Internet Psychologist
Usain Bolt is a legend in his own lifetime; an amazing World Record time of 9.58 seconds for 100m – that’s over 23mph…! And if you watched this feat of athletic supremacy from the World Athletics Championships in Berlin you can’t help to have noticed that it was over almost …
Left handed people are celebrating today because it is International Left Handers Day. But new research suggests that left-handed people could view your web site entirely differently to someone who is right-handed. And the findings could have important implications for the finances of Google. Left handed or right handed? They …
Your website’s readers pose a real problem for you. Even though you might know their needs and interests well, even though you may have done loads of market research and analytics, the fact remains you cannot see them. And that means you cannot judge their response to what you are …
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – or so we are led to believe. How many times have people told you that if you don’t fail at something you never learn? How often have you heard that Edison failed 10,000 times before he came up with a …
Bankers are set to receive bonuses of £4bn, less than a year after the world banking crisis which saw them saved by the taxpayers. Angry? Meanwhile, Barclays Bank is sitting pretty on a half-year profit of £3bn. Envious? Meanwhile, outside the banking sector, Firefox reported its one billionth download this …
Why is education important? That’s a nice philosophical question that sociologists often answer by saying it provides an opportunity for a child’s parents to go to work. But if you focus on education you will get tons of website traffic. The reason? Apart from just “passing time”, education is the …
Was the moon landing fake? The fake moon landing theory has been with us for 40 years and its enduring nature shows why there is also so much mythology about search engine optimisation. Both are rooted in the same psychological principle which could be helping damage your web presence. If …
Web site visitors can be enticed away from their world and taken into the place you want them to inhabit – if you think about what you are doing with your web pages. Everyone who visits your site is in a different emotional state, has their mind on other things …
The words you use have real impact. Forget all that nonsense you hear about words being unimportant and that body language and tone of voice are the most important features of communications. It’s tosh. After all, you have no real idea of my body language or my tone as you …
Kate Winslet surprised teenagers in Reading the other day by dropping in to her old drama club, Starmaker, where life as an Oscar-winning actress began for her. She immediately created connection with her audience by saying they could ask her anything as she was “very normal”; she then proceeded to …
Visitors to your web site will be looking for guidance as to where to go next. Traditionally, this has meant that web sites have a menu of options across the top or down the left hand side. Indeed, eye-tracking studies show that this is precisely where people look first for …
Marketers often have a “gut feel” – they simply “know” they are “right” about something. Often, this turns out to be true; much psychological research shows that “gut feel” is surprisingly accurate. However, “gut feel” can also be wrong – as many Internet marketers will tell you. They have assumed …
Your customers prefer to keep their cash in their pockets. Few people actually like spending money. They may like what they purchase, of course, but the act of seeing money fly out of their bank account is not something most people enjoy. No matter how good your products and services, …
Guy Kawasaki is an American venture capitalist who knows a thing or two about the world of technology. As a former Apple employee he has been involved with Silicon Valley businesses for over 25 years. He is an adviser to several leading technology companies and is a prolific writer, blogger …
Susan Boyle is now in The Priory, a private clinic renowned for treating celebrities with mental health issues, following reported exhaustion after appearing in the Britain’s Got Talent final on Saturday night. Clearly it has been a traumatic few weeks for her. But the issue that few people are prepared …