Harry Potter casts a spell for website success

The latest Harry Potter movie has opened to critical acclaim and to box office records. Millions of people will be watching “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” over the coming week – indeed in the UK it has already taken over £12m in its first two days and …

Read More

Do not distract your older website visitors

Teenagers are often criticised for being “unable to listen” or “ignoring their parents”. How many times have you asked your teenage children to turn down that music, only to be ignored? Well, new research suggests they are not actually ignoring you. It is just that they are better able to …

Read More

You should not make your website visitors angry

Anger is breaking out behind the scenes at X-Factor, according to reports. It seems that Cheryl Cole is cross with some of her acts boozing, while her competing judges are furious she went off to the USA in the week, leaving her acts without a mentor. But the chances are, …

Read More

Your online friends are valuable when they talk nonsense

You can’t imagine former Prime Minister Gordon Brown having many friends on Facebook. Not because he doesn’t have friends, but probably because he is a rather cerebral person, who is likely to shun the meaningless chit-chat so prevalent in online social networks. I don’t know Mr Brown, but I suspect …

Read More

Social networks need to be even more social

The President of Chile, Sebastian Piñera, arrived in London yesterday with a bag of rocks as a present for the Queen. Of course, those rocks were from the depths of the mine in San Jose where 33 men had been trapped for 70 days. The rocks are a symbol of …

Read More

Do not remind customers how useful your products are

David Miliband keeps reminding us that his brother Ed, is really a great leader. The former Foreign Secretary doth protest too much, methinks. When we have to be reminded of things, when politicians keep telling us they don’t mind losing an election or when some hapless no-hoper from The X-Factor …

Read More

blank

Your customers will not remember what they choose

City spivs might not choose to vote Liberal Democrat again after being attacked by Business Secretary, Vince Cable, today. They might choose to vote for another political party in the future. On the other hand, though, they might forget all about this little spat and support the coalition party once …

Read More

blank

How to put a calming influence on your website visitors

Hypnotherapists often ask you to imagine you are laying down somewhere peaceful; perhaps you are on a deserted beach in the afternoon sunshine where all you can hear is the sound of the water gently lapping the sand as you feel the warmth of the summer on your skin. Your …

Read More

blank

Personalised web spaces are the key to success

The “Fat Cats” are back it seems; the latest figures on the FTSE100 shows that the bonus culture never really went away. Many bosses are paying themselves handsome salaries, even though some of their colleagues in the top firms are showing some restraint. They may need to, because today sees …

Read More

blank

Social networks fail to help people

Tony Blair is facing a concerted effort to diminish his book, A Journey. A campaign has been set up on Facebook to get A Journey moved from the biography section of bookshops to the crime department…! However, new research suggests this effort is doomed to failure. Social scientists at the …

Read More

blank

Online thinking boosted by a walk

Taking your laptop for a walk may not be as daft as it sounds The image of a sad, lonely individual almost tied to their computer for 18 hours a day and making money from some Californian bedroom is great if you are from the Daily Mail and want to …

Read More

True online engagement is not the same as action

The problem of the 33 miners trapped 700m below ground in Chile is both dreadful and fascinating. Many of us are fully engaged with this story because it taps into several emotions. Yet those of us who are engaged with the story have not commented on it, we have taken …

Read More

blank

Online activity could help you live longer

Silver surfer? More of them are more likely in the future Annie Turnbull is 111 years old and is the oldest living person in Britain; congratulations to her – and to her “secret” of success (a daily glass of sherry). When the Internet first came to life she was in …

Read More

Online it is who you know that matters most

Lady Gaga has almost 16m fans on Facebook. My guess is she doesn’t know many of them. Over on Twitter, Britney Spears is “top of the pops” with almost 6m followers. Likewise, I suspect few of them are on her birthday card list. Meanwhile, the typical social networking user has …

Read More

blank

Take care when you comment online

Freud had a word for it, but for many people it is a difficult word – “Fehlleistungen”. Today we call it a “Freudian Slip” and it happens when we say one thing which reveals our “true desires” when we should say something else. For instance, we might want to say …

Read More