Truth or lies online

Don’t be too honest on Facebook

Facebook users are nothing if not honest. Several studies have shown that we are frequently more truthful online than we are in the flesh. Want to know the “real person” you meet? Take a look at what they say on Facebook and other social networks and you’ll glimpse parts of …

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Profile pictures depend on your eyes

Profile pictures online should be baby-faced

What is the first thing you look at when you land on someone’s social network profile page? When you look at an “About Us” web page, where do your eyes go? If you are like the bulk of Internet users you will focus your attention on the eyes of the …

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Did Princess Diana fake her own death?

Princess Diana and Bin Laden are both alive and well…! Really?

Princess Diana shares something with Osama Bin Laden apparently – like him, she is alive…! Trust me, it must be true because several people believe it and say so online. Yes, they are conspiracy theorists, admittedly. But there are plenty of people chatting away on the Internet who suggest, for …

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Do not ignore people

Do not ignore your website visitors

Hello, how are you? Hope you are well and that you have had a good day so far. Now, tell me, isn’t it nice to be asked, to be recognised, to be noticed? I am writing this from the Rudding Park Hotel, near Harrogate, where I am speaking tomorrow morning. …

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Business, Crossword Puzzle

Online success could be boosted by crossword puzzles

Internet business success depends upon website owners being open to new ideas and change. However, many people have fixed ideas and find they are not easily swayed by new online features. Research shows that simple things like crossword puzzles can increase your openness to new ideas and therefore improve your ability to undertake new internet business ideas and suggestions.

Some people are plugged in to the Internet

Proof: Internet Addiction DOES exist

How much time is too much online? Like many things, people can become addicted to the Internet, though psychological diagnosis manuals still refer to Internet Addiction as an “impulse control disorder“, which means that as yet there is insufficient evidence to truly confirm that “Internet Addiction Disorder” (IAD) is a …

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Lawrence family shows us all how to behave

When the history books are written the names of Doreen Lawrence OBE, Neville Lawrence OBE and Stephen Lawrence will be writ large, along with the rest of this ordinary but amazing family, including Stephen’s brother, Stuart. It is almost unbearable to read the unbelievable way in which the Lawrence family …

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New Year Resolutions

This New Year your online resolutions should be tiny

So we are mere hours away from 2012 – the London Olympic Year when Britain’s hopes will be high and thousands of young athletes will be striving for their best performances so they can get their hands on that elusive gold medal. Meanwhile, at the other end of the athletic …

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busy shoppers

Retailers are bound to do better online

Retailers are predicting a bleak year ahead, with many already reporting a bad Christmas this year. Meanwhile, online stores have been breaking all records. On Boxing Day there were almost 100m visits to online shops with shoppers spending a total of 13 million hours browsing; this is a 20% increase …

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Meditating can help avoid online distractions

How to beat online distractions

For a moment, just focus…! Ignore those links on the right hand side of the page. Resist the temptation to sign up for my weekly newsletter. Shut your eyes to the other tabs and windows open on your screen. Instead, for a moment or two – concentrate. There that was …

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Christmas at home

Christmas Past or Christmas Present – which is best?

Charles Dickens knew a thing or two about human psychology. In “A Christmas Carol“, the main character Ebenezer Scrooge connects his past to his likely future and changes his behaviour as a result. Instead of being a miser, he dramatically alters his behaviour and becomes a model of generosity, providing …

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Customer information

Do not make your customers think

One thing we know about the former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is that he did not allow “his people” to think. They were extensively controlled – and still are with public wailing demanded by the military dictators. It shows that you can rule by fear. But it also shows …

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