What do Facebook and Youtube have in common with 19th century cameras?

Many of us may worry that less than flattering images about ourselves will find their way to Facebook or Youtube. I know I do. After all, most people have a camera on them, all the time (their phones). And it only takes a few clicks to post a picture or video online. So, it … Continue reading What do Facebook and Youtube have in common with 19th century cameras?

Why do women pay extra for products?

In the UK, as in the US, women routinely pay more for the same, or identical, products marketed at men. The difference, which is sometimes referred to as the pink tax, can range from a few percentage points, to twice as much. Sometimes, the only difference is that the product is pink; other times, not … Continue reading Why do women pay extra for products?

6 questions to ask yourself before starting a PhD

One of the most popular posts on this blog is a piece that I wrote, back in July 2010, with some advice for people considering a PhD. I decided to revisit it, and write an updated post with my top tips of questions to ask yourself before you start your PhD (because, as someone said, … Continue reading 6 questions to ask yourself before starting a PhD

No digital marketing, please; just marketing, says @markritson

I still remember my marketing classes with Professor Mark Ritson, during my MBA programme at London Business School. They were very entertaining, but also very challenging. Mark Ritson was not afraid to question well accepted beliefs, or dispel marketing myths, in very direct (and, often, colourful) terms. So, when I found Mark Ritson on Twitter … Continue reading No digital marketing, please; just marketing, says @markritson

Day in the Life of an Academic #4: No, I am not on holiday

Classes ended last week and, already, I have lost count of the number of times someone asked if / said that I am now on holidays. So, I thought I should do a “day in the life” post, to give you a glimpse of what an academic gets up to outside of term time. … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #4: No, I am not on holiday

Twitter conversations have the credibility of friends’ recommendations and the impact of online reviews

While we tend to discuss word of mouth in terms of traditional (i.e., face to face) vs. electronic, this paper by Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Caroline Wiertz and Fabian Feldhaus indicates that this separation is two simplistic. The paper looks at the impact of Twitter conversations on the performance of new movies. It finds that customers … Continue reading Twitter conversations have the credibility of friends’ recommendations and the impact of online reviews

Handling social media crises

When problems happen and customers take to social media to vent their frustration, it may lead to a social media crisis like the one faced by United or Comcast. So, it is important to detect problems quickly, and act effectively. I recently published a paper, co-authored with Finola Kerrigan, Dirk vom Lehn, Cagri Yalkin, Marc Braun … Continue reading Handling social media crises

October 2015 round up

October was busy. Very busy. This included a lot of firefighting, which I tend to find very draining. My #5pm pictures show that I spent a lot of time at my desk. But, unfortunately, only a minority of that time was spent on writing or, for that matter, on anything remotely related to research. Instead, my month … Continue reading October 2015 round up

Spotted elsewhere: interview with co-founder of Instagram

What? A short interview with Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, by BBC's Steph McGovern. Where? Spotted on the BBC website. So what? It is a short interview, but Steph McGovern and Kevin Systrom cover quite a bit of ground such as longevity on social media, Instagram's rivals, kids spending too much time on … Continue reading Spotted elsewhere: interview with co-founder of Instagram