My earlier post about Zap Reader prompted an old colleague, Jon, to tell me about Bookmuncher. Software that enables faster reading on screen - currently just for a PC, but shortly available for Nokia and Sony mobiles. Check it out here.
Reading documents on screen can be onerous at times, however I've come across Zap Reader which not only makes it easier, but increases your reading speed. It costs nothing to install, works with all major browsers and it's free.
To try it, click here.
Ofcom’s annual communications survey was issued this week...
Some headlines and insights…
- More than 50% of homes now have broadband, with 40% bundling services in (phones etc) from their supplier
- Quid pro quo, people are spending more time on the internet, chatting on mobile phones, and less time watching TV
- Women are the most committed internet users- they account for 55% of internet usage amongst all 25-34 years olds, who are increasingly shopping and socialising online
- However, those 65+ are the heaviest users of the internet-16% spend more than 42 hours online a month
And the choice of Internet, iPods, Gameboys etc show people are embracing high-tech kit. TV, radio and even DVD’s are in decline.
- 15% of people have a Digital Video Recorder (e.g. Skybox) and skip TV ads when watching it
- More than 75% of 11 year olds have their own TV, mobile phone and games console
- 15% of 13-15 year olds and 7% of 10 year olds have their own webcam
I still believe that fundamentally the way individuals select and use media is influenced by age and the technological environment they grew up in-whether you’re a digital native, or digital immigrant. Retail research I've had sight of shows those under 25 shop and search quite differently to those above 25 currently.
The full Ofcom summary is here.
Launching an e-commerce site for a client has me caught up in the world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO if you are looking for a TLA- three letter acronym).
I’ve always considered SEO to be the cyber equivalent of quackery, except that the Medicine Men of the internet talk about algorithms, tags, plug-ins, metas and google dancing.
Heady stuff.
My take is that it is all about understanding people and how they search. Finding the right keywords is the answer. Spend longer on that than anything else. Then let the technology do its thing.
This Hitwise report on paid and organic searching is also interesting. However,‘digital natives’ search differently than ‘digital immigrants’.
Reading a motley assortment of newspapers in a South Devon tea shop I came across this article by Steven Pollard that accurately sums up my attitude to e-mail and 'staying in touch’ with the workplace whilst on holiday. Unlike Steven I didn’t have to use my laptop or phone in secret-15 minutes every morning was enough to ensure peace of mind for me, and a relaxing day for all.
With all the information accumulating on the web, searching can be frustrating at times, even with Google. If you, like me, often never delve deeper than the first two pages returned, try Huckabuck.
It’s a new site where you can refine your search across the main search engines by using their ‘graphic equaliser’ style sliders. Just click on the ‘Tune your search button’ to your set your search emphasis. You'll find it really changes the complexion of your results and offers up some interesting alternative links.
The name? Appears a Huckabuck is a homemade frozen treat enjoyed by New Orleanians in summer. And New Orleans is the company home.
Ed Reilly, President of the American Management Association thinks not according to the New York Times. He belives that technology has improved communication (and delivered enormous benefits overall), but that Blackberries, home computers and mobile telephony have fractured our attention spans. We are in danger of becoming communication 'traffic cops' - answering emails and taking calls when perhaps we should be dealing with the important and not the urgent . Organizing our time-especially our thinking time at work- to focus on business prioirites and how to achieve them.
I love technology, but wholeheartedly agree. At a personal level it's easy to become a slave to it and reach for the mouse or handset everytime you hear a 'ping' or a 'ring'. And equally to be dazzled by what technology itself can do, rather than focus on what you want it to do to improve your business performance.
But you do need time to think-either by dedicating time for it, or by gazing out of the train window rather than getting the laptop out, or checking email on your mobile.
Think, then act. That's why we're called Head First.
Love what Google's doodle artist has done with the Sherlock Holmes image to celebrate Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday today.
Interesting report in Wired about how new software can match handwriting samples, and how this new technology may help solve who killed the Lindbergh baby last century.
The case has always been referred to as the 'Crime of the Century', and when I rented a small ranch house on Province Line Road, Hopewell, during the years I worked in the USA, I discovered I was on the same road as 'Highfields' -the mansion Lindbergh had built further up the Sourland Mountains in the early thrities, and the house from which his son was kidnapped.
I got caught up in the mystery and all the theories. I sourced the long out of print book by George Waller on the case, and read the contemporary views of Ludovic Kennedy in 'The Airman and the Carpenter'. 'Stormin' Norman's' dad was Head of the NJ Police at the time, and Lindbergh was without question the first global celebrity ( even my first US landlady- a sprightly octogenarian- waxed lyrical about how she'd flown with him at a Virginian airshow in the late thirites). However he went from 'hero to zero' due to his Nazi sympathies before WW2.
What do I think? Well, the software may prove me wrong, or be inaccurate in linking the writer of the ransom notes to the extortionist, but whilst I believe Hauptmann was involved, the mastermind appears to have been Isadore Fisch, who returned to Europe, before the authorities got desperate and pinned the crime on Hauptmann.But there remain thousands of other theories and conclusions.
Now.....further on from the Lindbergh house was 'Lucky' Luciano's old place. But that's a different story.
Continuing on the branding theme...even if you find the new name, a key question that remains is 'is the domain available?'. Should it be the brand name? Should it be a campaign name? What's permissable and what's available? The most popular domain is 11 characters, but 538 have 63 characters..click for the facts .
