Internet Psychologist
The latest articles from Internet Psychologist and Business Academic, Graham Jones
Today marks a special date in the calendar – it is the first significant spending day for Christmas. Most people get paid at the end of each month, so the last Saturday of every month is when most retailers can expect their highest footfall – numbers of people entering their shops. However, since this is … Read more
Joining in social networks, such as Facebook, are all the rage at the moment. If you’re not in a social network, you’re no-one. However, when people join, say Facebook and then Ecademy, they tend to mix with the same people. Your collection of “friends” on Facebook is likely to be remarkably similar to your “contacts” … Read more
New research at Stanford University suggests that a decision to buy something from your web site is based on two competing brain activities. The study tested the brain activity in people making decisions to buy things like a DVD, chocolates or a book. At several points their brains were scanned to see which parts of … Read more
Paul and Barry Chuckle have been keeping the UK’s children (and many of their parents) entertained for exactly 20 years on British TV. Today is The Chuckle Brothers anniversary. They are a phenomenon in children’s entertainment in Britain. Not only have they celebrated 20 years, but their TV show “Chucklevision” is the longest running children’s … Read more
Marketing people in businesses still don’t understand blogging, it seems. And if these people don’t understand it, what hope is there for the rest of a company which is not so marketing oriented. New data suggests that while 85% of marketing staff agree that the web helps a company hit sales targets, only 5% of … Read more
Online business owners are consumed by getting traffic to their web site. The phrase “web site traffic” generates over 1.5m results in Google, for instance. Plus there are endless streams of newsletters and blogs that tell you how to increase your traffic. All fantastic, but all useless. Web site traffic is not the answer to … Read more
Imagine the scene – you are asked to a dinner party by an important client. You want to do well so you and your partner dress to impress. You both arrive at their home to discover your hosts are wearing the same clothes as you. Help! Consider too the fact that you might visit a … Read more
Sir Richard Branson knows a thing or two about business. Whether you like him or not, you can’t deny that overall his business activities have been rather successful. So this week we hear that he has sold his Virgin Megastores chain in a management buyout that involves taking the Virgin brand name off the High … Read more
Accountants, lawyers and bankers often turn up at business networking events, such as those run by a Chamber of Commerce. They grab a drink, pick up a leaflet or two from the exhibition stand and then pretend to read it. Self-consciously they meander around the room until someone more extrovert says “Hello”. Within seconds, the … Read more
The Internet really has got people hooked. According to one report on a survey of Americans, one in five of them is giving up sex in order to spend more time online. Indeed, several people feel that if they can’t go online, there is something missing in their life, the study suggested. However, the research … Read more
Internet marketers need to be wordsmiths; yet the vast majority of them appear to be focused on products and sales and technology. However, people engage online with the words they read. Even video content is driven by words in links, the words we use to recommend a video to our friends, or the words we … Read more
Customers at the Northern Rock bank are in a state of panic, that’s clear. So much so that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling, has guaranteed the money for all customers of the troubled bank. However, what’s interesting is what has been happening online. In the past 24 hours, according to Google’s Blog Search, … Read more
Criminals are gaining big bucks online, according to a new report from Symantec, the computer security firm. However, the publication of this study is an interesting look at how a big business uses the Internet – and clearly fails to understand how people behave online. The report is to be published “on Monday” according to … Read more
Thousands of visitors went to the annual Berkshire Show today. It was packed with people – many of whom were spending money at the 600 shops or the hundreds of exhibition stands. Equally, thousands of people bought food and drink to keep them fuelled for the miles of walking they would do all day. Yet, … Read more
Customers of the Northern Rock bank in the UK are being urged to calm down. Yesterday the nation was swept with mass panic as customers flocked to the bank’s branches to withdraw their savings. Queues were seen stretching round the block and branches had to remain open until late at night to deal with everyone. … Read more