13th June RT @getelastic Do you think Groupon will survive without a customer retention strategy? http://www.getelastic.com/groupon-strategy/ >> NO!

A nice post from Get Elastic commenting on the possible Groupon IPO and the state of their business.  To my mind after the Linkedin IPO, there is such a lack of Internet IPO’s that people are jumping to be part of them regardless of the business.  I have mixed views on Groupon, they have done well to become the biggest brand and be very well known.  However speaking personally if I ever look at their site all it seems to offer is teeth whitening and massages.

Also despite all their success they are not making any money.  I think there is a future in this industry but I don’t think it is Groupon.  Currently I see Facebook Deals and their real time, local approach much more engaging to consumers, and much more mainstream, but time will tell

13th JuneThe first ever Rightmove Hack-a-thon|Rightmove Property Blog http://t.co/VW6i4LK > Congrats to Tom (Uni Friend) and all on the winning team

The property website Rightmove held an internal Hack a thon competition for its developers to propose new features and technologies for their website, and then the top 9 ideas were split between teams to design and build.

Firstly congratulations to the winning team and Tom (in the video) who was a housemate of mine at Surrey University.

Secondly though what a great concept.  I’m sure we’ve all had ideas to push our respective sites forward, be they niche and cool, or far reaching and functional, but there is never time to do everything.  This “Hack-A-Thon” gives everyone throughout the company chance to contribute, share their ideas and feel like they have the opportunity to make a difference to the business.  For the management team it is an invaluable source of ideas for the site from the people who know it best, your staff!  They can tell you what doesn’t work, what’s missing, and how to move it forward.

13th June – notonthehighstreet.com launches group gifting http://t.co/ucJOjFP > interesting concept, is it useful or a bit to complex/long to be used?

Not on the High Street have launched a group gifting system on their website, which is demonstrated in the attached video.  To use it, you decide what to buy, how much each of you want to pay for it, who is paying what, send out the invitations, and once the product has been fully paid it is bought and sent to the recipient with cards.

This is an interesting concept, but I just wonder whether it is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.  Sure its nicer for everyone to pay individually than one person pay and try and claim it back from the others, but by the time you’ve all agreed what you want to do, then set this all up, then all paid for it – wouldn’t it have been less hassle just to do it the old fashioned way!  Also if the gift is for an event and some people are in less of a rush to pay would it still be instock or if one decides not to buy what happens?  – though at the same time, good to see new ideas for payment and innovation.

13th June – RT @getelastic A/B and Multivariate Test Validity: Beware of Bad Data! http://bit.ly/kxbgPW

A good top line post of some tips when A/B testing, I would certainly agree with the first, sample size is key, as you will see all the metrics jumping up and down until you have enough traffic to give you statistical relevance and a high confidence level.

15th June – Net-a-Porter innovates with live feed of customer buys – http://www.internetretailing.net/2011/06/net-a-porter-innovates-with-live-feed-of-customer-buys/

A fun integration of add to bag / wishlist data against IP location on the Net a Porter Website.  This really shows more than anything else what a global playing field eCommerce is with add to bags popping up from all over the world.

15th June – RT @Econsultancy Starbucks’ Facebook page receives 12X more traffic than Starbucks.com #FODM

I just thought that this was a fun stat, I’m sure anyone would be envious of their 23 million fans, but on first glance it doesn’t look like they are doing a whole lot to leverage their Facebook page.  Although they post regularly it is in a very formal company tone of voice and (to me at least) doesn’t feel engaging, also I’m not sure what the purpose is of the facebook page.

15th June – RT @Econsultancy 92:1 marketing’s dirty little statistic http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7657-92-1-marketings-dirty-little-statistic-5

I found this post very believable, I can’t count the number of times that I have been followed by advertising, PPC or any form of acquisition marketing, but when I come to click, they either don’t sell it or worse never did!  Just as much effort should go into personalising the site for customers based on the route they entered and ensuring you meet their expectations.

16th June – RT BBCTech Facebook no-nos http://bbc.in/jI7WRR

In the week when a Juror was sentenced for contacting the accused through Facebook the BBC publishes a list of Facebook No No’s with some memorable examples.

16th June – RT DirectorsOfCOM The term ‘Average conversion rate’ is banded around the eCommerce industry so much these days, but are you… http://drct.co/WYn10

Conversion is such a eCommerce buzzword, even people who don’t work directly in eCommerce want to know “Whats the conversion of” – This is very frustrating as there a so many types of conversion metrics, and so places to apply it to – The landing page, the category, the products etc that you can never understand “the average conversion rate”  I believe you should focus on graphing your conversion and tracking its progress, look at the improvements you have made and strive to increase it further rather than worrying about other companies average!

16th June – RT @Econsultancy PR firms need to get hip to the new rules for reviews http://bit.ly/iwWKmn

This week Duke Nukem Forever broke the record for most delayed video game at 14 years and 41 days since its announcement.  Obviously expectations were high however the PR Company responsible for sending out review copies of the game publicly tweeted -

#AlwaysBetOnDuke too many went too far with their reviews…we r reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn’t based on today’s venom

They definitely shouldn’t have said that publicly and as a result have lost the contract, however this just goes to highlight what is probably the unspoken rule of review websites or magazines.  Flicking my thoughts to onsite reviews, I like Amazon’s take on this – They have a Amazon Vine program whereby they give out free review copies of products, the then clearly mark the review as such.  I think this challenges the reviewer in a very positive way to focus on functionality and features rather than just like or dislike.

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Tweets for the week ending 18th June 2011

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The blurb from the back cover

• Pay new employees $2000 to quit.
• Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company, not just a department.
• Focus on company culture as the #1 priority.
• Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business.
• Help employees grow both personally and professionally.
• Seek to change the world.
• Oh, and make money too.

Sound crazy? It’s all standard operating procedure at Zappos, the online retailer that’s doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually. After debuting as the highest-ranking newcomer in Fortune magazine’s annual “Best Companies to Work For” list in 2009, Zappos was acquired by Amazon in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

In his first book, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the different lessons he has learned in business and life, from starting a worm farm to running a pizza business; through LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft for $265 million), Zappos, and more.

Tony shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success — and how by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, you can dramatically increase your own.

In the authors words

My Review

The book is part lifestory, part business lessons.  It is split into three sections

1 – Profits – In section 1 Tony Hsieh writes about his early life, his entrepreneurial spirit while young and at college, his first business Linkexchange and the beginnings of Zappos.

2 – Profits and Passion – This section starts as Tony takes a full time position at Zappos.  A time of the Dot Com crash, with funding hard to find survival is the number 1 priority but even in this climate, culture and purpose grow.  This chapter also documents Zappos’ Core Values, and what they mean to Tony Hsieh and those within Zappos.

3 – Profits, Passion and Purpose – Zappos has become a success, and in this section Tony writes about the process to which they were acquired by Amazon, the things he has done since, and the academic frameworks that Zappos actions could be compared to and why everyone is looking for Happiness!

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Service / Satisfaction or who wants to broaden their eCommerce knowledge.  The book is written in a easy to read voice, and is the tale of a real company, so is very ingrossing and not at all like a textbook!  Zappos have seemingly unparalleled openness about the inner workings of the company and even have a website http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/ companion to the book, with further reading, Zappos Core Values, and a how to for your business.

Also I was surprised that Zappos offer tours of their offices http://www.zapposinsights.com/main/experiences/tours/ I can’t imagine most offices wanting to open themselves for tours 12 times a week but it sounds like a fascinating and inspiring experience.

Delivering Happiness isn’t widely available in the UK – But you can usually find a New or Used copy on Amazon here

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Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh – Review

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6th June – SEO benefits of user reviews http://t.co/ckCZLlJ > With such choice online, reviews are the deciding point for me to purchase so essential!

As I said in the tweet buying any product which I am not familiar with reviews will be the deciding point for me, just last week I bought a set of Car Jumpleads which I know almost nothing about, so it was the reviews which both educated me on what to look for and which to buy.

As to their SEO benefit I think reviews can be a great way on often generic products to differentiate your page content from that of your competitors.  Also the reviews are likely to include a lot of the wording that you may be likely to search for but may not be in the product name.

6th June – ASOS adopts ‘summer hours’ policy for staff http://drct.co/VFSwK #in > interesting, being only Friday probably adds to culture and satisfaction for a minimal loss of output

Ok so I cheated on this one and used Deck.ly to extend over 140 characters.  I enjoyed reading the thoughts of the Directors of Opinion Panel.  I agree that allowing staff to leave early on a Friday is likely to be a big boost to moral, enhances ASOS’s culture, and makes them a place people want to work.

However, at the end of Autumn it will put a bit of a downer on things to have to work till close when they end this Summer scheme.  Also – Surely a web operation is 24-7, particularly in the Social spaces, Friday afternoon could be a key time for them to enagage with shoppers.

8th June – RT mrchrisaddison Google Ads sent me a message telling me they are the most effective form of advertising my website. They sent it by letter. Point defeated.

A humorous post by Comedian Chris Adddison, not a month goes by when I don’t get letters about Google Ads either!

8th June - Why a negative review may not be so bad after all – http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7622-why-a-negative-review-may-not-be-negative-at-all

A fairly standard argument here about what one person may dislike in a product or service may be exactly what another loves.  However illustrated well with the YouTube clip of the Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain who firmly stand by their no mobile phone policy! – You Tube clip NSFW

9th June – RT retailweek In case you missed it earlier – 10 lessons to learn from @Asos http://bit.ly/k7wCqF

No let all your staff leave at 3pm isn’t on the list!  A sensible rounded list of some of the areas that ASOS have invested in early and seen dividends, including International, Mobile, Delivery and Engagement.

10th June – RT retailweek 50 websites to watch http://bit.ly/iqSuM9

A great list if you want some inspiration, ideas, and to see what is happening in the industry.  Each of the 50 companies is suggested by a etailer themselves, with a nice snippet of what they’re doing that makes the site number one for them.

10th June - Javari provides the best customer experience: study http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7635-javari-provides-the-best-customer-experience-study

As Graham Charlton writes, I too find Javari a bit uninspiring, perhaps its the beige colour scheme, however behind this they make their site incredibly simple to navigate and use and there’s a lot to be learnt from this.

10th June – Examples of Online Changing rooms – http://t.co/jmGr5zk H&M – Impressive that you can swivel the model for a back view

We’re seeing more and more online retailers, trying a changing room approach, This is a link to a Snow Patrol review of a couple, I think they do have a strong purpose in that you can see the length of a garment and the fit, but I’m torn whether a “changing room” approach, which does allow you to mix and match outfits really adds to conversion over a lifestyle shot model image.

10th June – Customer Reviews – Erasing authenticity: When correcting is corrupting http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2011/06/10/erasing-authenticity-when-correcting-is-corrupting/

The last tweet this week is for a Bazaarvoice Blog post, in response to Zappos (another Amazon company) announcing they would correct customer reviews for spelling and grammar, I am with Bazaarvoice that the customers complete review mistakes and all should be shown, otherwise you loose the authenticity and authority of that customers review.  Though I have seen some shockers for spelling and grammar in the past!

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Tweets for the week ending 11th June 2011

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This has led to Facebook becoming a much greater marketing arena for brands.  With many of the big brands having their own pages on Facebook, some even sell on facebook.  Some are really clever and look to leverage the power of social recommendations How Benefit Cosmetics gave their customers a voice on Facebook (and won a Shorty Award)

But that’s not what I wanted to write about today.  What I find really interesting is the reverse of this, using the Facebook API to pull data out of facebook and use it on a website.  A obvious example of this is the recent ability to have a Facebook comments function on your site.  As demonstrated here at Mashable http://mashable.com/2011/03/01/facebook-comments-plugin/ The advantage of Facebook comments is that it adds the social dimension to comments, you can quickly find any comments left by your friends, or you can read about who a commenter is easily which could add legitimacy to their post.

But what I find really interesting are the companies who are making their own technologies to utilise Facebook API data

A colleague showed me an example of this on Amazon.com -

By letting Amazon connect to my facebook account it can pull in all my friends information from their facebook profiles, Amazon then sorts this to give a page of Book, Movie and Music recommendations based upon all your friends, it also allows you to click on any individual and receive recommendations for them based upon their Facebook profile data

This gave me two lines of thoughts,

1 – There are endless possibilities

2 – If any of my friends are able to share my data is my data safe?

The Endless Possibilities

What Amazon is doing is fairly basic, they are just looking for common words in the facebook interests data to pull together those items as recommendations, then also related items based on their own recommendations algorithm.  I don’t believe that Amazon are able to see email addresses, but with the name and Birth date and location they must be able to make an intelligent guess at who that user is.  Indeed when you select a particular Facebook friend they ask whether you can match up the relevant wish list.

This seems a good compromise for data as finding your friends wish list would give you a good idea of what to buy that friend, whereas (if I’m anything to go by) their facebook interests may not have been updated since they joined facebook!

If any of my Friends are able to share my data is my data safe

It seems scary that at the click of one button I can export the data of 150+ friends out of facebook and off to an external site, now I trust Amazon but anyone can make a facebook app, request this information, and users will just blindly click it.  Trawling through the facebook privacy settings there is an option to set what data your friends can share.  I’ve set it to nothing, but I would rather receive a request to share data with an app as I would like to choose apps where my friends could see me rather than issue a blanket NO!

Summary

Facebook is just one example of a site with a database of users sharing their data with other companies, other examples include Android, Apple, and any social site.  Currently users will just click those annoying pop up screens so they can play a game not realising the data being shared but it will only take a few misuses of that data till people become more careful.

What is the future?  Do we want a personalised experience everywhere we go?  Is giving up our personal data too much for this?

Leave a comment if you have any views, or if you have seen any other examples of a site integrating with Facebook in a innovative way.

Further Reading

Amazon’s Facebook Integration Is The Future Of Commerce

Amazon Now Taps Into Facebook For Social Product Recommendations

Amazon + Facebook = A Perfect Storm of Recommendations

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Our Social Future? Amazon leading the way with Facebook Integration

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• YouTube – iPhone4 vs HTC Evo – A brilliantly funny conversation of a typical iPhone customer with a mobile salesman. “I don’t care” what the HTC does “I want an iPhone” even if its a brick!
• Google Me social networking rumour is “very real” – Reckons rival Facebook’s ex CTO | TechEye – Google to start a facebook rival, it makes a lot of sense, but will it work? Google could have a second mover advantage and take heed of facebook’s mistakes. But will people use it? I don’t know. I don’t really want the hassle of maintaining 2 social networks, social networks have come and gone before, but is Facebook just too big to take down?`
• YouTube – Mark Webber Parliament Square F1 Pit Stop w/ Red Bull Racing (Full Version) – I’m not entirely sure the reason for doing this, but why not! Red Bull racing driver Mark Webber make a 6am pit stop outside the Houses of Parliament.
• BBC News – iPhone 4 signal fault leaves Apple ‘stunned’ – An unbelievable story, the fault with the iPhone 4 is that it is normally displaying too many bars, so when you hold it and the bars go right down, actually you were already in a low signal area. <br />
  While I am sure that this could be true, surely many people have had other phones and had no signal issues at all! Is this just that the iPhone is an amazing MP3 player, pocket PC, gaming device, etc etc etc but not that good a phone.<br />
  Perhaps next year they’ll release an iPhone without the phone! ….. Wait a moment, that’s the iPad.

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My Links for July 2nd through August 4th

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The law student was young and had his dreams. He’d qualified third in his class at Harvard, now offers poured in from every law firm in America.

The firm was small, but well respected. They were prepared to match, and then exceed, Mitch’s wildest dreams, eighty thousand a year, a BMW and a low-interest mortgage.

Soon the house, the car and the job were his. Then the nightmares begin: the secret files, the bugs in the new bedroom, the mysterious deaths of colleagues, and the millions of dollars of mob money pouring through the office into the Cayman Islands, dollars that the FBI would do anything to trace.

My Review

I have read almost all of John Grisham’s books, and The Firm is my favourite.  Mitchell McDeere is a young law student fresh out of Harvard and joins a unknown law firm in Memphis.  He soon discovers that there is more to the firm than is first obvious, they are a major money launderer for mob.  Mitch is stuck between a rock and a hard place.  On the one side The Firm who will kill anyone who they think could expose them.  On the other the FBI who want Mitch to put his neck on the line and take the firm down from the inside.

Buy The Firm at Amazon

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John Grisham – The Firm

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Synposis

In the Micronesian Islands, a top-secret US undersea lab vanishes . . .

At the same time, off Bermuda, a bathysphere operated by NUMA and overseen by Kurt Austin is attacked and becomes stranded half a mile below the surface. Only quick thinking and bold action will save the crew – which includes the head of a certain, now-missing undersea lab – from a watery grave.

Austin is convinced both events are connected, and he puts NUMA on the case. Soon he’s uncovering some hideous medical experiments and evidence of a terrifying virus that could be used to create a worldwide pandemic. Behind it all lies an ambitious Chinese criminal organization prepared to commit mass murder to achieve its ends.

Now Austin must put his life on the line in order that millions will be saved from death . . .

My Review

I’m a big fan of Clive Cussler’s books, though recently I have stopped buying the hardbacks as soon as they come out (as I don’t have space for them all!) and waiting for the paperbacks, because of this it’s been a while since I read my last Cussler!

I really enjoyed Medusa, the book is one from the Kurt Austin series, a series that I feel has really revitalised Cussler’s writing.  While I will always have a fondness for the Dirk Pitt adventures after twenty books it feels like the character story arc has run its course, whereas the Kurt Austin series (Medusa is the 8th in the series) provides fresh characters and with limitless possibilities.

The general storyline is a familiar one to Cussler fans, starting in the past on a New Bedford Whaling ship the Princess and then moving to modern times, where a current problem will find itself linked to the story of the Princess Whaling ship.  I thought this was a great read and got through the book in just 3 days.  Looking forward to the next!

Click here to buy Clive Cussler’s Medusa at Amazon UK

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Clive Cussler – Medusa

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To do this I used the AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) on my camera to take 3 photos at different levels of exposure in rapid succession.  I hand held the camera but should have probably used a tripod.  The computer then merges the three images together into an HDR photo.  This looks kind of disappointing as it needs further mapping to look right on a screen.  I then used tonemapping to reveal the details in the highlights and shadows.  This can also be used to create a more artistic “Painterly” effect.

These are some images from my first attempt, I didn’t fully understand what I was doing but was pleased with the results!

This photo “Crossroads” or “At a Crossroads” is taken at the Matfield Village Crossroads.  This was my favourite photo, I like the different looks of the signpost where some are much newer and brighter than others, however I do think the blue of the cycle route signs are a little too vivid.  the greens and oranges of Morellos in the background nicely offset the sign.  To finish off the clouds in the sky have come out very dark and black, despite it being a cloudly day.  I’d love to retake this shot when there is a red sky.

This picture of Mark and Son Butchers uses a very similar tonemapping settings to the previous.  I liked the way the details of the tiles and brickwork come out in the image and the vividness of the blue signage.  This photo was taken as the storefront was being repainted and I particularly like the paint can with brush sticking out by the front door!

Finally a photo of a Fordson Major tractor, I’m not so sure about this image.  I like the “urban, industrial” effect – the detail in the rust and green on the the tractor, but I think maybe the blue is a bit over saturated.

If you like these photos check out my Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/88958920@N00/ and see if I’ve posted any more since!  Hopefully this will be the first of many.  If you have any experience with HDR or any views on the photos please leave a comment, I’d love to know what you think or any advice you have.

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My first foray into HDR Photography

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Boo Hoo is the story of Boo.com a online designer clothing store founded in 1998 by Ernst Malmsten, Kajsa Leander and Patrik Hedelin.  They set out to create a global fashion website launching simultaneously in several countries.  The book is written by Ernst Malmsten and is a facinating insider look at the Boo story from the idea’s conception through to the end.

I found that the book was a brilliant read and many of the lessons in the book or website designs are as useful now as they were 10 years ago.  10 years ago I wasn’t involved in eCommerce and can’t remember ever visiting Boo.com.  However when I consider today’s leading websites, few are as complex as Boo set out to be -

E.G. Boo aimed to launch with

• Free delivery and returns to all the countries they operated in
• Different prices for each territory
• 3D Product images
• A Fashion Magazine (again personalised for each country)
• Leading designer brands
• A Virtual Assistant
• Free returns

There are few websites today which try to do so much.  Ultimatly from reading the book I think that this was their downfall, the systems were so complex they never seemed ready to launch, should they have tried to launch in one country first, make a stable income then grow?  Or were they right to be bold?

The book naturally seems a little one sided, as it was written by one of the founders it is their view of the Boo story, while it seemed a in-depth expose of what happened it does also feel a little one sided in where blame is centred.  There are many headline grabbing lines and interesting stories – Boo burnt through $188 million dollars before it failed, when told there were security issues in their offices, they employed a team of ex Gurkha’s to protect the building.

All in all I would really recommend this to anyone interested in the Internet or eCommerce or just wants a good read!

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Boo Hoo: A Dot Com Story

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Just a quick post as I found this video hilarious!  This weekend is the final testing session before Bahrain opens the 2010 Formula One season on 14th March.  In Spain as the cars are testing and Ferrari practice their pit stops, one McLaren employee will do anything to get a look under the back wing.

He seems to find Ferrari’s reaction funny, They don’t!

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McLaren caught spying again!

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