Several years ago I grudgingly set up a Facebook account, joining an online community that now has over 800 million users across the world. I’ve never been Facebook’s number one fan – I use it minimally and mainly to not-so-subtly spy on my 16 year old son, to make sure he’s behaving himself as much as possible.

However, even a skeptic like me couldn’t fail to be impressed after a sneaky look at the developer’s preview of the new Facebook timeline. Put simply, when it rolls out across the site’s user base over the next few months, Facebook’s new layout is set to be a game changer. Read More »

You won’t need your wallet to go shopping on UK high streets in 2016, according to a new report by PayPal.

Yup, in four year’s time, UK shoppers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for things with digital money rather than cash or cards.

If fact, it’s already being done. The report follows the launch of Pizza Express’s iPhone app, which allows diners in the UK to pay their bill at their table using their smartphone. Read More »

We all know kids grow up fast, but online digital maturity is coming even faster. By the time they are eleven, a majority of kids in the West have graduated onto mainstream social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Everyone’s got an opinion; some are just more vocal than others. As it turns out, UK consumers are far more opinionated than their US counterparts—online, at least.

Nearly half of UK consumers (47%) have reviewed products online compared to the US, where only a third (33%) go online to air their views on products, according to new research.

Read More »

Interesting presentation here from the Social Practice which has put together a particularly good list of ten trends in social media.

It ranges from the rise of the social algorithm, and how we are on the road to a better social web through, via better data, smarter algorithms and social media ubiquity, to social shopping, the changing face of location and the (slow rise) of social business. Read More »

•    Have viewing figures dropped again this week?
•    Can Little Mix be the first band to win?
•    Is it a Marcus, Amelia Lily and Little Mix final?

Back in Week 3, I wrote about how Craig may be what I called a ‘performance based’ contestant, in that the strength of his performances rather than fan loyalty determined whether he was safe to continue through the shows.  For Week 7, we saw Craig criticised rather heavily for having the wrong song choice.  It seems that, along with being the first to sing (therefore not being fresh in people’s minds by the time the voting opens) was a deadly combination for the young Liverpudlian singer as he was booted off the show in the series first Deadlock situation. Read More »

While rumours of the “official” Facebook phone have been in the wind for years, the tech industry seems convinced it is being built by HTC. But can this new entry, codenamed “Buffy”, be a success?

For the past 15 years, websites have been the prevalent digital modus operandi for businesses, however, all of that changed in 2010 with social, mobile and applications becoming mainstream. As these digital technologies continue to fragment, it has become increasingly difficult for brands to manage and monitor their online presence across multiple markets, let alone understand and act upon the opportunities that are available to them.

‘The Splinternet’ is the term we’ve been using to describe this effect where the internet is being segmented into walled gardens; walled gardens that are being created around users, either through subscriber or device driven communities. Read More »

So Yahoo Site Explorer finally closed its doors this week. I guess this makes SEOmoz’s Open Site Explorer the new power broker of back link data for the growing SEO community.

If I could buy shares I’d probably take a punt.

The bigger question is whether the wider digital marketing community is aware of the reputation metrics being captured by tools like Open Site Explorer? Read More »

Here is the week’s round-up of the latest gadgets and reviews. Powered by Stuff Magazine including the Apple iPad 3, Sony Ericsson Nypon LT22i, Google TV set and Lenovo IdeaTab. Read More »