I used to have a boss with an amazing knack for sidling up to the desk of a junior researcher late on a Friday afternoon to ask, “How are you fixed?”.

This meant one thing: a flash poll or fast-turnaround survey put into the field that day and reported back to the client as soon as it was done. A flash poll in those days, for me, was the first sign that a client was in trouble. Some crisis had hit and we needed to dive in to understand how much people knew, how much they were affected by that knowledge and how to fix any damage to the brand or bottom line. We joked that we needed a big red button to push to set off a siren so that everyone would know that it was going to be a long night or two. Read More »

It’s been a year of highs and lows for football clubs on Social Media, we’ve seen everything from player’s Twitter accounts being hacked, managers banning Social Media and Tweets getting players into serious trouble. Yet, we’ve also seen Manchester United break the 20 million Facebook fans mark, Manchester City continue to come up with creative fan engagement strategies and even the advent of the “Social Media Stadium“. Read More »

Are you partial to a bit of peer pressure? Social media experts around the globe think so. Companies like Facebook are staking their future on the idea that a recommendation from a friend is far more trustworthy than one from a flashy marketing message. Social media is now playing a huge role in peoples buying decisions, even affecting choices people make in their day to day lives.  This got me thinking, what would Twitter have me do this Christmas if social consensus guided my decisions?

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