Anti-social oik

I’ve got two young children. So to protect their health I’ve banished our dog from the rear garden; to keep it a foul-free play area.

Picture my irritation then when last week, mowing said garden, I was greeted with numerous piles of cat faeces sitting proudly amongst the daisies.

There are several cats that roam the street and, fortunately, we know the addresses of most of their owners. Hence, it seems the logical response to the fouling of my garden is to toilet my dog in the twilight hours on their lawns.

While this would merely be an act of (fairly satisfying) revenge – it doesn’t solve the long term issue.

Ultimately, the blame of cats distressing our turf lies not with the manky felines. Instead, one must question the sanity of individuals who purchase such dirty, anti-social and selfish creatures as cats for pets.

Cats were introduced to this country to control vermin. Now cats have themselves become vermin – and need controlling.

The Government should seriously consider introducing legislation to deal with this ever-growing menace.

Anti-social yobs with a belly-full of ale caught urinating in an alleyway after turfing-out time from the local boozer are now handed fixed penalty notices by police. If my dog dumps in the street and I don’t pick it up I get a fine (or should do if it were policed properly – the matter for a later blog). And recidivist anti-social acts in these cases will result in an Asbo.

Slapping cat owners with a £60 fine every time their beloved little oiks deign to dump on their neighbours’ perennials may actually deter people buying these free-loading creatures in the first place.

And repeated crimes against plantlife would result in an Asbo banning offenders from owning cats.

As the wheels of government turn slowly, I suggest that an interim measure to solve the problem could be for cat owners to dig deep and shell-out 99p on a litter tray – and ensure their adorable little fur balls use them.

That is the central finding of the 2010 Digital Influence Index, released today by Fleishman-Hillard International Communications in conjunction with Harris Interactive.

The study also measures several key aspects of consumers’ use of the Internet, from media consumption patterns, to the degree of adoption of various digital behaviors, to involvement with online social networking. Now in its second year, the Index has expanded to include 48 percent of the global online population, spanning France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Japan and the United States.

“Our survey provides overwhelming evidence that the Internet is at the center of the decision-making process of consumers,” said Dave Senay, Fleishman-Hillard president and chief executive officer.

“It suggests, definitively, that marketers who do not have end-to-end strategies which put digital influence at the center of their marketing plans are doing so at their own peril. Marketers who ‘get it’ will be able to leapfrog their competitors who don’t.”

The Digital Influence Index reveals the following nine key insights into the Internet’s global influence on consumers’ lives:

1. Funding Gap: Globally, digital dominates in influence but not marketing dollars spent. The Internet is by far the most important medium in the lives of consumers, but companies continue to underinvest in their online marketing efforts.

2. On the Edge: Chinese Internet users are more advanced, but are early adopters, with room to grow. Although the Internet is the most important medium in all countries, it plays an even more critical role in China, home to the world’s largest and fastest-growing population of online consumers.

3. Beyond Mainstream: Digital is core to decisions — for research, purchases and peer influence. The Internet plays an integral role in the decision-making process.

4. Too Much Information (TMI): Online oversharing of personal information isn’t just a bore, but a rising threat, as well. As more users embrace social media and generate content, a consensus is emerging — people share too much personal information, and too little of it is particularly interesting.

5. Cautiously Trusting: People trust the Internet most when they have multiple sources — and a friend is one of them.

6. Pay to Play Doesn’t Play: Trust in bloggers for hire remains weak. Across all countries studied, Internet users report a lack of trust in content produced by sponsored or paid bloggers.

7. Real-Time Trust: Microbloggers trust companies that listen and respond in real time. Users who have adopted microblogging tend to trust companies that monitor their online activity. They seem to view this online listening as a sign that organizations care about their needs and want their feedback.

8. Mobility Gap: As apps multiply and speeds increase, mobile users snap up smartphones — but realize only a fraction of their potential. Although mobile Internet use is growing, a significant gap exists between the capabilities available to mobile phone users and the number of individuals who actually take advantage of them.

9. Where to From Here?: As Internet use continues to grow, will its influence grow, too? Depends who you ask. As important as the Internet is now, will its consumer influence continue to grow in the future? The answer varies from country to country … but in China it is a resounding “yes!”

To download a complimentary copy of the Digital Influence Index white paper and read in-depth analysis on all nine insights, visit digitalinfluence.fleishmanhillard.com

The past few weeks have seen numerous crashes, leading to an increasing crescendo of disapproval against how the site is being managed – including celebrity users of the site.

Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles said live on air this morning that he was getting fed up and that if it continues he, and others, will simply “lose interest”.The company has said they plan to stabilise their site after it experienced periods of downtime in the last few weeks due to increased traffic as users followed World Cup events on the site.

In its blog, Twitter has promised to make changes over the next two weeks to make the site more reliable. However, the company may also have to shut the service down as it carries out maintenance but has said it will give advance notice if this is due to occur during any football games.

This is the first serious crisis Twitter has faced. How they deal with it will show the world if they are a serious digital business to be reckoned with, or just a passing fad.

I’m not expecting praise from the anti-smoking brigade of do-gooder liberals. And I’m not wanting condemnation from the increasingly insignificant bunch of people who claim protecting people from second-hand smoke is an infringement of their civil liberties (frankly they just can’t be bothered getting off their ass to go outside).

The reasons for quitting then? The fact that I feel like a social leper. The fact that I’ll spend around £14k on smoking in the next 10 years. The fact it’s not conducive to a long life. Plus a whole load of other facts brought to my attention on a daily basis in print, TV, radio, online and mobile.

The whole quitting smoking thing mas been bugging me for a while [seeing photos of dead people on the back of your fag packet is hard to ignore]. So last week I popped to my doctors and got a prescription for some – reportedly quite brilliant – pills to help me quit smoking. I started taking them and picked a day in the second week to quit.

That’s today.

‘How does this all relate to Wales’, I hear you ask? Well, the fact I live in this great country (even though they didn’t qualify for the World Cup [Come on Algeria]) means I’m entitled to free prescriptions. Yup, they’re costing me nowt.

Wales truly is the land of the free: Free prescriptions, free swimming for kids and OAPs, free bus passes for OAPs. Free speech. Free to think for oneself…

…yeh, right. You think my decision to quit smoking was just that, my decision? No.

It’s the culmination of billions of pounds of taxpayers cash spent on increasingly aggressive advertising campaigns that has eventually worn me down. My cash. I paid to smoke. I’m paying to quit. Soon I’ll just be paying for other people to quit.

And because I’ll be a non-smoker I’ll be classed as healthier long-term. Less of a burden on the NHS pen-pushers. A far better return for the government on my NI contribution.

And for all those really stubborn smokers who’ll never give up, the government will simply continue to help themselves to the contents of their wallet every time they light up – which I’m sure will more than cover NHS costs treating their debilitating illnesses.

No. Wales isn’t the land of the free when it comes to smoking. If it was they’d either make it illegal or simply leave smokers alone. Not see it as a way making a few quid.

Could be worse though. I could still be living in England and paying for prescriptions. Every cloud and all that.

There’s one road I use regularly with my commute to work – the A55 in North Wales. (However, that’s kind of irrelevant as what I’m going to talk about applies to every road in Britain. Possibly every road in the world.)

In the winter it’s busy. In the summer, it’s simply impossible. That’s why the Welsh government is prepared to spend millions of our hard-earned pounds on making the thing wider/straighter etc.

Read the full version at www.sheps.co

Experian Hitwise conducted the research and found that 0.6 per cent of all searches carried out in that week related to the football tournament, in particular England’s fixtures and squad.

These searches were the most popular in the north of England and London, while consumers in Wales and Scotland did not seem too interested.

Robin Goad, research director at Experian Hitwise, said: “The internet is going to play a massive role in this World Cup. This traffic will increase further over the next month, with news, video and social networking sites benefiting from football fever.”

Twitter has realised the potential of the football tournament and launched a special site dedicated to the competition.

Users can engage with teams, players and brands through real-time search, widgets, top tweets and a list of suggested accounts to follow.

Football fans can also use the social networking site to engage reporters of the sport in conversation.

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Nine European partners will investigate how digital collaboration can benefit small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through ‘DE-LAN’, which stands for ‘Digital Ecosystems-Learning Application Network’.

The project aims to promote best practice in the development, deployment and exploitation of emerging trends in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as Cloud Computing and social networking.

Particular focus will be put on applications such as Digital Business Ecosystems (DBE), Living Labs and Digitally-Networked Businesses; evolutionary systems which create an online market place to seamlessly connect organisations, companies and individuals that do business together.

Wales is currently digitally networking businesses in sectors including Creative Industries, Marine Science and Construction.
Expected advantages include the wider promotion of products and services, improved innovation, streamlined working practices and increased competiveness and growth in the global marketplace.
Deputy First Minister for Wales Ieuan Wyn Jones, in Brussels for the event, said “When traditional industries dominated the business landscape in Wales and the rest of Europe, the technologies used and the ways businesses traded with each another were tried and tested through years of commerce.

“Fast forward to today and ICT is transforming not just the type of business we do but the ways in which we trade.

“As lead partner in the DE-LAN project, we are excited in Wales by the prospect of working with and learning from like-minded partner regions from across Europe to develop new processes and new approaches to strengthen our standing in the global economy.”

Robert Madelin, Director General for Information Society and Media, European Commission said: “The recently announced Digital Agenda for Europe illustrates that the European Commission is committed to a flourishing digital economy throughout the EU.   But to build a truly digital society we need partners at all levels, and from all sectors. That is why the DE-LAN project is so important – DE-LAN’s work embraces the spirit of collaboration in the Digital Agenda and  will help make ICTs an even bigger part of daily life for millions of citizens.

“I look forward to working with the experienced partner Regions to explore how innovative use of ICTs can help businesses across Europe to meet their challenges.  Projects like DE-LAN can help achieve our ultimate goal of using ICTs to advance job creation, sustainability and social inclusion.”

Knowledge and experience will be shared through regular interregional meetings, workshops and conferences.

The ultimate output is the identification and analysis of the main characteristics of a successful Digital Ecosystem.

Commonalities and differences, key opportunities, critical success factors, obstacles to be overcome and lessons to be learned will be shared amongst regions with the aim of findings on digital collaboration being embedded into EU policy.

Companies such as Chanel, Nissan, The Walt Disney Studios and Citi will be using the new platform for mobile ad campaigns in the second half of this year.Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple, said the platform combines the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web and users can view ads while using apps.

He added: “iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users – a highly desirable demographic for advertisers – and provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost apps.”

Apple will sell and serve the ads, while the firms will receive 60 per cent of the revenue.

The advertising platform is available on iPod Touches and iPhones with the OS 4.0 software.

This software allows users to multitask on their mobiles, which means they can run several apps simultaneously.

That’s according to the authors of Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution (Harvard Business Press), which claims companies that are faster at executing their strategies have an average of 40 percent higher sales growth and 52 percent higher operating profit than slower companies.

Despite the high stakes, companies routinely fail to execute their strategic initiatives on time, resulting in lost investment and missed opportunities.

“Strategic speed, which is the ability to implement strategies quickly and well, is a little-studied but critically-important area of management that is emerging as a key difference between successful companies and also-rans,” said Ed Boswell, one of the book’s three co-authors and CEO of The Forum Corp.

“As organisations emerge from the recession, they are at even greater risk of falling behind because they often don’t understand how to become fast.”

At the heart of the gap is a tendency for organisations to overlook the most important aspect of strategic speed – people.

“Many organisational leaders mistakenly assume faster companies get that way by focusing solely on pace and process. They forget people, and people are the secret to strategic speed,” said co-author Jocelyn Davis, Forum’s executive vice president.

According to Forum’s research, fast companies share a common characteristic – the skillful mobilization of people.

“Although many leaders assume there is a trade-off between speed and ‘people matters’ such as engagement, learning, and alignment, the data say the opposite – your organization will actually slow down if you ignore them,” added co-author Henry Frechette Jr.

The book is based on 18 case studies, in-depth research involving more than 300 business leaders from around the world, and Forum’s four decades of experience advising organisations on executing critical business strategies through people.

The authors found that many companies intent on increasing their strategic speed focus on business process reengineering and technology only to find their investments in both fail to yield the expected impact.

The authors lay out a plan for developing strategic speed, including the three people factors – clarity, unity and agility – that organisational leaders must master. And they examine the four leadership practices needed to accelerate organisations, including affirming strategies; driving initiatives; managing climates; and cultivating experience.

“It might seem counter-intuitive, but sometimes you have to slow down to speed up,” said Boswell. “Leaders who learn that lesson can help their organisations develop the greatest strategic speed.”

For more visit www.forum.com/strategicspeed

Meanwhile, MSN relaunched its homepage on June 1 to make it easier to navigate and also integrated links to sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
The 280 million users of Yahoo! Mail will be able to share comments, pictures and news with people in their address book and see updates from third party social networking sites.

However, Yahoo! has also included a one click opt-out button, which allows consumers choose how they share each piece of information.

Anne Toth and Cody Simms wrote on the company blog: “You can easily limit who sees your updates stream.

“We’ve made sure this control is easy to find by putting it at the top of the page and that there is a single on/off check-box, with more granular controls for people who want their settings somewhere in between.”

MSN will allow users to update their statuses on their social media accounts directly from its homepage, which will have more news and larger images.

Yahoo! recently acquired Associated Content with the aim of expanding the articles, images and videos available on its site.