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EU Cookie Law Ebook
May 16, 2012 Author: Adam Lee
In 2009 the EU issued a requirement for all web pages to obtain consent from website users for cookies and similar technologies. Governments had until 2011 to implement this requirement into their own laws and so the UK has done this through the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. ...Read the full post
Why ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ is a Term SEOs Need to Understand
April 24, 2012 Author: Adam Lee
Guest post written by Liza Baron at Silicon Beach Training.
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological occurrence that has a powerful influence on people’s perceptions, thought processes and behaviour.
It was identified by Festinger in 1956 as a bias to minimise any differences between our thoughts or perceptions – “a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions simultaneously” according to Wikipedia. We try to minimise this discomfort by changing our thoughts, storing different memories, or adapting our beliefs – and usually take the option which requires least effort.
(For example, think about the meaning of the expression ‘sour grapes’. This came…
...Read the full postMeasuring the buzz around the new F1 Season
March 16, 2012 Author: James Christie
Which drivers and teams are generating the most online buzz on the eve of the season?
The Formula One season is nearly upon us again; a time when the buzz and drone of the cars on the starting grid reaches a deafening crescendo.
And the ‘buzz’ about the contenders for this year’s Drivers and Constructors Championship is also increasing in volume on online forums, blog sites and social networks. In the modern era, these are the places where much of the traffic of conversations about the sport flows.
We used Brandwatch’s social media monitoring tools to examine the volume of conversation…
...Read the full postEngelbert Humperdinck v The Buranovo Grannies
March 15, 2012 Author: James Christie
A look at how social media monitoring software can determine what online communities really think about this year’s Eurovision Song Contest entries
One of the jobs of digital marketing agencies is to track social media mentions of our clients and their competitors.
We use several ‘tools’ to identify social media mentions – where they are made, by who and what the sentiment is.
This data helps inform marketing strategies and decisions. The BBC might well have used similar tools to research how the decision to…
...Read the full postShould I be considering Pinterest in our Social Media Strategy?
March 12, 2012 Author: Susan Luxford
If you’re not already feeling overwhelmed by Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube and Flickr (just a few of the social media platforms out there and already in use by businesses and the public alike) there’s a new kid on the block that’s entered the social media arena and everyone’s talking about it… Pinterest.
What is it?
Pinterest describes itself as:
“a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. “
For ‘beautiful things’ read – photos, drawings, paintings, info-graphics, graphs, pie-charts, diagrams or other visuals.
A cross between…
...Read the full postTimeline for Facebook Like pages have arrived. Are you prepared?
March 2, 2012 Author: Susan Luxford
Facebook forced all individual profile users to have a Timeline from December 2011 and it was anticipated then that Timelines would be incorporated into Fan Pages. Yesterday, anticipation became reality as Facebook announced a 30-day window for companies to prepare for Timelines for Fan Pages with a forced switchover on March 30th 2012.
The timeline feature is your entire Facebook history from the date that you created your fan page, in reverse chronological order. What’s included will be determined by what you posted and how many of your fans commented on it. Profile users were given a mere seven days…
...Read the full postWho will be the next England Manager?
February 10, 2012 Author: Luke Hay
The big news story this week has been the shock resignation of England manager Fabio Capello. To see how social media reacted to his surprise resignation I used social media monitoring tool Brandwatch to see who the public want to take over for this summer’s European Championships.
Just hours after Harry Redknapp was found not guilty of tax evasion Fabio Capello handed in his resignation making Harry the bookies favourite to manage England at Euro 2012. The reaction on social media was huge with 14,000 mentions of “Harry Redknapp” and…