+1″ suffix? Well Google has brought the concept to the web so that if you find a decent site when searching its database you can recommend it to others using the new +1 button.

That +1 is the latest move by Google to keep step with the social sharing world after their recent integration of what you share via Twitter, Flickr, et al within Google search results. The official Google Blog announced the arrival of the +1 function to be rolled out on Google.com first. For those who can’t wait to see it they have also released an experimental search site so you can see exactly how it works. In practice it is being aligned with the Facebook ‘like’ function. Again like the social sharing integration for your +1s to show up you need to have a Google profile and upgrade it to include enhanced profiles.

It looks like this is a good attempt by Google to grab hold of the social searching reins before they run away from them to other providers, but its certainly nothing ground-breaking and from our own quick poll in the office it seems the use of Google profiles is fairly limited so we will wait and see how successful the +1 may become.

Have you used the +1 function? What did you think?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Well not exactly ripping it up but the UK government has today revealed final amendments to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), which aim to prevent consumer broadband ISPs from intercepting their customers personal internet communications (e.g. by tracking visited web page URL addresses).

The move is a direct response to European Commission demands for a proper implementation of its internet and email privacy rules in the UK. The UK Government came under criticism following revelations of third party companies gaining access to surfers records without their kn owledge. Controversially Phorm used Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology, with the help of broadband ISPs , to monitor websites visited in order to create targeted advertising campaigns.

The new changes attempt to eliminate greay areas and make it more difficult for ISPs to claim  consent had been given. ISPs will now need to gain the clear consent of their customers before imposing any Phorm like service.

How well the new law will be policed will no doubt be tested in the not too distant future.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

It is that time of year when time is running out to get your nominations in for the five categories of the Nominet Internet Awards.

The awards recognise achievements of organisations and individuals who have created projects that help make the internet a more inclusive, enjoyable and safer space for everyone.

The five categories of the Nominet Internet Awards recognise achievements of organisations and individuals who lead the way to make the internet a more inclusive, enjoyable and safer space for everyone.

The winners will gain plenty of Kudos and media coverage so consider if any of your projects fall within one of the five categories:

1. Building a networked nation – In association with Race Online 2012

Projects such as those enabling people to access the internet who may otherwise not have the opportunity.

2. Making the internet Safer – In association with Symantec

Projects including tools to reduce criminal activity on the internet or those enabling people to protect themselves online.

3. Opening the world of knowledge – In association with the British Library

Suitable candidates include those offering increased access to online materials, knowledge or information and / or using the internet to educate/train.

4. Empowering young people & citizens – In association with Childnet International

Nominations are welcomed from those engaging with young people on internet issues, or offering public, or those simply ensuring that citizens’ voices are heard

5. Nurturing powerful local partnerships – In association with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations

The final category includes those projects that make a difference in a local community with an online project, or use the Internet to bring a Community together.

Full information on the categories and entry criteria can be found on the Nominet site and you can complete your entry here. But hurry nominations must be in by 28th April 2011.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Forget Call of Duty, FIFA et al, those of us of an older generation remember when gaming was about piling 10p pieces into a giant box in some arcade in an attempt to make clunky sprites move as fast as our fingers could pound the buttons.

If you are of the age where the coin-op retains a stroing place in your heart, we may have found you the perfect short-break destination. Forget the Berlin wall and the Reichstag, if you are of a gaming persuation then the  Computer Games Museum in Berlin is the place to head when in Germany.

As part of the a larger exhibition dedicated to digital interactive entertainment, the museum for gamers opened earlier this year under the full title of “Computerspiele. Evolution eines Mediums” (“Computer Games. Evolution of a Medium”). There are  over 300 exhibits in an interactive environment include playable classic games inside the logo’d solid wooden cabinets that made them so enticing.

Take the tour and learn more about the historical journey of gaming through six decades and you will begin to realise how technology like Kinect really was science fiction until very recently.

Have you visited the museum?
Do you remember when TAITO and ATARI were the names everybody spoke about?

We’d love to hear your stories.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Those lads and lasses at Google labs are a clever bunch and they’ve recently rolled-out a couple of new useful tools to make web surfing more enjoyable and seamless.

Here’s what the Google Systems Blog recently revealed. First up Google Dictionary has been added to the Search tool.

Although sadly not for all. Google are testing the tool on an ad-hoc basis with the dictionary available on the side bar as a search option. The idea is to allow users to find definitions of words without using “define” within their search, with the results returned coming direct from the Google Dictionary, with other web definitions also available.

Secondly, Google has integrated its reading level tool. It’s been around for a while under the advanced options but is now coming to a side-bar near you. If English is not your strong point then this could be what you are after with a little indicator as to how hard the article will be to read based on standard tests.

What do you think of Google’s latest tinkerings?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

A new report last week from Buddy Media suggests when you post on Facebook can have as much if not more bearing on how your customers engage with you as what you post.

The key being that Facebook is a 24-hour community and that many of those you may seek to attract aren’t actually going to be able or willing to check their account during normal office hours. In fact, brands that posted outside of business hours had 20% higher engagement rates.

The survey based on a 200 of Buddy Media’s own clients, suggested three peaks in Facebook engagement. The first being early morning (eg 7am), the second being immediately after work (eg 5pm) and the final late at night (eg 11pm) and by not posting updates at these key times, brands are missing out on maxmium customer engagement.

Thursdays and Fridays are also the biggest days of the week for engagement. Of course there are brand and sector differences but broadly speaking the majority of businesses conform to these times.

The survey also suggests language is key too. Keeping it simple by using phrases such as “Like us if…” is language Facebook users understand and will react better to.

Have you noticed that the time you post might influence engagement from customers?

Share and Enjoy

Comments