Archive for December, 2008

OK, so admittedly, we had to remind ourselves exactly what a ‘Zeitgeist‘ was. Once we’d done that, we headed over to Google to view the most popular web searches for 2008. Why they didn’t just call it ‘most popular searches 2008′ is beyond us, but nevertheless it’s an interesting indication of what people around the world are thinking about.

Marketeers might want to pay special attention to the amount of searches for web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace.

Google Zeitgesit

Once upon a time, tele-marketing used to be reputable (well, almost reputable)… if you told someone not to call you again, they generally didn’t. Nowadays it seems to be the scurge of the marketing world… silent calls, mysterious foreign call centres, pre-recorded ‘are you in debt?’ messages and calls at all times of day or night. In fact sometimes it’s actually a surprise to receive a call from someone you know, rather than from someone trying to flog something you don’t want.

And that’s kind of the point… whilst there some a valid argument for tele-sales, we feel that this is one form of marketing that the world could do without. The reason is simple… it’s an interruption to your already busy and stress filled day (why is it these calls tend to happen when you are in the shower for example?).

To reduce annoyance calls, you could of course subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service and that certainly seems to help, but many unscrupulous companies are circumnavigating the rules, by basing their call centres abroad.

We particularly hate those pre-recorded messages, asking us if we would like to “save money” on our utilities. We also loathe it when the patronising voice informs us that “this is a free call” (yes we know… you called us remember!). But what do you do in this instance? Do you listen to the message and get put on hold (to find out who is calling and tell them to stop)? Or do  you simply hang up, knowing darn well they will be calling you again in a few days?

One free solution is a service called ‘Whocallsme‘. Providing you can establish the callers number (by dialling 1471) you can do a search to find out who it was calling. Admittedly, some nuisance calls use a withheld number, but we’ve been surprised by how many that actually don’t (maybe they’re hoping you will see their number as a missed call, and actually call them back!).

If enough people complain to the company that originated the call… then the message actually might get through, and if it’s a UK based company, they may have a legal obligation to comply (see the TPS site for further details).

The best solution of all though, is something called ‘Truecall’ which screens calls for you (a bit like having your own full time PA!). We won’t explain the device in detail here, suffice to say it’s a great piece of kit (if a little pricey at £97.50). Head over to the Truecall website for an introductory video.

So in summary, if you’re serious about marketing, and you’re still making unsolicited calls, then maybe it’s time to ask your customers what they think about them? The reality is that it’s probably far more effective to communicate with them in another way.

Things might have appeared a little ‘wonky’ at ‘pick n mix’ over the last couple of weeks. It’s because we have been migrating from one web host to another. If you already know what that means, we hope you understand the enormity of the task in hand … and if you don’t, then don’t worry… just think of it as us moving house, packing up all the boxes, transporting them, and unpacking them in a new location (a time consuming and stressful experience!).

Anyway, the upshot of all this shenanigans, is that the site should now load a lot faster than it did previously, meaning an improved user experience (well that’s the plan anyway).

During the process of ‘migration’ we also spotted a few dead links, which should (hopefully) now be fixed. If you click on a link to something and it doesn’t work however, then please let us know, and we will do our best to fix it!

When it comes to storing data, high capacity USB memory sticks seem to be taking over from CDs and DVD. There are some instances where the latter are invaluable though (music and movies, backing up, and sending large or multiple files on to others). Often blank media comes supplied on a spindle of 10 or more discs, and jewel cases or sleeves need to be purchased separately. This is usually fine… until you realise you have run out of cases! Fear not though, as there is a handy solution… make your own from a sheet of paper!

Whilst this won’t be for everyone, we like it because it is a good temporary solution,  and is more environmentally friendly than plastic cases. It also means that discs will fit in to a slimmer envelope that can be posted as a ‘letter’ (rather than ‘large letter’) in the Royal Mail’s postage system … saving money on stamps too!

PaperCDcase.com

Can’t see the video? Click here to watch it at Metacafe

Via Lifehacker

Recognise this man?

It’s Martin Lewis… the ‘Money Saving Expert’ of course! We love Martin, and his ‘consumer revenge’ campaign. We think he keeps a lot of the big (and sometimes complacent) companies on their toes, which can only be a good thing.

We’re going to see Martin tonight, at a ‘one off’ show in London called ‘Money Saving Expert Live’. So in the spirit of saving everyone a few pennies, we thought we would develop a ‘money saving shopping list’ based on the advice Martin gives on his website.

It’s a very easy to use ‘tick box’ affair.. simply tick the items you need in advance, and then cross ithem out as you shop (as if we needed to explain how to use a shopping list to anyone).  Anyway, the list is printer friendly, and is designed to fit nicely on A4 paper.

You can download the list by clicking on the link below. It’s completely free of course… please feel free to copy it and distribute it to your friends, colleagues, and family.

Shopping List

Oh, and don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments section!