Recently, I participated in a seminar about children’s usage of social media, led by Harry A. Valetk and hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute. The discussion was excellent and included many soul-searching topics such as the end of anonymity in today’s connected society, or the conflict of interests between users of social networks and the … Continue reading On online presence and loyalty cards

When I was invited to talk to a group of executives on the topic of ‘Digital Marketing’, my first question was: ‘What do you mean by “marketing”?’.   Admittedly, this may seem a very weird question, specially coming from someone who teaches marketing for a living. Yet, those that work and teach in the field … Continue reading This thing called marketing

My 9 year old looks at me, excitedly. ‘Mum, guess what happened in school today. Something amazing!’. ‘Er… you were the fastest swimmer’, I venture. She shakes her head. I try again: ‘You did really well in the spelling test’. ‘Mum…’ she interrupts, impatiently. ‘I said “something amazing” ’. I open my arms. ‘Sorry. I … Continue reading David Attenborough Writes a Letter

Skills and technology to succeed in the connected market place The post below was first published as a guest article in the March 2011 issue of Powerchex’s newsletter. A direct link to the original article is available here. Once upon a time, sellers and buyers would meet in marketplaces and have conversations with each other … Continue reading Joining the conversation

Last September, I wrote a post about group buying and how it had been transformed by the web, much like auctions found a new audience with eBay, etc... In that post, available here, I identified five benefits that firms could accrue from joining group buying schemes, namely: 1. Moving old stock 2. Attracting new customers … Continue reading Groupon, Optimism and Procrastination

It is a puzzling but frequent behaviour: low-income individuals often spend a proportionally higher percentage of their earnings in high-status goods than their wealthier counterparts. The result? Cumulative levels of debt and stress, sometimes spiralling out of control. What can explain high levels of conspicuous consumption among those that can least afford it? One explanation … Continue reading Self-esteem on sale?

A couple of days ago, my better half and I were talking about mobile phone etiquette. The scenario was someone’s mobile phone ringing during a get together or a meal with friends and family. I argued that face-to-face should take precedence over the mobile phone, i.e., that under normal circumstances, the person should not interrupt … Continue reading Why are you answering that phone call?

UPDATE on 22/12/2010: The website is now ‘live’ and, if you are interested, you can check it here: http://www.home-me.co.uk It is far, far from completion - not even a beta version, yet 😉 There are lots of mistakes and loose ends. But, please, bear in mind that this entrepreneur / web-designer is 9 years old, … Continue reading A funny thing happened on Sunday