Paul Rouke - Usability Professional

A study carried out jointly by BITKOM and Oracle found that ‘More than 50 percent of German companies use the means of communication provided by web 2.0.’

So why are UK companies taking so long to catch on? Below are a few issues which I think are to blame.

Afraid of the unknown

For many, the online world is something they are still getting to grips with and at first it can be a daunting task to keep up to speed with the continually changing online landscape. But we all know not to knock it until you’ve tried it, and those who aren’t are getting seriously left behind.

Not buying into the idea of ‘web 2.0’

Frequently I hear ‘but we have a website, we don’t need anything else’. These little figures from Microsoft digital advertising solutions, speak for themselves:

• 73% of UK social networkers have visited the personal space of a brand
• 16% have had a dialogue or sent a message to a brand
• 68% will visit a website related to what they have seen or read on a friend’s site

It’s not enough to simply have a website – consumer’s use a range of different networks and sites to find out about your business and brand.

According to research by Hitwise (Hopkins, 2006) , social networking site MySpace is responsible for more Traffic flow into the HMV.co.uk music portal than both the Yahoo and MSN UK search engines.

Confusion on how to measure the results

There’s no jiggery pokery involved, and compared to some forms of activity this is one of the more tractable and measurable activities. On the simplest level of measurement; conducting searches to determine the number of times a brand was mentioned on forums and blogs is a good self analysis tool. However there are some pretty smart ways and means of tracking conversations about your brand which range from monitoring online share of voice within a particular sector, analyses of content and tracking micro blogs to name a few.

Not sure where to start?

A good starting point is a company blog, something that we here at PRWD could help you set up. It gives your customers and possible consumers the opportunity to see a more personal side to the company and allows them to participate and comment – and as marketeers and usability professionals know the key to building brand loyalty is getting the consumer highly involved with the brand.

If you’re wondering its the trade association for digital businesses in and around Manchester, of which we are a member of (you will see a quick camio from me at around 56 seconds speaking about the benefits we have experienced by being a member).

Take a look at the video below which tells you more about Manchester Digital and the benefits to employers, employees and educational providers alike…

Google’s famous motto ‘do no evil’ seems to be in conflict with the terms and conditions of their new browser Chrome – Google stated that they can use any of your copyrighted material posted to the web via Chrome. This has since been retracted but inevitably makes me question Google’s true agenda. The other thing which strikes me is the similarities between the Microsoft and Google chrome logos.

Impressive Look, Speed and Ease of Use

Ignoring my initial hesitance I downloaded the browser and I have to say I’m impressed with the look, speed and ease of use.
I’m also please to see Google have created a URL box which also works as a search function, called the omniBox. A great example of applying user centered design. The browser is a lot less cluttered also meaning that more appears above the fold and its faster to load. Another nice feature is that you can grab tabs to open them up as new windows.
Chrome, which is still in beta version, has had a few teething problems; its unable to use some plugins and is currently only available for Windows. Also if you type :% into the search bar it makes Chrome crash, but I’m sure these will all be ironed out in the near future.

Google, The Big Brother

My real shock was when I opened up my history. It had listed my history pre-Chrome, showing information such as who’s profiles I had viewed on Facebook, emails I had sent and documents I had opened on my desktop (with exact times) and the option to open them direct from the browser. Its a useful feature and there is the option of ‘incognito mode’ but it a little too scary to think what people could do with such information if they got a hold of my laptop, not to mention what Google can do. I’m all for intuitive search but for me however, it’s a little too far – I think it’s time to de-Google.

If you have already tried it, how are you finding this new web browser, and what are your views on the advanced history functionality that can track your daily activity to such depths?

Yahoo and Intel have just unveiled plans to make a television “Widget Channel” allowing online features to be added to shows and advertising. Quoted as the end of TV as a “passive experience” this move could prompt some very exciting opportunities for advertising, e-commerce and media planning.

It will be interesting to see how and when these features such as following a sports team or chatting with friends will appear without compromising the viewing experience. The move is an indication of how consumption and buying behaviours are changing. E-commerce will greatly benefit from applications such as this, which offer new channels of opportunity to sell and communicate with their consumers.

A precise launch date has yet to be determined, but the list of companies developing widgets for the channel includes Twitter, Toshiba, Samsung, eBay, CBS, Blockbuster and Disney-ABC Television Group.

E-commerce has broken down barriers to trade – it’s not uncommon to order your wine directly from France or order books from sellers in America. But e-commerce has brought some rather unusual services and products to an even wider audience.

Early last week it was reported that eccentric Lord David Piper was selling his title and property on eBay which attracted bids of over three million pounds. This is nothing in comparison to some of the weird and wonderful items listed over the years on the likes of eBay. In fact there appears to be some sort of competition to think up even more bizarre sales.

Here’s a list of some of the more interesting online sales of recent times

1. A man willing to fly anywhere in the world and let anyone punch him in the face for one million dollars
2. Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The item was purchased for $28,000
3. Ghost in a jar
4. 18 Year old British Girl’s Virginity
5. Doritos Cheese Pope Hat
6. The meaning of life which sold for $3.26 however the seller would only ship within the U.S.?
7. Stuffed squirrel in mini racing car dressed in racing outfit
8. John F Kennedy Assassination Shooters Perch Window: the winning bidder paid $3,001,501.00
9. First name of a couple’s unborn child
10. Singer James Blunt’s sister. Listed as a damsel in distress seeking a knight in shining armour. Her Knight flew her to Ireland after she couldn’t make a relatives funeral. She married her hero last year!