Birmingham Post - Business Blog

Will Apps kill the Web?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:28:31 +0000

Having spent most of my working life building websites, I was alarmed to hear rumours of the web's demise. Many are postulating that thanks to the rise of the App, the World Wide Web is reaching the end of its useful life.

Good Gadget Karma

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:01:32 +0000

Among the many joys of owning a smartphone are the bouts of mild panic when the device cannot be found in the usual pocket.

For the feckless, losing a wallet used to be as bad as it got, but in the modern digital age, losing a phone is now so, so, so much worse. We rely on our little digital assistants so heavily that life is all but over when the DIY body frisk proves fruitless.

But even assuming you have a recent backup and can get a replacement quickly, your problems might not be over if you phone falls into the wrong hands.

A recent project run by security firm, Symantec, deliberately "lost" 50 smartphones in cities throughout the US, each installed with tracking and logging software to see what would happen ?

You heard it first on Twitter

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:58:23 +0000

Twenty-seven minutes before mainstream media broke the news of Whitney Houston's death last Saturday the story was on Twitter.

The news was first tweeted by @ajaDiorNavy, with a mere 14 followers at the time, who's "Aunt Tiffany", an employee of Whitney's, found the diva dead in her bath. An hour later it had been re-tweeted 2.5m times.

2011: bad for dictators, good for Androids

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:47:59 +0000

Tradition dictates, in my last missive of the year, that I review the technology predictions I made in my first post of January. Unfortunately, it seems to have been deleted, so I'll have to stick to what actually happened instead!

Unfollow Friday #UFF

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:53:27 +0000

Last Thursday was national 'unfriend' day on Facebook, in the US at least! Although instigated by a comic, the now annual event has gained some resonance.

I, for one, am old enough to recall the real meaning of the word "friend" and know that having any more than six real friends is a right pain.

Facebook writes users' epitaphs

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:43:54 +0000

Ever wondered what happens to your Facebook profile when you die?'

Don't worry, I'm in good health, my morbid fascination is prompted by Facebook's, soon to be released 'TimeLine' feature, currently in Beta.

TimeLine produces a sort of scrapbook of everything that has happened to you since you joined Facebook, at the press of a button.

To see a chronology of your life, automatically generated, is a spooky reminder of just how much data is kept about our online activity and is more than a bit creepy.

Astroturfing: How to spot a fake review?

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:43:59 +0000

It's been a bad couple of weeks for TripAdviser, as the Advertising Standards Authority started investigating allegations of endemic Astroturfing on the famous hotel review website.

"Astroturfing", in an online context, does not mean the replacement of a lawn with synthetic grass, but the attempt to artificially create "grassroots" opinion on review websites in order to promote products or services.

Google Plus - "VIPs only mate, you're not coming in"

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:33:02 +0000

One month after its launch and still no invite to join Google Plus!

Its hard to believe, I know, that a key online influencer like me has been left out of the party, but it seems I'm persona non grata at Google.

Read last weeks column to find out why ?

Linkedin - finally emerging as credible B2B marketing channel

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:00:04 +0000

I have noticed a recent increase in the number of people asking me to "Connect" via LinkedIn and have been searching for a reason.

Sadly my newfound popularity cannot be attributed to increase in wealth or influence or in deed cosmetic surgery but a recent resurgence of the business networking website.

Paranoid about Android

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:51:34 +0000

A "fondleslab", for those not down with the kids, describes any portable touch screen device so beloved by its owner that it is incessantly fondled in public.

I swapped the faithful fag packet and lighter combination (which served a similar social purpose) for an iPhone a few years ago, but now, to keep down with the kids, I need an iPad 2.

Chris is MD of social media strategy company Friend Digital

Marketers just want to be liked

Tue, 03 May 2011 13:54:16 +0000

Our old friend, "a recent poll" has indicated that most ad-executives and marketers just want to be liked!

Resisting the temptation to explain why they are not and possibly send this column down an un-publishable route, I must clarify that it is Facebook 'likes', for their clients fan pages, they are after.

Read last weeks column to find out why.

Chris Tomlinson is managing director of social media and online PR agency Friend Digital Ltd.

Do you have to be in Digbeth to be Digital?

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:43:29 +0000

I have been living France for the last eight weeks and thanks to social media no-one seems to have noticed.

A few of the favoured hostelries around Brindleyplace are down on their profits but largely nobody seems to care about my physical absence.

Social Media Predictions for 2011

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 07:38:19 +0000

As tradition dictates in my first column of the year, I predict what 2011 has in store in our ever expanding digital universe.

I could just say Google will become the next Microsoft and Facebook will become the next Google but it wouldn't fill enough column inches!

Silence is golden on Twitter

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:19:00 +0000

I have recently noticed a worrying phenomenon - the less I tweet the more followers I get!

Find out why in this weeks column

Online Crowd Control

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:28:01 +0000

I've found a solution to a problem you probably don't know you have yet.

Or maybe you do, if your brand has successfully built significant Facebook, Twitter and YouTube audiences and you don't know how to keep them under control.

If so, CrowdcontrolHQ, ( invented in Birmingham no less) might be for you.

Read my latest column to find out why.