Research from marketing agency MBA has found that 50% of those surveyed are in favour of shutting social networks when faced with extraordinary circumstances such as riots.

That’s a scarily large number of people out of a reasonably large survey (2,000). Luckily it comes after social media executives from Twitter, Facebook and Research in Motion met with the Home Secretary Theresa May and others and it was made clear that the government’s foolish idea of shutting social networks was not on the agenda.

Still that is a worryingly high number of people agreeing with David Cameron’s Daily Mail inspired call to shut social networks. Read More »

Speaking in the House of Commons today after parliament was recalled to discuss the English riots Prime Minister, David Cameron, used part of his speech to highlight the way that social media was used by rioters. He spoke about how the government would look into seeing if it would be right to stop them if they were using social media to incite violence.

He is taking his line apparently straight from the Sun and Daily Mail, which earlier this week blamed Twitter for fuelling London’s riots. It is a worrying sign. You can not regulate the internet or ban people from social networks. It is the wrong approach entirely. Read More »

The Daily Mail and the Sun newspapers have pointed the blame in part at Twitter for fuelling the weekend riots and looting in Tottenham, Enfield, Brixton and elsewhere in London.

UPDATE – Blackberry has issued a statement (see below) on Twitter to say it is working with the authorities. Read More »

Research In Motion has said it will begin selling its Blackberry Playbook tablet in North America in the first quarter with a sub- $500 pricetag as it tries to take on Apple’s iPad. Read More »

This is spot on. Scarily so. As a dedicated iPhone user, of course, I see myself as slightly cooler and more hip that those struggling with their Blackberrys. I’m sorry, but no amount of cool looking ads with dance music will make Blackberry’s cool.

Sorry it just won’t happen. I have to say that I have a cape in my closet so really I don’t mind if others see me like like that and besides it is OKAY to worship Steve Jobs. Besides false idolatry is so several centuries ago. Read More »

After seeing the interest in the post about “How mobile changes user behaviour”, I decided to share also the user breakdown by device.

As a frame of reference: At Jobsite, the traffic via mobile devices (actual mobiles & the ipad, excludes other on the go computing devices) now stands at 5% of total visits – an increase of 630% in 18 months and double the traffic we receive from Yahoo & Bing combined. Read More »

Do Androids dream of really cool handsets? I’m only asking as the world is going all Philip K Dick on us. The Androids are coming. I’d been wondering what I would get next, disappointed with Blackberry, and not wanting to be yet another Nathan Barley type wittering on about their Apple iPhone.

It looks like the answer will bean an Android phone. Android are tearing up the market outpacing the overhyped and all over the media Apple by a ratio of 4:1. Check it out. Read More »

Its here and it will be cheaper than an Apple iPad, but will Research In Motion’s tablet, they’re calling it the BlackBerry PlayBook, be any good? It has some plus points in that it is smaller (for now) and more portable than Apple’s tablet weighing in at less than 1lb (half a pound less) with a 7″ screen.

It has, unlike Apple right now, support for Adobe Flash and it is going to allow those who already have BlackBerry smartphones to pair them with their tablet to use the larger display. Read More »