Agency blog – March 2009
BOSSES MAKE THE WORST FRIENDS
25 March 2009
British bosses and parents have not fooled social networking users with their ‘friend requests’, with 73 per cent knowing they have only added them to keep track on their behaviour. Bosses have been officially named the worst Facebook friend ever, beating parents, grandparents and ex-lovers.
Most Brits (78 per cent) confess that their social networking pages have something potentially embarrassing on them but almost all (94 per cent) admit that if their parents, grandparents and bosses did not insist on adding them as ‘friends’, this would not be a problem.
According to research commissioned by the world’s biggest people search engine, www.yasni.co.uk, 86 per cent of Brits do not want to be ‘friends’ with their boss and 74 per cent don’t want their parents to know what they got up to last Saturday night.
In a study of 1,203 social networking users, almost 80 per cent said that someone has sent them a friend request that they did not want to accept but had no other choice.
The people Brits don’t want to be friends with online, starting with the worst, are as follows;
1) Boss – 86 per cent of Brits do not want to be friends with their boss
2) Parents – 74 per cent
3) Other colleagues – 69 per cent
4) Other relatives – 61 per cent
5) Ex boyfriends/girlfriends – 52 per cent
The research found that 73 per cent of respondents who had received a friend request from their boss or parents knew they just wanted to keep track on their behaviour.
Steffen Ruehl CEO and Co-founder of yasni.co.uk said;
“With social networking sites quickly becoming the way for people to stay in touch, it was only a matter of time before our parents and even grandparents signed up, but when our miserable boss who rarely even talks to us in the office adds us as a ‘friend’, it’s no wonder people assume they just want to keep tabs on them.
“yasni.co.uk can be used in cases like this to monitor what your new ‘friends’ have access to. The last thing we want is for our parents or managers to stumble across embarrassing photos or rude comments we wrote on another friend’s wall, especially if their intention is to gather information on our behaviour.”
GULF AIR HOSTS EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF B777 FOR MEDIA AND GUESTS
23 March 2009
Gulf Air, National air carrier, provides an exclusive preview of the new Boeing777- 300ER aircraft to members of the media and invited guests.
In a function held at Bahrain International Airport, Gulf Air Chief
Executive Officer Mr. Björn Näf welcomed the VIPs, airport and civil aviation authorities, guests and members of the media and gave an overview of the B777 aircraft as well as Gulf Air’s achievements and plans for the future.
“An integral part of the Kingdom’s growth for nearly 60 years, national carrier Gulf Air shares a great synergy with Bahrain’s ‘Vision 2030′ as our own growth strategy reflects,” said Mr. Näf, “Gulf Air has established a name for itself over these decades as a powerful brand, well known for its hallmark Arabian hospitality offering innovative products and services to its customers. The award-winning Sky Chef and Sky Nanny are just a proof of this.”
“The introduction of this new aircraft is another important step forward in this direction as we constantly endeavour to offer bespoke customer experience on the ground and in the air by introducing new aircraft, new destinations and world class products and facilities,” he added.
“This is first of the four aircraft we have secured, while the rest will join our fleet in the coming weeks. We have ambitious growth plans as we expect more aircraft joining us progressively from this year onwards,” Mr. Näf concluded.
Guests were given a preview tour of the new aircraft and its facilities, which was stationed at the VIP terminal of the airport. The Boeing 777-300ER wide body plane is the largest long-range twin-engine commercial airplane in the world which features state-of-the art interiors and a host of amenities offering a total of 312 seats in first, business and economy class.
The new aircraft’s First Class section comes with a private suite including bespoke furnishing and a fully flat bed complete with a personal wardrobe. The ‘herring-bone’ design Business Class offers a lie-flat bed with 180-degree recline, a privacy wall for personal space and world-class linens. Economy Class passengers will also not be disappointed as the seats come with more leg space to stretch out, a 130-degree recline and an adjustable hammock headrest.
Another key feature of B777 aircraft is that it offers more than 40 per cent additional cargo capacity than the other aircraft being used in the routes where the B777 will be flying.
The aircraft, leased from Jet Airways, will be used on a number of routes including Gulf Air’s flights to London, flights to Kuala Lumpur, flights to Bangkok and intra Gulf Routes, gradually replacing the Airbus 340s.
INTERNET THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL FOR SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL ACCORDING TO LATEST RESEARCH
18 March 2009
Web the ‘critical difference’ between early ‘90s and current recession claims Easynet Connect.
It had barely been invented when the UK was last in recession, but less than 20 years later, the Internet is providing a lifeline to small businesses fighting the recession; 45 per cent of small businesses surveyed by Easynet Connect believe the Internet will be an important tool in helping them survive and prosper during the recession with one in five believing it will be the most important tool in helping small businesses beat the recession.
Part of an upcoming report into SME survival, the survey of 255 IT Managers from companies with 10-250 employees, shows how small businesses see the Internet as key to boosting their profiles and unlocking new revenue opportunities. For example, 74 per cent of small businesses will use the web to grow their company profile with 52 per cent claiming that the web would put them on a level playing field with bigger companies. When it comes to creating new opportunities, 46 per cent are looking to create new products and services on the web and over 58 per cent are looking to use the web to expand into new markets at home and overseas.
SMEs are also keen on using the Internet to power modern working practices and cost-cutting technologies. A considerable 75 per cent of companies are looking to use the Internet to enable remote working, 33% are considering using VoIP to reduce telephone bills and over half (52%) are looking to use video conferencing to reduce business travel. Notably, a growing number of companies (23 per cent) are considering adopting SaaS applications to help save on the cost of traditional software licenses.
Timothy Francis, Head of IT & Online Marketing, at derivatives trader Blue Index and Easynet Connect customer said of the findings; “The Internet is one of the most powerful tools for companies of all shapes and sizes. For Blue Index it is critical that we have a fast, low latency Internet connection, to ensure we receive split-second market price updates, and so maintain a competitive edge. The Internet enables us to trade the world’s markets and expand our services as and when we see opportunities in the financial services market.”
“We have recently launched our new FOREX service, Blue-FX, which includes a new dedicated online FX trading platform which places additional demands on our Internet connection. The Internet is essential not only for the marketing of the new service via email campaigns and a new website, but also for the successful monitoring and the fast execution of transactions during market hours. As we expand we have a greater reliance on our connection to support and deliver our various services to our customers.
The Internet has literally given us access to a wide number of foreign markets, including North America. Our business just simply would not be able to exist without the Internet, and a fast, low latency, easily expandable and reliable connection.”
Chris Stening, Managing Director of Easynet Connect said of the research: “The critical difference between now and the recession of the early ‘90s is the Internet, which could easily be the most important tool in helping small businesses through the current downturn. The Internet has meant that businesses are much better equipped this time around. In the early ‘90s we were a world away from e-commerce, online marketing, or having a mobile workforce, let alone using cloud computing or holding video conferences with customers on the other side of the world.”
“Our previous research has shown that 71 per cent of UK SMEs could not survive for more than a day without the Internet. With SMEs using the technology in more and more innovative ways to help them out of the recession, it will be interesting to see how this figure changes in the coming years,” concludes Stening.
MONEY SAVING COUPONS ISSUED VIA MOBILE PHONES TO INCREASE BY 30 PER CENT DURING THE NEXT TWO YEARS SAYS JUNIPER RESEARCH
17 March 2009
Mobile Coupons are expected to be one of the biggest winners of the current global recession. Juniper Research forecasts that the redemption value of mobile coupons will increase by over 30 per cent by 2010.
Juniper Research found that the twin effects of shoppers needing to make economies in their spending and merchants ever keen to make sales will combine to have a very positive impact on the overall demand for mobile coupons.
Mobile coupons are attractive to both consumers and vendors as they can be targeted at specific groups of customers and can be matched against particular interests and purchasing patterns, as opposed to the vanilla approach where ‘everybody gets every coupon’ as in the traditional model.
Mobile Coupons Report author Howard Wilcox explained: “We believe that merchants will see targeted, quick one-to-one marketing campaigns via mobile coupons as a valuable marketing weapon. Considering that mobile coupons offer much better redemption rates and are more cost effective, they represent a win-win approach for innovative retailers.”
Peter Johnson, VP, Market Intelligence and Strategy from the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) says; “Juniper’s research confirms the MMA’s own findings that consumers are most likely to respond to mobile marketing offers that result in clear personal benefits. Mobile coupons are a prime example of how mobile can be used in this way, combining relevance with immediate, tangible value for the consumer. We welcome further research such as this report from Juniper, which helps to build a clearer picture of the way in which mobile marketing will develop over the next few years.”
Other findings from the Juniper Research Mobile Coupons Report:
• With in excess of 100m mobile phone users globally forecast to use mobile coupons in 2010, Juniper Research sees significant growth across the developed markets of North America, Western Europe, the Far East and China.
• As well as the key drivers, however, there are some significant hurdles, including the lack of suitable point of sale (POS) infrastructure at the supermarket checkout allowing for the quick and easy redemption of coupons, which is critical to the consumer shopping experience.
The Juniper Research Mobile Coupons study provides an analysis of the trends and issues affecting this market, exploring how the mobile coupons market will develop to 2013. The report provides forecasts of user take-up, coupon redemptions and values. The report also presents profiles of six key vendors and 12 mobile coupon trials and services pioneering in this developing market.
Whitepapers and further details of the studies, ‘Mobile Coupons:
Strategies & Forecasts 2008-2013’ and ‘Mobile Commerce: Payments, Ticketing and Banking 2008-2013’ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com.
LAUNCH OF ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SIMPLE IT STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION
12 March 2009
Maximising return on IT investments, while meeting regulatory compliance requirements and dealing appropriately with the escalating range of threats and risks, is challenging – especially in the midst of a credit crunch. Boards and managers have better things to think about, like saving their companies, rather than deal with large volumes of information on IT frameworks and standards. Yet, neglecting such issues could be fatal. Is there any easy way to make sense of all this information?
‘IT Governance: Implementing Frameworks and Standards for the Corporate Governance of IT’ from leading compliance expert IT Governance could be the answer, providing highly practical guidance for board executives and IT professionals on how to gain maximum corporate and commercial advantage from deploying best practice governance measures.
“This book guides the board member or IT professional through the
‘maze’ of how to implement the best IT standards and controls by
offering solid, practical guidance in a way that enables the company to forge ahead,” explains author Alan Calder, an international authority on IT governance issues and CEO of IT Governance.
“Many IT management and IT governance frameworks and standards have been published in the last decade. The trick is to integrate them, so each can do its job and set them within an overarching framework tailored to the needs of each organisation. This ‘must-have’ guide provides business leaders with the information and insight they need to achieve this.”
The book draws extensively on the Calder-Moir Framework, developed to help organisations co-ordinate the large number of overlapping or competing frameworks and standards. The framework may be downloaded free of charge here.
http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/products/2277.
