In May of this year Google added the ability to search content by time frame e.g. content that was posted in the last week, last day, last hour (click on the 'search options' link under the Google logo on the Google results page). The problem is that the sheer volume of information being submitted to real time applications is just too vast for even Google to keep up. If you look at the top trending topics on Twitter and then do a search for them on Google, applying the 'last hour' metric, they almost never show up. 


This is a big problem that needs to be resolved. 'Real-time' is one of the key innovations of the modern web. The immediate availability of the information and knowledge being broadcast through these applications is transforming the way we operate.  Below the noise and irrelevance being spurted by many, there are news stories being broken, business is being done, lives are being saved.


However, unless we find a way to search, filter and drill down to the information that we are after - the power of this Real-time revolution will not be fully realised. Real-time search is a fascinating, technical and challenging problem. I'd love to say I have the answer but for now it eludes me! 

Search Engine Optimization is a complex and ever evolving process and inbound links remain an important ingredient in helping your site achieve a higher ranking in Google, Yahoo, etc. There are several tools out there which allow you to monitor not only your own sites inbound links but the inbound links of your competitors also.  I've tested and used many of these and always find Yahoo's link tracker to be easy to use and extremely accurate.


Simply go to Yahoo and in the search bar type "site:" followed by the url of the site whose inbound links you want to track e.g. "www.starwars.com" (see example below). Hit enter and you will see a results page which lists both the inbound links and number of pages within that website. It's a great tool for tracking your inbound links so I thought I'd share it with you if it is not something you are aware of.

Making a great first impression should be a paramount objective of any website. If the user likes the look of you, they are more likely to do business with you. With your competitors just a mouse click away, doing business online can be a fickle task. That being said and without further ado, let me point out a couple of websites that I think are pretty spot on.

http://www.mint.com
http://www.coupa.com


These sites both have an understated wow factor to them, in my eyes anyway, and if I needed their services and everything else seemed okay, there's a good chance I would buy from them. That's the power a great first impression can have. I don't want to go into any detail about why I think these designs work in particular but I would be interested to hear what anyone else thinks. And if you have come across any websites that you have been impressed with please leave a link below.


Thanks

The key to utilising social media in a productive manner is in putting yourself in the shoes of the people you are reaching out to. Social media is about conversing with people often over multiple platforms - blogs, social networks, online video, micro-blogging, etc. - providing an insight to your company, being informative about your industry and most importantly, listening and responding to user comments and feedback.  Social media is about humanising your company, building trust with both existing and potential customers. 


Whilst the technology involved is almost always free or at low cost monthly subscription fees, this does not mean it can be treated lightly.  Social Media marketing requires significant investment in both time and thought.  Managing your social media strategy can often be counter-productive where not done correctly. At one end of the scale it is not good enough to simply be on Twitter or on Facebook.  A neglected Facebook page can leave a bad first impression and failure to engage with users who ask questions and leave comments can be damaging to cusomer relations. Equally, a lack of a defined social media strategy can result in companies pouring a lot in and getting very little out. 


Planning is key. As with any marketing strategy you must have defined objectives, achievable benchmarks and a consistent message. Unlike traditional marketing, the conversation is two way and quite often you will need to spend much of your time listening and responding. This is what makes social media so powerful because it's marketing and customer service rolled up in one. The combination enables you to not just sell your product or service but to build advocates for your company. 


In an increasingly digitised world, social media is where much if not most of the business of the future will be done. If this is not the case already.


If you have any questions regarding social media or would like to discuss how it could be used to help your business flourish please contact us.

After much derision for employing  such underhand tactics (in the online world at least) they decided to open the competition to people using all browsers - Microsoft Head Office apparently forced the Aussies to change it and were not impressed with the competition idea in the slightest. Nonetheless, it is going ahead and the first few clues have now been released.  Although you need to be an Australian resident to win, it has gained interest all over the world. Mostly down to the negative publicity I suspect.
 
In any case, I've been following the first few clues and trying to solve them has added a bit of mind stimulation to lunch hour.

If you'd like to have a go visit the competition Twitter page http://www.twitter.com/tengrand_IE8

When a man of this calibre and intelligence decides he's going to put his mind to a new internet search engine called Wolfram Alpha, the tech world rightly takes notice. This isn't search in the classic sense (Google, etc.) instead he's attempting to build a system that indexes and attempts to understand the webs data in a way that allows it to provide intelligent answers to user requests. For example, it can pretty much solve any mathematical problem you input, it can tell you the current location of the International Space Station and it can tell you how many calories are in an average slice of cheddar cheese. No need to browse through a set of search results, Wolfram Alpha simply answers the question and in an insightful way . See this screencast and be prepared to be blown away.

Now for those not familiar with web jargon. the term 'Alpha' is kind of like saying that it's a pre-production prototype. However, having tested it for the past couple of days I have to say, it's looking mighty impressive and the good news is that it's going to get even better. There's still several subject areas where it falls a little short but these will be rectified in time.  I would recommend watching the screencast above to get an idea of the type of requests that the system is currently hot on.

If you haven't heard of Wolfram Alpha already, remember where you heard it first. This going to be huge!

Visit the site here: Wolfram Alpha