Internet Psychologist
Gosh…! Is it any wonder the “R” word (recession) is now being spoken about openly. Already the US authorities have cut interest rates twice in a week in a massive bid to prevent the country falling into an economic downturn. And UK commentators are saying thinks like “when the US sneezes, the UK catches a … Read more
Dennis Publishing has just produced “Facebook: The Complete Guide to Social Networking” in which yours truly features prominently on page 11 including a big picture of me…!
You know when you have “made it” when you are front page news – particularly if that front page belongs to the Wall Street Journal. Facebook is the subject of a major article on the front of the Wall Street Journal, arguing that perhaps we can let other social networkers know too much. The article … Read more
Still, in spite of being around for ten years, people dismiss blogging as futile, unecessary or in some way “amateur”. Far from it – some of the most successful web sites in the world are based on blog technology. Amazon, the BBC and Facebook are all derivatives of blogging. But if you ever wanted to … Read more
Social networkers love numbers; “I have 20,000 friends”, or “My profile has just had its millionth view”, for instance. But actually, who cares? Other than massaging the ego of the individual social networker, numbers do not matter much. Take for instance the latest figures on social networking viewers (shown right). The table shows the number … Read more
Teenagers are becoming like their parents. Plus ca change…as the French might say. What is happening is that the younger generations are now seeking answers to their difficulties, to their questions, to their problems, from other people. Instead of resorting to search engines, they ask each other. In the past, before the Internet came along, … Read more
All over the news sites in the past 24 hours you will have found plenty of coverage about the Google deal with MySpace. In essence it means that Google is working with developers at MySpace to allow applications to be built that work on any social networking platform. In other words this is very technical. … Read more
What does social networking mean to you? Probably, you think of things like Facebook, Ecademy, MySpace and so on. Do you also automatically think of teenagers? Well, the average age of people on Ecademy is mid-40s, for MySpace it’s mid-30s. So, sometimes our views about who is using social networking can be cloudy. Online there … Read more
Internet marketers are facing a significant change in the way they operate thanks to a deal between Facebook and Microsoft. The arrangement sees Microsoft as the provider of advertising on the Facebook site. For the past few years Google has dominated the pay-per-click sector, with Yahoo running a late second place and Microsoft trailing behind. … Read more
Philip Calvert arrived at a recent NRG Business Networks lunch ready to deliver a killer blow for many businesses in the audience. Hitting the audience squarely between the eyes he told them that unless they were focusing on online social networking they were nowhere. Social networking is so important, he said, that businesses that did … Read more
A new study of small business owners reveals they are finding all this Internet marketing lark rather daunting. Most claim they shun Internet marketing because of costs and complexities. Many small business owners claimed they were confused about Internet marketing and the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon. However, while small business owners worry and ponder on … Read more
Facebook users know they can send each other little messages, even buy their “friends” an online drink or send them a “hug”. You can even do all that with text messages, sending little “wordlets”. But there’s a more subtle connection, a psychological one. When text messaging was invented it was designed for mobile phone engineers … Read more
Google appears to have added “blogsearch” findings to it’s main index which means if you blog, your entries can appear in the main Google search results within minutes. Here’s an example: my posting “Make the most of online opportunities” was published here a couple of entries ago. Within 12 minutes it was listed Number 2 … 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
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